ving no weakness or defect which embarrassed their usefulness in
civilian occupation; but both the strength of the Army and justice to
the men involved require that the test of fitness for military service
should be the sole guide, and the judgments of the most expert
physicians have been relied upon to give us an army composed of men of
the highest possible physical efficiency.

* * * * *

The capture of Jerusalem by the British under Allenby on December 8th,
1917, sent a thrill throughout the civilized world. The deliverance of
the Holy City from the Turks marked another great epoch in its history,
which includes possession by Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans,
Arabs, and Turks. The entrance of the British troops into Jerusalem is
described in the following narrative.

THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM

GENERAL E. H. H. ALLENBY

[Sidenote: General Allenby's instructions.]

When I took over the command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force at the
end of June, 1917, I had received instructions to report on the
conditions in which offensive operations against the Turkish Army on the
Palestine front might be undertaken in the autumn or winter of 1917.

After visiting the front and consulting with the Commander of the
Eastern Force, I submitted my appreciation and proposals in a telegram
dispatched in the second week of July.

[Sidenote: Situation on the Palestine front.]

The main features of the situation on the Palestine front were then as
follows:

The Turkish Army in Southern Palestine held a strong position extending
from the sea at Gaza, roughly along the main Gaza-Beersheba Road to
Beersheba. Gaza had been made into a strong modern fortress, heavily
entrenched and wired, offering every facility for protracted defence.
The remainder of the enemy's line consisted of a series of strong
localities, viz.: the Sihan group of works, the Atawineh group, the Baha
group, the Abu Hareira-Arab el Teeaha trench system, and, finally, the
works covering Beersheba. These groups of works were generally from
1,500 to 2,000 yards apart, except that the distance from the Hareira
group to Beersheba was about 4 1/2 miles.

[Sidenote: Turks have good communications.]

The enemy's force was on a wide front, the distance from Gaza to
Beersheba being about 30 miles; but his lateral communications were
good, and any threatened point of the line could be very quickly
reinforced.

My force was