PALESTINE VICTORY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17429, 25 September 1918, Page 5

PALESTINE VICTORY.

JORDAN PASSAGES CLOSED. TWO TURKISH ARMIES WIPED OUT. Australian and N.Z. C'ablo Association. Router. LONDON, September 23. Palestine communique: Having seized the passages of tho Jordan at Jisr-ed-Danueli on Sunday morning the- enemy's a last avenue of escape westward of the t! river -was closed. Tho Seventh and '1 Eighth Turkish armies have virtually t! ceased to exist. Their entire transport has t, been captured. By 8 o'clock yesterday e 25,000 prisoners and 260 guns had been g counted, but many prisoners and much '[ material have not yet been, enumerated. 1 IN ALLENBY'S NET. c -> ' U FORTY THOUSAND TROOPS \ SURROUNDED. 3 8 Australian and N.Z. Cablo Association. NEW YORK, September 23. r Forty thousand Turks have been sur- . rounded, and it is not believed that they ' have any chance of escape. MB MASSEY'S VIEW. TURKS CANNOT HOPE TO RECOVER. IMMENSE UNCHECKED BOOTY. NEW ZEALANDERS SEIZE JORDAN CROSSING. LONDON, September 23. Mr W. T. Massey, writing from Palestine Headquarters on Sunday, states: There is still a great deal of clearing-itp to do, but the first battle is practically over. General Allenby has secured one of the most complete victories in the -war. A few unimportant enemy sections may | have got away in driblets, but the Turkish armies have ceased to exist as armies. Tho troops have been killed or captured, and they have lost almost their entire -war material of every description. If a new army is to be created for operations in Palestine and Syria tho Turks must provide not only the men btit the mechanism of ivar. Nearly all their guns on this front, their transport, rolling stock, and engineers' stores have fallen into our hands. Our infantry alone have taken 270 guns, and our cavalry are too busy secui - - ing prisoners to count or sent in reports of their gun captures. I have been over a large portion of the battlefield, a hundred square miles in extent, and have seen the debris of the routed army, and now I realise that it must be eome time before a full statement of the enemy losses is possible. This much, however, is certain: Bold strategy, • backed by the victorious action of enthussiastic and determined troops, has obtained a victory for the Allies from which the Turks cannot hope to recover. To-day's news is a≤ good as that of the

ireceding days. In the Jordan Valley we made import,nt ground. A few of the enemy had ome down from Nablus and got across he Jordan by the Jisr-od-Damieh ferry, ihe New Zealanders at 8 o'clock got across he track to stop this exit, and rounded ip 800 prisoners, including the staff and lommander of the Turkish Forty-third Division. Apparently it brings bad luck o command this division, for in the first >attle of Gaza the Australians" caught its :ommander in his carriage. At 1 o'clock ,o-day the New Zealanders crossed the Jordan and secured the Damieh bridgeiead. ' East of Jericho the infantry who rolled ip the enemy from the west'had little to lo to-day beyond taking the sxirrender of solated parties, but they increased their :aptures of guns. The Irish, Welsh, and Indian infantry operating about the Nablus road got veil lorth and east of Nablus, adding to the iisoomfiture of the retreating enemy. The Irish covered 21 miles, fighting over the mountains, in 36 hours. Our cavalry have approached Kefr tvanna and Seffarieh, north of Nazareth. Yesterday the Yeomanry and Indian j iavalry beat off an attack on the TebriahA.cre road, north of Nazareth, from the direction of Haifa. FINE WORK IJY AIRMEN. INDIAN TROOPS' MAGNIFICENT DASH. EVERYWHERE BRILLIANTLY SUCCESSFUL. LONDON, September 23. Mr Maesey wriies. : Thft British and Australian ainn&n have been carrying on as usual, but they «hoso a new field to-day when they attacked motor and rXhei transport tryicg to escape od the ShibleSeisim. road, 'l'zcy dropped four toes of bombs, inflicting shvwo damage to men and material. In say -wauderings I have seen the extraordinary success a-cluwved by the airmen in the.se operations- On the Tullverara-Nablus road our piioU.- flew at a very low altitude, and dropped Wtnbs where it was impossible to miss. Tlxaroad for miles is choked with smashed lorries, wheels, transport, dead men, and horses. Ikivir.g broken vp the transport columns and made it difficult fox the men to move, our airraen returctd aud lnachino-gunwed the tro&ps endcavoariss io hidr>.. What th«?y aceoiiipliahed in this neighbourhood w;is repeated on the Bamieh road and elsewhere. The airmen's total casualties in-

flicted on the .enemy must reach liiah figures. All the prisoners speak with dre;id of the sound of sircxatb. One feature of Uiis battle has been the magnificent dash of the Indian troops. The veteran soldiers of India were expected to do -well, and have Jived up to their high reputation. Tho young battalions who replaced tho white troops sent from Palestine for service on the western front were an unknown quantity; but these young Indian battalions came through the ordeal magnificently. They fought like seasoned warriors, and cheerfully answered any call. Their divisional commanders tell me tbat they are delighted with the Indians' v;;)our under all conditions. Fortyseven hours of contiiiijo'.ss fighting and marching tested them to the utmost; but they behaved superbly, their only fault beiiis too great eagerness to push on. In Thursday's tremendous attack against the coastal defence? their officers had to restrain tbe men from rushing into our artillevy barr.-ige. These, who took the place of some of the Londoners .sent to France, were tremendously keen to preserve their record. A division of Indians, with some Londoners, who were first into Jerusalem, ajid first over the Jordan, wanted also to be first through the coastal defences. They succeeded, went on, and secured the crossing of the Wadi Falik for our cavalry. They advanced northeastward of Tulkeram, covering the astonshing distance of 22 miles in 13J hours, includiirjr trench fighting and actions in tho open. This wonderful performance is an example of what the young Indian battalions are capable of. All are practically of the same quality. For skill in hill fighting it would be hard to find a parallel for this incident: There was a stern struggle for the Bietlid Hills, 5000 yards from Nablus. On Friday, when Nablus was captured, it was decided to take a station which commanded the south by a high, steep hill. A Sikh battalion crept up the irreguhu slopes in the moonlight, and caught the garrison entirely unprepared. T.h<vy rushed the surprised German machinegunners, and sustained not one single casualty among the Sikhs. Tbe Indians, marching over t!io hilJy countrv, b"d tr leave all their artillery behind esc&pt the mountain guns. Try Doctors' Cream o' Groats. Unlike imported foods, it is always reliable, pure and fresh. 2i NAZOIj is known everywhere ns the readv-for-uso and money-saving remedy foi coughs and colds. Sixty doses Is 6d. Dr Arthur S. Moody, of Outram, ha! received notice to report for duty in'Wei linjrfcon on_ September 28. prior to ombarlc ii\<r on active service. A sure and pleasant specific for remov ing Worms is WADE'S WORM FIGS Price Is 6d,