Through Palestine with the Twentieth Machine Gun Squadron Part 9

_"No. 3" Section:_

Lieut. A.G.P. Millman.

Sec.-Lieut. J.K.W. Arden.

_"E" Sub-section:_ _"F" Sub-section:_ Sergt. Potts. Sergt. Grice, M.M.

Corpl. Thompson. Corpl. Keetley.

Lance-Corpl. Pountain. Lance-Corpl. Buckingham.

" Woodhouse. " Patterson.

The route taken was familiar to everyone. Pa.s.sing Rishon-le-Zion (Ayun Kara) the Squadron came upon its old friend the Jaffa Road, thence, past Yazur to Sarona, by exactly the same way as was taken in the previous May.

Bearing to the left, past the village, we arrived at Summeil and the camp south of the River Auja, where Sec.-Lieut. Arden, who had been sent on in advance to take over the Squadron area, showed us our position in the camp.

Arriving at dusk the whole Brigade (horses, wagons and men), were hidden in orange groves; it was certainly not an easy task to fit everything up in the dark, the avenues between the trees being narrow and in most places only allowing horses to be led in single file.

The orders for the morrow (equally unenlightening) were to the effect that no unnecessary movement was to take place, and that no one, on any account, _was to go outside the groves_; the horses were to be watered at stated hours from the stone gullies used by the natives for the irrigation of the plantations; no fires were allowed; and all cooking was to be done with the methylated spirit blocks which were issued out for the purpose.

The daytime was pa.s.sed without incident, but 18.30 found the Brigade paraded outside the groves ready to march at dusk. Crossing the Auja by the wooden bridge, and proceeding stealthily along the sea sh.o.r.e, below the cliffs, about five miles to west of El Jelil, it halted in "column of troops," off-saddled, watered from a trough, supplied by water from a well dug beside it, "linked" horses and laid down on the sand to get some sleep.

It may be imagined that by this time everyone was wondering what the next day would bring forth!

ADVANCE TO LIKTERA (EL HUDEIRA).

Before daylight we were saddled up and "standing to"--a vigorous bombardment of the Turkish trenches (which we had been told the previous night to expect) was in full swing. Suddenly, it stopped! Who was there among us who did not think of the part the infantry were then playing, and upon whose successful attack so much was to depend?

When would orders arrive for us, on the beach, to move? Patiently waiting and expecting, nothing however came! Suddenly at 07.00, the troops in front were seen mounting, and at length the surprising order came through to us that the entire Division was _to make its way to Nazareth_--quite 50 miles behind the enemy's line, as the crow flies!

The 13th Brigade, being on the sands in front of the 14th, was to lead this movement. The Poona Horse were to be the leading regiment of the 14th, with ourselves (the 20TH MACHINE-GUN SQUADRON) immediately behind them.

"GET BACK OUR GUNS".

Upon advancing a short way up the coast, we reached what had been the British front line, and evidences of the morning's action were to be seen, as here and there several dead men and mules were lying about. As we pa.s.sed by this spot, an officer of an Infantry Machine-Gun Company called out to us: "Good luck, get us back our guns. They raided us this morning and captured two!"

A few yards further on, the old Turkish line was reached and a number of killed and wounded Turks and animals were to be seen here also.

Right along the coast we went, "without let or hindrance," the high cliffs affording us protection from the few sh.e.l.ls coming over, nearly all of which fell into the sea. The pace was killing, and the sand and rocks made it heavy going for the horses. They were very fit though, thanks to the hard training they had had at Deiran!

Still proceeding northward, about six miles along the coast, the cliffs suddenly gave way to flatter ground; here we turned inland in a north-easterly direction. Reports reached us that about 200 enemy infantry (with transport) were in a wood on our right flank. "No. 1" Section and one squadron of Poona Horse were detailed as "flank guard" to prevent the enemy leaving the wood until the Brigade had pa.s.sed by. The flank guard, however, were instructed not to trouble to dispose of this small party, as bigger "fish" were in view.

