THE CAMPAIGNS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17664, 17 December 1917, Page 4

THE CAMPAIGNS.

<9su account of the capture of Jerusalem given by Reuter's correspondent with General Allenby's army emphasises the elaborate caro with which the whole series of operations was planned and the thoroughness with which the plaqs were carried out. General AlIcntfy aimed at the envelopment of the city- He might have pressed on altei the retreat of the Turks and; attacked them frontally in their hill positions, but sn that case, while the capture of the city would have been accomplished art an earlier date, he might have been compelled to fight even within the walla of Jerusalem, and undoubtedly some of the sacred places would have come,Under shell-fire. Delay was not altogether disadvantageous, although it enabled the Turks to prepare defensive positions to the north, because it gave the British troops much-needed vest and afforded time for tbe'accumulation of water and food supplies and military stores. The main purpose, however, was to permit the completion of the plans for the capture of Jerusalem. These involved the maintenance of steady pressure on the enemy positions covering the Nablus road and on the hilb west of Jerusalem, while a aire?? enveloping force was organised on southern flank. The course of the Operations' was indicated in tjhe earlier messages, but the impression that there was comparatively little fighting is now shown tc have been wrong. The Turks resisted strongly at many points and endured heavy losses before they evacuated their positions, and it seems that the British losses were increased by General Allenby's determination to save Bethlehem and Jerusalem from injury. The guns wero used very sparingly, and positions that would'normally have been subjected to a preparatory shelling were directly stormed. The story that the population of Jerusalem joyfully welcomed the deliverers «f the city is undoubtedly itrue. Nowhere in the region is the Turk trusted or respected, and the only people beyond those of Turkish race who would regret the British success are the Germans, most of whom, doubtless, fled from the city on General Allenby's approach. The news from the various fronts is ttmitcd. Strong Austrian attacks between the Piave and the Brenta, where the French are in liae beside the Italians, were stopped. There is said to be \n enormous j concentration of enemy

guns on this sector. A strong German attack just north of the Menin-Ypres road is reporter! jn the British communique. The enemy retains his ho-'d on a corner of high ground at Ghcluvelt, which is now on the southern flank of the Ypres salient, and the local attack against the Polderhoek Chateau sector aimed, doubtless, at a success of the same kind as that which the enemy achieved in his offensive at Gonnelieii. He captured a few hundred yards of trench, but a counterattack virtually restored the position. There has been little movement of consequence on the French front.