Second Battle of Gaza 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 17 April 1917 – 19 April 1917 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1917 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Palestine | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Middle Eastern theater of World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ottoman Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.4893, 34.4737 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Second Battle of Gaza was fought on 17–19 April 1917, following the defeat of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) at the First Battle of Gaza in March, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Gaza was defended by the strongly entrenched Ottoman Army garrison, which had been reinforced after the first battle by substantial forces. They manned the town's defences and a line of strong redoubts which extended eastwards along the road from Gaza to Beersheba. The defenders were attacked by the Eastern Force's three infantry divisions, supported by two mounted divisions, but the strength of the defenders, their entrenchments & supporting artillery decimated the attackers.
As a result of the EEF victories at the Battle of Romani, the Battle of Magdhaba, and the Battle of Rafa, fought from August 1916 to January 1917, the EEF had pushed the defeated Ottoman Army eastwards. The EEF reoccupied the Egyptian territory of the Sinai Peninsula and crossed over into the Ottoman Empire territory of southern Palestine. However, the result of the First Battle of Gaza had been as close to a British Empire victory as a defeat could get. In the three weeks between the two battles, the Gaza defences were strongly reinforced against a frontal attack.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Second Battle of Gaza (revision 1372140876), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Middle Eastern theater of World War I
- Battle of Robat Karim 1915
- Battle of Bir el Abd 1916
- Battle of Katia 1916
- Battle of Romani 1916
- Battle of Ayun Kara 1917
- Battle of Buqqar Ridge 1917
- Battle of Mughar Ridge 1917
- Charge at Huj 1917
- First Battle of Gaza 1917
- Raid on Bir el Hassana 1917
All 27 battles of the Middle Eastern theater of World War I →
Browse more: battles in Palestine · Asia · World War I era battles