General Edmund Allenby had decided that after the capture of Jericho in February 1918 he should strengthen the front line of his Egyptian Expeditionary Force from the Mediterranean Sea across the Judean Hills to the Dead Sea. Operations were mounted out of the valley in an attempt to capture Amman and another raid was launched towards Es Salt. The valley was also used as a garrison and rest area until September 1918 by the Australian Mounted Division, the ANZAC Mounted Division and the 20th Indian Brigade as part of Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel’s Desert Mounted Corps. Living conditions in the valley during the summer period were extremely unpleasant, with constant heat, high humidity and malaria being a major medical problem for the troops. Other unpleasant occupants included snakes, scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes and flies. The Ottoman army occupied the Moab Hills on the eastern side of the valley and launched several artillery and air attacks on forces camped there, but Allenby decided that despite difficulties of climate and enemy harassing fire, occupation of the Jordan Valley would provide him with a firm base from which to launch future attacks, of which the Megiddo offensive would become a major stepping stone to eventual strategic victory.
