VICTORY COMPLETE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 310, 25 September 1918, Page 5

VICTORY COMPLETE

TWO : TURKISH ARMIES ' /CEASE TO EXIST BRILLIANT CULMINATION OF PALESTINE OFFENSIVE GREAT ADVANCE IN SERBIANS COVER 50 MILES There is great news to-day. In Palestine Alleuby's brilliantlyconceived and ably executed offensive manoeuvres havo resulted in the extinction of .two entire Turkish armies as organised fighting units. Tho final exits on the Jordan front were successfully barred to the retreating enemy, and complete victory followed. The loss to Turkey in war material alone is very serious, and will cripple her military efforts. In the Balkans tho Allies' successes, to quote from a late cablegram, , are attaining the character of a great victory. The' Franco-Serbian advance towards the Middle Vardar has compelled tho enemy along.his whole front of over ninety miles between Mouas- • tir and Doiran to rotreat precipitately, with the Allies in close pursuit. Tho advance continues along the whole front of the 'attack. .On the West the operations have been confined t.o air raid and local aotions along the line. >. ■TWO TURKISH ARMIES CEASE TO EXIST ALLENBY'S VICTORY COMPLETE 25,000 PRISONERS AND 260 GUNS By Mograph-Preis AeswJstlon-Copyrljht. .'■■'. ' . : London, September-23 An official communique from Palestine states :-"Thrnugh our_ having . 'seized the passages of the Jordan at ed-DLamie on Sunday morning the enemy's last avenue of escape from West oif the- river was closed, and the 7th and Bth'Turkish Armies have now virtually ceased to exist. _ J heir en-, 'tire transport has been captured. By 8 p.m. yesterday 25,000 prisoners ami 260 guns had been counted, and'many prisoners and'much material has not yet been enumerated."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE VICTORIES IN THE WAR V. ■ ~~ ". London, September 23 Mr. W. T. Massey, "writing to th 0 "Times" from Palestine Headquarters on Sunday says:—"There is still a great deal of clearing up to do, but the first battle is practically over. General ■ Allenby has secured one of the most complete victories in the war. A.few unimportant sections■ may have Hot away in driblets, but the Turkish armies havp erased to exist as armies. They have bectt killed or captured, and have lost almost their entire war material of every description. If a new army is to be created for Palestine and-Syria, the Turks must provide not only men, but the mecli.inism ot" war. Nearly all their £ims on this front-, and transport, rolling stock, and engin..eers' stores.,havo.fallen into our. hands. Tho infantry.alone have taken 270 guns. Thc.cavalry wafi too busy securing prisoners to count and send reports of their gun. captures. lhave been over a large portion of tho battlefield, hundreds of square miles in extent, and have seen the debris of the routed army, and realise that it must be some time before a full statement of the enemy's losses is possible. This much is certain: old strategy, hacked by the victorious action of the enthusiastic and determined troops, obtained a victory for the Allies from which the Turks cannot hope to recover."— lAus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ' . ' . . ■ ■ . STORY OF THE OPERATIONS • : : MR. W. T; MASSEY'S DESPATCHES ' London, September 23. Mr. W. T. Massey writes t'rom.Palestine Headquarters: "To-day's news is as good as preceding days. In the Jordan Valley we made important ■ground._ A few of tho enemy had' come down from Nablus and got across the ed-Damie ferry. _ The New Zealauderss, at eight o'clock, got across the track and stopped this exit. They rounded up eight hundred.prisoners, including ■ the Staff commander of the Turkish Fifty-third division; Apparently it is badluck to command this, division, for in the first battle-of Gaza the Australians caught the commander in a carriage. At orn o'clock to-day tho New Zealanders crossed the Jordan and secured the Damie bridgehead. East of/ Jericho the infantry had rolled up tho oneniy from the west had little' to do to-day beyond taking the surrender of isolated parties; but they increased their captures of guns. The Irish, Welsh, and Indian infantry operating, about tho'Nabliis road, got well to the north and east 08 Nablus, add- . ing the discomfiture of the retreating enemy. The Irish covered twentyone miles, fighting over mountains, in thirty-six hours. Thu cavalry approached Kefr Kehna and Seffurieh, north of Nazareth, yesterday. To-day the Yeomanry and Indian cavalry beat off an attack on the Tubariyeh-Acro road, north of Nazareth, from the direction of Haifa. : Extraordinary Suooessss. . "The British and Australian airmen aro carrying, on as usual. They chose a new field to-day. The detached motor and other transport was trying to oscapo by the Shible-Beisan road, and they dropped-.four tons "of bombs, inflicting severe damage on men and material. 