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
During the night of November 6-7 General Palin's 75th Division, as
a preliminary to a major operation timed for the following morning,
attacked and gained the enemy's trenches on Outpost Hill and the
whole of Middlesex Hill to the north of it, the opposition being less
serious than was anticipated. At daylight the 75th Division pushed on
over the other hills towards Ali Muntar and gained that dominating
position before eight o'clock. The fighting had not been severe,
and it was soon realised that the enemy had left Gaza, abandoning a
stronghold which had been prepared for defence with all the ingenuity
German masters of war could suggest and into which had been worked an
enormous amount of material. It was obvious from the complete success
of XXth Corps' operations against the Turkish left, which had been
worked out absolutely 'according to plan,' that General Allenby had so
thoroughly mystified von Kressenstein that the latter had put all
his reserves into the wrong spot, and that the 53rd Division's stout
resistance against superior numbers had pinned them down to the wrong
end of the line. There was nothing, therefore, for the Turk to do but
to try to hold another position, and he was straining every nerve to
reach it. The East Anglian Division went up west of Gaza and held from
Sheikh Redwan to the sea by seven o'clock, two squadrons of the Corps'
cavalry rode along the seashore and had patrols on the wadi Hesi a
little earlier than that, and the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade,
composed of troops raised and maintained by patriotic Indian princes,
passed through Gaza at nine o'clock and went out towards Beit Hanun.
To the Lowland Division was given the important task of getting to the
right or northern bank of the wadi Hesi. These imperturbable Scots
left their trenches in the morning delighted at the prospect of once
more engaging in open warfare. They marched along the beach under
cover of the low sand cliffs, and by dusk had crossed the mouth of
the wadi and held some of the high ground to the north in face of
determined opposition. The 157th Brigade, after a march through very
heavy going, got to the wadi at five in the afternoon and saw the
enemy posted on the opposite bank. The place was reconnoitred and the
brigade made a fine bayonet charge in the dark, securing the position
between ten and eleven o'clock. On this and succeeding days the
division had to fight very hard indeed, and they often met the enemy
with the bayonet. One of their officers told me the Scot was twice
as good as the Turk in ordinary fighting, but with the bayonet his
advantage was as five to one. The record of the Division throughout
the campaign showed this was no too generous an estimate of their
powers. After securing Ali Muntar the 75th Division advanced over
Fryer's Hill to Australia Hill, so that they held the whole ridge
running north and south to the eastward of Gaza. The enemy still held
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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