[3] While Otto Liman von Sanders was out of contact until late in the afternoon of 20 September, following his hasty retreat from Nazareth in the early hours of the morning, the Fourth Army, still without orders stood firm.

[11][12] On 26 September, Colonel Gustav von Oppen, commander of the Asia Corps (formerly part of the Eighth Army) reached Deraa with 700 men including the 205th Pioniere Company.

Von Oppen's train was delayed nine hours by a break in the line 500 yards (460 m) long thirty miles (48 km) north of Deraa, to arrive at Damascus the following morning 28 September.

[18][19] Major General G. de S. Barrow's 4th Cavalry Division was ordered to ride north from Beisan and cross the Jordan River at Jisr el Mejamie before advancing eastwards via Irbid to Deraa in the hope of capturing retreating remnants of the Ottoman Fourth Army.

[4] The limited participation of Prince Feisal's force had been invited on 21 September, when an RAF aircraft delivered news of Allenby's successful offensive and the destruction of the Ottoman Seventh and Eighth Armies, to its forward base at Azrak.

The aircraft also carried instructions from Lieutenant Colonel Alan Dawnay, responsible for liaison between the EEF and the Arabs, informing Prince Feisal that they had closed all escape routes, except the Yarmuk Valley, which lay east of the Jordan.

The message exhorted the Arabs to attempt to cut off this route and it was made clear to Prince Feisal that his force was not to "embark on any enterprise to the north, such as an advance on Damascus, without first obtaining the consent of the commander-in-chief.

"[18] The 2nd Lancers attempted a mounted attack without reconnaissance and without knowing the size of the defending force; the charge failed suffering severe losses, before the artillery could get into position.

Three troops of the Dorset Yeomanry charged and captured a group of 50 which had crossed a wadi, while the remainder of the defenders retreated back into the village, where hand-to-hand fighting ensued among the houses.

[35] The Central India Horse (10th Cavalry Brigade) was ordered forward in support, organised into squadron columns in extended file across the Wadi Ratam, when they sighted 150 retreating defenders.

Barrow arranged with Prince Feisal's Chief Staff officer Colonel Nuri es-Said, for his Arab force to cover the 4th Cavalry Division's right flank during their pursuit to Damascus, which was to begin the next day.

[42] However, the division rode west to Sheikh Miskin 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Muzeirib at 14:00 where it was joined by the 10th Cavalry Brigade from Deraa (see Falls Sketch Map 38) less a squadron left to protect the wounded.

Attempts by the 29th Lancers (11th Cavalry Brigade) to "head off" the Ottoman column were unsuccessful, while the Hants Battery which had been sent forward in support "over very bad ground", despite being "outranged by their screw-guns,"[Note 4] continued firing until dark.

After a short halt to water and feed, the division continued their march to El Mejdel, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Tiberias, arriving in the early afternoon.

[60][61] The 3rd Light Horse Brigade advanced north along the western bank of the Jordan River to reach the southern shore of Lake Huleh, also in search of a crossing point.

By midnight, the brigade had crossed the river and had advanced 4 miles (6.4 km) to cut the Damascus road at Deir es Saras, but the main Ottoman rearguard force had already retreated.

[63][66] At the top of the watershed, Quneitra was 40 miles (64 km) from Damascus, the seat of government of a Kaza in the north of the district of Jaulan, and one of the most important Circassian towns in the region stretching from the Hauran to Amman.

[47][75] During the morning of 29 September retreating columns of German and Ottoman soldiers were seen by aerial reconnaissance in several groups with about 150 horse transports and 300 camels about 20 miles (32 km) south of Damascus.

[88][89][90] The regiment saw a strong column about two miles (3.2 km) long take up a position on all the commanding places on Kaukab ridge/Jebel el Aswad (sv); from the western edge of a volcanic ridge stretching eastwards along the high ground.

Most of the fugitives were bagged by our Division ere they reached what they had fondly hoped was their haven of refuge.At 02:00 on 1 October a troop of the Gloucester Hussars (13th Cavalry Brigade) with a Hotchkiss rifle section was ordered to capture the wireless station at Qadam.

Having sent back 700 prisoners under escort the Hodson's Horse squadron advanced with machine guns and Hotchkiss rifles at the gallop, towards a 1,500-strong Ottoman column moving towards Damascus about ¾ mile (1.21 km) away, assuming the rest of the 13th Cavalry Brigade would reinforce them.

"[10] The independence of Syria was proclaimed and the Hejaz flag raised over the Governor's palace by the Emir Said Abd el Kader, who formed a provisional council to rule the city until Prince Feisal took command.

[127] According to Hughes, "the turmoil surrounding Damascus's fall, political (as opposed to military) decision-making devolved to a small group of comparatively junior British officers operating in the field.

[132] At 06:40 on 1 October Hodgson, commanding Australian Mounted Division ordered Bourchier's Force; the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments to patrol the western outskirts of Damascus south of the Barda Gorge.

"[10] The official Australian historian, Henry Gullett, describes the scale of the victory: "the great Turkish and German force in Western and Eastern Palestine had been destroyed, and our prisoners numbered 75,000.

[130] The march through Damascus began at 12:30 and finished at 15:00 with units back at the El Mezzo bivouac at 16:00 when two troops from B Squadron were assigned to protect the Australian Mounted Divisional Train.

[148] Allenby went on to highlight that he was in supreme command and that, "as long as military operations were in progress ... all administration must be under my control", while informing him that the "French and British Governments had agreed to recognize the belligerent status of the Arab forces fighting in Palestine and Syria, as Allies against the common enemy.

"[155] Todd had the weakest men transferred to houses in the village, supplied blankets and Syrian doctors to treat the sick, organised the prisoners into companies under their own officers, and sanitary arrangements were developed.

The main problems were damage to the railway from Haifa to Samakh, which was repaired by 30 September, and the very bad condition of a two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of road from Jisr Benat Yakub towards Quneitra.

One hundred Australian light horsemen were reassigned to medical orderly duties, a large convoy of sick was evacuated by motor lorries the next day and the arrival of supplies of milk relieved the situation.