„gun-cotton against the piers, which were about five feet thick and
„twenty-five feet high a good bridge, my seventy-ninth, and strate-
„gically most critical, since we were going to live opposite it at
„Umtaiye until Allenby came forward and relieved us. So I had
„determined to leave not a stone of it in place.
„Noeri meanwhile was hurrying the infantry, gunners and machine-
„gunners down in the thickening light, towards the line, with orders
„to get a mile beyond in the desert, form up into column and wait.
„Yet the passing of so many camels over the track must take
„tediously long. We sat and chafed under the bridge, matches in
„hand, to light at once (despite the troops) if there was an alarm.
„Fortunately everything went well, and after an hour Noeri gave
„me my signal. Half a minute later (my preference for six-inch
„fuses just as I tumbled into the Turkish redoubt, the eight hundred
„pounds of stuff exploded in one burst, and the black air became
„sibilant with flying stones. The explosion was numbing from my
„twenty yards, and must have been heard half-way to Damascus".
Te 4.30 op den 19en September 1918 begon Allenby's aanval
met het vuur uit 385 kanonnen, onmiddellijk gevolgd door de
infanterie. Den 21en September waren de Turksche 8-ste en 7-de
legers uitgeschakeldwat nog volgde was slechts de vernietiging.
Allenby besloot nu om de cavalerie naar Damascus te zenden
en met de infanterie langs de kust op te rukken naar Haifa en
Beiroet. In 't bijzonder waarschuwde hij Lawrence om geen afzon
derlijke coup-de-main tegen Damascus te ondernemen, voordat
de Britsche strijdkrachten nabij zouden zijn.
Het Turksche 4-de leger was reeds naar het Noorden in aftocht,
organiek reeds tot een bende verworden. Lawrence meende dan
ook dit leger te kunnen negeeren en besloot den 25en September
op te rukken tot Sheikh Saad op 25 km N. van Deraa„the Arabs
shall keep what they take Uiteraard scheen het gewaagd om
met enkele hondertallen strijders zich dwars over den terugtochts-
weg van minstens twee Turksche legers te stellen maar Lawrence
taxeerde hun moreel zeer laag, en hij had gelijk. Den 27en Sep
tember had hij reeds 2000 gevangenen gemaakt. Op hun terugtocht
moordden de Turken als beesten hiervan één voorbeeld
„Lawrence slipped into the village behind the Turks' backs, accom-
„panied by Tallal and Auda. From a grey heap a child tottered away
„as if to escape them, cried out in fright„Don't hit me, Baba", and
„then collapsed with the effort, blood gushing out of a gaping wound.
„Then they came on more dead babies and the bodies of women,
„obscenely killed with bayonet-hafts protruding between their legs.
„Tallal gave a moan at the sight, drew his headcloth slowly about
„his face, and then suddenly galloped straight at the enemy, to fall
„riddled with bullets. Auda grimly said God give him mercy we
„will take his price. Taking charge of the battle, he harassed the
„enemy until their formation split into three parts. The smallest,
„composed of German and Austrian machine-gunners, repulsed all
„efforts to overwhelm them, but the other two were gradually worn
„down and destroyed in a running fight that continued till sunset.
„In view of the vengeful frenzy of the Arabs, Lawrence's order to
„take no prisoners was somewhat superfluous. In a madness born
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