00 men, he advanced by remarkable
forced marching and hard fighting on Damascus, which he occupied
October 1, 1918. During the offensive on Damascus, he captured over
70,000 prisoners and 350 guns. Included in these figures were several
Turkish commanders and German and Austrian troops numbering more than
200 officers and 3000 privates.

Damascus is the most beautiful city in Asiatic Turkey and is the oldest
city in the world. There is a Turkish prophecy, many centuries old,
made in fact when the Turks were at the height of their power, that
some day they would be conquered and driven back to the place from
which they came. The prophet said, "When the end is at hand, Damascus
will be taken by the infidels. An Imam wearing a green turban and a
green robe will ascend to the top of a green minaret with his last
salavat. He will call all the faithful about him and they will all
then start on a journey to the place from whence they came."

Because of this prophecy, there is a Turkish saying known to all Turks
educated or ignorant, dweller in city or in obscure village, which
reads, _Evelli Sham, Akhuri Sham_. Now _Sham_ is the Turk's name for
Damascus, _Evelli_ means first, and _Akhuri_ means last: and the
meaning of the saying in English would be something like this,
"Damascus is everything to the Turk, and when it falls all is lost."
Probably the prophet had no idea that Damascus would or could be taken
from the south by forces led across the desert as General Allenby led
the English. If Damascus should be captured from the north, all of the
Turkish dominion would have to be conquered before the foe reached
there. So the Turks have repeated with a feeling of security, _Evelli
Sham, Akhuri Sham_.

The capture of Damascus opened the way to Aleppo, situated on the
Constantinople-Bagdad railroad about 180 miles to the north. The
Turkish troops, routed by the rapid advance of the British on Damascus,
gave very little resistance to Allenby in his drive on Aleppo. The
English entered Aleppo on Saturday morning, October 26, and stopped
Turkish traffic on the Constantinople-Bagdad railway at this point. On
October 29, General Marshall's forces defeated the Turks at Kaleh
Sherghat, cutting off their communications with Mosul. The combined
victories of Allenby in Palestine and Marshall in Mesopotamia left the
remaining Turkish forces helpless. Turkey signed an armistice October
30, 1918, which was virtually the same