ADVANCE IN PALESTINE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 1014, 16 November 1917, Page 5

ADVANCE IN PALESTINE.

THE BRITISH VICTORY IN PALESTINE. GENERAL ALLENBY'S ADVANCE, .IRITIS U YEOMANRY’S BRILLIANT CHARGE. Received November 16. 12.25 p.m. LONDON, Nov. 15. Mr M assoy, telegraphing on Tuesday, ays: General Alien by to-day moved northward and secured control of a big area of the world’s most ancient battlefield, a largo Turkish force fighting a desperate rearguard action northward of Wady Sukcroir, from near the dunes on tho coast to tho Beit-Jiihrin road, round Burketh, which tho Scottish captured. Colonial and British cavalry to-day secured a tight grasp of some of thy. northern outposts in the land of the Philistines. They with tho infantry occupied Yadneh, the Jainnia of Joshua’s time. The pursuit of the Turks relentlessly com tinues. Wo are almost within sight of llamlch, tho former Turkish headquarters. Bcvond Ramleh is Lydda, tho spot reputed to contain tho remains of St. George. We are only seven miles from Ramleh. A Turkish communique, dated the 10th. states: The enemy did not attack. The fact is, the Turks themselves six times fruitlessly ’attacked the Scottish northward of Wadi 11 esy. Their failure caused them to abandon Askalon and other places. We took a thousand prisoners and over twenty guns. , , Router’s correspondent at headquarters m Palestine reports that on Wednesday we captured the junction station, where the Beersheba railway joins the Jaffa-Jerusalem line, cutting oil the enemy’s railway communication with Jerusalem. JHs last hope of holding us at Wady Sticir is gone. lie may still put. up a certain amount of local fighting, but organised resistance on a large scale is unlikely. Within a fortnight of the inception of the offensive, tho enemy army, consisting of nine divisions, has been driven out of strongly fortified and apparently impregnable positions, chivvied across the country suffering enormous losses, with its morale broken.

The feature of .yesterday’s fighting was the brilliant charge by the Yeomanry on the enemy's entrenched position above Mughair. They charged straight- across the upland and were received with the heavy lire of rifles, machine guns, and field pieces, but cut right through the Turks, sabring right and left. When the enemy found themselves cut off they throw down their arms.

After the Scottish infantry’s bout at Bur kah four hundred dead lurks were counted at one position alone. Tho aviators are doing excellent work bombing the railways. Five German machines with three spare engines and other material wire, destroyed when wo bombed the aerodrome at Anakelinenshiyo It is believed they were new machines recently arrived.

Tho population behind the lines are joyously resuming their usual occupations, including the sowing of crops, and are doing a roaring trade with our men in oranges and other commodities.