The Times History of the War - The Conquest of Syria

The Conquest of Syria

This week's chapter examines the Turks expelled from Arabic vilayets, opposing forces in Palestine, Allenby's strategy, the battles of Sharon and Mount Ephraim, the great cavalry ride, Von Liman's narrow escape, work of the Air Force, two Turkish armies destroyed, the East Jordan operations, from Galilee to Damascus, Syrian seaports seized, Homs occupied, the advance to Aleppo, tasks of political department, Marshall's victory on the Tigris, two years at Aden, the surrender of Medina

The Germans had fired great dumps of ammunition, petrol, and the hangars and workshops on the aerodromes at our approach. But one plane was seized intact, and close by was found a big cave containing thousands of bottles of champagne and other wines and spirits

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How Nazareth was captured October 1, 1918

The cavalry of General Allenby's Army swam and forded the Jordan north of Lake Tiberias last night

Read the full story Yesterday I spent a couple of hours at Nazareth with the West Country Yeomanry who first entered the town. The capture of the place was highly dramatic. The Yeomanry crossed Esdraelon Plain in the dark, having covered fully 60 miles from the Jaffa district within 24 hours. Trotting up the steep, tortuous roadway to Nazareth just before the dawn they overran a moving convoy of 75 motor-lorries. The German drivers were greatly startled at the apparently miraculous appearance of our horsemen, and in the confusion which followed a number of the lorries were overturned off the narrow mountain road. Maintaining their place, the Yeomanry clattered over the crest into the little hilltop basin where Nazareth lies.

The town contained numerous enemy troops. These, like the inhabitants, were still sleeping, believing the line unbroken and our Army many miles away. The Yeomanry quickly made the whole force prisoners. The British, however, were only a small party, and when later in the day the German machine-gunners from the ridges round the town to the north opened a vigorous fire, they temporarily withdrew.

The following morning they outflanked the machine-gun posts and re-entered Nazareth. That night the Turks counter-attacked, but meanwhile our force was strengthened by some Indian Lancers galloping out, who killed 50 and took 100 prisoners in a slashing moonlight charge. The inhabitants expressed the greatest delight at the arrival of the British.

Returning from Nazareth I came across an armoured motor battery and light car patrol proceeding on a flying reconnaissance to Haifa and joined the enterprise. The little expedition was marked by splendid dash and daring. Speeding over the hills of Lower Galilee, we crossed the Esdraelon Plain and then ran east under the shadow of Mount Carmel. When we were many miles in advance of our outposts and three miles from Haifa we encountered an enemy post, and after a brief engagement we captured 70 prisoners, including two officers.

Over the next two miles our prisoners increased to upwards of 100. Armoured cars pushed impudently into the outskirts of the town. Despite the heavy fire from enemy batteries and machine-guns and rifle fire at point:blank range, the mission was fully accomplished. The cars pulled out slowly, marching the prisoners before them,. all the while fighting a vigorous rearguard action.

The remarkable success of Allenby’s bold strategy is largely due to the complete ascendancy of British airmen. Towards this the Australian squadron very substantially contributed. For a fortnight preceding the advance the enemy was kept practically blind. Scarcely a single German machine crossed our line, and any machine which came was immediately challenged and destroyed or chased right home to his aerodrome. Simultaneously all enemy aerodromes were being bombed, as we now know from personal observation, almost out of existence. The Australian part in this work is demonstrated by the fact that 12 Distinguished Flying Crosses were awarded to our men in six weeks.

TURKS FIGHT TO SAVE DAMASCUS

The cavalry of General Allenby’s Army swam and forded the Jordan north of Lake Tiberias last night, and today captured the high ground east thereof. The situation is developing most favourably.

The mounted troops hold a far-flung line, the horsemen converging in two great columns on the main Damascus roads. From the south Yeomanry and Indian cavalry moving eastwards. from Beisan have taken Irbid, where a portion of the Turkish Fourth Army not destroyed at Amman intended to stand. The important railway junction of Deraa having been secured, the Arabs on our east, ignoring the bodies of the enemy between Deraa and Amman, marched north on Sheikh Miskin, which is within one cavalry bound of Damascus.

In going forward the cavalry several times left enemy parties in their rear in order to reap the full results of their bold strategy, the advancing infantry clearing. the enemy out of isolated places, as, for instance, in the Yarmuk Valley, where Germans and Turks were holding positions on the railway after Deraa had been taken. The infantry dealt with them and prevented the destruction of some useful railway works.

The Turks, in fear of designs on Damascus, sent down to the Jordan from that city a force composed of Germans, Turks, and some Circassians. When our cavalry were opposite the bridge at Benat Yakub, motor lorries from Damascus had deposited a thousand men on the steep eastern bank of the Jordan, covering the bridge with machine-guns.They blew up the centre arch of the 400-year-old bridge, making a crossing there impossible. A brigade of Australian Light Horse swam the river with the horses farther south, another Australian brigade making a passage of the river to the north. The ground approaching the river was marshy, but so swiftly were the difficulties surmounted that before the enemy could scramble back to their lorries 200 Turks, 50 German, three field guns, and some machine guns were cut off and captured.

