Action of Agagia
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The Action of Agagia (also Agagiya, Aqqaqia or Aqaqia) took place east of
Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ar, سيدي براني  ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of i ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
on 26 February 1916, during the Senussi Campaign between
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and Ottoman-instigated
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...
forces and the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
army in Egypt. On 11 December 1915, a British column had been attacked at Duwwar Hussein along the Matruh–Sollum track. In the Affair of Wadi Senba, the Senussi were defeated and two days later a Senussi attack at Wadi Hasheifiat was repulsed. The British returned to Matruh until 25 December, then surprised the Senussi at the Affair of Wadi Majid but the Senussi got away. At the Affair of Halazin on 23 January, the Senussi were defeated and again slipped away. In February 1916, the
Western Frontier Force The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on 2 ...
(Major-General
William Peyton General Sir William Eliot Peyton, (7 May 1866 – 14 November 1931) was a British Army officer who served as Military Secretary to the British Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1918. He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of th ...
), was reinforced and a British column advanced west along the coast, to re-capture Sollum in February; en route, a Senussi encampment at Agagiya was spotted by aircraft. On 26 February, the column attacked the Senussi at Agagiya and captured Jaafar Pasha, commander of the Senussi forces on the coast. As the Senussi retreated, they were cut off by a
Dorset Yeomanry The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army founded in 1794 as the Dorsetshire Regiment of Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic wars. It gained its first ro ...
cavalry charge; the Yeomen lost half their horses and about a third of their riders but dispersed the column, caused about took captured the Senussi baggage train and pursued the survivors into the desert. Sollum was re-occupied by the British on 14 March 1916, which ended the coastal campaign.


Background


Senussi

The
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...
were a religious sect mainly of Libyan nomads, who had fought the Italians in Libya during the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...
(29 September 1911 – 18 October 1912). Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 5 November 1914 and in the summer of 1915, Turkish envoys, including
Nuri Bey Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites ...
, brother of
Enver Pasha İsmail Enver, better known as Enver Pasha ( ota, اسماعیل انور پاشا; tr, İsmail Enver Paşa; 22 November 1881 – 4 August 1922) was an Ottoman military officer, revolutionary, and convicted war criminal who formed one-third ...
and
Jaafar Pasha Ja'far Pasha al-Askari ( ar, جعفر العسكري; 15 September 1885 – 29 October 1936) served twice as prime minister of Iraq: from 22 November 1923 to 3 August 1924; and from 21 November 1926 to 31 December 1927. Al-Askari served in th ...
, negotiated an agreement with the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Ahmed ash-Sharif, to attack the British in Egypt from the west, during the Ottoman offensive through Palestine against the Suez Canal, known as the
Raid on the Suez Canal The Raid on the Suez Canal, also known as Actions on the Suez Canal, took place between 26 January and 4 February 1915 when a German Empire, German-led Ottoman Army force advanced from Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Southern Palestine to attack the ...
. By late 1915, many of the British forces in Egypt had been sent to
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
and
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, leaving western Egypt garrisoned by the Egyptian coastguard. The Ottomans and Germans delivered modern weapons by submarine to the Senussi. German and Turkish officers were also transported by submarine and landed on 19 May 1915 to the west of Sollum and set up headquarters at Siwa. The Senussi raised and other irregular troops, equipped with Ottoman artillery and machine-guns, for campaigns along the coast against
Sollum Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
,
Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
and Da'aba on the way to
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and from Siwa through the band of oases,
Bahariya El-Wahat el-Bahariya or el-Bahariya ( ar, الواحات البحرية "''El-Wāḥāt El-Baḥrīya''", "the Northern Oases"); is a depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is approximately 370 km away from ...
,
Farafra The Farafra depression ( ar, واحة الفرافرة, ) is a geological depression, the second biggest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Western ...
, Dakhla and
Kharga The Kharga Oasis (Arabic: , ) ; Coptic: ( "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or ...
, west of the Nile. The Senussi crossed the Libyan–Egyptian border on 21 November 1915 to begin the coastal campaign.


