General MacAndrew thereupon determined to try and bluff the enemy into surrendering, and, to this end, sent an officer with a flag of truce into Aleppo in a car, to demand the capitulation of the city. The Turks took this officer through their defences without blindfolding him, apparently in order to show him that the position was a strong one, which it was, and adequately held. Having done so, they entertained him most courteously with cigarettes, coffee, and small talk for half an hour or so, and then handed him a reply to take back to the British General. The officer got back to Divisional Headquarters about four in the afternoon, and delivered his letter, which proved brief and to the point. 'The Commander of the Turkish garrison of Aleppo,' it ran, 'does not find it necessary to answer your note.' Fortunately for us, however, the Turkish Commander, after making this bold reply, began to get uneasy, and, in the course of the next three days, evidently came to the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valour. During the night of the 25th he commenced to withdraw his forces to the north.
At seven o'clock the cars were withdrawn into bivouac on the open plain south of Khan Tuman, so as to give them freedom of movement if attacked during the night.
The 24th was occupied in further reconnaissance of the enemy positions. The Turks were found in occupation of the same trenches, with cavalry outposts pushed forward on to the hills north of Khan Tuman. Some of the cars were sent off in a north-westerly direction, with the object of discovering a practicable way through the rocky hills south-west of Aleppo, to the Alexandretta road. They were unable, however, to find any track that was possible for cars.
Further reconnaissances on the 25th disclosed the enemy positions more fully, and drew considerable fire from guns, machine guns, and rifles all along the line. The 15th Brigade came up in the evening, and relieved the cars on outpost duty that night. Sherif Nasir's Arabs, who had been marching at a great pace along the railway, had arrived earlier in the day, and moved east towards Tel Hasil, to attack the city from that side.
Column 'B,' which had been steadily plodding along, a day's march in rear of Column 'A,' reached Seraikin the same evening.