About the 11th November the Turks appeared to be making a final effort to save Jerusalem, which is a sacred city to them. The resistance about the Wadi Sukerier was considerable and the Hebron wing of the enemy’s forces moved towards Beit Jibrin to get more into touch with their brethren, so that by the 13th the enemy was facing west along the twenty-mile space between El Kubeibe and Beit Jibrin. Here they were resolutely attacked on the 13th November and the junction was occupied the following day, the enemy’s army being cut in two, one part retreating north and the other east through the hills towards Jerusalem, in which direction the Turk was energetically followed up, all going very well until the 23rd of the month, on which date came a check. By this time our troops, namely, those of the British forces which could be provided for in the field, were very close to Jerusalem, the main objective being the road to Nablus. Beit ur el Tahta was in our hands as well as Kuryet el Enab to the south of it. Some Yeomanry had got within four miles of the Nablus road, but were stopped by strong opposition about Beitunia. On the 21st November a body of infantry was on the ridge where stands Nebi Samwil, about five miles north-west of the city. On the 23rd and 24th the Turks held a position west of the Nablus road which was gallantly attacked by the British, but without success. The road itself proved the deciding factor in the struggle, because the enemy not only brought up his guns and machine guns by it, but used it as an artillery position, whereas our people were on very rough ground and had no road at all. And so it came to pass that a pause in our hitherto triumphant progress became apparently necessary. The army must be organized and preparations made and completed for further efforts. Also reliefs must be brought up, and thus, as has been said, the Buffs, who were as far back as the Wadi Ghuzze, got orders to move to the north. The journey was done by Mejdel, Nahr Sukerier, Junction Station and Latrun to Beit Nuba, which was reached on the 29th November. The sixty-miles’ march was accomplished in six days.
It is between the two latter places that the mountainous region commences and marching becomes climbing, for Jerusalem stands very high and the approaches to it are by no means a gradual ascent. At Beit Nuba the battalion was employed on road-making to enable the guns to move, the result of the Buffs’ labour being known as the New Kent Road. By the 4th December Allenby had completed his final preparations and a line was held from Kustol by Nebi Samwil Ridge, Beit Izza and Beit Dukka to Beit ur el Tahta, the Buffs moving to Kubeibeh on the 6th December. On this day the rains broke and fell consistently and determinedly for three days and three nights, rendering roads almost impassable for camel transport, so that the battalion was put on one-third rations. Observation was most difficult; the bivouacs were soaked and comfort for the time being abolished. The morning of the 8th December was fixed upon for the grand attack, and during the previous night the troops moved into their positions of assembly to take their share in the Battle of Nebi Samwil.
IV. Battle of Nebi Samwil
The 230th Brigade was at dawn to attack some high mountains close to Nebi Samwil: the Buffs and the Norfolks in the first line, with the 229th Brigade on the right of the Buffs. To reach the position it was found necessary to move in single file down the slippery slopes of a great Wadi, and this made the keeping of touch extremely difficult and the subsequent proper deployment no simple matter. A battalion in single file in a difficult country will tail out to almost any length. However, all was well, the job was done and the men deployed along the lower slopes of the great hill, C Company on the right and A Company on the left—the ground in their front being almost precipitous. However, the first wave of troops got half-way up the slope before the dawn broke and the Turk took in the situation. Then he opened heavily with machine guns and snipers, both very well concealed. C Company being a good deal exposed, suffered somewhat severely; but A Company was fairly well covered by a spur, and the 229th Brigade on the Buffs’ right was still more fortunate and was able to push on more rapidly, so that the enemy, fearful for his flank, withdrew and our people successfully occupied his trenches. No further advance was now possible for some hours, as a tremendous fire was brought to bear against the assailants. An attempt was made before dark, as it was incorrectly reported that the left flank of the brigade was secured by a successful advance of the 231st Brigade, but this force had in reality failed to clear the whole of the hill, and consequently the renewed attack of the 230th was held up till dusk by a sweeping machine-gun fire. A miserable night was the sequel of this fight: practically no rations, and pouring rain. In the morning the Sussex Regiment moved through the Buffs and continued the advance, only to find that the enemy had abandoned the place during the night. This manœuvre seems to have been a favourite one of the Turkish forces both in Palestine and Mesopotamia and one at which they were adepts. At the top of the hill the British troops got their first view of Jerusalem. By this time the London troops and the Yeomanry had got across the Nablus road four miles north of the city, and Welshmen were across the Jericho road to the east of the town. Jerusalem was isolated; and about noon on the 9th December the Holy City surrendered. Two days later Sir Edmund Allenby officially entered the place. The casualties of the Buffs at Jerusalem were 14 men killed and 1 officer and 42 other ranks wounded. Directly after the fall of Jerusalem, while at Beit Iksa, the 230th Brigade lost its commander, General McNeill, who was taken to hospital with malaria.
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GENERAL ALLENBY ENTERS JERUSALEM
On the 13th December the Buffs took over the outpost line between Nebi Samwil and Beit Hannina, and this period will be difficult to obliterate from the memories of those who were serving, because the advance of the armies had now far outstripped that of the railway line and by this time the winter rains had set in in earnest. The Wadis, which were practically the only means of communication, were streaming with mud and water, making the country in the vicinity impossible for camel transport, with the immediate result that food grew very scarce and the soldier had to exist on half rations, while tobacco, cigarettes and matches ran out altogether. The state of things is thus described by a member of the regiment: “Only those who have been through it could realize the awful days and nights which the transport men and camels spent trying to get up ammunition and supplies. The camels falling down at every turn and preferring to die rather than get up again, while the natives in charge of them wrapped themselves in their blankets and howled through the night like a pack of dogs, and many of these too died.” Donkeys were tried, but without much success. The donkey is a very hardy beast, but the majority of these came from the warmer parts of Egypt and they did not thrive.
The military situation in Palestine after Jerusalem became ours was simply that the portion of the Turkish army, which had retreated northwards after our capture of the junction railway station, was now halted on the hills north of Jaffa and Ramle, faced by our 21st Corps, while the 20th Corps held a position covering the Nablus and Jericho roads about four miles to the northward and eastward of the city. To provide for the security of Jerusalem and of Jaffa it was necessary for these two army corps to advance, and, to enable such an advance to be successfully carried out, it was necessary first to undertake an abnormal amount of road-making as well as to make important arrangements for the organization of the supply of food, ammunition and all the various military requisites. The 21st Corps moved north and, supported by the fleet, crossed the Nahr el Auja north of Jaffa—a difficult job, well carried out. The 20th Corps was employed meanwhile in minor operations. Thus on the 18th December the 60th Division, on the right of the 230th Brigade of the 74th, attempted an advance, and at 6.15 a.m. A Company of the Buffs went out in support of the movement; but the thing was a failure, the Turk having evidently been quite aware of what was going forward and having made all due preparations; in fact, A Company had some difficulty in withdrawing, but happily the casualties were light. But road-making was the usual fate of the Buffs at this time and the men had long since become experts at the business. There was no work done on Christmas Day, but up till then the roads claimed much labour. The 25th itself was one of the wettest days yet experienced and there were only half rations; but singing seems to have kept the soldier from feeling his hardships too acutely, and Boxing Day saw the Buffs in the outpost line again.