Thus strengthened and encouraged, the garrison of the Zeit?n post successfully held out all night against repeated attacks. The Turks were again reinforced during the night, however, and next morning, as it was clear that the little garrison could not hope to hold out any longer, it was withdrawn10. The enemy immediately occupied the Zeit?n ridge, the possession of which gave him command over our positions, and necessitated11 a withdrawal12 of our line. On the left flank the 22nd Brigade was thrown back, covering Beit Ur el Tahta, and the line then ran from that village, through Beit Ur el Foka, to about El Tire. The right flank of the division was in exiguous13 and intermittent14 touch with the 52nd Division. The left was entirely15 'in the air.'
Throughout the day Turkish troops were moving to the north, and making their way westwards towards the gap in our line west of Beit Ur el Tahta. Large parties continually attacked the Yeomanry at different points, thus preventing the division from making any effective change of dispositions16 to meet the threatened envelopment17.
The 7th Mounted Brigade, which was in Corps18 Reserve at Zernuka, and the Australian Mounted Division, resting at El Mejdel, were ordered up. Both made forced marches during the night of the 27th, and the former arrived at Beit Ur el Tahta at five in the morning of the 28th, just in time to[Pg 114] help the 22nd Mounted Brigade to repulse19 a heavy attack from the north.
A brigade of the 52nd Division was sent to reinforce the exposed left flank of the Yeomanry Division, but, before it arrived there, a small party of Turks with some machine guns walked quietly through the gap between the Yeomanry Division and the 54th, and took up a position overlooking the Berfilya track. Later in the morning, a section of the Yeomanry Divisional Ammunition Column, coming up the road from Ramleh with sorely needed ammunition for the division, was ambushed20 by the Turks and utterly21 destroyed. A motor cyclist going down to Ramleh reached the scene immediately afterwards, and, seeing the wrecked22 wagons23 and the dead men and horses on the road, swung round his machine, and raced back again as fast as the track would allow. The Turks opened fire with their machine guns, but failed to hit him, and he carried the news back to the division that the road was cut. A detachment from the brigade of the 52nd, which had been sent up to cover this flank, pushed ahead, and drove off this party of Turks. The brigade then attacked the village of Suffa, which was full of enemy troops, in order to try and relieve the pressure on the left of the Yeomanry Division, but the Turks were found in too great strength to be dislodged. Fortunately, however, they made no further attempt to penetrate24 through the gap, probably because they were really unaware25 of its existence. Positions on both sides were exceedingly ill-defined, owing to the impossibility of digging trenches26 in the solid rock, of which most of the hill and ridge tops were composed. Very heavy fighting continued throughout the day, but the enemy, though continually reinforced, was unable to break our line.
[Pg 115]
The Australian Mounted Division arrived at Khurbet Deiran early in the morning, having marched the twenty-one miles from Mejdel in one night. The 4th A.L.H. Brigade at once pushed on into the hills, and came into the line in the centre, in support of the 6th Brigade, about five in the evening. The hard-worked 52nd Division contrived27 to spare another battalion, which reinforced the 7th Brigade on the left.
The attack on this brigade was resumed at dark, but was driven off, after prolonged and bitter fighting. As an indication of the close nature of the struggle, it may be mentioned that the headquarters of two of the Yeomanry brigades used up all their revolver ammunition during the day.
Next day the Yeomanry Division and the 7th Brigade were relieved in the line by two more brigades of infantry28 from the 52nd and 74th Divisions, the latter of which had just arrived from the south. These reliefs were carried out in the intervals29 between repeated fierce attacks by the enemy, who flung his troops against our line all day with the greatest determination. Had it not been possible to relieve the Yeomanry about this time, there is no doubt that they would have been overwhelmed. So depleted30 were their ranks that the substitution of two brigades of infantry for the four cavalry31 brigades meant six rifles in the line for every one that had been there before. This increase in strength, with the addition of the Australian Mounted Division, sufficed to hold all the enemy attacks.
On the following morning the 3rd A.L.H. Brigade relieved the brigade of the 52nd Division on the left of the Yeomanry line, near El Burj, and the headquarters and artillery of the division moved up in the evening.
On the same day, the weary troops of the Yeo[Pg 116]manry Division withdrew to Annabeh, whence they marched to the neighbourhood of El Mughar to rest and refit, within sight of the hill which they had captured so brilliantly a fortnight earlier.