At 11.30 the Brigade had reached the Nahr Iskanderun. After crossing slowly by two small, very shaky, bridges, units hurriedly watered here, independently, by means of buckets, the banks of the stream being very steep. The country now became delightful, cultivated, everywhere, with orange groves and gardens. At 12.30 the Brigade, winding its way through the groves, came out into the pretty little Village of Liktera (a Jewish settlement called by them Hudeira), 26 miles from the starting point. The inhabitants were overjoyed to see us, and as a halt was made here, and horses off-saddled and fed, they soon made us at home with gifts of bread, eggs and milk, refusing to take any payment therefor.

Until the inhabitants had seen the head of our Division, about a mile off, they had not the slightest idea that there had even been a British attack!

They were particularly anxious to know how the people were faring in such villages as Mulebbis, and other places, south of our old line, where they had friends and relatives. As indicative that our advance was carried out with speed and secrecy--while we were resting here, _a Boche motor lorry arrived_! The driver, being unaware of anything unusual, drove quietly into the town; he nearly fell off his seat when he was suddenly surrounded by British troops! This lorry proved to be the advance guard of several more, all of which were, of course, captured.

CAPTURE OF EL FULE.

After a sleep in the afternoon (what a luxury for the first day of a "stunt!") and tea, the Brigade saddled up and moved off at 18.00, just before dark. What a cheery crowd it was! But they had "some" march in front of them, the object being the capture of Nazareth and the cutting of the Turk's princ.i.p.al line of communication, _which would isolate practically the whole of his army west of the Jordan_! Just outside the village, two large marquees--a German Field Ambulance--hurriedly evacuated, were pa.s.sed.

Earlier in the day an officer of the 13th Brigade had found an untasted breakfast here, for which he had much reason to be thankful!

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Further on, the track taken (the main route being avoided) proved very bad, and in many places the whole division had to proceed in "single file".

In some places, also, horses were led. The natives, who had gathered upon the road-side from the villages which we pa.s.sed, stood silently watching us. They must have been amazed, and the troops must have appeared to them veritable "ghosts of the night". At 23.30 a halt of 30 minutes was made, at a small village, and horses fed. In the early hours of the morning many horses, belonging to the forward part of the column, were pa.s.sed by the wayside. They were completely "done". No doubt they were, in some cases, able, later on, to join up, but in their present state their riders had taken their saddles off and had lain down beside them, to sleep. For the moment these men had nothing further to do, but they must have run a serious risk from hostile natives when the Brigade had pa.s.sed by. At 04.00 the next morning we emerged upon the open Plain of Esdraelon.[20]

FOOTNOTES:

[20] _The Plain of Esdraelon stretches across Central Palestine, and has an average width of about 10 miles. It forms a wide break between the Mountains of Galilee on the north and those of Samaria on the south. It has always been a great battlefield; in the Bible it is called the Plain of Jezreel; see Judges iv, 3, v, 21, vi, 1; I Sam.

xxix, x.x.xi; I Kings xx, 25; Josh. xvii, 16._

A GREAT MOVE!

Now was to take place an interesting development in the operations. With Nazareth within fairly close reach, our objective was at hand. We formed up as quickly as possible in "Line of troop column," and then moved along the plain to the east, heading slightly towards the north, gradually nearing the north side as we proceeded forward. The objective for the 14th Brigade was to cut the main road to Nazareth from the south, thus cutting off all communication between the Turkish General Headquarters at Nazareth and their line, which ran across the country from Arsuf to the north of the Dead Sea. The 13th Brigade, which, it will be remembered, up to this point had been the leading one, after forming up, made for the hills on the other side of the plain, and, reaching them, turned to the east, towards their objective which was _the Turkish General Headquarters at Nazareth_!

The "going" on the plain was very bad, especially in the dark, the ground being a network of cracks and covered with a species of tall needle-gra.s.s, the latter making it very painful for the horses, whilst the former, continually giving way under their weight made the risk of broken legs a real one. Fortunately, however, no serious accidents took place. What wonderful creatures horses are! Those who were on that trek could not fail to realise it, if they had never done so before! As time went on and the goal was still not reached, it seemed that they _must_ drop at any minute, _but still they kept on_, never faltering! A few dropped out, it is true, but they were a very small percentage of the whole. What courage and endurance they showed, to carry a weight of (say) 18 stone, _50 miles in 24 hours_ over the worst country imaginable!

