The Taking of Jerusalem: December 11, 1917

The Egyptian Expeditionary Forces (EEF) took Jerusalem on December 11, 1917.

Some believe a miracle took place when British General Edmund Allenby marched into the ancient city.

Jerusalem’s fall didn’t mark the end of World War I (That happened exactly 11 months later when the armistice was signed). But it helped.

The Ottoman Turks no longer dominated the southeastern flanks of Germany’s control.

The battle

Made up of forces from Egypt, England, Australia, New Zealand, India, and other Commonwealth nations or protectorates, the EEF fought hard for years.

The desert war’s turning point occurred a month earlier when the EEF won a decisive and shocking victory during the Battle of Beersheba.

From Beersheba, the EEF marched on Jaffa–located on the Mediterranean Coast–and fought their way into the Judean highlands to take the capital.

You can read more about the battle here, here or here.

Here’s a link to how the Austro-German authorities reported the event.

No one wanted fighting and bloodshed in Jerusalem’s streets.

Fortunately, it didn’t happen. An article on Cross to Light website explains why:

“In preparation and defense of this invasion, the Turks planned to seal up all the gates to the city. They wanted to blast open the Eastern gate to create a fortified, secret supply line.

The entrance that would come down into Jerusalem from the Kidron valley and up through the Eastern Gate.

In order to create this supply line they would have to blow open the sealed Eastern Gate and break an ancient biblical prophecy.”

The EEF caught the Turkish soldiers before they ignited the bombs.

General Edmund Allenby

According to Cross to Light, the EEF commander, General Edmund Allenby was a Bible-believer.

He did not want bloodshed in the City of Peace.

Reportedly, the night before Allenby entered Jerusalem, he prayed. He wanted to know how to quell any violence, particularly to the holy places.

When he wired his superiors in London for instructions, they included a verse from Isaiah 31:5:

“As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending also he will deliver it, and passing over he will preserve.”

That night, he declared martial law and promised,

“Every sacred building, monument, holy spot, shrine, traditional site, endowment, pious bequest, or customary place of prayer of whatsoever form of the three religions will be maintained and protected.”

In his official report at the time, Allenby wrote:

“Guards have been placed over the holy places.  My Military Governor is in contact with the acting custodians and the Latin and Greek representatives.  The Governor has detailed an officer to supervise the holy places.

“The Mosque of Omar and the area around it have been placed under Moslem control. A military cordon of Mohammedan officers and soldiers has been established around the mosque.

“Orders have been issued that no non-Moslem is to pass within the cordon without permission of the Military Governor and the Moslem in charge.”

Jerusalem: December 11, 1917

On the morning of December 11, General Allenby read the Isaiah passage to his troops.

He ordered all available EEF aircraft to fly over the city dropping leaflets.

Clouds covered the sky that morning. Jerusalem residents could not see the planes, but they could hear them.

The leaflets read “surrender immediately, you don’t have a prayer,” signed “Allenby.”

The Remnant website noted the Arabic interpreter who translated the message incorrectly wrote Allenby’s name as “Allah Bey,” or “the son of God.”

According to Cross and Light, an old Turkish prophecy said they would never lose the Holy City until “a man of Allah came to deliver it.”

“According to reports, the signature of Allenby on the paper dropped from the sky. It was interpreted by them to mean the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic meaning ‘God’ and ‘beh’ in Arabic that means ‘son’.

The Turks were looking at a demand to surrender signed by Allah-beh, the son of God.

In response, they hoisted a white flag and surrendered the city without firing a single shot.”

Other interpretations of the same story link Allenby’s name to the similarity of the Arabic (Al-Nebbi) for the prophet Mohammed.

The Ottoman Turks had ruled Jerusalem for nearly 700 years.

General Allenby enters Jerusalem

When Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem in 1898, he demanded a bigger entrance for his procession.

To that end, the Turks blew open a gate. The Kaiser entered as a conquering hero, riding a stallion.

According to historians, the Kaiser’s “grandiose entry through ceremonial arches on an enormous white horse struck contemporaries as arrogant and posturing.”

Allenby didn’t want to emulate the German ruler. He came not as a conquering hero, but to free the city from Ottoman rule.

The general rode a horse from his camp to the Jaffa Gate but dismounted and walked through it.

Allenby described his entrance in a low-key manner:

“I entered the city officially at noon, December 11th, with a few of my staff. Joining us were the commanders of the French and Italian detachments, the heads of the political missions, and the Military Attaches of France, Italy, and America.

“The procession was all afoot. At Jaffa gate, I was received by the guards representing England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, and Italy.  The population received me well.”

It took another year for WWI to end, but the taking of Jerusalem on December 11, 1917, was the beginning.

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A miracle or a mistranslation? General Allenby takes Jerusalem ending WWI’s desert war. Click to Tweet

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Jerusalem taken by the Egyptian Expeditionary Forces exactly one year before WWI Armistice. Click to Tweet