on and camp of some importance on the
line to Beersheba. They had already had some stiff fighting at Tel el
Safi, the limestone hill which was the White Guard of the Crusaders.
The Division suffered severely from want of water, particularly the
5th Mounted Brigade, and it was necessary to transfer to it the 7th
Mounted Brigade and the 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade. On the
left of the infantry the Yeomanry Mounted Division was moving forward
from Akir and Mansura, and after the 22nd Mounted Brigade had taken
Naaneh they detailed a demolition party to blow up one mile of
railway, so that, even if the 75th Division had not taken Junction
Station, Jerusalem would have been entirely cut off from railway
communication with the Turkish base at Tul Keram, and Haifa and
Damascus.

Between Naaneh and Mansura the 6th Mounted Brigade was preparing for
another dashing charge. The enemy who had been opposing us for two
days consisted of remnants of two divisions of both the Turkish VIIth
and VIIIth Armies brought together and hurriedly reorganised. The
victory at Mughar had almost, if not quite, split the force in two,
that is to say that portion of the line which had been given the duty
of holding Mughar had been so weakened by heavy casualties, and the
loss of moral consequent upon the shock of the cavalry charge, that
it had fallen back to Ramleh and Ludd and was incapable of further
serious resistance. There was still a strong and virile force on the
seaside, though that was adequately dealt with, but the centre was
very weak, and the enemy's only chance of preventing the mounted
troops from working through and round his right centre was to fall
back on Abu Shushe and Tel Jezar to cover Latron, with its good water
supply and the main metalled road where it enters the hills on the way
to Jerusalem. The loss of Tel Jezar meant that we could get to Latron
and the Vale of Ajalon, and the action of the 6th Mounted Brigade on
the morning of the 14th gave it to us.

The Berks Yeomanry had had outposts on the railway south-east of
Naaneh since before dawn. They had seen the position the previous day,
and at dawn sent forward a squadron dismounted to engage the machine
guns posted in the walled-in house at the north of the village. From
the railway to the Abu Shushe ridge is about three miles of up and
down country with two or three rises of sufficient height to afford
some cover to advancing cavalry. General Godwin arranged that s