Battle of Bir el Abd

Battle of Bir el Abd (the Abd well)
Part of the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War
Australian light horse patrol in Egypt
Date 9 August 1916 Location Bir al-Abed Result Ottoman victory[1]
Belligerents
British Empire  British Raj  Southern Rhodesia	Ottoman Empire  German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Harry Chauvel	Kamil Bey
Units involved
ANZAC Mounted Division 5th Mounted Brigade	39th Infantry Regiment 603rd Machine-Gun Company 606th Machine-Gun Company Mountain Artillery Battery Engineer Company

The Battle of Bir el Abd or the Abd well (9 August 1916) was fought between the forces of the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War.

The battle took place in the Sinai Desert following the British victory at the Battle of Romani (3–5 August). The British Empire's ANZAC Mounted Division, with the 5th Mounted Brigade under command, was tasked to follow a retiring Ottoman Army force. British patrols discovered them on 8 August and the remainder of the ANZAC Mounted Division got into a position to attack the next day. The assault was launched on early 9 August and became a day of attack and counter-attack. Finally in the early evening Chauvel, commanding the ANZAC Mounted Division, ordered his troops to withdraw leaving the Ottoman force in command of the battle ground.^{[nb 1]}

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