At 6 this morning the cavalry were at Dar Ezaras, astride the Damascus road, and have since advanced to El Kuneitra, within 40 miles of the ancient city. It is an interesting race between the two columns as to which will reach the coveted point first. One cannot move a mile in this rough, desolate hill country without marvelling at the endurance of the troops.

General Allenby's campaign October 3, 1918

Allenby's troops consisted mainly of Yeomanry, Australian Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Rifles, Indian cavalry, Indian infantry, a Jewish contingent, and a Cape (Coloured) Corps

Read the full story Exactly a fortnight after General Allenby began his campaign his troops, aided east of the Jordan by the Army of the King of the Hedjaz, have conquered Samaria and Galilee, Eastern Palestine, and Damascus, the capital of Syria. In addition, the Turks have been cleared from the region south of the Dead Sea as far as Maan, on the Arabian border.

During these operations three Turkish armies - the 7th, 8th, and 4th - have been destroyed, 70,000 prisoners and 325 guns taken, and the Turkish garrison at Medina completely isolated.

On September 18, when General Allenby opened his campaign, the centre of the British front was only 18 miles north of Jerusalem, its right less than 10 miles north of Jericho, its left, on the coast, but eight miles north of Joppa. The enemy positions in the centre, in the hills of Ephraim, were exceedingly strong, and strongly held with numerous guns, largely served by Austrians and Germans. They were regarded as impregnable, and here, in March, the enemy had held up the attempt to force a passage to Shechem.

The attack on the whole Turkish front, from the Jordan to the sea, was commenced on the night of September 18, the main attack, in which the French and Italian contingents in Palestine took part, being delivered at 4.30am on the 19th. Simultaneously, the Arab Army moved in Gilead, cutting the railway communications at Deraa, the junction of the railways to Damascus, Palestine, and Medina.

Allenby’s troops consisted mainly of Yeomanry, Australian Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Rifles, Indian cavalry, Indian infantry, a Jewish contingent, and a Cape (Coloured) Corps. While the enemy centre was held the infantry attacked the defences on the foothills towards the Mediterranean, across which the railway line runs. By 8am they had broken through the entire hostile defensive system on this front. Meanwhile, a strong force of cavalry moved forward on the coast plain - the Plain of Sharon - sweeping all opposition aside. By midday both infantry and cavalry had got so far in the rear of the enemy centre that they had seized all the important road and railway junctions.

The fighting on the 19th was decisive, the Turkish force in Samaria was cut off, by the evening of the 20th the enemy resistance had collapsed everywhere save in the Jordan Valley, and from that point their only endeavour was to escape. The rapidity with which the British cavalry moved barred, however, all routes of retreat, except by the Jordan crossings. Riding over the Field of Armageddon (the Plain of Esdraelon or Megiddo), Australian horsemen entered Nazareth on September 20; by the next day they had reached the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee, and over 18,000 prisoners had been counted.

Meantime, Samaria and Shechem had been occupied, and the Turks were fleeing east to cross the Jordan at Jisr ed Damieh, a bridge midway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The road to the bridge was incessantly bombed by our airmen, while the crossing itself was seized on the morning of September 22. All avenues of escape for the enemy west of Jordan were thus closed. By the evening of that day the 7th and 8th Turkish Armies had virtually ceased to exist; and by the 25th over 40,000 prisoners had surrendered and 265 guns had been captured. The following day the ports of Haifa and Acre were occupied.

Next, the 4th Turkish Army east of the Jordan was dealt with. By September 24 the Turks were already in retreat, the Arab Army having captured Maan, 70 miles south of the Dead Sea. Amman, east of the Jordan by Jericho, was occupied by British cavalry on September 28, and a day or two later the Turkish force between Amman and Maan, about 10,000 strong, surrendered.

Then came the sweep on Damascus. On September 27 the crossing of the Jordan south of the Waters-of-Merom, known as the Bridge, of the Daughters of Jacob, was forced, and cavalry and armoured cars started on the direct road to Damascus.

On the-same day other cavalry which had crossed the Jordan farther south joined hands with the Arab Army near Deraa. The Arabs had already seized a considerable stretch of the Hedjaz Railway near that place, and had taken over 1,500 prisoners, From Deraa a second column were now pushed north to Damascus, and by Monday evening the two columns had surrounded the town on the north, south, and west, defeating enemy rearguards, and taking 1,000 prisoners. The next morning the city was in possession of British and Arab troops.

The entry into Damascus October 7, 1918

The Turks, fearing the violence of the population, assembled in small groups in dark corners of the streets, stripped of their arms, waiting an opportunity to give themselves up to anyone in khaki

Read the full story General Allenby’s triumphant march northwards into Syria continues. Early this morning he drove the Turks completely out of Damascus, and now there is not a Turkish soldier in the city, nor a Turkish official doing duty.

