The first "raid" on Amman was mounted between 22 and 30 March 1918 by the British 60th Infantry Division, the ANZAC Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Brigade with the intention of inflicting casualties on Turkish forces and severing railway communications with Damascus. The force crossed the Jordan River on 22 March and, despite difficult conditions, the village of Es Salt was occupied by the evening of the 25 March. The attack on Amman itself commenced on the morning of 27 March with the 2nd Light Horse Brigade, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the cameleers providing the attacking force. Fierce fighting continued for two days. The force effected serious damage on the railway but Turkish resistance was so strong that British forces withdrew on 30 March. All elements of the raiding force had recrossed the Jordan by 2 April.