Beersheba was defended by the III Corps; it was commanded by the recently arrived Ismet (or Esmet) Bey, who had his headquarters in the town. The III Corps had defended Gallipoli in 1915. "Ottoman Army could still hold its own against the British Army ... [and showed a high level of operational and tactical mobility" during the battles for the Gaza to Beersheba line. This corps consisted of the 67th and 81st Regiments (27th Division), a total of 2,408 rifles (of whom 76 percent were Arab), the 6th and the 8th Regiments of Lancers (3rd Cavalry Division), the 48th Regiment (16th Division) and the 2nd Regiment (24th Divisions). The 143rd Regiment of the Ottoman XX Corps was about north-north-west of Beersheba in the Judean Hills, but took "no part in the action". A total of 4,400 rifles, 60 machine guns and 28 field guns in these lancer and infantry regiments were available for the defence of Beersheba.