'In my wanderings I have ( Been tho extraordinary success achieved by the airmen in these operations. '.On tho Tul JOnm-tfablus road the pilots flew at a- very low altitude, and < ( "o»ped _ bombs where it was impossible to miss. The. road for miles is choked with smashed lorries, wheeled transport, and dead men and'horses. Having broken up the transport columns, ar.,d made it difficult for tho men ,to move, the airmen returned and used their machine-guns on tho troops who were endeavouring to hide. What was accomplished in this neighbourhood was repeated ob tfto Damie road and elsewhere. The airmen's total of casualties inflicted on the enemy must reaol' a. high figure. All the prisoners speak of the dread sound of tho iiircralt. 1 ' : "One of the features of this bftttlu has been the magnificent dash of ■tho Indian troops. ' The veteran soldiers of India wore expected to do well; and they have lived up to their high reputation. The yonnc; battalions who i'oplaced the white troops sent fof.wviep on the Western front were an urnknown quantity; but these young Indian battalions came through tho ordeal • magnificently. They fought like seasoned warriors, and cheerfully answered any call. Divisional • commanders tell me thev are delighted with" the valour of the Indians under all conditions. Forty-seven, hours df continuous fmhtiug and mmrhin'T tested them to the utmost, but they behaved superbly, t'leir only fault, being too great eagerness to push on. ' In Thursday's tr'emondous attack against the coastal defences the officers had to restrain, the men from rushing into our artillery barrage. A Croat Forced March. "These troops took the placo of some Londoners who were sent to France, and were tremendously keen to preserve the record of the division, oE Indians with the Londoners, who wore- the first in Jerusalem, and first over tho .Jordan, and wanted to bo tho first through tho coastal defences. They succoeded, went on., and secured the crossings of the AVadi Falik for the cavalry. Then they 'advanced to the north-east of Tul Keram, covering the astonishing distance of twenty-two miles in thirteen and a half hours, including, trench fighting and actions in the open. This wonderful performance Is an example of what the young Indian battalions are capable of.. Thoy aro all of practically the same quality, l< or their skill in hill fighting it would be hard to find a parallel. There was a stern struggle for tho Diet Lid Hill, five thousand yards from Nablus, on Friday. When it was captured it was ■ 'decided to tako the station, which was commanded on tho south by a high, steep hill. The Sixth Battalion cropt up the irregular.slopes in the moonlight, and caught the garrison entirely unprepared. They rushed ilio fsuriprised German machine-gunners, anid there was , not a single casualty among tho Sikhs. The Indians, marching over the hilly country, had to leave all their artillery except mountain guns behind;"'—Aim.-N.K, Cable 'Aesn. , MORE ABOUT THE CAPTURES (Rec. September 24, 10.15 p.m.) London, September 23. - The Turkish roads of escape are blocked at* Nazareth, Beisan. and Me•gazc'j while the Nablus road is cut at F<l Daze. The Turkish force westward is therefore boxed in. Thero are still some to be taken prisoner, but they havo ceased to exist as a fighting force. All the transport, guns, and rolling stock was captured. The original estimate, of eighteen thousand Turks westward of the Jordan referred to bayonet strength, and excluded artillery, machine-gunis, and other units. The total ration strength is eixty thousand, and the combatant strength thirty-five thousand. 'J he Turkish force westward of tho Jordan, consisting of rifle strength between w'x thousand and eight thousand, and ration strength thirty thousand, and situated, on the lino of tho Hejaz Tail w> havo not yot been dealt with.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

