War chronicle · 3-5 August · Romani, Sinai Peninsula
The Battle of Romani
Kiwi and Australian horsemen play a crucial role in the Sinai Desert – camel corps included.
The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade joins troops from all over the British Empire to form the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). Their aim is to drive Ottoman forces out of the Sinai Peninsula. To overcome the harsh desert environment, the EEF build a railroad and a water pipeline from Kantara in Egypt to El Arish on the Sinai–Palestine border.
A force of 16,000 Ottoman soldiers and local Bedouin tribesmen try to destroy the railhead, but the EEF defeats them in the Battle of Romani (3–5 August). Romani is the Sinai campaign’s only big battle.
Kiwi and Australian horsemen play a crucial role at Romani and throughout the rest of the campaign. Mounted troops are more effective in the open expanses of the Sinai Desert. And not just those on horseback – about 400 New Zealanders end up riding camels with the EEF’s Imperial Camel Corps!
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