The tactic of the infantry attack covered by creeping artillery fire, was so successful that the front line was quickly cut and the way cleared for the British Empire cavalry divisions of Desert Mounted Corps to advance northwards up the Plain of Sharon.

[1][2] General Edmund Allenby, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was "very anxious to make a move in September" when he expected to capture Tulkarm and Nablus, (the headquarters of the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies), the road to Jisr ed Damieh and Es Salt.

From the Judean Hills the front line fell steeply to 1,000 feet (300 m) below sea-level in the Jordan Valley, where it continued for about 18 miles (29 km) to the Dead Sea and the foothills of the Mountains of Gilead/Moab.

On the remaining three quarters of the front line stretching to the Dead Sea, 22,000 infantry, 3,000 mounted troops and 157 artillery pieces of the XX Corps and Chaytor's Force were deployed facing the Seventh and Fourth Ottoman Armies.

"[7] The Battle of Sharon was to begin with an attack on the 8 miles (13 km) long front line, between the branch of the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway running north from Lydda towards Tulkarm (cut at the front line) and the Mediterranean, where Allenby massed three mounted divisions behind three of the XXI Corps' infantry divisions, supported by 18 densely deployed, heavy and siege batteries.

Together, the five infantry divisions of the XXI Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Bulfin, had a 4.4–to–1 advantage in total troop numbers and three times the defenders' heavy artillery.

[8][9][10] The objective of the 60th Division, (XXI Corps), which consisted of three British Indian Army infantry battalions for each British battalion, was to attack in "overwhelming strength at the selected point",[11] supported by the "greatest possible weight of artillery",[11] to cut the German and Ottoman front line and create a gap sufficiently wide for the "great mass" [11] of mounted troops to break through, passing quickly, "unimpaired by serious fighting",[11] to the rear of the Seventh and Eighth Armies in the Judean Hills.

[4][21] The 60th Division commanded by Major General J. S. M. Shea, was to fight on the ancient battlefield between Arsuf and Nahr el Faliq, where in 1191 King Richard defeated Saladin and avenged Hattin.

[5][22] Shea's infantry division was to advance to establish a bridgehead across Nahr el Faliq and create a gap in the front line for the cavalry.

[22][Note 2] In August 1918, the Central Powers' Yildirim Army Group commanded by Otto Liman von Sanders consisted of 40,598 frontline infantrymen organised into twelve divisions defending a 56 miles (90 km) long front.

[6] Cevat Pasha's Eighth Army of 10,000 soldiers supported by 157 guns, with its headquarters at Tulkarm, held a line from the Mediterranean coast just north of Arsuf to Furkhah in the Judean Hills.

[Note 3] The 20th Division had also fought towards the end of the Gallipoli campaign and served for a year in Galicia fighting against Russians on the eastern front.

[33] Claims have been made that the Ottoman armies were understrength, overstretched, suffering greatly from a strained supply system and overwhelmingly outnumbered by the EEF by about two to one, and "haemorrhaging" deserters.

[23][Note 4] It is also claimed that problems with the supply system in February 1918 resulted in the normal daily ration in Palestine being 125 grains (0.29 oz) of bread and boiled beans in the morning, at noon, and at night, without oil or any other condiment.

[36] It has been suggested that an inflexible defence relying on a line of trenches had been developed by the Ottoman armies, which required every inch of ground ... to be fought for, when a more flexible system would have better suited the situation.

Thousands of prisoners were marching back to the cages within 2 hours of zero ... Twelve minutes after the artillery bombardment began, the 180th Brigade's three Indian infantry battalions attacked in two columns.

Then, advancing at a rate of 75 yards (69 m) a minute behind the artillery barrage, at 05:50 they captured redoubts and two succeeding lines of trenches, along with 125 prisoners and seven machine guns.

[43][47] The bridge across Nahr el Faliq which carried the coast road was strongly defended, and it was not until 07:20 that the 180th Brigade's 2/97th Infantry from the right column was able to capture it, and a company established a bridgehead on the northern side of the mouth of Nahr el Faliq 5 miles (8.0 km) behind the Ottoman front line, providing the cavalry with safe passage northwards.

[47][48][49] Having captured Nahr el Faliq and after providing the cavalry with the required breakthrough to advance northwards, the 60th Division then turned north-east towards Tulkarm, with the 5th Light Horse Brigade on its right flank.

[47] Then turning eastwards, their first objectives were to capture Ayun el Werdat and advance on Umm Sur 2 miles (3.2 km) further north.

The combined effects of the aerial attack and the approaching infantry resulted in many occupants leaving Tulkarm, and traveling along the road to Nablus.

[58] About 21:00 a lieutenant, 23 troopers and two machine guns of the 5th Light Horse Brigade, guarding the road to Nablus, saw a long column approaching from the south.

[40][58][59][Note 7] By the end of the day, the 60th Division had captured all its objectives, including the town of Tulkarm, which had been the site of the Eighth Army's headquarters, after a hard march of 17 miles (27 km) from their starting line.

"[62] The 60th Division's 179th Brigade moved from Tulkarm towards 'Anebta, with the objective of capturing the railway tunnel near Jebel Bir Asur 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north-east.

The 3/151st Punjab Rifles, with a squadron from the Composite Regiment, Corps Cavalry, a section of machine guns, and two 4.5-inch howitzers formed the advance guard, which quickly pushed small rearguards from ridges.

[63] Meanwhile, at 02:00 on 20 September, the 5th Light Horse Brigade, less one squadron guarding prisoners, advanced from Tulkarm towards 'Ajee to cut the railway from Messudieh to Jenin.

Remnants of the Eighth Army which had escaped were captured the next day by Desert Mounted Corps at Jenin, in the Esdrealon Plain to the north of the Judean Hills.