ROYAL CONGRATULATIONS (Rec. September.24, 11 p.m.) London, September 23. The Press Bureau states:—Tho King las telegraphed to General Allcnby :— x "With pride and admiration we have received the news of your ablyconceived and brilliantly curried out operations, in which tho British, Indian, and Allied forces under your co mraand, with the support of tho Royal • Navy, gained a complete victory. lam confident that this will rank as one of the great exploits in tho history o! the British Empire, and ever stand as a memorable testimony to B i-itish leadership and the fighting qualities of the British iind Indian tro<sps."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. IRRESISTIBLE ADVANCE IN THE BALKANS SERBIAN ADVANCE NOW 50 MILES DEEP BULGARIAN FIRST ARMY IN JEOPARDY London, September 23 A Serbian official communique dated September 22, states:—"We have liberated fifteen villages, and arc forcing tho German and Bulgar reinforcements to retreat. We have crossed to the left bank of the Vardar, and cut the main railway lino between Ilskub und Salonika. Wo also crossed the Cerna, and cut'tho railway line between Gradsko and Prilep, which is the German army's main line of communication. We have advanced thirty-four miles between September 15 and 21. Certain infantry units, which have reached the highest points in a very mountainous region, advanced twenty-five miles in one day. The booty and prisoners are constantly in-creasing."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Beuter. IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS EXPECTED. (Rec. September 24, 10.15 p.m.) London, September 23. The Serbian push is moro rapid than was expected. The enemy's only road of rotreat is up the Kosturino-Stniinnitzn- road, which is being heavily bombed. We are gathering a lot of booty, but have not yet had time 'to count it. Important developments ate expected.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. BRITISH OFFICIAL REPORT. (Rec. September 24, 9.43 p.m.) London, September 23. A British official report from Salonika states:—"As the result of the 'Anglo-Greek attacks and , continual heavy pressure- in conjunction with the I'ranco-Scrbian advance further west, tho enemy lias evacuated the whole lino from Doiran to westward of the Vardnr. He sot on lire Cestovo, Htidova' station., and the Tike-Tatnrli dumps. Our airmen are heavily bombing ami machine-gunning his troops.and transport which aro crowding along the road northwards. We are advancing, and havo reached a lino from Kara to Ogulai , mid Hamznli. About a mile to the southward of Bogdance, westward of the Vardar, wo are advancing_on Orzenci, and aro in touch with the Greeks at Gurincot."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. . ITALIAN OFFENSIVE DEVELOPS INTO A PURSUIT London, September 23 An Italian communique from Mecedonia dated Saturday night states:—"We continued to pursue the enemy after an advance of eight miles, and the capture of sixteen villages. Our left witg and centre reached by dawn tho line of Cairli, Dobrusovo, Mtisa, and Oba. On our right we carried a strong position on Mount Uobosti. Numerous prisoners were captured."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reutcr. BULGARS EVACUATE DOIRAN-VARDAR LINE New York, September 23. The Bujgars have evacuated the whole of the Doiran-Yardar line.—Aus.N.Z. Cablo Assn. BULGARIAN EIRST ARMY ISOLATED (Rec. 'September 2-J, 11 p.m.) Paris, September 23. Tho "Petit Journal" states that tho Bulgarian First Army in the Monastir-Philop region is isolated.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. BULGARIA INTERESTED IN PEACE ISSUE AIMS IN LINE WITH PRESIDENT WILSON'S! (Rec. September 24, 11 p.m.) Sofia, September 24. Bulgaria acknowledges the Austrian Peace. Note iriih the liveliest satisfaction, and alleges that her aims do not conflict with President Wilson's views regarding the settlement of tho Balkan conflicts in conformity with the law of nationalities.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. SERBIAN ADVANCE NOW COVERS 50 MILES (Rec. September 24, 11 p.m.) • . . London, September 23. Hie Serbians on Saturday and bitaday advanced nearly twenty miles, their total advance since the offensive began being nearly fifty mile's. The number of prisoners captured is now between nine and ten thousand, lrhilo over 120 guns have been captured. A division of cavalry reached tho Vardar between Krivolak and the Iron Gate. The infantry followed closely, and crossed the river. The cavalry captured Vozartsi and Kavadar, cutting the road communications between. Prilep and Krivolak. The Serbians during the week-end captured over twenty , villages. The retreating Bulbars shamefully treated the Serbian population, and hare transported the leading inhabitants to Asia Minor. As the direct consequence of the Serbian victory and tho Allies' pressure elsewhere, one-third of Serbian territory has been'liberated,' the whole of the Germano-Bulga r forces being compelled to retreat from Monastir to the Vardar. It is anticipated that the enemy will take up the Babuna-Vardar-Krivolak line.—Aus.-N .Z., Cablo Assn.