urks assaulted was that
fourth objective. The Turks put all their hopes on their last card. It
was trumped; and when we had won the trick there was not a soldier in
General Allenby's Army nor a civilian in the Holy City who had not a
profound belief in the coming downfall of the Turkish Empire.

Troops in the line and in bivouac spent the most cheerless Christmas
Day within their memories. Not only in the storm-swept hills but on
the Plain the day was bitterly cold, and the gale carried with it
heavy rain clouds which passed over the tops of mountains and rolled
up the valleys in ceaseless succession, discharging hail and rain in
copious quantities. The wadis became roaring, tearing torrents fed by
hundreds of tributaries, and men who had sought shelter on the lee
side of rocks often found water pouring over them in cascades. The
whole country became a sea of mud, and the trials of many months of
desert sand were grateful and comforting memories. Transport columns
had an unhappy time: the Hebron road was showing many signs of
wear, and it was a long journey for lorries from Beersheba when the
retaining walls were giving way and a foot-deep layer of mud invited a
skid every yard. The Latron-Jerusalem road was better going, but the
soft metal laid down seemed to melt under the unceasing traffic in the
wet, and in peace time this highway would have been voted unfit
for traffic. The worst piece of road, however, was also the most
important. The Nablus road where it leaves Jerusalem was wanted to
supply a vital point on our front. It could not be used during the day
because it was under observation, and anything moving along it was
liberally dosed with shells. Nor could its deplorable condition be
improved by working parties. The ground was so soft on either side of
it that no gun, ammunition, or supply limber could leave the track,
and whatever was required for man, or beast, or artillery had to be
carried across the road in the pitch-black hours of night. Supplies
were only got up to the troops after infinite labour, yet no one went
hungry. Boxing Day was brighter, and there were hopes of a period of
better weather. During the morning there were indications that an
enemy offensive was not far off, and these were confirmed about noon
by information that the front north of Jerusalem would be attacked in
the night. General Chetwode thereupon ordered General Longley to start
his offensive on the left of the XXth Corps line at