WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.440 Imagine, if you will, making a massive catastrophic 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.799 mistake at your job. Oh, wow. OK. I'm talking 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.660 about a real disaster here. You lost the client. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:11.919 You deleted the database, whatever your industry's 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.859 ultimate nightmare is. Right. But instead of 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:16.500 just admitting the failure to your boss, you 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:19.620 panic. You spin it. You tell your boss that, 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:23.719 actually, it was a huge success. Oh, no. You 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:25.160 tell them you almost pulled it off perfectly, 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:27.920 and the client is basically begging to sign. 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:30.519 Well, instead of just being satisfied, your boss 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:32.899 is absolutely thrilled. Which is the worst case 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:35.880 scenario. Exactly. In fact, they are so thrilled, 00:00:36.060 --> 00:00:38.640 they immediately expect an even bigger, much 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.820 more complicated success from you next week. 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:43.619 You are now, essentially, completely trapped 00:00:43.619 --> 00:00:45.929 in your own lie. It is the ultimate corporate 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:47.810 nightmare scenario, right? Where the coverup 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:50.210 basically sentences you to an impossible task. 00:00:50.649 --> 00:00:52.250 Exactly the kind of dread that keeps people up 00:00:52.250 --> 00:00:55.549 at night. But this isn't just some hypothetical 00:00:55.549 --> 00:00:57.850 office anxiety. This is precisely what happened 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:00.490 to a British general named Archibald Murray in 00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:03.649 the spring of 1917. And it directly led to a 00:01:03.649 --> 00:01:06.750 massive historical disaster. It really did. Welcome 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:09.769 to this custom tailored deep dive. Our mission 00:01:09.769 --> 00:01:12.230 today is to explore the Second Battle of Gaza. 00:01:12.909 --> 00:01:15.629 We are pulling from a really comprehensive historical 00:01:15.629 --> 00:01:18.849 overview that details the tactics, the devastating 00:01:18.849 --> 00:01:22.799 casualties, and uh... this incredibly fascinating 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.980 intersection where ancient terrain collided head 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:28.719 on with experimental World War I technology. 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.239 And we are really going to tear into the underlying 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.620 mechanics of this disaster, because this isn't 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:36.299 just a dry military history lesson for you to 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:38.780 memorize. No, not at all. This is a master class 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:41.340 in the very real dangers of toxic leadership, 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:44.359 information silos, and the completely misguided 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:47.219 belief in technological silver bullets. It is 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:49.019 incredibly relevant to you, whether you're leading 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:50.950 a team, managing a project, or just just trying 00:01:50.950 --> 00:01:53.430 to understand how massive organizations fail 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:56.790 so spectacularly. It's a perfect case study of 00:01:56.790 --> 00:01:58.969 what happens when an originally planned offensive 00:01:58.969 --> 00:02:01.530 meets a flexible, well -prepared defense. OK, 00:02:01.530 --> 00:02:04.349 let's unpack this. Because to truly grasp the 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:06.769 scale of this battle, we have to understand the 00:02:06.769 --> 00:02:09.469 stage it is set on. We are talking about Gaza. 00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:12.270 This isn't just a random spot on a World War 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:14.870 I map. This is a city that has been fought over 00:02:14.870 --> 00:02:17.449 for 4 ,000 years. We're talking about a place 00:02:17.449 --> 00:02:20.090 where the Egyptians, the Assyrians, Alexander 00:02:20.090 --> 00:02:22.770 the Great, Saladin, and Napoleon all waged war. 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:25.729 It's incredible. It is one of the most ancient, 00:02:26.069 --> 00:02:28.090 blood -soaked pieces of geography in the world. 