During their twelve days in the hills they had been fighting continually, day and night, not only against a vigorous and determined32 enemy, but against the difficulties of a roadless mountain country. Exposed to constant rain and cold, without tents, blankets or greatcoats, often short of food, and opposed at all times by greatly superior forces of the enemy, they had set an example of dogged courage and tenacity33 and of unquenchable cheerfulness that has never been surpassed.
These were the last operations in the East in which they were destined36 to take part. In the following spring, in response to the urgent call from France for more troops to stem the great German attack, the division was disbanded, and reorganised into a number of dismounted machine gun companies. After a short course of training, these companies embarked37 for France, there to earn fresh laurels38 for their old division in the last great act of the war.
Units of the division had fought in nearly every action since the beginning of the war with Turkey, and all had distinguished39 themselves. At Suvla Bay in the Peninsula; at Sollum and Mersa Matruh in the western desert; at Romani, Maghdaba and Rafa during the advance across Sinai; in the two first battles of Gaza; and lastly in the great ride over the Plains of Philistia, and the stubborn drive into the Jud?an Mountains. Everywhere the Turks had learned to dread40 the long swords and the steady rifles of the Yeomen. Their comrades of the Desert Mounted Corps bade farewell to the gallant41 division with real sorrow.
[Pg 117]
The enemy made one more attempt to break our line at its weakest part on the night of the 30th. About two o'clock in the morning a battalion of picked assault troops from his 19th Division was launched against the position held by the 3rd A.L.H. Brigade. The Turks were well supplied with hand grenades, which were not carried by our cavalry at that time, and pushed their attack in the most resolute42 manner. Our line was forced back a few hundred yards, and a small, but important, hill was lost for a time. A squadron of the Gloucester Yeomanry (5th Mounted Brigade) and a company of infantry from the 52nd Division reinforced the 3rd Brigade, and the Turks' attempt to break through was finally defeated, but only after the complete destruction of the enemy battalion. Three times during the night, between 2 A.M. and 6 A.M., this gallant regiment43 flung itself against our positions, pressing on each time with the most reckless courage. Each attack was repelled44 with heavy losses to the enemy, and in the end the battalion was wiped out: 172 Turks, many of them wounded, remained in our hands as prisoners; the rest were killed.
The 5th Mounted Brigade rejoined the Australian Division from the 21st Corps on the 1st of December, being replaced by the 10th A.L.H. Regiment, which remained on the right flank of the 60th Division, and gained touch with the 53rd Division on the 7th December.
The Australian Mounted Division remained in the mountains till the end of December, when it was withdrawn to Deir el Belah to rest and refit. It had little fighting during the period spent in the hills, but the awful weather fully9 made up for any lack of activity on the part of the enemy. During the whole time rain fell almost incessantly45, and the cold[Pg 118] winds that swept up and down the narrow valleys were exceedingly trying to men who were nearly always in wet clothes.
But, if the conditions in the hills were execrable, those in the coastal46 plain, where all the horses of the division were kept, were nearly as bad. The rains broke late this year, and, when they did come, fell with unusual violence. The plain was soon transformed into a deep sea of mud. Large areas were completely under water, and the flood carried immense quantities of soil into the innumerable small wadis that intersect the plain, filling them bank full with mud. When the waters subsided47 a little, from time to time, these wadis were indistinguishable from the surrounding country, and became very dangerous traps. There was more than one instance of men and horses being engulfed48 and drowned in their horrible black depths.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1917 are never likely to be forgotten by any of the troops who were in Palestine at the time. A raging storm of rain fell without intermission for thirty-six hours. The railway was washed away in several places, wagons and lorries were unable to move, and hundreds of camels in the ration34 convoys49 lay down in the water that covered the land, and died. No food or other supplies could be brought up to the troops.
A small party of Yeomanry, making its way northwards from Esdud, reached the bridge over the Nahr Sukereir about mid-day. The men halted to feed their horses on the bridge, which consisted of a single high stone arch, and was comparatively dry. After half an hour's halt, they attempted to continue their march, but found the country to the north of the river so deep in water and mud that they could not get on. They then tried to go back again, but, in[Pg 119] the meantime, the waters had risen behind them, and they found themselves cut off on the bridge, which was now a small island in an apparently50 limitless sea of muddy water. Marooned51 on their tiny island, lashed52 by the rain and the bitter wind, they spent the night and the next day (Christmas Day) huddled53 miserably54 together, without food, fire, or shelter! On the 26th the waters subsided a little, and they were able to struggle back to their camp.
