 From 1 to 7 November , strong Turkish rearguards at Tel el Khuweilfe in the southern Judean Hills , at Hareira and Sheria on the maritime plain and at Sausage Ridge and Gaza close to the Mediterranean coast , held the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in heavy fighting . During this time the Turkish Army was able to withdraw in good order . The rearguard garrisons themselves were also able to retire under cover of darkness , during the night of 6 / 7 or 7 / 8 November . On 7 and 8 November , the surviving units of the 7th and 8th Turkish armies further delayed the advance of Desert Mounted Corps commanded by Chauvel and the XXI Corps 's 52nd ( Lowland ) Division and the 75th Yeomanry Division . 
