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During these Romani operations, fraught with so much significance for Palestine and Egypt, the extreme right of the British line was entrusted to Colonel C. L. Smith, V.C., M.C., afterwards Commander of the Camel Brigade, who had under him a composite force made up of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, from Queensland, a London Regiment of Yeomanry and four companies of “Camels,” drawn from Australia, Scotland and Wales—a truly Imperial lot. A Turkish force, reported to be three thousand strong, was moving down from Magara in a south-westerly direction, with the intention of cutting in between Romani and the Canal. This estimate of enemy strength proved to be exaggerated, but our column had some sharp little fights against superior odds, and its work was warmly commended by the Commander-in-Chief. At Awedia the Camel companies went into action for the first time since their hurried formation; but as most of the Australians were old Light Horse and infantry veterans from Gallipoli, they were not strange to fire, and, like the remainder of the Australians fighting at Romani, they rejoiced in open warfare after the confined trench work of the Peninsula. A day or two later, the column fought sharply at Hilu and Baud, each time mauling the enemy severely and contributing substantially to the general disaster in store for the Turks.

JERUSALEM, FROM BELOW THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

By Lieut. G. W. Lambert