Western Frontier Force

The Western Frontier Force (WFF, Major-General Alexander Wallace), comprised the 1/6th
Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...
, 2/7th and 2/8th
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
infantry battalions, the
15th Sikhs The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs was an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1846, when they were known as the Regiment of Ludhiana (or the Loodiana Regiment). During the Indian Mutiny they were relied upon to hol ...
, three cavalry regiments raised from rear details of yeomanry and units of the
Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-ti ...
, who fought at Gallipoli as infantry,
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
(RNAS) armoured cars, the
1/1st Nottinghamshire Royal Horse Artillery The Nottinghamshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Nottinghamshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Middle Eastin the Senussi Campaign and the Sin ...
(RHA) and two aircraft of 17 Squadron
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
(RFC). Wallace suffered from an old wound and was relieved by Major-General
William Peyton General Sir William Eliot Peyton, (7 May 1866 – 14 November 1931) was a British Army officer who served as Military Secretary to the British Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1918. He was Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary at the time of th ...
and the WFF was reinforced with the
1st South African Brigade The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the Brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famou ...
(Brigadier-General
Henry Lukin Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukin (24 May 1860 – 15 December 1925) was a South African military commander. He fought in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and the Basutoland Gun War (1880–1881), the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), and the Anglo- ...
) and a detachment of Egyptian engineers on 4 February. The WFF eventually received which made the force capable of advancing a greater distance and the ability to maintain itself in the desert.


Coastal campaign

On 6 November 1915, sank and the coastguard gun-boat ''Abbas'', and badly damaged ''Nur el Bahr'' in the Bay of Sollum. On 14 November, the Senussi attacked Sollum and an Egyptian post was attacked east of Sollum on 20 November. The British withdrew from Sollum to Mersa Matruh, east, which had better facilities for a base and the
Western Frontier Force The Western Frontier Force was raised from British Empire troops during the Senussi Campaign from November 1915 to February 1917, under the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Orders for the formation of the force were issued on 2 ...
(Major-General Alexander Wallace) was created. On 11 December, a British column at Duwwar Hussein was attacked along the Matruh–Sollum track and in the Affair of Wadi Senba, drove the Senussi out of the wadi. The reconnaissance continued and on 13 December, at Wadi Hasheifiat the British were attacked again and after a delay, forced the Senussi to retreat. The British returned to Matruh until 25 December then made a night advance to surprise the Senussi. At the Affair of Wadi Majid, the Senussi were defeated again but were able to withdraw to the west. Air reconnaissance found more Senussi encampments at Halazin, which was attacked on 23 January in the Affair of Halazin. The Senussi fell back skilfully and then attempted to envelop the British, who were pushed back on the flanks as the centre advanced and defeated the main body of Senussi, who were again able to withdraw.


Prelude


British preparations

The WFF advanced along the coast from Mersa Matruh to Sidi Barrani, to re-capture Sollum on the Libyan–Egyptian frontier but as a deception it was rumoured that the WFF was about to retreat from Mersa Matruh. A supply column was sent to Unjeila (about half way to Sidi Barrani), with carrying rations for and the camels, arriving on 16 February; after three days a wheeled convoy followed. On 20 February, Lukin advanced towards Unjeila with orders to reach Sidi Barrani quickly, with the 1st and 3rd South African Infantry battalions, the
Dorset Yeomanry The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army founded in 1794 as the Dorsetshire Regiment of Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic wars. It gained its first ro ...
, Bucks Hussars, 6th Royal Scots, most of the Notts Battery of the 1/1st Nottinghamshire RHA and a field ambulance. During the march, air reconnaissance discovered a Senussi encampment at Agagia, south-east of Sidi Barrani. The force arrived on 22 February and local Bedouin reported that Nuri and Jaafar were at Agagia. On 23 February, a contingent of guards was left at Unjeila and the rest marched to Shammas and next day moved on to Wadi Mehtila, north-east of Agagia. Lukin planned to rest the force on 25 February and then make a night advance, to attack the Senussi encampment at dawn.


