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Show British Surround Turks and Mohammedan Rule of 1200 Years Ends. COLLAPSE OF SCHEME s Long Protracted Effort to Capture Suez Canal and Invade Egypt. LONDON. Dec. 10. Andrew Bonar Law, chancellor of the exchequer, an-nounced an-nounced In the houso of commons today thh jorusalcnV after being surrounded on all sides by British troops, had surrendered, Tho chancellor said British. French and Mohammedan representatives were on the way to Jerusalem to safeguard safe-guard tho holy places. to General Allenby reported that on Saturday he attacked the enemy's po sltlons south and west of Jerusalem, the chancellor said. Welsh and home county tr'oops. advancing from tho direction of Bethlehem, drove back tho endiny, and" passing Jerusalem on the east established themselves on tho Jorusalom Jericho road. At the same timo London infantry and dismounted yeomanry attacked the strong enemy positions west and northwest bf Jerusalem Jeru-salem and placed themselves astrido the Jerusalem-Sechem road. The Holy City, being thus isolated, surrendered to Goneral Allenby. The chancellor said General Allenby expected to enter Jerusalem officially tomorrow, accompanied by the com. manders of tho French and Italian contingents. The capture of Jerusalem by the British forces meets the end. with two brief interludes, of more than 1200 years' possession of the seat of tho Christian religion by the Mohammedans. Mohamme-dans. For G73 year3 the Holy City has beon In Indlsputed ownership of the Turks, the last Christian ruler of Jerusalem Jeru-salem having been the German emperor em-peror Frederick II, whose short lived domination lasted from 1228 to 1244. Apart from Its connection with the campaign being waged against Turkey by the British Jn Mesopotamia, tho fall of Jerusalem was the definite collapse of the long protracted efforts of tho Turks to capture the Suez canal and invade Egypt. Almost tho first move made by Turkey after her entranco into the war was a campaign against Egypt across the great desert of the Sinai peninsula. In November, 1914, a Turkish army, variously csti. mated at from 75,000 to 250.000 men. marched on tho Suez canal and suc cecded in reaching within striking distance of the great artificial waterway water-way at several points. For several months bitter fighting took place, tho canal being defended by an Anglo. Egyptian army, headed by Australians and New Zealanders and French and British forces. For tho greater part of 1915 conflict, ing reports of tho situation woro received from the belligerents, but In December of that year definite Infor-mation Infor-mation showed that tho Turks had been driven back as far as El Arish, about oighty-fivo miles cast of tho canal. A lull occurred then which lasted for six months and In Juno, 19 1G, tho Turks again advanced as far as Katich, about fifteen miles oast of the canal. Here they were decisively defeated, losing more than 3000 pris. oners and a great quantity of equip, ment. Another period followed in which tho situation was greatly con. fused through the vaguoness and contradictory con-tradictory character of the official statements, but In December, 1916, tho British stormed El Arlsh and a fow days later severely defeated tho Turks at Maghdaba"h, about six miles to tho south on the same front. Two weekn later tho invaders had been driven out of Egypt and tho British forceB crossed the border into Palestino. On March 7 last the British cap. turcd El KhullI, fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. El Khulll Is tho modern namo of ancient Hebron. Beershcba Captured. Early in November they took Beer- sheba, forty miles south of Jerusalem. Simultaneously a coastal column became be-came active. By November 7 tho city of Gaza was In their hands and the British wero pursuing the Turks northward after having inflicted casualties cas-ualties estimated as In excess ot 10,000. By this time the British inland force was again up in tho neighborhood of Hebron, where the Turks were reported re-ported organizing for the defense ot Jerusalem. General Allenby, the British Brit-ish commander, meanwhile kept his forces near the coast in rapid motion and pushed on to Jaffa, the port ot Jerusalem, In mid-November. By November 22 th oBritlsh had pushed within five miles of Jerusalem on the northwest and on December 7 General Allenby announced that he had definite possession of Hebron. Jerusalem was thus virtually shut oft from all sides but the east. Fow details havo come through since that date, but the encircling movement must have been carried out with considerable rapidity, culminating culminat-ing in the surrender of tho city. In sentimental and romantic aspects the capture of Jerusalem far exceeds ven the fall of fable crowned Bagdad. The modern city of Jerusalem contains con-tains about GO.OOO inhabitants and is the homo of pestllenco and fever, but in historic interest Is surpasses to the Christian world all other places In the world. Since the days when Joshua wrested it from the hands of the Jebusltes to make it the capital of tho Jewish race, Jerusalem has been the prized prey of half tho races of the world. It has passed successively into the hands of tho Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Per-sians, Arabs, Turks, the motley crowds of tho .Crusaders, finally to fall before 1 the descendants of Richard the LJon Hearted, "who strove In vain for its possession more than seven hundred years ago. |