TURKS MAKE FOR HEDJAZ RAILWAY.

Evening Star, Issue 16848, 25 September 1918, Page 6

TURKS MAKE FOR HEDJAZ RAILWAY.

OUR TROOPS FOLLOW FAST. ARABS CUT TBE LINE SOUTHWARD. BAY OF ACRE OCCUPIED. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Oabla Association and Reuter,

LONDON, September 24-. (Received September 25, at 10.40 a.m.) Palestine official: Eastward of the Jordan the enemy -'ire withdrawing to Amman foil the Eedjaz railway). Australian, New Zealand, West Indian, arid Jewish troops aro pursuing ihein. and have reached Es Salt, capturing gun* and prisoners. Our cavalry in the north" occupied Haifa and Acre (on the Levant coast) after j light opposition. Tire prisoners are increasing in number, and the total largely exceeds 25,000. King Hussein's Arabs have occupied Maan ~ (south-east ef . the Dead Sea), and Fire, harassing bodies of the enemy retreating along the Hedjaz railway to Maan. [Amman and >laan are both on the Hedjaz railway, which runs east of the Bead Sea. Amman being 130 miles north of Maan.] AN UNPARALLELED VICTORY. REMARKABLE SCENES. Australian aud N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON. September 24. (Received September 25, at- 11.20 a.m ) Mr W. T. writing from Nublu; O't Monday, jays:" In conversation' with me to-dav," a general with experience or rr-.anv wars said : " .["hers lias been no n.cii- complete victory i-i history than General Allenbv's ajmihilation of two Turkish armies west of the Jordan." 'ibis one sentence describes in epitome with. absolute truth the operations during the last five davs o'" this magnificent Impend aunv in Palestine. The Turki-h seventh and eights armies haw Wen practically wiped out. and the verv small numbers who succeeded 'in getling i-eross the Jordan in isolated batches are a mere fragment of the fore opposed to us on the morning of the 19th. Thev are almost entirely without war material, :i:id it is extremelv doubtful whether one gun or a. lorry or anything on wheels got iwav. A* few batches in the hills are holding out in inaccessible spots, and it may be a dav or two before they are all rounded up": but victory will be final and complete, and probabiv unparalleled. To crown the efforts of General Allenbv's armv, to-day the cavalry captured the important port-"of Haifa and historical Acre, and also Es Salt (east of the Jor dan). The result will have a- far-reaching effect. Then our Arab Allies have, captured Maan. There are indications that the enemy. are leaving their strong positions east o: the Jordan, particularly about- Es Salt and Amman. It is clear that the Turks are willing to sacrifice troops in the lledjaz, and to ieave the Turkish army in the Yeman (Turkish colony in South-west Arabia) to its own devices. What effect this swift, staggering, knock-out blow will have on them mav be imagined. At, present it is known that- the number of prisoners greatly exceeds 25.000. It is certain that ihis number will be exceeded, for in my movements over this wide battlefield since our forward push started I have always heard of larger estimates than the ofiicial claims. As "a matter of fact there are groupa of men sitting under white flags awaiting our acceptance of their surrender. More than 260 guns are now located within our lines, and possibly more will be found. The artillery ammunition is in vast quantities everywhere, some depots being acres in extent. As the Turks only manufacture small-arm ammunition, if thev try to raise new armies to take the place of those destroyed, they must- call on Germany for every gun, means of transport, a'ad the instruments of war required. Assuredly our victory has put the Turks in a desperate position. To-day I saw one of the most remarkable sights which a soldier ever gazed upon. !No veteran with long experience in many fields with v.-hum I have spoken had seen the like. From Balata, where the road from Nablus lulls through, the craggy hills in narrow passes to the Wadi Farah there is a stretch of more than six miles long covered with debris left by the retreating army. hi no section of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow could there have been a- more terrible picture of hopeless and irretrievable defeat. In, this area, alone 87 guns of various calibres and fully 1,000 horse and oxen-drawn vehicles, and nearly 100 motor lorries, cars, field kitchens, water carts, and a mass of other implements block the road, with carcasses of thousands of animals and the bodies of dead Turks and Germans. This was the work of the Irish, Welsh .and Indian infantry and the artillery pressure behind. The convoy ol the indomitable British and Australian airmen in front hail forced the #nemy over hills into the road, and just Zb their guns had begun to shell the retiring transport the airmen swooped down to within 200 ft and bombed the head of the column. Our airmen's work was done wkli surprising thoroughness. One flight after another took up the work, until the whole column was one va+t -broken mass of enemy troops. Seeing that escape with vehicles was impossible, the enemy fled to the hills. -Some, in endeavoring to find an outlet up the Beisau road, fell into the hand 3 of our cavalry waiting for them. Others accepted the inevitable, and sought refuge in our lines. For effectiveness and systematic bombing it would be difficult to find a parallel to this destroyed column. The operations working up to tlris dc•bacle were magnificently conducted. Irish and Indian troops played a great part. la 36 hours they marched 21 mile* as the crow flies over a continuous succession of mountains arid deep, rocky valleys, -fighting incessantly against an enemy who was striving with much conspicuous gallantry to delay the advance. The -whole nature of the country was in the enemy's favor, but the Irish and Indians brooked no opposition, and fought with #uperb courage. Just before the Balata road was in sight the Turks tried hard to compel tho Irish to halt. Where the Nablus road passes Hurawarah, about five miles south of Nablus, there is a wide flat, surrounded by hills. The Turks held the summits with uumerouE machine-guns, and it was obvious that it would take a great deal to drive them out of their prepared positions. The Irish and Indians tnerefore extended widely, and advanced across the east plain. When the Turks saw that our infantry meant to get on their flanks, they started to retire". This took them into the plain. Then our Yeomanry swung out from behind the hill and "made a brilliant charge, sabring many Turks. Then, wheeling to the left, they got the village, and more prisoners and materials. IVday our airmen have been .busy in the Es-Salt and Amman area, bombing the enemy on the move. They also attacked the railway station at- Mafrak (further north), and the station and ae.rodromo at Derra, obtaining direct hits, jorittdinß oa« ou a hangar.