PALESTINE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 28 March 1918, Page 7

PALESTINE.

THE RECENT ADVANCE

EXCELiiEM.S^bBK'%Y'iANZiteS. s (Receiv^dfeeE^, 11.10 a.m.): j:.\\ Jtp^NDjpN,.March 27^ Mr Ma^yi Palestine headquarters -<>iy.-^piiesQay,':;.iays: General Allenby/s^a^jr^arci^iiom on© success to ; anotli^rlpn the; Anniversar y■'. of the fir^i^tifef bft6|?^ and occupied Es Salt^t^entyrfiyfe ; jjnjles east of Jordan. •; /i6iecuted operations began on?Fri<fey with the bridging of ,the Jordan, -which was much swelled, by abnormal rains. An attempt was made, to cros,s at Ghoraniyihi. Battalions .of . .Londoners were ferried over,; but could/only: occupy a narrow bridgehead, $00 wide. Further progress'was mad© on Friday, but duiv ing the night the infantry- made a gallant' charge against tJieTuVks' trenches and widened the bridgehead to 1500 yards by a depth, of I©W: yards. 4* Meantime the Anzac engineers Ifed constructed a steel pontoon bridge, aiid while the infantry were cutting .paths through the jungle, without which none could move, there was consadferable shell and rifle fire on the Anzdtes, but this did not interrupt their w<4rk for a moment,. and it was due to tn-eir remarkable fine work that we were able to get over an entire Anzac mounted regiment by dawn. The cavalry moved silently up the left bank through breaks_ in the jungle^ then climbed the low cliffs, suddenly emerged on the plain^ and p-alloped towards Ghoraniyihi. Another Anzac mounted regiment got across east of Jericho, where the Turks destroyed |he only bridge. A previous attenvp-fc failed because of the strength of the stream." the strongest swimmers in the army faded' to breast the current. Another attempt was made four miles south of Hendlah, where seven, men swam over, towing a rope, with which they hauled1 light rafts loaded with men to the opposite bank, which was densely wooded and crowded with Turks. witli machinegunsalniost tojHajeh. The force then scouted to the eastwards. The Duke of Goiuiaught on Saturday was well east of the Jordan watching the operations, including the work of the AnZaos. .■,'■. :-■■-. . . v~■ . •,, :':

An excellent piece of work was done southwards. It was decided to threaten, tho^Turks' flank; atHaieh, and two offic^rs.. and 45 men volunteered to inakejajiriiarch from the Jordan.