ALLENBY'S MARCH THROUGH PALESTINE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 1, 26 September 1918, Page 5

ALLENBY'S MARCH THROUGH PALESTINE

CAPTURE OF HAIFA AND ACRE i ■ FULL IMPORT OF TURKISH DISASTER REVIEWED ' ' • ' . London, September 24. An official mesage from Palestine states: "East of "the Jordan the enemy ie withdrawing to Amman, on the Hejaz railway. The Australian, Now Zealand, West Indian, and Jewish troops are pursuing him, and havo reached Es Salt, capturing guns and prisoners. Our cavalry in the north occupied Haifa and Acre, after a slight opposition. The prisoners are increasing, and t! 3 total now largely exceeds twenty-five'thousand. King Hussein's Arabs have occupied ,-Maan, and are bodies of the enemy Tetreating along the railway to Amman."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. • ■ , HOW HAIFA WAS CAPTURED ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION TO THE BRITISH. (Rec. September 25, 11.20 p.m.) Reuter's correspondent at Palestine Headquarters, writing on Tuesday, , states: "A few hundred Turks who'had been left behind at Haifa resisted our advance. The configuration of the ground, with a- marsh on one side of the road and the slopes of Mount Carmel on the other, prevented our troops deploying in extensive lino and sweeping up the Turks, who thus were able to concentrate their fire on a narrow front. Our men gradually worked their way forward to drive out the Turks, but the positions, however, held out till the last. The population gave the men a most enthusiastic reception, even tho German colonists, participating in-the welcome. These Germans ■ were mostly quiet emigrants from Wurtemburg, who oame to' Palestine on conscientious grounds. They complain bitterly of the Turkish exactions. There was some looting by the natives before the entry of the British, tho Turkish commander having told the inhabitantsto help themselves to the Government. (Stores, as there was no time to destroy them. However, everything is now orderly, andthe administration, was taken-over without the slightest hitch. The disposal of thousands of prisoners is a real problem. It is a pathetic sight to see the unending succession of convoys, more than two thousand strong, in, oharge of a few guards, wearily footing it along the dry and dusty roads towards tho railhead. The men look weak and exhausted. Many fall out and'are picked up by the lorries."—Reuter. HAIFA AN IMPORTANT CAPTURE . (Rec. September 25, 10.10 p.m.) . Lon'don, September 24. The British capture of Haifa is regarded as important, providing a useful harbour with a -railway in the direction of Lake Tiberias. The Turks eastward of-the Jordan are falling back towards Amman along tho Hejaz railway. Their situation is critical owing to the communications being broken at Derat and the fact that the Arabs occupy Maan.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable THE ENEMY'S NEXT MOVE (Rec. September 25, 10.10 p.m.)' .';i.' ■ ' London 5 September 24. General Maurice, in the "Daily Chronicle," expresses the opinion that General Liman yon Sanders is seeking to cover Damascus by making a stand on the north side of the Yarmuk'Valley, between, the mountain of Druses and' Lake Tiberias. ! As an interim measure ho will 'try. to block the Yarmuk gorge, south-west of the lake, long enough to ensure tho escape of part of the Turkish Fourth Army.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ; THE TURKISH "REPORT" ' London, September 24. A Turkish comimuiiciue states: "Very skilful rearguard fights are facilitating the accomplishment of our plans on both sides of the Jordan."—Aus - N.Z. Cable Assn. . " '.. \ ■ . ALLENBY'S TRIUMPH EPITOMISED \ '.•.'■ : ■' ■ • ■ ■ MORE COMPLETE VICTORY IN THE HISTORY OF WAR," London, September 24. Mr. W. T. Massey writes from Nablus on Monday: "In conversation with ■me to-day a 'general with experience in many wars said: 'There is no more complete victory in the history of war than General AHenby's annihilation of two Turkish armies west of the Jordan.' This in one sentenqe describes in epitome and with absolute truth the operations of the last five days of this magnificent Imperial army , in Palostine. The Turkish Seventh and Eighth Armies have been practically wiped out. The very small number who succeeded in getting.across the Jordan in isolated batches are a mere fragment of tho force which was opposed to us on the morning of September 19. They aro almost entirely without war material, and it is doubtful whether one gun, lorry, or anything on wheels got away. A few batches in the hills are holding out in inaccessible spots, and it may be a day or two before they are all rounded up, but victory, final, complete, and probably unparalleled, has crowned tho efforts of General- Allonby's army. Haifa, Acre, and Es Salt. \ "To-day the cavalry captured the important port of Haifa, historical Acre, and Es Salt. The results will hare a far-reaching effect. Our Arab allies have captured Maan, andthero