THE PALESTINE FRONT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 52, 13 February 1918, Page 6

THE PALESTINE FRONT.

SOAIE INTERESTING LETTERS.

APPRECIATION OF GENERAL ALLENBY.

A Hawke’s Bay man, who took part in the recent advances in Palestine, including the taking of Jerusalem, writes: —“To-day we are camped near Jaffa. From here there is a wonderful view of the country. In the foreground orange groves, olives, etc., numerous villages, and here and theye the wonderful Jewish settlements established by Baron Rothschild during the last 35 years. The houses roofed with Marseilles tiles, trim hedges, palms and Cyprus trees. In the background the long line of blue mountains occupied at the present time (November) by Turkey. Jerusalem I can’t see. It must lie in the folds of the hills south-east from here. I hear the Turks have cleared out of it. Some of these towns, like Gaza, became ‘no man’s land.’ I think on this front the bulldog wins, and I consider the credit is mainly due to to General Allenby. He is the mainspring of this machine. Our artillery, also, have been perfect, likewise our aeroplanes.”

The' same man writes of a successful raid thus: “A raid was organised. I was one of the bayonets. The artillery barrage commenced. We had ten minutes to get in and out again. The enemy was shelling all approaches,' all machine guns were going, the noise was deafening. Soon reached the enemy, both sides bombing. Here we yelled, and they started to clear. I made that hideous noise we used twice in Africa—wobbling one’s finger in one’s mouth. Then I knelt down and fired 70 rounds. Then off back to get clear of our artillery fire. All js quiet now, but for the occasional ping pong of a sniper. In the morning we were glad to learn that the Australian Light Horse had during the night captured 149 men and two officers, Machine guns, etc., portion of the enemy driven out of - — by our raid. The weather is delightful.” H.M. THE HORSE. TRIBUTE TO MAORILAND STOCK.

Trooper R. G. Miller, of Timaru, who has returned to New Zealand from the Palestine theatre (his thigh was broken by a Martini-Henry bullet in the taking of Jaffa) pays a fine tribute to the New Zealand horses that are engaged in the great advance in that country. “There are plenty of Alain Body horses there which are doing great work,” said Trooper .Miller. “It’s simply wonderful what they are capable of, and though I have lived among horses all my life 1 did not know what a horse was able to do until I saw what these animals have stood up to. All our rations and fodder for the horses had to be taken across the desert by rail and hand-carts, as far as Jaffa, and the advance was so rapid after Gaza collapsed that there; were occasions on which we and the horses were on pretty short rations. We fed the horses on barley and ‘tibben,’ a sort of straw of the barley stalks cut short by dises drawn over a heap of the stuff by bullocks. There were occasions when the ration for a horse fell to nine handfuls of barley per day per horse, and thev onlv got a drink once in three da vs. and vet thev stood up to the work in a wav that was little short of marvellous. Ot course, they 1 >st condition when on th< hort ration. but it did not seem to affect their capacity for work. From the general tenor or Trooper Miller s remarks it is to be’ concluded that the New Zealand horses upheld the honour of their native countrv in the field as ably and steadf i P t? did t'e nun md this tnbut t> mins be t f lend” is thoroughly well deserved. Trooper Miller regretted exceedingly that he was not permitted by Jacko (the Turk) to enter Jerusalem. I com the top of a hill and with the aid ot glasses, they saw* the ancient city in tne lar distance, b >t 11 ( n obj< etui w is I iffa, on the coast, where there was some pretty stiff fighting before •Jacko• gave it best and took io the mountains in the north.

Jaffa proved to be a very blessed oasis in a dry land. For days the fighting, took place amidst orange groves in full bearing. And such oranges I Great big fellows, full of juice, that was as nectar after the army rations served out in the rush across country. The wounded in the Jaffa fight could not be shipped seaward, as the adjacent coast had not been combed for mines, so they all had to be sent overland, by sandcarts, and rail to Cairo. trooper Miller spent five weeks in the hospital at Cairo, and is still a cot case.