The horses, already thin and tired after the heavy work and short rations35 of the past month, went back rapidly in condition. They were standing55 always up to their hocks in mud, wet through nearly the whole time, and, in this treeless country, there was little or no shelter from the biting winds. Forage56, too, was often woefully short, owing to partial breakdowns57 of the supply columns. It is small wonder that, by the end of December, when the division was relieved, they resembled ragged58 scarecrows rather than horses.
Much trouble was caused in the mountains owing to the impossibility of preventing information reaching the enemy from the natives. A regulation, prohibiting the inhabitants of the villages behind our lines from leaving their houses during the hours of darkness, was rigidly59 enforced, and any natives found at large during the night were liable to be shot at sight. Nevertheless, with a line so lightly held as was ours, and with no regular system of trenches, it was a comparatively easy matter for the villagers to pass between the lines, even in daylight, and much information undoubtedly60 reached the enemy in this way.
One day a small patrol of five men of the Australian Mounted Division was making its way cautiously forward towards the enemy position in the village of Deir el Kuddis. Crossing the bottom of a deep[Pg 120] valley, the patrol came upon a solitary61 Arab squatting62 among the rocks in the bottom of the ravine. He said he had come from Deir el Kuddis, and that it had been evacuated63 by the enemy. Our men, one of whom spoke64 a little Arabic, questioned him closely, but he stuck to his story, and also showed them a path which led to the village. They left him in the ravine, and, taking the path indicated, moved warily65 forward towards the village. Shortly afterwards, they heard a jackal cry in the valley behind them, but, as the hills were full of these beasts, whose mournful wailing66 was to be heard all night long, the men paid no attention to it at the time. Almost immediately afterwards a concealed67 enemy machine gun opened fire on them unexpectedly, killing68 one man and wounding another. They withdrew, carrying their dead comrade with them, and were making their way back towards the ravine where they had left the native, when one of them was suddenly struck by the thought that he had never before heard a jackal call in the daytime. After a discussion, they came to the conclusion that the jackal cry must have been made by the Arab they had seen, as a signal to the enemy. One of them accordingly went to look for the man, and found him in the same place. As soon as he saw the soldier, the native jumped up with a cry, and attempted to run away, but was promptly69 shot dead by the Australian.
The body of this man lay unburied in the bottom of the ravine all the time we were there, as none of the villagers would touch it. They had taken and buried the bodies of several other natives who had been shot when found away from their villages after dark, and, as they would not give the same treatment to this man, it is possible that he was a Turk in disguise.
batteries
One of our Horse Artillery batteries in action in the mountains west of Jerusalem. Note the bivouac shelters pitched among the guns as camouflage70.
proclamation
Reading the British Proclamation in Jerusalem, 11th November, 1917. General Allenby with Allied71 Representatives in the centre.
[Pg 121]
In the latter half of November the four infantry divisions that had remained about Gaza and Karm during the pursuit of the enemy commenced to move up to the front, and, by the end of the month, were all in the line from the sea to Nebi Samwil. At the beginning of December the 53rd Division began its advance up the Hebron road, and, on the early morning of the 9th, was in touch with the 60th Division, and had one brigade fighting its way up the Mount of Olives. The latter division, pivoting72 on the hill of Nebi Samwil, had made a wonderful fighting wheel to the left during the past three days, and had now closed in on Jerusalem on the west and south.
At eight o'clock in the morning the keys of the Holy City, borne by the Mayor under a flag of truce73, were handed to an officer of the 60th Division.
After six hundred years the Christian74 had returned.
General Allenby made his official entry into Jerusalem on the 11th, accompanied by representatives of the Allied Nations. This event, and the magnificent infantry fighting that led up to it, have been too well chronicled elsewhere to need recapitulation in this narrative75, which is concerned only with the doings of the cavalry.
