, next to this, the autumn,
when the heat of the summer has passed its height and the rains of
winter have not yet made the country impassable.

The importance of good railways in modern war is immense. We have
already traced the construction of the broad gauge line from Egypt which
followed close behind the British in their advance across the Desert and
into Southern Palestine. The Turks in Western Palestine were at a
perpetual disadvantage through the inferiority of the railway service;
but, in Eastern Palestine, i.e. across the Jordan, the position was
reversed. Before the war, Syria had been connected with Asia Minor by a
broad gauge line from Aleppo to Rayak, where it effected a junction with
a narrow gauge line from Beyrout to Damascus. The broad gauge line was
part of the Baghdad railway scheme. But at this time, that railway, even
between Constantinople and Aleppo, was only partially completed. The
tunnelling of the Taurus Mountains was yet unfinished. Thus troops or
supplies, coming from Constantinople to Damascus, had to break the
journey at the Taurus Mountains and again at Rayak. These two
interruptions provided admirable opportunities for delay and confusion,
which the dilatory Turk embraced. The tunnelling of the Taurus was
pushed on with during the war, and in 1918 rumours reached us that these
mountains had been pierced, so that trains could then run through from
Constantinople (Haida Pasha) to Rayak. The installation of more
business-like Germans at the latter station went far towards minimising
the delays and confusion due to the break of gauge.

From Damascus, the Hejaz railway, constructed nominally for Mecca
pilgrims, runs due south, and, passing along the high plateau of Eastern
Palestine, had already reached Medina. A branch from this line, starting
from a junction at Deraa, ran westwards along the Plain of Esdraelon to
Haifa. Another line, almost parallel to the Hejaz railway, ran from
Damascus due south to Mezerib; this line was removed by the Turks after
the commencement of the war, as the materials were required for railway
construction elsewhere. Unconnected with any of these railways, a French
line ran from Jaffa to Jerusalem; this also the Turks removed, as
between Jaffa and Ludd, while, for the remainder of its length, they
altered the gauge so as to adapt it to the rolling stock of the Hejaz
Railway. All these railways south of Damascus were narrow-gauge lines,
without much rolling stock