About half way across the plain, the railway to Haifa was "cut," and, pus.h.i.+ng on, there were still some miles to go when day began to break. Many thought they would now be "in for" a hot time, and expected guns to open upon them from all sides.

But the Turk was still quite ignorant of our presence. In any case he was not prepared for an attack at that distance behind his line! When it became fully light the 13th Brigade could be seen on the top of the ridge on the left moving parallel with us, and, in front of us, there was Mount Tabor[21] which served as a "guide" for direction. At 05.30 enemy motor lorries were seen crossing our front going towards Nazareth. We opened fire upon them but they did not stop.

Proceeding up the hill, they discovered that our 13th Brigade troops were on the top, when they stopped about half way up and opened fire with machine-guns. Upon this our "No. 2" Section came up and "peppered" them.

One lorry caught fire and after a short time the occupants of the convoy, trying to escape up the hill, were captured by the 13th Brigade. Shortly after this incident, Turkish troops were seen marching up the road towards us, but a squadron from the Sherwood Rangers and Deccan Horse with our "No.

3" Section quickly caused them to be quite in a hurry to surrender.

FOOTNOTES:

[21] _Mount Tabor rather resembles a sugar-loaf in shape, flattened at the top; its height from the plain is about 1,500 feet. It was here that Deborah commanded Barak to muster his army: "So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his chariots and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak". (Judges iv, 14, 15). See also Judges viii, 18; Psalms x.x.xix, 12; Jer. xlvi, 18. The Crusaders built a church and a monastery on Mount Tabor; they were destroyed in 1187 and the ruins still remain. In 1255 the Knights of St. John held it but lost it in 1263 to Bibars._

THE ENEMY PANIC-STRICKEN.

From a small rise could be seen, looking down the road, a large camp and El Fule railway station with trucks, carriages and engines, also large dumps of material. Everywhere, crowds of enemy troops were to be seen rus.h.i.+ng about; apparently in a state of great panic. In these circ.u.mstances a squadron of the Deccan Horse went down to "look into things" and after "dealing" with a few of the excitable "Johnnies" the remainder surrendered.

About 900 prisoners were taken that morning. Later on in the day the Brigade moved down to the station and encamped, the horses being watered from a trough which was discovered about a mile along the railway.[22]

Here, there was found a large quant.i.ty of stores of all descriptions, including Turkish cigarettes, which were not refused as a ration on such an occasion. The capture of El Fule released an R.A.F. pilot, who, having to land in consequence of engine trouble that morning, had been taken prisoner by some Austrian gunners who, with their horses only, were retreating. They were anxious to know which way the British were coming, in order to decide which road they should take. Of course they did not learn anything, but fortunately came along this road and thus fell into our hands.

Here it might be mentioned that the work of the R.A.F. was truly wonderful.

Prior to the "stunt," in order to ensure that the enemy should not be aware of the ma.s.sing of our cavalry just before the attack and their subsequent movements after the infantry had broken through, they flew continually over the enemy aerodromes and prevented enemy airmen from rising. Perhaps it should be said they rather tempted them to do so, but--they never did!

Consequently, on the day of our attack, the enemy had no information at all of what was happening, as his planes were on the ground and remained there until they were either burnt or captured. They certainly would not rise! At El Fule a very large aerodrome had been established, and a large collection of enemy machines was found there. It was not long before these were joined by some of our own which arrived almost as soon as it had been taken.

During the day the 13th Brigade had been dealing with Nazareth, and that night our Brigade slept at El Fule. Next morning we were to go southwards to Jenin (which might or might not have been captured), and clear the intervening country.

FOOTNOTES:

[22] _About a mile south of the site of the present station at El Fule was the scene of a great battle between the French and the Turks, on April 16th 1799, called the Battle of Mount Tabor. Kleber with about 1,500 men kept 25,000 Syrians at bay; he was almost defeated when Napoleon with 600 men arrived. The Turks, thinking a large army was upon them, fled. Here also are ruins of a church of the Crusaders, destroyed by Saladin._

JENIN[23] CROWDED WITH ABANDONED MATERIAL.