Saturday 29th December 1917
1st/5th
Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is currently at Mulebbis(1) about six miles
east of Jaffa. On 27th the Turks began to attack towards Jerusalem in hopes of
regaining it. At 4 a.m. yesterday the Bedfords saw about sixty or seventy of
the enemy approaching their left post. An officer with a patrol and Lewis gun
left the post and got within six hundred yards of the Turks before opening fire
causing a rapid withdrawal by the enemy.
At noon the
Battalion went into billets in Mulebbis. The area allocated was only capable of
holding 200 men and was in a very dirty condition. It was therefore decided
that the Battalion should bivouac as a whole(2)
The 7th Battalion, near
Poperinge, carried out a tactical scheme for brigade commander General Sadleir
Jackson this morning. Two Companies of the 11th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and
a detachment of Vickers guns supplied an enemy for this scheme. At the conference
afterwards the General pointed out the excellent manner in which the N.C.O's
and Section Commanders handled their commands, and the intelligent manner in
which all ranks carried out their duties. This tactical scheme was generally
considered to be very much above the average.
Sources: X550/6/8; X550/8/1
(1) Now Petah
Tikva
(2) The Turkish attacks on the British lines were all
beaten off by 31st December.
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