Turkey was the cat's paw of
the Hun in this enterprise. German officers and German guns were
supplied to the Turks, but the terrible privations necessary in a long
campaign that must be spent largely in the desert, and the inevitable
great loss in human life, were both demanded from Turkey.
Great Britain made no such demands upon any of its Allies. Unflinchingly
England faced virtually alone the rigors, the disease and the deaths
consequent upon an expedition having as its object the redemption of the
Holy Land from the unspeakable Turk.
Volunteers for the expedition came by the thousands. Canada, the United
States, Australia and other countries furnished whole regiments of
Jewish youths eager for the campaign. The inspiration and the devotion
radiating from Palestine, and particularly from Jerusalem and Bethlehem,
drew Jew and Gentile, hardy adventurer and zealous churchman, into
Allenby's great army.
It was a long campaign. On February 26, 1917, Kut-el-Amara was
recaptured from the Turks by the British expedition under command of
General Sir Stanley Maude, and on March 11th following General Maude
captured Bagdad. From that time forward pressure upon the Turks was
continuous. On September 29, 1917, the Turkish Mesopotamian army
commanded by Ahmad Bey was routed by the British, and historic Beersheba
in Palestine was occupied on October 31st.
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