He describes the dilemma of a brigade Major who was camped outside the village of Jabba on the south side of Nahal Seweinit in the winter of 1918. This Nahal consists of a long deep canyon that stretches in a south easterly direction from North of Jerusalem and Ramallah and then deep into the Judean desert towards Yericho. For millenia the shear cliff walls of this canyon have provided a line of defense, dividing the north of Israel from the south. On the north-east side of the canyon opposite Jabba, was the town of Michmas where the Turkish army was situated. Between these two forces lay the Mihmas pass the only place were the walls of the canyon do not consist of shear cliffs and where soldiers and equipment could pass in large numbers. Even today the modern highway follows through this same route.
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| Nahal Seweinit shown between Michmas and Jabba |
The major was given the assignment of leading his brigade of approximately 3,000 soldiers down into the Michmas pass and attacking up the opposite side to defeat the Turkish forces camped there and thereby capture the town of Michamas. The battle promised to be a bloody one and our Major was not looking forward to it. The evening before the battle he sat in his tent repeating to himself the name Michmas? ... Michmas? ... Michmas! It sounded so familiar. Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly pulled out his Bible scanning the pages until he found what he was looking for. Silently, he re-read the relevant passages and consulted his map and a plan formed in the back of his head. He left his tent and woke up his commander and they read through the Biblical passages together and agreed that it was worth a try. They then sent out a small patrol to look for another way across the canyon and when the alternate route was found they were able to send a company of a few hundred men south east and across the canyon to outflank the Turkish troops from the southeast. When the battle began in the morning the Turkish soldiers were forced to fight off the British from two directions. The Turkish officers panicked at having to fight on two fronts at the same time. The attack from the south east emerged from a direction where they had no bunkers or other defences set up. The Turks were overpowered with minimal casualties and the Brigade Major emerged looking like a genius.
The relevant Biblical passages - Shmuel Aleph chapter 14 - describe a similar military situation that had taken place about 2,920 years earlier. This time it was the Philistines who were camped in Michmas and the Israelite army was camped opposite them in Geva with the canyon in between. The Philistine defenses were concentrated at the pass to prevent Shaul from crossing and confronting them. From that base the Philistines were sending out raiding parties to punish the rebellious Jewish communities to the north west and east. King Shaul was forced to attack in order to protect his people but he was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. He faced a daunting challenge. Without consulting with with father, Yonatan, the King's son, and his arms bearer crossed the canyon using a goat path where two rocky spurs protruded from the bottom of the cliff side. Having grown up in these mountains and knowing them like the backs of their hands, they were familiar with two rocky spurs, one called colloquially Botzetz and the other Sene. This path provided a relatively easy alternate way to for a small group to get down into the bottom of the canyon and up the other side. They then approached the overconfident Philistines from this south east flank and attacked the enemy from an unexpected direction. The confusion they caused initiated a battle that subsequently sent the Philistines fleeing in a panicky retreat.
Read the details of the Biblical story for yourself. The coincidence is absolutely amazing. Thanks to Yonatan, Botzetz, and Sene, the British were able to chalk up an easy victory. I guess it would be appropriate to conclude that those who do insist on learning from the successes of the past are doomed to repeat them in the future.
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