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:30.949 And yet, right around the time of this battle, 00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:34.689 it was this bustling, almost contradictory town. 00:02:36.050 --> 00:02:39.449 bizarrely exported huge amounts of barley specifically 00:02:39.449 --> 00:02:41.949 grown to make English beer. And they imported 00:02:41.949 --> 00:02:44.650 yarn from Manchester. Right. It is a totally 00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:47.270 surreal juxtaposition. On one hand, you have 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:50.150 this ancient agricultural hub. And at the exact 00:02:50.150 --> 00:02:52.449 same time, it is deeply connected to the very 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:54.370 empire that is about to attack it. So you have 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:57.550 a town supplying British pubs becoming the focal 00:02:57.550 --> 00:03:00.689 point of mechanized British warfare. It's completely 00:03:00.689 --> 00:03:02.469 wild to think about. But to get to the second 00:03:02.469 --> 00:03:04.349 battle of Gaza, we have to briefly rewind to 00:03:04.349 --> 00:03:06.509 the bungled First Battle of Gaza. That happened 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:09.610 just three weeks earlier in March 1917. The British 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:12.669 forces, this massive desert column, they practically 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:16.229 had the battle won. But because of a catastrophic 00:03:16.229 --> 00:03:18.969 communication breakdown, the commanders simply 00:03:18.969 --> 00:03:21.550 didn't realize they were winning. So they ordered 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:24.509 a withdrawal. They literally snatched defeat 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:27.710 from the jaws of victory. And it absolutely gutted 00:03:27.710 --> 00:03:30.189 the morale of the British troops. Every single 00:03:30.189 --> 00:03:34.030 soldier knew it was a failure due to staff bungling 00:03:34.030 --> 00:03:36.689 at the top. And this is where that toxic leadership 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:39.659 element rears its head. General Archibald Murray 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:42.000 has to report this failure to the War Office 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:45.099 back in London. But he's worried about his reputation. 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:47.539 Right, because public morale is already so low. 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:50.960 Exactly. So Murray spins it. He reports the first 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.740 battle in overly optimistic terms, framing it 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:57.000 as a near victory. He creates a completely false 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.599 narrative to save his own skin. And because he 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.180 spun it that way, the War Cabinet in London essentially 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:05.379 says, great job. Now push on and capture Jerusalem. 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:07.240 He builds his own trap. He hasn't even broken 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.469 through God's— yet. What's fascinating here is 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:11.610 how the opposing side reacted while Murray was 00:04:11.610 --> 00:04:13.870 busy managing his public relations. Oh this part 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:17.050 is brilliant. The Ottoman and German forces used 00:04:17.050 --> 00:04:19.750 those three weeks brilliantly. They transformed 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:23.689 Gaza into a 10 to 12 mile entrenched defensive 00:04:23.689 --> 00:04:26.350 line. But they didn't just dig a single long 00:04:26.350 --> 00:04:29.029 ditch. They implemented what is known as defense 00:04:29.029 --> 00:04:31.870 by areas. Break that down for us. What does defense 00:04:31.870 --> 00:04:34.569 by areas actually look like? Think of it like 00:04:34.569 --> 00:04:37.370 a modern home security system. Instead of just 00:04:37.370 --> 00:04:39.829 building one big wall around your house, you 00:04:39.829 --> 00:04:42.269 set up motion sensors and cameras covering every 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:45.149 possible angle. The Ottoman forces built mutually 00:04:45.149 --> 00:04:47.470 supporting strongholds. Redoubts, they called 00:04:47.470 --> 00:04:50.500 them. Yes. doubts. If the British attacked one 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:53.040 stronghold, they were suddenly taking fire from 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.879 two other strongholds perfectly positioned to 00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:58.519 shoot them from the sides. It meant any frontal 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:00.399 assault was going to be an absolute nightmare. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:02.399 And knowing they're walking into that nightmare, 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:04.579 the sheer scale of what the British were doing 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:07.660 to prepare is just mind -blowing. They extended 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:10.240 a massive railway through the desert just to 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.720 get supplies for it. The logistics are staggering. 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:15.259 They literally built massive reservoirs holding 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:19.060 76 ,000 gallons of water in the Wadi Ghazi. Just 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:21.319 surviving the environment was an industrial effort. 00:05:21.449 --> 00:05:24.149 Right. They're laying train tracks and stringing 00:05:24.149 --> 00:05:27.050 telegraph wire under a scorching Middle Eastern 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:29.310 sun. But it wasn't just men sweating in the sand. 00:05:29.670 --> 00:05:31.769 There is this incredible account from an officer 00:05:31.769 --> 00:05:35.089 named Joseph W. McPherson. He was mapping trenches 00:05:35.089 --> 00:05:38.230 on his belly, getting sniped at, and he describes 00:05:38.230 --> 00:05:40.509 rolling over and watching British and German 00:05:40.509 --> 00:05:44.170 planes engaged in a vicious dogfight in this 00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:47.750 serene blue sky. Wow. He's watching this silent 00:05:47.750 --> 00:05:50.779 aerial ballet. while simultaneously dodging hot 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:53.680 shrapnel from friendly anti -aircraft fire falling 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:56.939 on his own camp. That visceral reality of the 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.620 front line is so important. You have Dr. Doogied 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.699 at the L. Irish Hospital recording how terrifyingly 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:04.540 bright the moonlight was. Because bright moonlight 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:07.360 meant air raids. Exactly. The troops were frantically 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.560 digging the funk holes by the bright moonlight. 