Senussi preparations

Jaafar attempted to forestall the British and at on 25 February, attacked the encampment supported by two field guns and a machine-gun. The guns were silenced by the British artillery and the Senussi were driven off; expecting more attacks, Lukin abandoned the night march. Next day, the yeomanry reconnoitred at and discovered that the Senussi were still at Agagia with no outposts, occupying sand hills with about three guns and five machine-guns. The defensive position had an area of about , was entrenched among sand dunes on a low plateau and with barbed wire at some points. An attack from the north would have to advance over ground offering no cover.


Battle

Lukin received the yeomanry report and at advanced from the camp and sent the Dorset Yeomanry (Lieutenant-Colonel H. M. W. Souter) to cut off the Senussi retreat. The yeomanry moved round to the west of the Senussi position to some sand hills, from which the Senussi could be observed. The yeomanry dismounted and assisted by covering fire from two armoured cars, which inhibited Senussi machine-gun fire, advanced to pin down the Senussi. The infantry advanced with the 3rd South African Battalion forward and the 1st South African Battalion in support. By the troops had moved , deployed and at came under fire. The battalion advanced in line with the men at two-pace intervals, machine-guns on the flanks and covering fire from the Notts Battery. The Senussi replied with artillery, machine-guns and rifles, from covered positions invisible to the South Africans. Losses mounted as the advance closed up to the sand hills and Jaafar sent a counter-attack against the South African left flank. A company of the 1st South African Battalion moved to the flank and repulsed the attack, at which Lukin ordered a general attack. The infantry rushed the Senussi front line on the fringe of the sand hills and then had a running fight as the Senussi retreated through the dunes, delaying the South African advance to the southern end of the sand hills until when the South Africans found that the Senussi had gone. The Dorset Yeomanry waited for the fugitives to move a distance from the trenches and wire around the sand hill position and moved about west of the Senussi line of retreat. The Senussi were seen at strung out over of desert with camels and baggage in front. The column was protected by Bedouin and armed with machine guns, which formed flank- and rear-guards. The yeomanry dismounted to rest its horses and study the ground, which had a slight rise towards the Senussi column. After resting, the yeomanry attacked in two lines at a steady gallop, receiving return fire from the Senussi, which was accurate at first, became wilder and then ceased. When the yeomanry were from the rear-guard, which was about they charged with swords drawn, at which the rear-guard broke ranks and the Bedouin scattered. Souter was shot off his horse and fell near Jaafar and the attackers hesitated but the machine-gun section arrived and continued the rout. Jaafar and two Ottoman officers were captured and a pursuit was conducted into the desert, where "considerable numbers" of Senussi were killed with swords. In the aftermath, were taken, the Senussi tents were burned and camels rounded up.


Aftermath


Analysis

After burying the dead and resting the survivors, Lukin advanced to Sidi Barrani and entered unopposed on 28 February. Sollum was re-occupied by British forces after an approach march of on 14 March, having been hastily evacuated by the Senussi. Jaafar Pasha was taken to
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and having been deprived of his leadership, the Senussi revolt collapsed. The Senussi never again withstood a British attack and although the campaign lasted for several more months, desert conditions were more of an obstacle to British operations than Senussi resistance.


Casualties

The Senussi suffered an estimated and were captured, along with loaded with dates and of ammunition. British casualties were the Dorset Yeomanry losing and


Footnotes


References

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Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


Bridport News: Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry led charge at battle of Agagia

The Western Campaign/Agagia Campaign 1915
{{World War I Agagia Agagia Agagia Agagia Battles of the African Theatre (World War I) Conflicts in 1916 1916 in Egypt February 1916 events