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Show OTTEB 0!SflSTH Fourth Army Is Virtually Surrounded and May Be Annihilated. Allies Continue Advance and Total Number of Prisoners Is 45,000. LAUSANNX. Switzerland, Sept. Mi. (Ilavas Agency). Public ir-. ir-. ritation in Constantinople has be-come be-come so great, according to a dispatch dis-patch from the Turkish capital to' the Lausanne Gazette, that mmors j are again spreading that the Otto- j man government will seek a sepa- i rato peace. The sultan himself, the message says, would favor a separate sepa-rate peace if he could obtain favorable favor-able conditions from the entente powers. LO.VDOX, Sept. 26. The Fourth Turkish Turk-ish army on the Palestine front is virtually vir-tually surrounded in the region east of the Jordan and faces annihilation by General Allenhy's forces, today's advices : show. j The total of prisoners already taken i was increased today to 45,000. The annihilation of the Fourth army, J now hoped for, would complete the cleaning up of the Turkish forces in Palestine, Pal-estine, accounting for about 80,000 men. Position Precarious. The precarious position of the Fourth army may he seen from the fact that A rab cavalry and infantrv are north of It, Arab n nd Briti- forces east and British troops to the south. All these are pressing inward on the enemy, while the Jordan, with the crossings, is In the hands of the allies. The full Turkish strength in Palestine Pales-tine is not definitely known, as hardly two Turkish divisions are of the same size or organization. It is known, however, how-ever, that the allies had to deal with 18.UH0 fighting men west of the Jordan, with about 10,000 men on communications, communica-tions, as well as many thousands east of the Jordan. One of the chief advantages of the victory vic-tory is that it will allow a large British force from this section lo be used on the western front or any other place where it might be needed. Syria, with a large an ti -Turk population, js open to invasion. inva-sion. Communications Insecure. The communications of the Turkish army in Mesopotamia cannot be considered consid-ered secure. It is pointed out that there Is justification for believing that the Turkish operations in Persia will be paralyzed, particularly in view of the allied al-lied successes in the Balkans, which se-: se-: riously threaten the Turkish position in Kurope. But it Is also shown that even should the allies push on and capture Aleppo and cut the Bagdad railway. It would only result in Turkish evacuation of upper Mesopotamia and not affect the main Turkish army in the Caucasus and Persia, Per-sia, which is based on the Black sea ports. The military critics do not fail to point out also that the attack in Palestine Pales-tine was timed to take place when the Germans were unable to spare men on the western front for the near east. More Towns Captured. LONDON, Sept. 26. British troops operating op-erating in Palestine are extending their occupation about the Sea of Galilee. They have occupied Tiberias and Semakh, on the borders of that sea, and Es-Smara, it was officially announced today. Pushing on to the east of the Jordan, the British have occupied the strategic town of Amman, on the Hejaz railway. The British casualties during the offensive of-fensive were less than one-tenth of the number of prisoners taken from the Turks, the announcement states. (The latest official report gave the total prisoners pris-oners as "more' than 40,000.") . The text of the statement reads: "In the northern area our cavalry has occupied Tiberias, Semakh and Es-Smara, Es-Smara, on the shores of Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), despite the determined resistance of the Turkish garrison. "East of the Jordan our cavalry has occupied Amman, on the Hejaz railway, rail-way, and is in pursuit of the Turkish force retreating northward along the rail-Nvay. rail-Nvay. "Since the commencement of the operations op-erations on the night of September 18, ;mi- total casualties from all causes '-nuiunt to less than one-tenth of the ruber of prisoners captured." r Self-Government. CARTS, Sept. 26 (Havas). Liberated ;vitory in Palestine will be adminis-r. adminis-r. d under the agreement reached be-. be-. -nen the British, French and Russian vi rinnents in l'.il(5, it is learned here. ;Li.','Ui:id and France will carry out the a.:,k-cemeiit. under which France is i -harmed with the preparation of a scheme .C self-government for the people of Palestine. Von Sanders to Quit. GEN" EVA, Sept. 26 (By the Associated Press). Field Marshal Liman von Sanders, San-ders, commander of the Turkish forces, who fled from Nazareth shortly before the attacking British troops appeared, rets reached Constantinople. Advices irorn the Turkish capital say that Von Warders will return at an early date to B-rrlin. |