Steel pontoon, Jordan River Crossing : Desert Mounted Corps Bridging Train

Flat-bottomed pontoon boat constructed from wood and steel. Painted on either side of the bow in white paint is an image of a palm tree. Also painted on the boat is the numnber '5'. The boat displays battle damage where shrapnel has pierced the steel.

One of a number of pontoons used in the first tactical crossing of the Jordan River at Makhadet Hajla on the night of 21-22 March 1918 for the raid on Amman.

The Amman Raid was considered necessary by Allenby, once Jerusalem and Jericho had been captured in late 1917/early 1918 and the coastal Mediterranean strip cleared of enemy, to destroy the railway tunnels and viaducts at Amman. Previous attempts by Arab raiders to destroy the rail line on the plains to the north and east (and on which the Turks relied to for supplies and movement of troops) were quickly repaired by the Turks.

The attack was made by Desert Mounted Corps and (British) 60 Division. Surprise was negated by spies & rumours. The rains had been falling heavily for a few days, putting the Jordan into flood with a heavy current.

Bridging attempts were made to the north of Jericho at the ford opposite Ghoraniye (by the Londoner Regiment of 60 Division) and further south at Makhadet Hajla, by D Troop, 1 Field Squadron, Australian Engineers, a squadron of 3 Light Horse and 23 Battalion, Londoners. Further feints were made at other fords between the two to deceive the Turks.

The attack started round midnight on 21 March 1918 at both points. The northern attempt at Ghoraniye was hampered by the swift current and alert Turkish defenders; and after a few hours, it was abandoned as news came through of the success of the bridging south at Makhadet Hajla. The Australian in charge of the Hajla attempt, Captain Edward John Howells, MC, noted that the northern attempt fell apart after the Engineer officer in charge of the operations was killed early in the attempt and 'things went to pieces apparently'.

The bridges were brought up on wagons. Howells made several night reconnaissances, noting that the Turks held not only the opposite bank, but that it was on high ground. He selected his crossing point carefully and at midnight 17967 Sapper Samuel Dawson swam the swift current with a line, accompanied by six members of the Londoners Regiment. Howells noted 'that swift running river was an uncanny place at night' and Dawson was forced to also help some of the English soldiers from drowning. Once the line was over, a raft took more and more Londoners over the river to establish a bridgehead while the Australian Engineers started building the pontoon bridge as the morning broke. It took an hour and a half, although under fire - Howells' careful siting of the bridge meant the Turks on the high ground couldn't actually see them unless they exposed themselves to fire and 'though the fire was short-range and heavy, it was unaimed and more frightening than harmful. He held us up all day, but the troops went over thick as soon as night fell and towelled him out of there.'

This pontoon is one of those used in that crossing. It is a lightweight version, based on the basic British pattern developed between 1897 and 1904 and forms the base of the bridge. Further equipment, such as anchors, tie downs, the bridge base and crossbeams, and finally the bridge surface and access ramps, all had to be installed under fire. The rowels along each side of the toprail act as the anchoring points for all the timberwork that sits atop it. The painted palm tree on each side of the bow is the formation sign of the Desert Mounted Corps. The Australian War Records Section chased an example of the pontoons used in this operation and acquired it from the Middle East in April 1922.