Leave in Jerusalem

Tuesday 23rd July 1918

Since its capture by our armies last year Jerusalem has become a place of tourism and pilgrimage. The 1st/5th Bedfords are currently resting and training in Egypt but yesterday two officers decided to enjoy the leave they had been granted in the Holy City, seeing the sites and paying their respects.

Source: X550/6/8

A Skirmish and a Tactical Scheme

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.

Italy Bound

Tuesday 11th December 1917

The 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment are off on holiday! At least that is how the adjutant wryly described their current mission to me on the blower this afternoon. Their parent unit, 5th Division, is one of five British divisions being sent from the Western Front to Italy, some have already gone, others are on the way now. This British force will be commanded by General Plumer, who has, reluctantly it is understood, handed over command of Second Army at Ypres to Sir Henry Rawlinson.The British divisions will be formed into two Corps, they comprise 5th, 7th, 23rd, 41st and 48th (South Midland) Divisions. Six French divisions are also being sent to Italy.

The reason for sending over 130,000 allied soldiers from France and Flanders is that Italy is in crisis. The Austrians, bolstered by German troops no longer needed to fight the Russians following that country’s collapse into anarchy, launched an attack at Caporetto on 24th October. In a battle which lasted until early November they smashed the Italian 2nd Army and threatened Venice. Fortunately the Italians managed to stabilise the front but they are dreadfully weakened in what a military friend of mine calls the 3 Ms - material, morale and men. It is hoped that the British and French troops will provide the sort of help to the Italians that the Germans did for the Austrians - well-trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened units around which the Italians can rebuild their strength.

Today the 1st Bedfords went to Anvin and have boarded trains for their long journey south. They are, in fact, on two separate trains. The first, commanded by the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel P R Worrall consists of B Company and D Company. Major Chirnside commands the second train containing A Company and C Company. The transport and quartermaster’s stores have been divided equally between the two trains. They are expected to arrive at their destination on Sunday.

In far-off Palestine we understand that General Sir Edmund Allenby has made his official entry into Jerusalem. Unwilling for any comparison with his Saviour he chose to walk rather than ride in triumph.

Source: X550/2/5

Jerusalem Surrenders

Sunday 9th December 1917

Exciting news has reached us from the adjutant of the 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment in Palestine early this morning. The army has been putting continual pressure on the Turks in Jerusalem from the west and the south. The Turks, readers will remember, had tried to attack the Bedfords and failed to make any significant ground. This pattern was repeated elsewhere and it seems that this forced the enemy to realise that Jerusalem could not be held.

By 7th December the 53rd (Welsh) Division was just south of Bethlehem. Yesterday the Turks abandoned our Lord’s birthplace. As with the situation to the south of Jerusalem, so it was to the west, our troops advancing close to the city. This morning Jerusalem has been abandoned by the enemy and surrendered to British and Imperial forces! The text of the surrender, we understand, reads as follows: "Due to the severity of the siege of the city and the suffering that this peaceful country has endured from your heavy guns; and for fear that these deadly bombs will hit the holy places, we are forced to hand over to you the city through Hussein al-Husseini, the Mayor of Jerusalem, hoping that you will protect Jerusalem the way we have protected it for more than five hundred years." Thus are Bethlehem and Jerusalem restored to Christendom just before Christmas.