a series of terraces, and the retaining walls, often crumbling to the touch, offered some cover from the Turkish defenders’ fire.  With the advantage of this shelter the troops on the right reached the southern end of the village soon after 2 o’clock, but the company on the left met with much opposition on the easier slope, and had to call in aid the support of a machine-gun section posted in the woods on a ridge north-west of the village.  By 3 o’clock the whole battalion was in the village, using rifle and bayonet in the road scarcely more than a couple of yards wide, and bombing the enemy out of native mud and stone houses and caves.  Two officers and fifteen unwounded men were taken prisoners with three machine guns, but before any consolidation could be done the Turks began a series of counter-attacks which lasted all day.  As we had previously found, Foka was very hard to defend.  It is overlooked on the north, north-east, and east by ridges a few hundred yards away, and by a high hill north of Ain Jeruit, 1200 yards to the north, by another hill 1000 yards to the east, and by the famous Zeitun ridge about 1500 yards beyond it, and attacks from these directions could be covered very effectively by overhead machine-gun fire.  To enlarge the perimeter of defence would be to increase the difficulties and require a much larger force than was available, and there was no intention of going beyond Foka before the main operation against Jerusalem was started.  To hold Foka securely a force must be in possession of the heights on the north and east, and to keep these Beitunia itself must be gained.  Before daylight arrived some work on defences was begun, but it was interfered with by snipers and not much could be done.  Immediately the sun rose from behind the Judean hills there was a violent outburst of fire from machine guns and rifles on three sides, increasing in volume as the light improved.  The enemy counter-attacked with a determination fully equal to that which he had displayed during the past fortnight’s battle in the hills.  He had the advantage of cover and was supported by artillery and a hurricane of machine-gun fire, but although he climbed the hill and got into the small gardens outside the very houses, he was repulsed with bomb and bayonet.  At one moment there was little rifle fire, and the two sides fought it out with bombs.  The Turks retired with heavy losses, but they soon came back again and fought with the same determination, though equally unsuccessfully.  The Devons called for artillery, and three batteries supported them splendidly, though the gunners were under a great disadvantage in that the ground did not permit the effect of gunfire to be observed and it was difficult to follow the attackers.  The supplies of bombs and small-arms ammunition were getting low, and to replenish them men had to expose themselves to a torrent of fire, so fierce indeed that in bringing up two boxes of rifle ammunition which four men could carry twelve casualties were incurred.  A head