Israel in world war 1

Israel issued one stamp each year comomerating the centenary of World War One from 2015 to 2018. This cover has three of those - 2015, 2017 and 2018. 

From 1517 to 1917, Israel, along with much of the Middle East, was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. During the 19th century, Jews in Western Europe were increasingly granted citizenship and equality before the law; however, in Eastern Europe, they faced growing persecution and legal restrictions, including widespread pogroms in which thousands were murdered. Jews in Eastern Europe were mostly in Russia and Ottoman Empire. There were waves of Jewish migration and resettlement around Israel from 1882 to 1914.

 World War I dramatically altered the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. In 1917, at the height of the war, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a letter of intent supporting the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. When World War I ended in 1918 with an Allied victory, the 400-year Ottoman Empire rule ended, and Great Britain took control over what became known as Palestine (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Jordan).

1915 - Military railway 

The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway (also J & J) is a railway that connected Jaffa and Jerusalem , the line is considered to be the first Middle Eastern railway. The line was operated by the French, the Ottomans and after World War I, the British. During the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I, the railway was taken over by the Turkish and German armies, which adapted it to serve their needs. While the Jaffa Railway Station served as a military headquarters during the war, the Ottomans did not want to expose the railway itself to British naval bombardment. In early 1915, most of the heavy machinery and equipment was moved to Jerusalem, and later in the same year the Jaffa–Lydda section was completely dismantled.

When the British advanced northwards in November 1917, the railway was sabotaged by Austrian saboteurs from the retreating Central Powers army and most (five) of its bridges were blown up. The Turks carried away anything that was movable, from railway cars and wooden rails to parts of the stations. It was however still valuable to the British, as it provided the only viable link from Jerusalem to Egypt, as the roads were in disrepair. Trestle bridges were installed instead of the destroyed iron ones, and the first British train reached Jerusalem on December 27, 1917. The locomotives used on the railway were converted from 1,050 mm gauge by the Turks during the war so that they could be used on the entire network in Palestine. 

The stamp also pictures a Turkish soldier - Moshe Sharett, Israel’s first foreign minister and second prime minister. The stamp pictures him during the short period he served as first lieutenant in the Turkish Army. Born in Kherson in the Russian Empire (today in Ukraine), Sharett immigrated to Ottoman Palestine as a child in 1906. In 1910 his family moved to Jaffa, then became one of the founding families of Tel Aviv.

He graduated from the first class of the Herzliya Hebrew High School, even studying music at the Shulamit Conservatory. He then went off to Constantinople to study law. However, his time there was cut short due to the outbreak of World War I. He served a commission as First Lieutenant in the Ottoman Army, as an interpreter. During the war via his wife Zipporah, Sharett became embroiled in the question of emigration of refugee Jews stranded in Europe and the East. Some Polish refugees, children with and without parents were deported to Tehran with the Soviet's agreement. Sharett flew to Tehran to negotiate the return of “ Tehran Children “ to Palestine. The success of these negotiations and others was a hallmark of Sharett's more cerebral approach to practical problems. 

1917 - General Allenby entering Jerusalem 

Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaignagainst the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.

During the First World War, Allenby initially served on the Western Front. He fought The Battle Of Mons, First and second battles of Yvpress, Battle Of Somme. Allenby harboured doubts about the leadership of the commander of the BEF, General Sir Douglas Haig, but refused to allow any of his officers to say anything critical about Haig. Despite Allenby's rages and obsession with applying the rules in a way that often seemed petty, Allenby's staff officers found an intellectually curious general who was interested in finding new ways of breaking the stalemate. In early 1917, during the major offensive on the city of Arras,there developed a major rift between Haig and him. He was removed from his cavalry and British PM , Lloyd appointed him to command the Egyptian Expeditionary Forces to seize ground in the Middle East. This was going to be the Allied’s major change of mindset to change focus to the Eastern front and gain control of Palestine. 

