t engagement at Ayun Kara, 6 miles south of Jaffa, where the Turks
made a determined counter-attack, and were only repulsed at the point of
the bayonet.

On the morning of the 15th our mounted troops dislodged a hostile
rearguard, which had taken up a position on the high ground, flanking
the railway north of Junction Station, and covering the main road from
Jaffa to Jerusalem. This is the site of Gezer, one of the most ancient
of the Canaanitish cities in Palestine, and one of the first objects of
interest sought by the eye of the tourist on his journey up from Jaffa
to Jerusalem. Thus, commanding both the railway and the main Jerusalem
road, this position might have considerably delayed our advance had it
been held with determination. As it was, our mounted troops were able to
occupy Ramleh and Ludd that evening and to push forward patrols to
within a short distance of Jaffa.

Jaffa, the ancient port of Jerusalem, was occupied without further
opposition on the evening of the 16th.

"The situation was now as follows. The enemy's army, cut in two by our
capture of Junction Station, had retired partly east into the mountains
towards Jerusalem, and partly north along the Plain. The nearest line on
which these two portions could reunite was the line Tul Keram-Nablus."
Although Jerusalem itself could still be supplied along the road
connecting it with Nablus, or along the road across the Jordan to Ammam
Station on the Hejaz Railway, yet "reports from the R.F.C. indicated
that it was the probable intention of the enemy to evacuate Jerusalem
and withdraw to organize on the line Tul Keram-Nablus.

"On our side, the mounted troops had been marching and fighting
continuously since October 31st, and had advanced a distance of 75 miles
measured in a straight line from Asluj to Jaffa. The infantry, after
their last fighting at Gaza, had advanced, in nine days, distances of
from 40 to 70 miles, with two severe engagements and continual
advanced-guard fighting. The railway was being pushed forward as rapidly
as possible, and every opportunity was taken of landing stores at points
along the coast; but the landing of stores was dependent on a
continuance of favourable weather, and might at any moment be stopped
for several days together.

"A pause was therefore necessary to await the progress of railway
construction. But before our position in the Plain could be considered
secure, it was essential to push forward into the hills, a