ADVANCE ON JERICHO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16800, 16 March 1918, Page 7

ADVANCE ON JERICHO.

HEAVY COUNTRY COVERED. CAIRO. Mnr. 3. Mr. W. T. Massey, official correspondent, teleprraphs from Palestine headquarters, under date February 28 :—The army's dashing work in the mountains east of , Jerusalem enabled much more rapid pro-, gress to be made than the. Turks ap-1 parently thought possible. The infantry : slid down the hill over slippery smooth' stones, slithered in mudijy valleys, and climbed up mountain slopes with full equipment, where one frequently took a i pace forward trd slipped back two. The [ mounted troops had a very arduous time in country as difficult for cavalry as it is possible to conceive. The Anzac mounteds started near Bethlehem. For miles the men had to lead their horses, and in places had to move in single file. There was no broad front over which cavalry could manoeuvre, and it was only possible to go through the passes. They wero held up for some time beforo Ncby Musa, the traditional burial place of Moses, but some Anzacs worked off tho hills on to flatter ground near the Dead Sea, and threatened Neby Musa in the flank, when they dismounted. The attack on Neby Musa was made just before dawn. Most of the Turks had fled. We found a number of dead and took a few prisoners. The Anzacs pushed on, entered Jericho, and went forward to the bridge over the Jordan, but the Turks were in full retreat. The valley of the Jordan was patrolled by us. Our horsemen had been as far north as the River Auja. The mounted troops were highly pleased with a message from General Allenby, who had been over all the ground covered by the cavalry, commending their gallantry and endurance ,