Allenby properly assessed the Turkish front and equipped his battalion with enough ammunition , took care of the soldiers needs including water and medicines, made frequent visits to the EEF’s frontline and also approved the use of Arabic irregular forces. Having reorganised his regular forces, Allenby won the Third Battle of Gaza (31 October – 7 November 1917) by surprising the defenders with an attack at Beersheba. Misleading the Turks that he was after Gaza , Allenby captured the city of Beersheba and pushed north and captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917. 

Allenby dismounted and entered the city on foot through the Jaffa Gate, together with his officers, in deliberate contrast to the perceived arrogance of the Kaiser's entry into Jerusalem on horseback in 1898 which was not well received by the local citizens. He did this out of respect for the status of Jerusalem as the Holy City important to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The people of Jerusalem saw Allenby's entrance on foot as a sign of his modesty. Allenby received Christian, Jewish and Muslim community leaders in Jerusalem and worked with them to ensure that religious sites of all three faiths were respected. 

It had been sensible for Britain to grab some land in the Middle East to block Germany's route to India, and General Allenby halted the German plans to advance East through the Middle East. 

1918 - The Indian Cavalry, Haifa 

The Battle of Haifa was fought on 23 September 1918 towards the end of the Battle of Sharon which together with the Battle of Nablus formed the set piece Battle of Megiddofought between 19 and 25 September during the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. During the Battle of Haifa, the Indian 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade, 5th Cavalry Divisionand part of the Desert Mounted Corps attacked rearguard forces of the Ottoman Empire that resulted in the capture of the towns of Haifaand Acre. This attack took place at the north western edge of the Esdraelon Plain (also known as the Jezreel Valley and the plain of Armageddon) 40–50 miles (64–80 km) behind the front line in the Judean Hills after the Desert Mounted Corps had occupied the plain, during the cavalry phase of the Battle of Sharon.

On 23 September 1918 the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was ordered to capture Haifa. The brigade's Jodhpur Lancers were tasked to capture this position, while the Mysore Lancers moved around to attack the town from the east and north.

The Jodhpur Lancers charged the Ottoman position, crossing the Acre railway line, but came under machine gun and artillery fire. The charge was further obstructed by quicksand on the river banks, so they manoeuvred to the left onto the lower slopes of Mount Carmel. The regiment secured the position capturing thirty prisoners, two machine guns, two camel guns and opening up an access route into Haifa. The Jodhpur Lancers continued their charge into the town, surprising the defenders. Those Mysore Lancers who had been giving fire support to the attacking regiment, mounted and followed them into the town. Together the two regiments captured 1,350 German and Ottoman prisoners, including two German officers, 35 Ottoman officers, 17 artillery guns including four 4.2 guns, eight 77mm guns and four camel guns as well as a 6-inch naval gun, and 11 machine guns. Their own casualties amounted to eight dead and 34 wounded. 60 horses were killed and another 83 injured.

The Teen Murthi - Haifa chowk in Delhi , and the Mysore Lancers memorial in Bangalore are dedicated to the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers in Israel . 

Thanks Micha for this beautiful cover and I hope to receive the missing 1916 also soon ;) 

Update : 04-12-2018 

Received a cover with the 2016 stamp on ww1 too :) 

Aerial warfare 

In early 1915, the Ottoman military waged a campaign in the Sinai Peninsula, intending to conquer the Suez Canal. But the attack failed and the Turks were forced to retreat back to Eretz Israel. During the retreat the Turkish force was attacked repeatedly by British aircraft stationed in the Suez Canal area and since it had no planes of its own, the Ottoman army was powerless against these strikes. 

The Turkish and German commanders learned from this experience, moving a force of 14 German Rumpler C-1 aircraft, which were superior to the British planes, to Eretz Israel to take part in the renewed efforts to attack the Suez Canal. The German squadron took up its post in Beer Sheba in April 1916. Even after the offensive failed, the German planes continued to bomb British forces as they steadily made their way to the southern border of Eretz Israel. 

The aerial warfare continued and intensified in 1917-1918. Both sides sent new and more advanced aircraft to the front in Eretz Israel, such as the Rumpler C-IV that appears on the stamp. These aircraft fulfilled various missions including aerial photography, patrols and bombing and even the occasional aerial battle. 

That completes the entire set of ww1 stamps from Israel :)