On November 21, 1917, a body of infantry moved northeast by a track from Kuryet el Enab through Biddu and Kulundia toward Bireh. The track was found impassable for wheels, and was under hostile shell fire. Progress was slow, but by evening the ridge on which stands Neby Samwil was secured. A further body of troops was left at Kuryet el Enab to cover the flank and demonstrate along the main Jerusalem road. It drove hostile parties from Kustul two and one-half miles east of Kuryet el Enab, and secured this ridge.
By the afternoon of November 21, 1917, advanced parties of Yeomanry were within two miles of the road and an attack was being delivered on Beitunia by other mounted troops.
The positions reached on the evening of November 21, 1917, practically marked the limit of progress in this first attempt to gain the Nablus-Jerusalem road. The Yeomanry were heavily counterattacked and fell back, after bitter fighting, on Beit ur el Foka (Upper Beth Horon). During the following day the Turks made two counterattacks on the Neby Samwil ridge, which were repulsed. Determined attacks were made on November 23 and 24, 1917, on the strong positions to the west of the road held by the Turks, who had brought up reenforcements and numerous machine guns, and could support their infantry by artillery fire from guns placed in positions along the main road. British artillery, from lack of roads, could not be brought up to give adequate support to their infantry. Both attacks failed, and it was evident that a period of preparation and organization would be necessary before an attack could be delivered in sufficient strength to drive the Turk from his positions west of the road.
By December 4, 1917, all preparations had been completed and the British held a line from Kustul by the Neby Samwil ridge, Beit Izza, and Beit Dukka, to Beit ur el Tahta.
During this period of preparation attacks by the Turks along the whole line led to severe local fighting. On November 25, 1917, British advanced posts north of the river Auja were driven back across the river. From November 27 to 28, 1917, the Turks delivered a series of attacks directed especially against the high ground position in the hills from Beit ur el Foka to El Burj, and the Neby Samwil ridge. An attack on the night of November 29, 1917, succeeded in penetrating the British outpost line northeast of Jaffa, but next morning the whole Turkish detachment, numbering 150, was surrounded and captured by Australian Light Horse. On November 30, 1917, a similar fate befell a battalion which attacked near El Burj; a counterattack by Australian Light Horse took 200 prisoners and practically destroyed the attacking battalion. There was particularly heavy fighting between El Burj and Beit ur el Folka, but the British troops successfully resisted all attacks and inflicted severe losses on the enemy. At Beit ur el Foka one company took 300 prisoners. All efforts by the Turks to drive the British off the Neby Samwil ridge were completely repulsed. These attacks cost the Turks very dearly. The British took 750 prisoners between November 27 and 30, 1917, and the Turkish losses in killed and wounded were undoubtedly heavy.
Favored by a continuance of fine weather, preparations for a fresh advance against the Turkish positions west and south of Jerusalem proceeded rapidly. Existing roads and tracks were improved and new ones constructed to enable heavy and field artillery to be placed in position and ammunition and supplies brought up. The water supply was also developed.
The date for the attack was fixed as December 8, 1917. Welsh troops, with a cavalry regiment attached, had advanced from their positions north of Beersheba up the Hebron-Jerusalem road on December 4, 1917. No opposition was met, and by the evening of December 6, 1917, the head of this column was ten miles north of Hebron.
On December 7, 1917, the weather broke, and for three days rain was almost continuous. The hills were covered with mist at frequent intervals, rendering observation from the air and visual signaling impossible. A more serious effect of the rain was to jeopardize the supply arrangements by rendering the roads almost impassable.
In spite of these difficulties, the British troops moved into positions by night, and, assaulting at dawn on December 8, 1917, soon carried their first objectives. They then pressed steadily forward. The mere physical difficulty of climbing the steep and rocky hillsides and crossing the deep valleys would have sufficed to render progress slow, and the opposition encountered was considerable. Artillery support was soon difficult, owing to the length of the advance and the difficulty of moving guns forward. But by about noon some British troops had already advanced over two miles, and were swinging northeast to gain the Nablus-Jerusalem road, while others had captured the Beit Iksa spur, and were preparing for a further advance.
As the British right column had been delayed and was still some distance south of Jerusalem, it was necessary for the advanced British forces to throw back their right and form a defensive flank facing east toward Jerusalem, from the western outskirts of which considerable rifle and artillery fire was being experienced. This delayed the advance, and early in the afternoon it was decided to consolidate the line gained and resume the advance next day, when the right column would be in a position to exert its pressure. By nightfall the British line ran from Neby Samwil to the east of Beit Iksa, through Lifta to a point about one and one-half miles west of Jerusalem, whence it was thrown back facing east. All the Turkish prepared defenses west and northwest of Jerusalem had been captured, and the British troops were within a short distance of the Nablus-Jerusalem road.