HOW BEERSHEBA FELL.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 November 1917, Page 4

HOW BEERSHEBA FELL.

DASHING ANZACS

CAVALRY CHARGE MADE WITH BAYONETS.

A reporl by Reuter’s correspondent at Headquarters in Palestine upon the operation which ended in the capture of Beersheba was cabled to the New Zealand papers, last week. A much fuller account of ■ the same dashing exploit appeared in the Australian press as under: | The veil which has obscured the | happenings on the Palestine front for some time past has now been I partially lifted (the correspondent wrote on November 5), happily upon a success as welcome as it is important, and well deserved. Beersheba is ours. That ancient city, which marked the southern boundary of' Palestine, and where the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac lived their peaceful, God-fearing lives, is now occupied by an army whose banner is righteousness, and whose watchword is liberty. The Turk has received a blow which must have winded him considerable, and which is only 7 the beginning of the disagreeable experience in store for him. The offensive, which has been so successfully inaugurated by the taking of Beersheba, owes this initial victory in no small measure to the absolute secrecy with which all our preparations have been shrouded, and the people at home, who grumble at the penury of the news from this front lately, ought to realise how valuable this secrecy was to the high command. These weeks and months, when the only report issued has been: “Situation unchanged,” have been spent in unremitting toil in organising and preparing, and the result has been the almost machinelike precision with which the movements, culminating in to-day’s success, have been carried out. and this gratifying victory 7 is an earnest of bigger and better things. The ominous quiescence we have preserved on this front was broken five days ago, when our guns began i a vigorous shelling ol the Turkish lines. The weight and extent of our fire transcended anything ever before experienced in the Near East. Strangely enough, the frost, rain, and thunderstorm of the winter season occurred on the same day. The moisturejirought a welcome relief from the dust, and helped to harden the surface of sand, thus facilitating the movements ot our men. Our fire was most intense towards the northern extremity of the Turkish line, especially about Ga/.a and Ali Muntar, and there was nothing to show that the first blow was really going to fall on the other extremity of the line, nearly 30 miles away. TURKS ABSOLUTELY SURPRISED. The Turk, nevertheless, was

somewhat suspicious. He undertook an important reconnaissance some days ago in the neighbourhood of Beersheba. The enemy claimed that tlye reconnaissance achieved an important success, but what really happened was that two squadrons of British mounted troops held up the Turks during the greater part of the day, inflicting heavy casualties, although one squadron was eventually forced somewhat back. The delay 7 enabled the infantry to get forward, forcing the enemy to retire without gaining ail} 7 real knowledge of our dispositions. Meanwhile our preparations went forward apace. Frequent reconnaissances, aerial photographs, and especially night patrol - work, familiarised our men with the ground where the attack was to be delivered. Secret signs were left behind to serve as guides for the .movements after dark. The country round about Beersheba is gently undulating. It is traversed to the north and south by deep wadies. The town itself is situated within a depression along the banks of the Wady Sadah. The Turkish defences extended northwest and south of the town, at distances averaging from three to five miles, constituting more or less isolated advance posts, guarding the Turkish extreme left. *_.J

The position was one of great natural strength, and the Turks felt quite secure, as they were connected by railway with the main defence line further north, and were well provided with guns and machine guns. It was held by two complete regiments, with detachments of other regiments of infantry, and one brigade ot cavalrj*. Our purpose was to allow the enemy no inkling of onr plans, in order that he should not be tempted to reinforce the position. From statements made by prisoners, and the evidence of facts, we were entirely successful in this respect. The attack came as a complete and absolute surprise, and he was cornered and practically wiped out before the news of his plight could reach the Turkish headquarters. Our achievement was not merely due to the careful manner with which the plans weie laid, but to the perfect working of all movements of our troops, as not a single hitch was recorded.

lion’s share to cavalry. The operation was one in which all arms participated, but the lion’s share fell to the cavalry, who had to perform a march ot nearly 50 miles, chiefly at night, in order to take the enemy in the rear. The Anzac Mounteds took over the circuit, with the Yeomanry forming a Junction with the infantry. Lieutenant-General Chauvel commanded the cavalry. The movement was begun after dark, and the Turkish position was completely outflanked before the enemy realised that anything more serious than a reconnaissance was intended. The Anzacs met the first opposition 10 miles south-east of Beersheba, but the first real difficulty was encountered at Tel-el-Saba, where the Turks had established a strong redoubt defending the eastern approaches to the town. This resistance held up the immediate advance on the town, and while the fight was progressing General Ryrie’s Light Horse Brigade cap-

tured an enemy position across the Wady slightly further east, estabFishing itself across the road to Herron and cutting off escape in | that direction or arrival of reinforcements. , Tel-el-Saba lcll a couple of hours later, but a strong force of Turks, with guns and machine guns, was still established on the Wady, preventing an approach to the town. The position was somewhat serious as the only water supply available was in the wells at Beersheba. Consequently General Grant’s Brigade of Eight Horse, supported by a brigade of Anzacs, was ordered to attack. Shortly after sunset the gallant lads charged the position on horseback, using their fixed bayonets as lances They literally swept over all opposition, and carried the town with a rush. This was no mean feat to have charged the enemy, strongly posted on the crumbling banks of the dry Wady, in the pale light ot the moon, which was just ' bey r ond the full. REMARKABLE STAFF WORK. While the cavalry was thus brilliantly justifying its role, our infantry was also winning laurels west of Beersheba. The strongest defences . were naturally on this side, while the great natural advantages facilitated the task of the defenders. 1 This, perhaps, is the right moment to pay tribute to the remarkable .staff'work, which enabled all these movements to dovetail with ; such exactitude and to be timed with such precision. So carefully had the ground been studied, so thoroughly had the difficulties been j provided for, that the troops reached • the line of deployment before the . Turks realised that the advance I had begun. I The attack opened at daylight, ! and our shells raised such clouds of ! dust that it was sometimes necesj sary to interrupt the bombardment ito allow the dust to settle. After i barely an hour’s prelim in an 7 artili lery preparation the men rushed the 1 Turkish first line, to the London j troops falling the honour of capturj iug Hill 1070, which was a strong I redoubt. So effective had been the | bombardment that most of the ! machine guns were put out of action while the dust helped to cover the movements of our men. Still they were so keen that they actually tore down the wire with their hands, as the bombardment had made only few breaches. After consolidating this position) the Turkish main position was attacked shortly' after noon, and 25 minutes later it was in our hands. More to the left, among hills north-west of Beersheba, the Turks continued to show fight, but the eombiued movement of our men drove them headlong out just jas. evening fell. One gallant deed of the infantry deservos special mention. Armed with a Lewis gun. a detachment charged a Turkish field batten 7 , driving the Turks from the guns,

which were captured. One of the most satistactoty features of the whole of the operations is that our casualties were comparatively small. They do not even attain to our prisoners.