"General Allenby entered the city on foot. Outside of Jaffa gate he was received by the military governor and a guard of honor formed by men who have done their full share in the campaign. On the right of the gate were men from English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh counties. Opposite them were fifty men afoot, representing the Australian and New Zealand horsemen who have been engaged in the Empire's work in the Sinai Desert and Palestine almost since the war broke out. Inside the walls were twenty French and twenty Italian troops from the detachments sent by their countries to take part in the Palestine operations.
"General Allenby entered by the ancient gate which is known to the Arabs as 'The Friend.' Inside the walls was a crowd more densely packed in the narrow streets than was the crowd outside.
"The commander in chief, preceded by his aids-de-camp, had on his right the commander of the French detachment, and on his left the commander of the Italian detachment. The Italian, French, and American military attachés followed, together with a few members of the General Staff. The guards of honor marched in the rear. The procession turned to the right into Mount Zion and halted at Al Kala (the Citadel).
"On the steps, at the base of the Tower of David, which was standing when Christ was in Jerusalem, the Proclamation of Military Law was read, in the presence of the commander in chief and of many notables of the city.
"Re-forming, the procession moved up Zion street to the barrack square, where General Allenby received the notables and the heads of the religious communities. The mayor and the mufti—the latter also a member of the Husseiny family—were presented, likewise the sheiks in charge of the mosques of Omar and Aksa, and Moslems belonging to the Khaldieh and Alamieeh families, which trace their descents through many centuries. The patriarchs of the Latin, Greek, Orthodox, and Armenian Churches, and the Coptic bishop, had been directed by the Turks to leave Jerusalem, but their representatives were introduced to General Allenby, as were also the heads of the Jewish committees, the Syrian Church, the Greek Catholic Church, the Abyssinian bishop, and a representative of the Anglican Church. The last presentation was that of the Spanish consul, who is in charge of the interests of almost all the countries at war, and is a busy man."
CHAPTER XXXI
PALESTINE—ARABIA—MESOPOTAMIA
Although the British had accomplished their main objective in Palestine with the capture of Jerusalem, they did not rest on their laurels. Within a few days after their occupation of the Holy City, by December 12, 1917, they had advanced their lines to the north and some detachments of Indian troops had carried positions as far north as the mouth of the Midieh.
During the night of December 20-21, 1917, British troops crossing the Nahr-el-Auja on rafts and light bridges, seized Khurbet Hadrah, Sheikh Muannis, Tel-er-Rekkeit, and later El Makhras.
These localities are near the mouth of the river, and include commanding ground two miles to the north of it. Three hundred and five prisoners, of whom eleven were officers, and ten machine guns were captured.