ENTRY INTO BEERSHEBA.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 January 1918, Page 7

ENTRY INTO BEERSHEBA.

AIOVEMEXTS DESCRIBED, JJJiW ZEALAN DEIW CHARGE. Describing the capture of Beersheba, Mr. \V. T. Massey, official correspondent with the Palestine army, writes:—By a rapid and well-delivered surprise blow General Allcnby's army 'lias smashed the eastern end of the Turks entrenched line iu Southern Palestine and wrested one of the most ancient of Biblical towns from the enemy. In the early moonlight hour;:of the night Beersheba, where Abraham dug the well of the oath, wa9 oecuphA by Australian mounted troops and British infantry after a stern day-long fight, in Which our troops displayed great endurance and courage, doing everything planned for them and working out the staff scheme as if by the clock. Although meeting with much resistance from the enemy in extremely strong positions, nothing went wrong, and the story of the day will add to the military glory of the soldiers from English cities and shires, and from Australia and New Zealand.

The splendid British infantry made long night marches, and attacked with such determination that they tore down the wire entanglements wiih their hands, and just as the moon rose over the Judea 'Hills the Australian Horse charged mounted strongly-held trenches with bayonets on their rifles, overwhelming the Turlcs, and cheering into the town.

Our movements were all done by night. At dawn the cavalry were south of the town, and the infantry were facing the northern- western, and south-western defences, which were cut, in a range of hills hiding Beersheba from view. These entrenchments were elaborate, skilfully chosen, and generally heayily protected by ■wire, and guns - covered all the approaches. The country we had to march over was in bad condition. In the spring it is fertile, rolling downs, hut is now a sun-parched desert, the slightest' movement raising enormous clouds of dust. Only a few trees and cactus hedges between the sea and the gaunt Judea Hills .relieve the picture of a land laid hare by war. Yet, with these surroundings against us, General Allenhy was abb to ofl'ect a surprise which the Turks considered impossible. Prisoners declare that they all thought Beersheba could never be taken in a day. Many believed the place to be impregnable. IXFANTRY MARCH BY NIGHT. ! The troops 'had been well trained. Indeed, this force was never in such efficient condition. The infantry marched by night, and remained as well hidden as fiosaible in daytime in the folds of the ground or in wadi—dry river—beds. The. cavalry got well round to the southwest, 'biit their position was doubtless seen by the enemy airmen. The night of October 30-31 was beautiful, with the moon shining. The horsemen made a wide and rapid sweep round from south to south-east, ready at dawn to rush up to cover the towpi from the east, get astride the Hebron Road, and prevent a retirement in that direction. The infantry wer<f*t,o attack the trenches to the south-east. Before that could be done Hill 1070, about, three miles to the soutu, had to be taken. This hill had been made into a very strong redoubt, commanding a wide stretch, but an extremely heavy fire was brought to bear against it, and the gallant infantry carried it with an irresistible rush within half an hour of the attack. There wa3 a German machine-gun section on the hill, but a prisoner admitted that every ma-ehine-gun was knocked out by our fire. Our casualties in taking the hill were verv small. We took eight officers and 80 men prisoners on this hill, and many were killed and wounded.

ATTACK ONi THE TRENCHES. When this important outpost had been secured the infantry prepared to attack the system of trendies south-west of the Wadi Saba from the Klialassa Road to the Beersheba-Sheria Railway, the Camel Corps and spme other infantry making a holding attack north of the wadi. There had been some rifle fire and shelling by the enemy just, before dawn. Thereafter the guns north of the wadi fired heavily on the troops moving across the open around to the south, until one \>f our batteries locaed them and silenced them for the remainder of the day. The advance against the south-western trench system was a great achievement. The Turks held on desperately, and time permit of inore'than an hour's bombardment to cut the wire. The advance, too, was over exposed ground, and but for an extremely clever scheme the infantry must have sustained serious loss. The day was remarkably still. A usually strongisjh breeze blows for hours in the middle of t'he day, but a sluggish, oppressive air overhung the downs. During the morning the shells were tearing up so much earth that a dense sand pall hid the line of entanglements they were cutting. Our infantry made rushes across the open, heeding neitlver the enfilade fire of the guns nor the spasmodic machine-gun fire. In a few places shells had broken down the wire, and into these bombers dashed, while others tore down the wire from the iron supports with tTieir hands, and were in upon the Turks before they realised that resistance was futile. This grand work was done by soldiers from English counties, many of them men who liad prepared themselves for Britain's defence before the war burst upon the world. They showed inspiring courage and resource.

what the cavalry did. This onslaught on the south-western trendies only served to whet their appetite. Keating a -while, they crossed the rough and pebbly bed of tlie Wadi Sa.Ua to reduce a chain of holes and trenches on the western side of Beersheba, which were strongly held, and were even more formidable. Fighting for more than 12 hours had not lessened their determination, and, moving steadily and methodically on the same well-thought-out plan which had been so successful throughout the day, they proceeded to capture one length of defence after another, jjntil at half-past nine all the Beersheba'stronghold wa^ours. The cavalry work was equally meritorious. Many horsemen rode 30 miles before getting into action. They, had two very difficult places to reduce during the day. Tiic Australians in the widest sweep had to capture Sakaty, a higli hill six miles north-east of. Beersheba,' inating a wide district. With their usual elan, these big Australian stopped at nothing, and had rounded up every Turk on the hill by one O'clock. Thereafter thev preceeded across the Hebron road and the wadi, and the enemy was*ilenied that exit from Beersheba. FINAL RUSH OP AXZACS. Kvrn more difficult was the taking of Tei-el-saba. a 100 ft hill three miles east df the town, which h%d been coaverjad

into a redoubt of greit strength, and was made almost unapproachable by the steep banks of the wadi running alongside it on the south. But the New Zenlanders and Australians carried it at half-past, three, and then turned their attention to a group of houses between the hill nnd the Hebron road, held by a Gorman machine-gun company. This felt full weight of the colonial arm. Tt ,' WftS. gfitting dark, and anxiety was fett- M'tout water for the horses. Another lot oFSustraHaitg settled "the difficulty. , They formed up against the pattern Irfenches, Priced bayonets, and ! (.'harging line jiftpr. line, went for the enemy. Wave followed: wave, until, long before the last line read.™ i.ite trenches, the maehme-gun and rifle fire had withered away, and tlris told its tale of daad, jßtawuntiiiK at th« fint.

line of Frenches, the Australian*'*®® -, on foot, sweeping up ull overpowering all - tl>e Turin. bringing forward again their obaigQr*.;.; they remounted and galloped clwarißgilK;' to the town. H