The Mayor of Jerusalem (center, with cane) pictured with two British sergeants to whom he had attempted to surrender the city.
December 9 1917, Jerusalem–After weeks of fighting, the British were closing in on Jerusalem and threatened to cut it off on three sides. Neither side was eager to fight in the city itself, given its holy status to all the belligerents, and the Germans and Turks quietly pulled out of the city in the wee hours of December 9. The city’s mayor was given instructions to surrender the city to the British as soon as possible. He then went out under a flag of truce in an attempt to find someone to surrender the city to. He first found a pair of mess cooks, who refused to accept the surrender, followed by a pair of sergeants. This pattern of finding men to junior to accept the surrender continued for some time until at last the local commanders in the area were made aware of the situation. Ultimately, the mayor surrendered the city to Major General Shea.
The British, knowing that the entry into Jerusalem would be an important propaganda moment, made sure to keep soldiers out of the walled portion of the city until a more appropriate entry could be arranged and stage-managed. On December 11, Allenby entered the city itself on foot, in an attempt to convey himself with the humility appropriate to the occasion. He then proceeded through an honor guard of various British, Empire, and Allied forces, and gave a brief speech announcing Britain’s respect for the holy places of all three religions centered here. The entry was filmed, and the film would be widely distributed in Britain in February. Lloyd George was greatly pleased, and felt he had presented an appropriate “Christmas present” to the British people after over three years of war.
