10,000 Turks Bagged.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 1 October 1918, Page 4

10,000 Turks Bagged.

Whole Garrison Surrenders

(High Commissioner's Cable.) London, September 30. An o-fficial message from Palestine reports that the Turks of the garrisons on the Hsdjaz railway have at Ziza. They number 10,000.

En Route to Damascus,

ONE CAVALRY-BOUND FROM THE ANOIEST CITY. BRILLIANT FEATS BY MOUNTERS. deceived this day, 12.30 a.m. London, September 30. Mr Maesey, writing from the Palestine headquarters on Sunday, says: Worth of" Lake Tiberias on September 28 t/h'e cavalry of AUenby's army swam audi forded the Jordan. Last night and to-day they captured the High ground east thereof. Th© situation develops most favourably. By stupendous efforts, equal to any. .sustained by cavialry. operations in history ; the mounted troops hold a farflung line, horsemen converging in two great columns on the main Damascus roads from the south.

The Yeomanry and Indian cavalry, moving eastward from Beisan, lia.ve taken Irbid where a portion of fife Turkish Fourth Army not destroyed! at Amman intended to make a stand. At this important railway junction we secured touch with friendly Arabs on the Bast.

Ignoring bodfes of enemy between Deraa and Amman we ma'rcihed nortihj of Sheikh Miskin whidh is within one cavalry-bound of Damascus.

In going forward several times the cavalry left enemy parties in their rear but tenie pressed in order to reap the full reruJts of the bold strategy. The mounted troops left the advancing infantry to dear the enemy out of the isolated valleys.. Tile Germans and Turks were holding positions on the railway after iDeraa was taken but the infantry subsequently dealt with them. Th'is prevents t/he destruction of some useful railway works.

The Turk-, fearing diesigns on Damascus, sent down to the Jordan from Damascus a- force composed op Germans and Turks. Some C'in-ar-.sians on our left also had to be watched.

When our cavalry were opposite the bridge "with of Lake Hulc, motor lorries from Damascus had dleposited a. thousand men on the steep - eastern bank, cover:ng the bridge with machine guns. Til ley blew up the centre a roll of the 400-year-old bridge, making a crossing there impossible. A brigade of the Australian Light Horse* swiam tlile o-iver 'with their horses south of the bridge and another Australian Brigade made the passage of the river to the northi. The banks were hard for mounted men to negotiate, the ground approaching the river being marshy, but so swiftly were the difficulties surmounted) that before tlh® enemy could scramble back to their lorries 250 Turks and Germans had been captured. Our cavalry is now astride the Damr°ad and lias f-ince advanced to #A Kuneifcra, within forty miles of the ancient city.