and, by the
evening of the 20th, the 60th Division had reached a line 4 miles west
of the cliffs overlooking Jericho. In the meantime, the mounted troops
were working on the right or south of the infantry, towards the
commanding position of Neby Musa, near the north-west corner of the Dead
Sea. This advance was held up at the last wadi which was directly
overlooked by, and subjected to, a heavy fire from Neby Musa. Other
mounted troops, further to the right, discovered a way down to the
Jordan Plain, where they were firmly established by dusk. That night the
Turks withdrew, and our mounted troops, moving up the Plain, entered
Jericho on the morning of the 21st.

There are two or three routes between Jericho and the summit of the
Judaean plateau. That by which the British had now come down was not the
route followed by Joshua and the Israelites. They, on the other hand,
ascended by a route farther north, through Mukhmas (Michmash) and Beitin
(Bethel), thus reaching the summit near Bireh. The route followed by the
pilgrims was that of the main road, which hereafter became the main line
of supply of the forces operating in this direction.

Having secured Jericho and the low country beyond as far as the Jordan,
operations were now commenced with the object of pushing the enemy
northwards, and clearing him from another substantial portion of
Palestine. This would, at the same time, broaden the base for future
operations which were contemplated across the River Jordan.

Operations on a large scale were commenced on March 9th. Both the 20th
and 21st Corps were engaged. We will, however, consider here only the
operations of the 20th Corps, leaving those of the 21st until a
subsequent chapter. The reader is already familiar with the type of
country, which resembled that between Jerusalem and Jericho. The
downward slopes were exceptionally steep, in places precipitous. The
slopes were swept by machine-gun and rifle fire, and the beds of the
wadis were enfiladed. The ascent on the far side was steeply terraced.
Men had alternately to hoist and pull each other up under fire, and
finally to expel the enemy from the summits in hand-to-hand fighting.
Under these conditions no rapid advance could be looked for.

The 60th Division, by night, crossed the Wadi el Auja, north of Jericho
(not to be confused with the wadi of the same name to the north of
Jaffa). This Division seized a position astride the Beisan-Jericho road.
The 53rd Di