CONCLUSION

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Serious fighting had practically finished with the capture of Damascus. The northward flight of the Turks continued, closely pursued by our cavalry and armoured cars. A Division of infantry was brought forward in support, but the difficulties of supplying a large force so far away from a base made it impossible to bring forward the infantry in any strength. Australians rounded up a Turkish column some miles north of Damascus, and a few thousand more prisoners were captured. Beyrout, the port of Damascus, was abandoned without a blow, and, on the 6th October, was occupied by the allies. A Division of French troops was landed here, and, thereafter, this port became the main channel of supply for the troops operating in Northern Syria.

Our forces pushed on northwards, meeting with little or no opposition, and occupying Baalbek, Tripolis and Homs. A Turkish force, under General Liman von Sanders, and estimated at about 12,000, concentrated a few miles south of Aleppo, where they threatened to offer some resistance. The advance northward was, however, unopposed. The enemy had constructed trenches covering Aleppo, and at first showed signs of holding them. But, after our armoured cars had got into touch, and our airmen had bombed them, the enemy decided to evacuate, and withdrew to the hills towards Alexandretta. Aleppo was entered by our cavalry on the 26th October, and the station was seized at Muslimie, the junction of the Baghdad Railway. By these captures we had made ourselves masters of the main line of communications with Constantinople of the Turkish armies in Mesopotamia.

Their armies virtually destroyed, the Turks now concluded an armistice, which took effect as from the 31st October. Their allies, the Bulgarians, who had suffered disastrous reverses in Macedonia, had just concluded an armistice; the Austrians were being badly beaten by the Italians and were clearly nearing the end; and the Germans were fast retiring from France and Belgium: so, with all hope of succour gone, the Turks had no alternative but to conclude an armistice, the terms of which practically amounted to unconditional surrender.

The terms of the armistice included the following. Immediate demobilization of the Turkish army, except troops required for the surveillance of the frontier and the maintenance of internal order; the surrender of the garrisons of the Hejaz, Assir, Yemen, Syria and Mesopotamia, and the withdrawal of troops from Cilicia; the surrender of all ports there; occupation by the Allies of the Taurus Mountains tunnel system; the allied control of all railways; occupation by the Allies of any strategic points considered necessary for their security; prohibition of destruction of military or similar material; all Germans and Austrians to quit Turkey within a month; Turkey to cease all relations with the Central Powers; all allied prisoners in Turkish possession to be handed over unconditionally, but Turkish prisoners in the Allies' hands to be kept at the disposal of the Allies. In addition, all war vessels in Turkish waters were to be surrendered, the Dardanelles were to be opened, and free access secured for allied ships to all Turkish ports and exchanges and to the Black Sea.

A few days later, Austria threw in her hand, and, on the 11th November, an armistice was concluded with Germany. The Central Powers had surrendered. The greatest war in the history of the world had been brought to a close.

Will our campaign be passed down to history as "The Last Crusade"? Presumably not. Throughout the campaign there was little or no religious animosity, except that the Moslem Turk extended no quarter to the Hindoo. To speak of this as a campaign of The Cross against The Crescent is untrue. The Turkish high command was controlled by Germans, so-called Christians. The British soldier fought with no less zest than when opposed to Turks. At the final battle, the Moslems, serving in our armies, by far outnumbered the Christians.

The close of the great war forms a fitting point at which to bring our story also to a close. Its aim has been a blend of history and reminiscence. Much has been set down here which would have been omitted from a history; much more has been omitted which a complete history would have contained. In particular I plead guilty to omitting names of units deserving of special mention. Generally their names have not been known to me; in such cases as they were known, I have feared that to mention them might have caused more jealousy than satisfaction. We each of us think, and rightly so, that our own unit does better than any other engaged. So, many a reader may be disappointed at finding no mention of the unit in which he is particularly interested. I can only refer him to the congratulatory telegrams which his unit received in the field, and which are doubtless preserved among the records of the regiment.

We have now completed our brief review of this campaign. We have seen its small beginnings in the defence of the Suez Canal, when Turkey, leaning upon Germany, a broken reed, vaunted herself in an attempt to conquer Egypt. We have traced the footsteps of the British army as, pushing back the invading Turk, it crept across the Desert. We have watched its struggles on the frontier of Asia, culminating in the victory of Gaza and Beersheba. We have followed its progress in the onward sweep, which conquered Jerusalem, and watched it through succeeding months of trial, patience and disappointment. Finally, we have seen it destroy the remnants of the Turkish armies, and, in one great rush, conquer the whole of Northern Syria. Proud, indeed, should those of us feel who have been privileged to play a part in this campaign.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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