Allenby's Find Triumph. By W. T. Massey. (Constable. 21s. net.)—Mr.
Massey, who represented the London newspapers with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, has written an inter- esting narrative of Lord Allenby's operations in 1918, of his great victory in the autumn and of his rapid advance to Damascus and Aleppo. It forms an instructive commentary on the semi- official Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, which, with its wonderful series of staff maps, is the chief authority for tho campaign. Mr. Maasey's account of the military movements can hardly be followed in the three elementary sketch-maps given in his book. He emphasized the fact that Lord Allenby had to part with fifty thousand of his veteran British infantry in the spring of 1918 and to replace them by raw Indian recruits who had to be trained for tho offensive. Mr. Massey does justice to Lord Allenby's skill in persuading the enemy that Wick
eastern flank was threatened when he meant to strike at their western flank, and to the vigour with which the great cavalry force was used to cut the enemy's communications. and compel his disorganized masses to surrender. The very completeness of Lord Allenby's success has caused the ignorant to underrate the diffioulties which he overcame and the high qualified. of: leadership which he displayed in his final campaign. Mr. Massey shows that the 3rd Australian Light Home Brigade were the first Allied troops to. occupy Damascus, and that Indian cavalry also entered the city hours, before any Hedjaz Arabs reached it. Mr. Massey gives fulLcredit to the Hedjaz irregulars for what they did ; indeed, he goes further and commends them for destroying the Turkish railways. round Demo, though the work was actually done by a small party of British, French. and. Indian soldiers with an armoured car detachment. It is strange to read that our victorious army was forbidden to hoist the Union Jack over a captured town, that when. Lord Allenby entered Jerusalem, " the. only Allied: flag which was not in the streets was our own," and that the flying of the Union Jack over our headquarters at Jaffa caused " foreign representations " to be made. It is strange also to be told that " In order to keep our bargain with the French who, having to govern Syria in the near future, were not anxious that there should be a big parade of Britain's strength, it was laid down in orders that our soldiers were not to go into any of the towns in large numbers," so that out of the Seventh Division who took Beyrout, for example, only one man in fifty was allowed to enter the city, though a. French battalion which arrived a week later had the city to itself. The Ministers in London and Paris who issued these orders were greatly mistaken if they thought to strengthen the Entente by such measures. No army in the world except our own would have denied itself the harmless pleasure of flying its own flag for the time being over its conquests, and of letting its soldiers wander about the captured towns after their long sojourn in the desert.
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