the determining factor of the decisive operation
for Turkey during the winter of 1917-1918 lies in Palestine
and not in Mesopotamia. An offensive on the Sinai
Front is therefore--even with reduced forces and a limited
objective--the correct solution.

PAPEN.

IV

_Letter from General Kress von Kressenstein to Yilderim headquarters,
dated September_ 29, 1917, _on moral of Turkish troops_.

A question which urgently needs regulating is that of deserters.
According to my experience their number will increase still more with
the setting in of the bad weather and the deterioration of rations.

Civil administration and the gendarmerie fail entirely; they often
have a secret understanding with the population and are open to
bribery.

The cordon drawn by me is too weak to prevent desertion. I am also
too short of troops to have the necessary raids undertaken in the
hinterland. It is necessary that the hunt for deserters in the area
between the front and the line Jerusalem-Ramleh-Jaffa be formally
organised under energetic management, that one or two squadrons
exclusively for this service be detailed, and that a definite reward
be paid for bringing in each deserter. But above all it is necessary
that punishment should follow in consequence, and that the
unfortunately very frequent amnesties of His Majesty the Sultan be
discontinued, at least for some time.

The question of rationing has not been settled. We are living
continually from hand to mouth. Despite the binding promises of
the Headquarters IVth Army, the Vali of Damascus, the Lines of
Communication, Major Bathmann and others, that from now on 150 tons of
rations should arrive regularly each day, from the 24th to the 27th of
this month, for example a total of 229 tons or only 75 tons per diem
have arrived.

I cannot fix the blame for these irregularities. The Headquarters IVth
Army has received the highly gratifying order that, at least up to the
imminent decisive battle, the bread ration is raised to 100 grammes.
This urgently necessary improvement of the men's rations remains
illusory, if a correspondingly larger quantity of flour (about one
wagon per day) is not supplied to us. So far the improvement exists
only on paper. The condition of the animals particularly gives
cause for anxiety. Not only are we about 6000 animals short of
establishment, but as a result of exhaustion a considerable number of
animals are ruined daily. The majority of