Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-09-24
2 TURKISH ARMIES
PRACTICALLY WIPED
OUT IN PALESTINE
Continued from Page u

operating southwest of Nazareth from
the Jordan river eastward and driving
isolated Turkish detachments southwark
toward the main British force, or east
ward toward the Arabs, who are CO.
operating with the British east of the
Jordan
The British advance. in which French
units ALSO are cooperating, has been
attended by insignificant losses. In ad-
dition to the great haul of prisoners,
100 guns have been captured.
The Bulgarians and Germans are
throwing reinforcements into the Mace
DOMAIN fighting in an effLrt to hold the
Serbians. British, French, Greeks, 1ta1-
iahs and Czecho-Slovaks. but the allied
offensive continues without any sign Of
abatement
Austrians in an attack by the latter
against the dissalte salient on the Ital-
ian front.
TURK RESISTANCE HAS
COLLAPSED, SAYS LONDON
LONDON. Sept. 23.-British troops, in
their drive north through Palestine, al
ready have counted 900 Turkish pris-
oners and have collected 12o guns, &C
corCing to an official statement given out
Sunday by the British war office.
British cavalry units, operating be-
mean. have advanced some sixty miles
from their original positions, and have
occupied the Biblical renowned town
of Nazareth and Afule and Baisan.
General Allenby's troops have sur
rounded part of the Ottoman army and
are collecting the diSorganized masses
of men apd transport, arriving from
the south The text of the statement
follows:
''By o'clock on Sunday night, on
our left wing the infantry about Bra
fur had reached the line Beitdejan-Sa-
maria-Birafur. shepherding the enemy on
the west of the Observation-Disclosures road
into the arms of our cavalry operating
southwards from Jenin and Beisan.
"Other enemy columns vainly attempt
ed to escape into the Jordan valley in
the direction of Jisr-Ed-Dameer, which
still is held by us. These columns suf-
fered severely from our aircraft, which
constantly harassed them with bombs
and machine gunfre from low alti-
tudes-
I'm the vicinity of Lake Tiberius our
cavalry attachments hold Nazareth and
the rail and road passages over the
Jordan at Jisr- Dancer.
ALREADY $4,000 prisoners have been
captured and 12O guns collected"
An earlier British statement in re-
gard to operations in Palestine says:
''Palestine-By p. m, on September
90. the enemy resistance had collapsed
everywhere save on the Turkish left
in the Jordan valley.
"Our left wing. having swung around
to the east, had reached the line of
Bidieh, Kaka and Messudieh Junction,
and was astride the rail and roads con-
verging at Nabulus.
Our right wing, advancing through
difficult country against considerable
resistance, has reached the line of Kahn
Jibeit, one and a quarter miles north
east of Ell Mugheir, and EsSawieh and
was forcing north astride the Jerusa-
lem Nabulus road.
ION the north our cavalry. travers-
ing the field of Arma geddon. had occu-
pied Nazareth, Afule and Besian and
were collecting the disorganized masses
of enemy troops and transport as they
arrived from the south. All avenues
of escape open to the enemy, except the
fords across the Jordan between Bel
san and Jici-Ed-Dameer, were thus
closed.
East of the Jordan. Arab forces of
the king of Hedjaz had efxected numer-
Gus demolitions on the railways radjat-
ing from Deraa. Severed important
bridges including one in the Purmak
have been destroyed.
Several days must elapse before &C
curate figures of captured can be given
out Already more than 5000 prisoners.
100 guns: large quantities of both horse
and mechanical transports, four air
planes many locomotives and much
rolling stock have been counted.
Very. severe losses have been in
eicted on the masses of Turkish troops
retreating over the difficult roads by
our air services.
"A German airplane. later ascertain
ed TO have been carrying mails, landed
in the midst of our troops at Afule.
The pilot, who believed the place still
to be in Turkish hands, destroyed the
machine and it's contents before he
could be secured"