One may be permitted, however, to emphasise76 once more the impressive contrast between the entry of the Conqueror77 of Jerusalem and that of the crazy mountebank78 who had visited it twenty years before. The German Emperor entered on horseback, surrounded by an immense retinue79, in uniforms blazing with medals and decorations. General Allenby entered on foot and almost alone, dressed in worn, service khaki, and carrying a cane80. But he went through the Jaffa Gate, which, in accordance with ancient tradition, is opened only to a conqueror of[Pg 122] the Holy City; the Kaiser entered through a breach81 in the wall.
The Australian Mounted Division was relieved by the 10th Infantry Division on the 1st of January, and the 3rd and 5th Brigades withdrew from the hills that day, and marched south for Deir el Belah, followed a week later by the 4th Brigade. The three days' march was carried out in continual, heavy rain, changing to hail and sleet82 every now and then, and through a country that was nearly all under water. Once among the clean, dry sandhills of Deir el Belah, however, all troubles were over, and soon afterwards the weather improved, and clothes could be dried for the first time for seven weeks. The Yeomanry Division had moved into the same area shortly before the Australian Division arrived.
The Anzac Division remained on the Auja till the 7th of December, when it withdrew to rest at Richon-le-Zion. Cavalry operations were much hampered83 by the continual rain and deep mud, but the division carried out a series of daring and successful raids on the enemy, which kept him constantly on the jump, and paved the way for the final crossing of the Auja on the 21st and 22nd of December. Two brigades took part in this operation, in support of the 52nd and 54th Divisions, and, as soon as our line was consolidated84 on the north bank, the whole division was withdrawn, and went into camp near the coast to rest.
Between the 31st of October and the end of December the Desert Mounted Corps had advanced some eighty miles,[15] fought nine general engagements, and captured about 9500 prisoners and 80 guns.
map
FOOTNOTES:
[15] The actual distances covered by the three divisions in the period were:—Anzac Mounted Division, one hundred and seventy miles; Yeomanry Division, one hundred and ninety miles; Australian Mounted Division, two hundred and thirty miles.
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1 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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2 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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3 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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4 battalion | |
n.营;部队;大队(的人) | |
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5 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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6 garrison | |
n.卫戍部队;驻地,卫戍区;vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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7 reeking | |
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
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8 fumes | |
n.(强烈而刺激的)气味,气体 | |
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9 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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10 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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11 necessitated | |
使…成为必要,需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 withdrawal | |
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销 | |
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13 exiguous | |
adj.不足的,太少的 | |
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14 intermittent | |
adj.间歇的,断断续续的 | |
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15 entirely | |
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16 dispositions | |
安排( disposition的名词复数 ); 倾向; (财产、金钱的)处置; 气质 | |
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17 envelopment | |
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18 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
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19 repulse | |
n.击退,拒绝;vt.逐退,击退,拒绝 | |
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20 ambushed | |
v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 );埋伏着 | |
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21 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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22 wrecked | |
adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
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23 wagons | |
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24 penetrate | |
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解 | |
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25 unaware | |
a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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26 trenches | |
深沟,地沟( trench的名词复数 ); 战壕 | |
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27 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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28 infantry | |
n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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29 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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30 depleted | |
adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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32 determined | |
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33 tenacity | |
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34 ration | |
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35 rations | |
定量( ration的名词复数 ); 配给量; 正常量; 合理的量 | |
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36 destined | |
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37 embarked | |
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38 laurels | |
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39 distinguished | |
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40 dread | |
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41 gallant | |
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42 resolute | |
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43 regiment | |
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44 repelled | |
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45 incessantly | |
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46 coastal | |
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的 | |
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47 subsided | |
v.(土地)下陷(因在地下采矿)( subside的过去式和过去分词 );减弱;下降至较低或正常水平;一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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48 engulfed | |
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49 convoys | |
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50 apparently | |
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51 marooned | |
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52 lashed | |
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53 huddled | |
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54 miserably | |
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55 standing | |
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56 forage | |
n.(牛马的)饲料,粮草;v.搜寻,翻寻 | |
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57 breakdowns | |
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58 ragged | |
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59 rigidly | |
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60 undoubtedly | |
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61 solitary | |
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62 squatting | |
v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 );非法擅自占用(土地或房屋);为获得其所有权;而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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63 evacuated | |
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n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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65 warily | |
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66 wailing | |
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67 concealed | |
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72 pivoting | |
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n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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77 conqueror | |
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79 retinue | |
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80 cane | |
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84 consolidated | |
a.联合的 | |
参考例句: |
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