00:06:09.779 --> 00:06:12.420 Funk holes are just hasty, shallow graves you 00:06:12.420 --> 00:06:14.779 dig to hide in. There was this incredibly tense 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:16.819 atmosphere where absolutely nowhere was safe. 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:18.699 Here's where it gets really interesting, though. 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.899 General Murray knows he lied. So he brings in 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:23.680 the experimental technology. For the first time 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.160 in the Palestine campaign, the British deploy 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:29.519 four thousand rounds of poison gas shells. A 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.060 total gamble. And more bizarrely, they bring 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:36.100 in eight Mark 1 heavy tanks. This is the only 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:38.100 theater outside France where tanks were used. 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:40.319 The British commanders were entirely convinced 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:42.199 these tanks would frighten the Ottoman defenders 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.120 out of their lives. They were banking on psychological 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.000 shock. And these tanks sound completely absurd. 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:51.439 Let's look at one named War Baby. It's this massive 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.519 metal rhombus. And inside, you've got gunners 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:57.459 who are literally sitting on bicycle seats while 00:06:57.459 --> 00:06:59.860 they fire. It sounds like a steampunk nightmare. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.800 Can you imagine the noise and heat? Suffocating. 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.560 But the tanks actually worked okay in the sand, 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:07.660 mechanically speaking, as long as the treads 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:09.699 weren't greased. Oh, right. The grease turned 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:12.680 the sand into grinding paste. Yes. But the real 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:15.639 failure was tactical. There were too few of them, 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:18.540 deployed too far apart. Instead of providing 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:21.860 cover, these slow tanks just became massive targets 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:24.399 for the well -concealed Ottoman artillery. They 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.740 just became bullseyes. Which brings us to the 00:07:26.740 --> 00:07:29.519 actual frontal assault. from April 17th to the 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.259 19th. General Charles Dobell wanted to do a flanking 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:34.740 maneuver, but because of a lack of water, he 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:37.060 had to opt for a massive frontal assault in two 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:39.860 stages. The sunk cost fallacy at work. They were 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:41.660 too invested with the railways and the water 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:44.399 to change course. So stage one kicks off on April 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:48.160 17th. The 52nd and 54th divisions push forward 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.639 to capture the Sheikh Abbas and Mansour ridges. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.620 It goes relatively well, but right away, one 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:55.480 tank is immediately taken out by three shells. 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:58.100 exposing the vulnerability of their wonder weapon. 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:01.740 Exactly. Then we get to April 19th, Stage 2, 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.040 the main attack. And the scale of the bombardment 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.540 is staggering. 170 British guns open fire. Off 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:09.560 the coast, a French ship called the Requin is 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:12.100 firing naval guns at the Ottoman positions while 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:14.560 simultaneously dodging a torpedo from a German 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.180 submarine. It is absolute chaos, but if we connect 00:08:17.180 --> 00:08:18.620 this to the bigger picture, you have to look 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:21.899 at the math. Okay. Yes, 170 guns sounds massive. 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.339 But they were attacking across a front that was 00:08:24.339 --> 00:08:27.139 15 ,000 yards wide. That is simply spread way 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:29.000 too thin to break the Ottoman area defenses. 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:31.920 And the gas shells. They fired 4 ,000 rounds 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.039 into the woodlands. It had almost no effect. 