Thursday 8th
November 1917
Gaza has
fallen to our forces. The town was evacuated by the enemy and our forces are
now in occupation. Thus a place which had resisted attack since March has
yielded to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
The adjutant
pf 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment has kept us up to date with events.
“Yesterday D Company attacked and took Turtle Hill an hour after midnight. Information
was then received that the enemy was withdrawing from his line. Gaza was
reported as unoccupied. The Divisional Cavalry rode through Sheikh Hasan to
follow up the retiring enemy. 52nd Division proceeded through later. A collection
of captured stores was proceeded with. Our captures include 8 machine-guns (damaged),
400,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 2,000 bombs, refuelling equipment and
numerous other stores”.
The current position
“Orders were received
to prepare to move. All Transport was got up and everything packed up in
readiness. Moved at 6 pm and proceeded to Jebalieh via Beach Road On arrival at
Jebalieh, A, B and D Companies took up an outpost line, during which time they
came under enemy machine-gun fire. C Company with Headquarters Company were in
reserve and formed Battalion Headquarters in the Cactus Gardens. Two 4.2 inch Guns
manufactured by Armstrong Whitworths in 1897 were taken by A Company, also a
considerable amount of transport”.
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