LORD ALLENBY DEAD

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 196, 16 May 1936, Page 11

LORD ALLENBY DEAD

Famous War General VICTORIES IN PALESTINE London, May 14. The dcatli has occurred of FieldMarshal Viscount Allenby. Mr. David Lloyd George paid a tribute to Lord Allenby as one of the most successful war generals, and said his name will be recorded in history as the victor In tbe last and most triumphant of tlie Crusades. Lord Milne said that Lord Allenby was a wonderful strategist, a great leader, a great gentleman, and a man of lovable character. Lord Allenby was found dead in his study by a servant shortly after he had been talking to Lady Allenby. ALLENBY’S CAREER Turks Defeated In Palestine Viscount. Allenby, one of the leading British military commanders in the Great War, will be remembered in history for his victorious leadership of the forces in Palestine. . . Born in April, 1861, in 1882 he joined Ihe Inniskilling Dragoons and saw active service early in the Bechuanaland expedition of 1884-85, and in Zululand in 1888, and later passed through the Staff College. During the South African War (1899-1902) he took part in the cavalry operations leading to the relief of Kimberley, and also in the battle of Paardeberg, and in the advance to Pre toria, His command of the Sth Lancers from 1902-05 spread his reputation throughout the Army. After commanding a cavalry brigade, he became inspector of cavalry in 1910, and in 1914 went out to France in command of the cavalry division. . The work of his troops, mounted, during the retreat from Mons, and advance to the Aisne, and, dismounted, in holding tlie line south of Ypres during the critical weeks of October, won high praise in Sir John French’s dispatches. When a second cavalry division arrived, Allenby was given command of the Cavalry Corps then formed, and in October, 1915, he succeeded Sir John Munro as commander of the Third Army. Throughout 1916 his army front was relatively quiet, but in the spring of 1917, it played a foremost role in the battle of Arras. In June Allenby left France to succeed Sir Archibald Murry in charge of the forces in Egypt and Palestine. His first three months on the borders of Palestine, the season being still unsuitable for operations, were devoted to intensive preparations for an autumn offensive, reorganising the command, greatly developing the communications, and moving his own general headquarters from Cairo to the front at Rafa. Complete secrecy and many ruses misled the Turks as to the main point of attack The strong defences at Gaza were bombarded from October 26 onward, and serious attacks followed on November 1 to fix the enemy’s attention and compel hi mto draw in his reserves. Capture of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, as a necessary preliminary to the real blow, tbe outlying bastion of Beersheba (35 miles east of Gaza) was gained by a convergent manoeuvre on October 31, a prelude to the decisive attack on November 6, which broke through the enemy’s weakened centre and into the plain of Philistia. This compelled a general retreat of the Turks, and the pursuit was pressed so relentlessly that by November 14 tbe port of Jaffa had been seized, the Turkish armies driven apart in two divergent masses ,and Allenby was able to wheel his forces, which included New Zealanders and Australians, to the right for an advance inland on Jerusalem. , , The British troops kept too closely on the heels of the Turks for the latter to block the narrow mountain passes, and, despite a stout Turkish resistance almost at the gates of Jerusalem, the object was gained with the surrender of the city on December 9. By the time the winter rains set in the position of the British had been improved and their hold on Jaffa and Jerusalem had been made thoroughly secure The further advance initiated in the spring was interrupted by the crisis on the western front, which forced the dispatch to France of most of Allenby’s British troops. The depletion was made up by reinforcements from India and Mesopotamia, and the summer of 1918 was devoted to reorganisation and tile training of these new' units. Finally, in midSeptember, the carefully-planned and prepared offensive was launched. Feinting toward the east bank of the Jordan, to distract the enemy’s attention, Allenby secretly concentrated on tlie .Mediterranean flank the mass of the infantry, and behind them the cavalry. In this way he changed a two-to-one superiority to one of fonr-to-one at the decisive Point of attack. On the night of September 1819 the forces in tlie hilly centre had attacked to fix the enemy’s attention, and nt dawn on September 19 the western mass struck: the result was to roll the Turks hack north-cast, like a door on its hinges. Turks Cut Off.

Through the open doorway the cavalry passed riding straight tip the coastal corridor for 30 miles before swinging east to cut the Turkish communications and close all exits of retreat. Completely trapped. the main Turkish armies were roundel up. while the British cavalry exploited the victory oi Megiddo by a. swill and sustained pursuit which gained first Damascus and finally Aleppo. The capitulation of Turkey rang down the curtain on this brief and dazzling compaigm

Making all allowances for the British superiority in strength, writes Captain B. IL Liddell Hart in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it must rank as one of the masterpieces of military history, as perfect in execution as in design. For his services tlie victor was promoted fif*. marshal and raised to the peerage as V iscount Allenby of Megiddo and Felixstowe, receiving also a grant of £50.006. Although his campaign had been waged beyond the borders of Egypt, Allenby had been throughout responsible for the protection and internal order of the Nile delta, where the military situation and the changed status of Egypt had led to considerable unrest. In 1010 .he was appointed British High Commissioner in Egypt, and held that post until 192 a through the long sequence of political trouble and disturbances arising out of the agitation for independence. In such conditions criticism of the administra tion was inevitable, but it is a testimony to Allenby’s impartiality and sympathy that it was rather of the velvet glove than of the iron hand. If the ultimate verdict rests with history, it can at least be recognised now that tlie prestige of his mime was a unique asset, and, indeed, made him tlie only possible choice for the post at such a critical period. MR. LYONS’S TRIBUTE Message of Condolence (Received May 15, 11.40 p.m.) Canberra, May 14. The Prime Minister, Mr. J. A. Lyons, has sent a message of condolence t<> the relatives of Lord Allenby, recalling his splendid leadership of the Australians in Palestine and paying a tribute to him as a great soldier.