 By the end of March or early in April 1916 , the British presence in the Sinai was growing ; 16 miles ( 26 km ) of track , including <unk> , had been laid . Between 21 March and 11 April , the water sources at <unk> <unk> <unk> , <unk> <unk> and <unk> along the central Sinai route from southern Palestine were destroyed . In 1915 , they had been used by the central group of about 6 @,@ 000 or 7 @,@ 000 Ottoman soldiers who moved across the Sinai Desert to attack the Suez Canal at Ismailia . Without these wells and cisterns , the central route could no longer be used by large forces . 
