to the height of Beit Hannina and out towards Tel el Ful.  The 53rd Division was strongly opposed when it got round the south-east of Jerusalem on to the Jericho road in the direction of Aziriyeh (Bethany), and it was necessary to clear the Turks from the Mount of Olives.  Troops of the Welsh Division moved round the Holy City and drove the enemy off the Mount, following them down the eastern spurs, and thus denied them any direct observation over Jerusalem.  The next day they pushed the enemy still farther eastwards, and by the night of the 10th held the line from the well at Azad, 4000 yards south-east of Jerusalem, the hill 1500 yards south of Aziriyeh, Aziriyeh itself, to the Mount of Olives, whence our positions continued to Ras et Tawil, north of Tel el Ful across the Nablus road to Nebi Samwil.  This was our first line of positions for the defence of Jerusalem, and we continued to hold these strong points for some time.  They were gradually extended on the east and north-east by the Welsh Division in order to prevent an attack from the direction of Jericho, where we knew the Turks had received reinforcements.  Indeed, during our attack on the Jerusalem position the Turks had withdrawn a portion of their force on the Hedjaz railway.  A regiment had passed through Jericho from the Hedjaz line at Amman and was marching up the road to assist in Jerusalem’s defence, but was ‘Too late.’  The regiment was turned back when we had captured Jerusalem.  Our casualties from November 28 to December 10—­these figures include the heavy fighting about Tahta, Foka, and Nebi Samwil prior to the XXth Corps’ attack on the Jerusalem defences—­were:  officers, 21 killed, 64 wounded, 3 missing; other ranks, 247 killed, 1163 wounded, 169 missing, a total of 1667.  The casualties of the 60th Division during the attack on and advance north of Jerusalem on December 8-9 are interesting, because they were so extremely light considering the strength of the defences captured and the difficulties of the ground, namely:  8 officers killed and 24 wounded, 98 other ranks killed, 420 wounded and 3 missing, a total of 553.  The total for the whole of the XXth Corps on these days was 12 officers killed, 35 wounded, and 137 other ranks killed, 636 wounded and 7 missing—­in all 47 officers and 780 other ranks.  The prisoners taken from November 28 to December 10 were:  76 officers, 1717 other ranks—­total, 1793.  On December 8 and 9, 68 officers and 918 other ranks—­986 in all—­were captured.  The booty included two 4-2 Krupp howitzers, three 77-mm. field guns and carriages, nine heavy and three light machine guns, 137 boxes of small-arms ammunition, and 103,000 loose rounds.

CHAPTER XV

GENERAL ALLENBY’S OFFICIAL ENTRY

Jerusalem became supremely happy.