At 4.30 on the morning of the 19th September, there suddenly opened an intensive bombardment of the enemy's coastal positions, carried out by all the artillery, trench-mortars and machine-guns that could be concentrated in this small sector, the navy also co-operating. After ten minutes' bombardment, the infantry moved forward and assaulted the enemy's front line positions, which were carried with but little opposition. Thereafter the barrage lifted and crept, being supplemented in places by smoke barrages dropped from aeroplanes. The infantry pushed forward and captured the enemy's second and third lines and strong points in rear. Shortly before seven o'clock, the 60th Division had broken right through the enemy defences by the sea, and had reached, and established a bridge-head at the Wadi Nahr el Falyk, a mile or so behind the enemy line. Engineers and pioneers got to work at once, and in a very short space of time had made roads and bridges through the enemy trench system, and over the Nahr el Falyk, by which cavalry and guns could be pushed forward. At 7.30, the cavalry passed through on their dash for the tactical points behind the enemy's lines. Meanwhile, all along the line our infantry had taken their first objectives with little opposition, the enemy having been taken completely by surprise. The whole line advanced to a maximum depth of 5 miles, and then swung to the right, pivoting on Rafat. Such opposition as was encountered was met with at the strong points well behind the front line, where the enemy had had the time and opportunity to man his defences. For example, both at El Tireh and at Kalkilieh, stubborn resistance was encountered. Thus the line swung right-handed into the hills, crumpling up the whole enemy line west of Rafat. The 60th Division, after their break through, marched for the greater part of the day, and, by 5.30 in the afternoon, had reached Tul Keram. Our line, that evening, ran approximately south and north from Rafat to Tul Keram. The cavalry passing through the gaps broken at the sea and close to Tabsor, pushed rapidly northward along the Coastal Plain. Some of them made for Tul Keram, and, passing thence up the Valley towards Nablus, had already reached Anebta before dark, cutting off large bodies of the retreating enemy with guns and transport between Tul Keram and the railway junction at Messudieh. Another strong cavalry force moved farther north. They passed through the mountains east of Mount Carmel that night, by the Musmus Pass (Megiddo), and, early on the following morning, the 20th, they charged the enemy holding the northern exit of the Pass and debouched on to the Plain of Esdraelon (Armageddon). These seized the railway junction at El Afule. Some pushed on eastwards towards the Jordan and captured Beisan (Bethshan), some northwards and captured Nazareth, while some, turning southwards, took Jenin in reverse. By nightfall on the 20th all these tactical points were in our possession.