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Meanwhile, general allenby continues towards jerusalem. but when his entire force encounters a brutal winter storm, they're stopped in their tracks. >> people recognized that the winter conditions in the judean hills and southern syria can be very, very tricky so that sudden, like, hail storms, flash floods, snow even can hold up modern motor transport, a modern army very easily. >> so the germans are in jerusalem. the british are just outside, ready to take the city, and there's this massive storm. and you can't see what's going on, and they have to wait this storm out before the british begi...

Negative publicity for them that they just moved north. >> the germans didn't devastate the city before leaving. they left the city intact. so the british didn't so much conquer jerusalem as the germans abandoned it. >> so when the germans and the ottomans flee jerusalem, all that's left is the mayor of jerusalem, and he doesn't have an army. all he's got are the keys to the city. and so what option does he have? all he can do is surrender the city. >> the flag that was presented was actually a bedsheet to show that there was a surrender. >> i think what's fascinating about the british conques...

This is going to swing the entire war in favor of the british." >> but more importantly, when he gets to cairo, a new british commander in chief has taken over, allenby. >> general allenby was not a typical british general of the time. he didn't come from a family of generals. >> he was an aggressive cavalry officer. he commanded great personal loyalty because of his integrity, his courage. >> he had a tremendous vision and perhaps the static claustrophobic trench warfare did not suit his mind. but as a cavalryman, he could kind of envision how to utilize his cavalry units as well as the briti...

They realized they cannot depend on the ottoman army alone to keep the british at bay from occupying the middle east. >> germany sends thousands of reinforcements to jerusalem. >> and now what has been up until this point a proxy war between the british and the germans now becomes an actual front of world war i. >> general allenby sent lawrence back into arabia, and at the same time, plans his push and his move via sinai towards gaza and then towards jerusalem. and here is a very important point that reflects the importance of jerusalem to the christian world. the prime minister of england sen...

Both times. >> it cost a lot of british soldiers' lives, in the thousands. it was a very humiliating defeat for them, so they retreated. >> so djemal pasha, sitting in jerusalem, he sort of becomes the hero, and this is one of the really kind of outstanding ottoman victories, these two battles of gaza. >> after the british are beaten back, the arab revolt plans an assault of its own. >> for the arab revolt, the really important city was damascus. >> prince faisal knew the importance of damascus, wanted to be in damascus. it's a very important place historically, religiously and strategically. ...