eceived, as was that
of the sinking of the U.S. Destroyer "Chauncey" rammed in a collision,
when two officers and eighteen men were lost.

One of the high spots of the war and one of the notable events in the
history of the world, was the surrender of the City of Jerusalem to the
British on Saturday, December 8, 1917. Gen. Allenby entered the famed
city and established his troops on the ancient Jerico Road.

The capture of Jerusalem by the British forces marked the end, with two
brief interludes, of more than 1200 years' possession of the seat of the
Christian religion by the Mohammedans. For 673 years the Holy City had
been in disputed ownership of the Turks, the last Christian ruler of
Jerusalem being the German Emperor, Frederick, whose short-lived
domination lasted from 1229 to 1244.

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.

Apart from its connection with the campaign being waged against Turkey
by the British in Mesopotamia, the fall of Jerusalem marked the definite
collapse of the long-protracted efforts of the Turks to capture the Suez
Canal and invade Egypt. Almost the first move made by Turkey after her
entrance into the war was a campaign against Egypt across the great
desert of the Sinai Peninsula. In November, 1914, a Turkish army,
variously estimated at from 75,000 to 250,000 men, marched on the Suez
Canal and succeeded in reaching within striking distance of the great
artificial waterway at several points. For several months bitter
fighting took place, the canal being defended by an Anglo-Egyptian army
aided by Australians and New Zealanders and French and British forces.

For the greater part of 1915 conflicting reports of the situation were
received from the belligerents, but in December of that year definite
information showed that the Turks had been driven back as far as El
Arish, about eighty-five miles east of the canal. A lull occurred then
which lasted for six months, and in June, 1916, the Turks again advanced
as far at Katieh, about fifteen miles east of the canal. Here they were
decisively defeated, losing more than 3000 prisoners and a great
quantity of equipment.

Another period followed in which the situation was greatly confused
through the vagueness and contradictory character of the official
statements, but in December, 1916, the British stormed El Arish and a
few days later severely defeated the Turks at Maghdabah, about sixty
miles to the south on the same front. Two weeks later the invaders had