defied the nests of machine guns hidden
among the rocks and broke down the defence. The centre group had been
delayed by the opposition encountered by the left, but they took Skyan
at six o'clock and all of the objectives for one day were in our hands
by the early evening. An advance along the whole front was ordered to
begin at six o'clock on December 29. On his right flank the enemy was
willing to concede ground, and the 159th Brigade occupied Hismeh,
Jeba, and the ridges to the north-west to protect the flank of the
60th Division. The 53rd Division buried 271 enemy dead on their front
as the result of three days' fighting. The 181st Brigade made a rapid
advance up the Nablus road until they were close to Bireh and Tahunah,
a high rocky hill just to the north-west of the village. The Turks had
many machine guns and a strong force of riflemen in these places, and
it was impossible for infantry to advance against them over exposed
ground without artillery support. The 303rd Field Artillery Brigade
was supporting the brigade, and they were to move up a track from
Kullundia while the foot-sloggers used the high road, but the track
was found impassable for wheels and the guns had to be brought to the
road. The attack was postponed till the guns were in position. The
gunners came into action at half-past two, and infantry moved to the
left to get on to the Ramallah-Bireh metalled road which runs at right
angles to the trunk road between Nablus and Jerusalem. The 2/22nd
and the 2/23rd Londons, working across the road, reached the Tahunah
ridge, and after a heavy bombardment dashed into the Turkish
positions, which were defended most stubbornly to the end, and thus
won the last remaining hill which commanded our advance up the Nablus
road as far as Bireh. On the eastern side of the main highway the
180th Brigade had once more done sterling service. There is a bold
eminence called Shab Saleh, a mile due south of Bireh. It rises almost
sheer from a piece of comparatively flat ground, and the enemy held it
in strength. The 2/19th and the 2/20th Londons attacked this feature,
and displaying great gallantry in face of much machine-gun fire seized
it at half-past three. Once again the gunners supported the infantry
admirably. The 2/17th and 2/18th Londons pushed past Saleh in a
north-easterly direction and, leaving Bireh on their left, got into
extremely bad country and took the Turks by surprise on a wooded ridge
at Sheikh Sheiban