s of vantage that he held and driving him further from the
city.

On the night of the 26/27th December, determined counter-attacks were
delivered by the Turks. They attacked the 53rd Division at points east
of Jerusalem, and the 60th to the north, their principal objective being
Tel el Ful, a conspicuous hill 3 miles east of Neby Samwil, from which
Jerusalem and the intervening ground could be overlooked. On the morning
of the 28th, a lull occurred in the fighting, followed by an attack of
unexpected strength against the whole front. The successes gained by
this attack were short-lived. A counter-attack by the 74th and 10th
Divisions, further to the left, now made itself felt. This was launched
against the enemy's reserves, and thus deprived the enemy of the
initiative. The Turkish attack being spent, a general advance northward,
took place, not, however, without further heavy fighting. Pursuing our
advantage, we further advanced our line on the 30th, and occupied a line
from Beitior (Bethel), 2 miles north-east of Bireh, to Janieh and Ras
Kerker, 7 miles west, north-west of Bireh. Bireh, which had been our
objective in November, was, at last, securely in our possession. The
Turkish attempt to recapture Jerusalem had ended in crushing defeat.

Throughout the winter months the weather was miserably wet, and the
troops in Palestine, whether engaged in active operations or merely
holding the line, suffered intense discomfort. The mails brought us
letters from our friends at home, saying how much they envied us who
were spending Christmas in the Holy Land. But those who were up the line
spent Christmas Day soaked to the skin in a gale of wind and rain, while
their Christmas dinner consisted of half-rations of bully beef and
biscuit. They were wishing themselves anywhere else upon this earth. The
appalling weather conditions made it impossible to get more than the
bare necessities of life forward from railhead, and tons of Christmas
luxuries sent from England through Egypt lay soaked and rotting in dumps
at Deir Sineid.

January was much too wet for operations in this country. In February,
however, General Allenby determined on the capture of Jericho. The
country from round Jerusalem slopes down, as we have seen, very abruptly
to Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Precipitous slopes, rocky ridges and
narrow ledges, confined the advance to definite lines on which the enemy
could concentrate fire. The advance began on the 19th,