 The objectives of the German , Austrian and Ottoman advance were to capture Romani and to then establish a strongly entrenched position opposite Kantara , from which place their heavy artillery would be within range of the Suez Canal . The attacking force assembled in the southern Ottoman Empire at <unk> , north @-@ west of Beersheba , and departed for the Sinai on 9 July 1916 ; they reached Bir el Abd and <unk> ten days later . 
