ry to make it
certain that the new plan would not be interfered with by an enemy
counter-attack. They were in favour of taking the western portion
of the Beitunia-Zeitun ridge. Preparations were made immediately
to relieve the Yeomanry Mounted Division by the Australian Mounted
Division, and when the 10th Division arrived--it was marching up from
Gaza--the 52nd Division was to be returned to the XXIst Corps. The
hard fighting and the determined attacks of the Turks had made it
unavoidable that some portions of the divisions should be mixed, and
the reliefs were not completed till the 2nd of December.

The Yeomanry Mounted Division troops gave over the Tahta defences to
the 157th Infantry Brigade on the night of November 29-30, and the
enemy made an attack on the new defenders at dawn, but were swiftly
beaten off. A local effort against Nebi Samwil was easily repulsed,
but the 60th Division reported that the enemy had in the past few days
continued his shelling of the Mosque, and had added to his destruction
of that sacred place by demolishing the minaret by gunfire. The 231st
Infantry Brigade with one battalion in the front line took over from
the 8th Mounted Brigade from Beit Dukku to Jufna, and while the
reliefs were in progress there was continual fighting in the Et
Tireh-Foka area. The former place was won and lost several times, and
finally the infantry consolidated on the high ground west of those
villages. Early on the 30th a detachment of the 231st Brigade took
Foka, capturing eight officers and 298 men, but as it was not possible
to hold the village the infantry retired to our original line. On
December 1 the 10th Division relieved the 52nd in the sector wadi
Zait-Tahta-Kh. Faaush, but on that day the 155th Brigade had had
another hard brush with the Turks. A regiment of the 3rd Australian
Light Horse on a hill north of El Burj in front of them was heavily
attacked at half-past one in the morning by a specially prepared
sturmtruppen battalion of the Turkish 19th Division, and a footing
was gained in our position, but with the aid of a detachment of the
Gloucester Yeomanry and the 1/4th Royal Scots Fusiliers the enemy
was driven out at daybreak and six officers and 106 unwounded and 60
wounded Turks, wearing steel hats and equipped like German storming
troops, were taken prisoners. The attack was pressed with the greatest
determination, and the enemy, using hand grenades, got within thirty
yards of our line. Du