are indications of. tho onemy leaving strong positions east of the Jordan, particularly about Es Salt and Amman. It is clear the Turks are willing to sacrifioe the troops in Hejaz and leaye the Turkish army in Yemen to its own devices. What effect 'this swift and staggering knock-out blow will have on them may, he imagined. At present it is known that our prisoners greatly exceed twenty-five thousand,, and it, is' certain that this number will to exceeded, for in my movements ever this wide _ battlefield since our forward rush started I have always heard larger estimates than the official claims. In fact, there aro groups of men sitting under white flags, awaiting acceptance of their surrender. Moro than 260 guns are located in our lines, and possibly more will be found. Artillery ammunition in vast quantities is everywhere; some depots are acres in oxtent.- , Turks in a Dcsporato Position. . ' "As the Turks only manufacture small arm ammunition, if they trv to raise, new armies to tiako tho places of those destroyed they must call on Germany _for every gun, transport, and instrument of war required. Assuredly our victory has put the Turks in a desperate position.' To-day,l sinv one of the most remarkable sights which a soldier ever gazed, upon. v No veteran with long experience of war in many fields I have spoken, to has .seen the like. From Balata, where the road from Nablus falls through tho oraggy hills and narrow passes to the Wadi Fnrah, there is a stretch moro than six miles long covered with debris of tho retreating army. In no section of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow could there have been a more terrible picture of hopeless and irretrievable defeat. In this area alone there were eighty-seven guns of various calibres, fully a - thousand horse and ox-drawn vehicles, nearly a hundred motor lorries and cars, field-kit-chens, and wator-carts. A maes of other impedimenta, blocks the road, with the carcasses of thousands of animals and the bodies of dead Turks and Germans. This was the work of the Irish, Welsh, and Indian infantry, with the artillery pressure behind and tho energy of the indomitable British iiid Australian airmen in front. The infantry had forced tho enemy over tho hills into the road just as their guns began to shell the retiring transport, • and the airmen swooped down to 200 ft. and bombed tho head of the column. Tho work was done with surprising thoroughness. One flight after another took up the work until the whole column was one ,vast, broken mass. The enemy troops, seeing that escape with vehicles was impossible, fled to tho hills! Some endeavoured to find an nut let up tho Ik'isaii road, and rail into the hands of tho cavalry waiting for them. (Others.accepted tho inevitable and,sought refuge in our lines. For effectiveness and systematic bombing it would bo difficult to find a parallel for this destroyed column. How tho Debacle Developed. "The operations, working np to this debacle were ' magnificently continued. Tho , Irish and Indian troops played a' great part. In thirty-six hours they inarched twenty-one- miles as the crow flics, over a continuous succession of mountains and deep, rocky valloys, lighting incessantly against tho eneiuv, who strove with much, oonspicuous gallantry to delay the advance. The whole nature pf tho country was in the enomy's favour, but the Irish and Indians brooHed no opposition, and fought with superb courage. Just before the Balata road was in sight the Turks tried hard to compel the Irish to halt. Where- the Nablus road passes Huwarah, about five miles south of Nablus, there is a wide flat surrounded by hills. The Turks held the summits with numerous machine-guns, and it was obvious that it would take all day to drive them out by a prepared attack. The Irish and Indians, therefore, extended widely and advanced across the east of tho t plain. ,When the Turks saw that tho infantry meant to get on then , flanks they started to retire, mid they) too, came into the plain. The Yeomanry swung out behind this hill, and made a brilliant charge, sabring many Turks. Then, wheeling to tho loft, they got tho village, and more prisoners and material. To-day tho airmen have been busy in the Es Salt-Amman area, bombing the enemy on tho move, and also attacked tho_ station at Mafrak and tho station and aerodrome at Dera. 1 Their direct hits included one on a hangar."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo A6sn. . TURKISH GRAND VIZIER APPEALS FOR FORTITUDE . ' (Rec. September 25, 8.40 p.m.) Amsterdam, September 24. The Turkish Grand Vizier (Talaat Pasha), addressing the Turco-Gcr-man League at Constantinople, declared that all the rulers and peoples of the Central Powers, including "that aug n<d friend of humanity and civilisation tho Kaiser," wanted peace. He claimed that the Central Powers were fighting for the small nations and the world's liberty, and appealed for fortitude in the face of the temporary military failures.—Reuter.