y mountain guns. The garrison
stood fast all day though practically surrounded, and every attack was
beaten off. The Turks tried again and again to secure the hill, which
commands a track to Bethlehem, but, although they fired 400 shells
at the position, they could not enter it, and a battalion sent up to
relieve the Middlesex men next morning found that the company had
driven the enemy off, its casualties having amounted to only 2 killed
and 17 wounded. Thus did the 'Die Hards' live up to the traditions of
the regiment.

Having dealt with the failure of the Turkish attacks against the 60th
and 53rd Divisions in front of Jerusalem, let us change our view point
and focus attention on the left sector of XXth Corps, where the enemy
was feeling the full power of the Corps at a time when he most wished
to avoid it. General Longley had organised his attacking columns in
three groups. On the right the 229th Brigade of the 74th Division was
set the task of moving from the wadi Imeish to secure the high ground
of Bir esh Shafa overlooking Beitunia; the 31st Brigade, starting from
near Tahta, attacked north of the wadi Sunt, to drive the enemy from a
line from Jeriut through Hafy to the west of the olive orchards
near Ain Arik; while the left group, composed of the 29th and 30th
Brigades, aimed at getting Shabuny across the wadi Sad, and Sheikh
Abdallah where they would have the Australian Mounted Division on
their left. The advance started from the left of the line. The
29th Brigade leading, with the 30th Brigade in support, left their
positions of deployment at six o'clock, by which time the Turk had had
more than he had bargained for north and east of Jerusalem. The 1st
Leinsters and 5th Connaught Rangers found the enemy in a stubborn mood
west of Deir Ibzia, but they broke down the opposition in the proper
Irish style and rapidly reached their objectives. The centre group
started one hour after the left and got their line without much
difficulty. The right group was hotly opposed. Beginning their advance
at eight o'clock the 229th Brigade had reached the western edge of the
famous Zeitun ridge in an hour, but from this time onwards they were
exposed to incessant artillery and machine-gun fire, and the forward
movement became very slow. In five hours small parties had worked
along the ridge for about half its length, fighting every yard, and it
was not until the approach of dusk that we once more got control of
the whole ridg