Those British who entered this wonderful city today and whose emotions were not stirred by the enthusiastic greetings of the population must have been without a spark of national pride. I thought the people would receive us with their customary, immobile features giving no outward visible sign of their inward feelings. I rode into the town with an armoured car officer at a time when the road was deemed unsafe, owing to snipers in the luscious gardens surrounding this fascinating and truly Oriental city. I was amazed at the heartiness of the welcome accorded to the British uniform.

The city is far from taking our victory as an ordinary incident of life. The population threw off their stolid exterior, and received us with ecstatic joy. They closed the shops, made a holiday, put on festival dress, and acclaimed the day as the greatest in the 4,000 years’ history of Damascus. Only a few British officers have as yet entered the city, but each has been received with the same whole-hearted fervour. Here, at least, the people have seen what the British name stands for. They acclaimed the victors as their deliverers, and looked upon this Army as the saviours of downtrodden peoples in this part of the East.

This amazing tribute to Britain and British freedom lasted all day. At nightfall the population gave a firework exhibition with captured Verey lights. Even the street of Saint Paul called Straight was illuminated from end to end. Opportunities for rejoicing were increased by the arrival of the Arab Army which operated on the right flank of our cavalry during the march from Deraa.

ARAB HORSEMEN’S DISPLAY

Soon after daybreak the Arab Army entered the city, and the streets became alive with picturesquely clothed figures mounted on light steeds almost overburdened with elaborately appointed saddlery. Arab horsemen and camelry dashed about the streets, proclaiming the victory, making much noise, and continually firing their rifles. This lasted till midnight, and the inhabitants, tired out and happy, allowed the city to become normally calm. There must have been extraordinary scenes in Damascus yesterday when the Turkish Army, surprised again by the swift, unerring cavalry stroke, found the Australian Mounted Division west of the city. General Liman von Sanders, scenting trouble, left for Aleppo four days ago. A long, thin trail of dust showing against the broad hills warned the Turkish commander that his hold on Damascus was disappearing, and he left at noon with the vali by motor along the Aleppo road.

Meanwhile, the enemy forces were fighting among themselves. There was considerable feeling between the Germans and Turks, and there was an open rupture between the Turks and the Arabs serving in the Turkish Army. The Arabs turned on the Turks, refused to fight, and declared themselves adherents of the Hedjaz Army. Even more serious than the trouble among the troops was the hostility of the Arabs in town to the Germans, who could not safely show themselves in the streets. Some who were left in the barracks were struck and spat on. They went in fear of their lives, and hid themselves.

Today an Armenian came to me and asked what he should do with three Germans, one of them wounded, who were sheltered in his house, to save them from the extreme fury of the people. Those Germans caught in our encircling movement frankly confessed that they were fortunate to escape from the Damascenes. The Turks, fearing the violence of the population, assembled in small groups in dark corners of the streets, stripped of their arms, waiting an opportunity to give themselves up to anyone in khaki. One sergeant of military police collected over 250 in an afternoon. The numbers were so great that regiments had to be sent in to assist in the collection. Those who tried to break away are ia a hapless plight. About 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon some thousands had fled to the hills. The Australian Mounted Division went in pursuit, and getting machine-guns in position shot down the fugitives’ transport animals, thus blocking the road. In one place 200 refused to give in, and were killed. In two hours the Australians secured 4,000 prisoners.

In the Damascus Hospital were found some English soldiers who had been taken wounded earlier in the campaign. I met a man named Forder, a Jerusalem missionary working among the Bedouin. At the outbreak of the war, he was arrested by the Turks, at the instigation of thc Germans. For two years he was treated as a common felon, and was ultimately sent to Damascus on parole.

The Damascus Money Market has during recent days indicated the trend of events. Two weeks ago English notes were worth 31 per cent of their face value. General Allenby’s break through the coastal sector sent them up 42. Yesterday there was a distant view of British troops, and the notes at once rose 80 per cent. Turkish paper has collapsed, and is only worth 15 per cent of its face value and is hardly accepted at that.

A CARAVAN TO MECCA

While events in Damascus absorbed attention there was a brilliant piece of fighting on the eastern Aleppo road, which added some thousands of prisoners to General Allenby’s captures. While the mass of the machine-gun opposition was being dealt with a patrol brought in the news that a column of 3,000 mounted men were advancing from Aleppo towards Damascus. Orders were given to deal with this body which, however, proved to be a caravan of enormous numbers of camels proceeding from Aleppo to Mecca escorted by thousands of armed Arabs. During the last two days this brigade took 3,000 prisoners with fewer than 20 casualties. What pleased them immensely was the release of an Australian pilot who had been forced to land at Amman two weeks ago because of engine trouble. Another released prisoner was a yeoman taken at Katia in the Easter of 1910. A number of Italians captured on the Isonzo last year were found in Damascus and had been sent here for work.

Today detachments of cavalry regiments marched through Damascus headed by Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Chauvel, Commander of the Desert Mounted Corps. The troops presented a remarkably fine appearance. The horses showed little sign of the hard work of the past fortnight, and nobody would realise that some of the animals in the corps during the advance had not been off saddled for 29 hours. The civilians gave the troops a great reception. A deputation of Druse sheikhs came on Sunday and asked permission to fight with us.