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:36.659 The wind dispersed it too quickly. The defenses 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:39.580 were largely intact. The details from the infantry 00:08:39.580 --> 00:08:42.279 struggles on the ground are heartbreaking. The 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.139 53rd Welsh Division, still traumatized from the 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.539 first battle, struggles to take Samson Ridge. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.919 By the time they do, so many officers are down 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:53.559 that a second lieutenant takes command. The command 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.700 structure just dissolves. And the 54th Division's 00:08:56.700 --> 00:08:59.480 10th London Regiment gets completely isolated. 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:01.600 There's this heroic moment where a signalman 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.700 realizes he has to cut the enemy's telegraph 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:06.580 lines. Under heavy fire, he climbs a telegraph 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:09.259 pole, cuts the wire, climbs down, runs to another 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:12.360 pole, and cuts that one too. That is unbelievable 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:14.779 bravery. He tries for a third pole and is killed 00:09:14.779 --> 00:09:17.370 by an artillery shell. Just a tragedy. While 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:19.690 the infantry is decimated, the mounted divisions, 00:09:19.950 --> 00:09:22.470 the ANZAC and Imperial troops are fighting dismounted 00:09:22.470 --> 00:09:24.690 on the right flank. Right, leaving guys behind 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:27.649 to hold the horses. A scout reports facing over 00:09:27.649 --> 00:09:31.769 250 Ottoman big guns. They get pinned down by 00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:33.789 relentless machine gun fire from a place they 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:36.610 called Sausage Ridge. The New Zealanders and 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:39.389 light horsemen are facing horrific, inflating 00:09:39.389 --> 00:09:42.149 fire and constant counterattacks. So what does 00:09:42.149 --> 00:09:44.190 this all mean? We get to the end of the day. 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:46.960 Darkness falls, and the offensive is officially 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.679 called off. The toll is devastating. Over 6 ,400 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:53.659 official British casualties, with unofficial 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.940 estimates ranging from 14 ,000 to 17 ,000. And 00:09:56.940 --> 00:09:58.840 three of those tanks were captured by the Ottomans. 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.200 Exactly. Meanwhile, the Ottoman defenders suffer 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:04.919 roughly 2 ,000 casualties. It was a decisive 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:06.960 victory for the defenders, and the consequences 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:09.399 are massive. It massively boosts the morale of 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:11.740 the Ottoman 4th Army, and General Murray and 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:13.879 General Dobell are finally relieved of their 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:15.899 commands and sent back to England. The toxic 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:18.279 culture catches up to them. It does. And the 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:21.220 lesson for you, the listener, is profound. This 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:23.860 is a textbook example of confirmation bias and 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:26.399 the sump cost fallacy. They relied on wonder 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.259 weapons and ignored the reality of superior def 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:32.120 - defensive positioning. Murray's inability to 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:35.039 communicate failure upward created a strategic 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:38.860 trap that cost thousands of lives. It is deeply 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:42.179 sobering. To summarize our deep dock today, the 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:44.679 Second Battle of Gaza was a tragic collision 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:47.940 of ancient geography, experimental modern warfare, 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:50.990 and catastrophic leadership communication. This 00:10:50.990 --> 00:10:53.250 raises an important question, though. Consider 00:10:53.250 --> 00:10:55.889 the butterfly effect of General Murray's initial 00:10:55.889 --> 00:10:58.309 lie. Oh, I like where this is going. If he had 00:10:58.309 --> 00:11:00.889 honestly reported the first battle as a disorganized 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:03.710 failure, the war cabinet might never have ordered 00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:06.009 this disastrous frontal assault. Right. They 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:07.909 wouldn't have pushed for Jerusalem yet. Exactly. 00:11:08.509 --> 00:11:10.409 How much of the subsequent history of the Middle 00:11:10.409 --> 00:11:12.590 East and the borders drawn in the aftermath of 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:15.029 World War One was fundamentally altered simply 00:11:15.029 --> 00:11:17.590 because one middle manager in a military uniform 00:11:17.590 --> 00:11:19.809 was too afraid to tell his bosses the truth.