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had withdrawn his troops intact from the city. The 7th Army pulled backfıve kilometers to the north during that night and the army headquartersvvas transferred to Katma. On the early morning of next day, British forcesadvanced cautiously to find the Turkish defences evacuated and theymoved forvvard to the southern suburbs of Aleppo. There they vvere todiscover from the inhabitants that the Turks had withdrawn. Thus Macandrewvvas able to enter the city vvithout opposition and practically reachedthe northern limits of the Arabic-speaking land. The British commander,hovvever, vvas soon going to experience a disillusion. 12 kilometers northvvestof Aleppo a body of about 2,500 strong and well-equipped Turkishinfantry, vvith 150 cavalry and from eight to ten guns took up positionastride the Aleppo-Iskenderun road. Here the Turks had organized a nevvdefensive position of strength 10 .At 10.45 a.m. on 26 October, the British forces made up of the 15thCavalry Brigade and an armoured car column and accompanied by Arabrebels attacked Turkish positions. British cavalrymen trotted forvvard and,as they topped a slight ridge, came in sight of the little village of Haritanand at the same moment came under machine-gun fire. The commanderof the 15th Cavalry Brigade, Brigadier-General C.R. Harbord, ordered theMysore Lancers to move round the ridge and charge and the remainingsquadrons of the Jodhpur Lancers to follovv them. While the armoured carcolumn attempted to turn the Turks' right, the cavalry charged in on theirleft and galloped through the lines. The horsemen in particular sufferedseverely from intensive and accurate machine-gun fire. They fell back aquarter of a kilometer, dismounted and took up a position straddling theroad. The Lancers got no support from the light cars; the 12th Light ArmouredBattery, moving över higher ground, vvas so hotly engaged by theTurkish machine-guns that it drevv back after a number of tyres had burst.Lieutenant-Colonel H.N. Holden, the Senior Special Service Officer vviththe Jodhpur Lancers vvas killed under heavy fire and the two leadingsquadrons retired in confusion. The British forces vvere thus encounteredby a stiff resistance and they vvere gallantly repelled and speedily repulsedby the toughest defensive fıghter in the vvorld, Turks, vvith big casualties.These fresh and rested Turkish troops fought their last importantengagement in vvar fıercely and the remainder of the Turkish line stoodfirm".Despite the long and painful retreat to the north the Turks vvere stilifull of fıght. In the last tactical action of the vvar Turkish troops had littlediffıculty in brushing aside the advancing British 15th Cavalry Brigade.According to a liaison officer of the İst Hyderabad Lancers, the Turksstood up to the charge of the Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers unflinchingly10. Atay (1965), p. 63. Sanders (1927), pp. 318-319. Falls (1930), p. 612.11. Ibid.627