How Jerusalem Was Won: Being the Record of Allenby's Campaign in PalestineMassey, W. T. (William Thomas)
History
How Jerusalem Was Won: Being the Record of Allenby's Campaign in Palestine
Massey, W. T. (William Thomas)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Palestine
Now as to the advance of the 180th Infantry Brigade. Their principal
objective was the Deir Yesin position, the hill next on the northern
side of Subr, from which it was separated by a deep though narrow
valley. The trenches cut on both sides of this gorge supported Subr
as well as Deir Yesin, and the Subr defences were also arranged to be
helpful to the Deir Yesin garrison by taking attackers in flank. The
180th Brigade's advance was a direct frontal attack on the hill, the
jumping-off place being a narrow width of flat ground thickly planted
with olive trees on the banks of the wadi Surar. The 2/19th Londons,
the right battalion of the 180th Brigade, had not got far when it
became the target of concentrated machine-gun fire and was unable to
move, with the result that a considerable gap existed between it and
the 179th Brigade. The stoppage was only temporary, for, with the
advance of the centre and right, the 19th battalion pushed forward in
series of rushes and, with the other battalions, carried the crest of
Deir Yesin at the point of the bayonet, so that the whole system of
entrenchments was in their hands by seven o'clock. The brigade at once
set about reorganising for the attack on the second objective, which,
as will be remembered, was a wheel to the left and, passing well on
the outside of the western suburbs of Jerusalem, an advance to the
rocky ground to the north-west of the city down to the wadi Beit
Hannina. The commander of the 2/18th Londons in his preparations
had pushed out a platoon in advance of his left, and these men at
half-past nine saw 200 of the enemy with pack mules retiring down a
wadi north-east of Kulonieh. The platoon held its fire until the Turks
were within close range, and then engaged them with rifles and machine
guns, completely surprising them and taking prisoners the whole of the
survivors, 5 officers and 50 men. The Turks now began to develop a
serious opposition to the 180th Brigade from a quarry behind Deir
Yesin and from a group of houses forming part of what is known as the
Syrian colony, nearly a mile from the Deir Yesin system. There were
some Germans and a number of machine guns in these houses, and by noon
they held up the advance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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