Chapter 14

“Please convey to all ranks engaged in the Battle of Romani my appreciation of the efforts which have brought about the brilliant success they have won at the height of the hot season and in desert country.”

Katia, which was bombed daily, was occupied until the 14th August, on which date the Divisional Headquarters and the units that had taken part in the operation moved back to Romani and Pelusium to engage in very arduous training, and to put the finishing touches to the new equipment after the extremely severe test that had been undergone. The units were distributed as follows on the evening of the 15th August—

The remainder of the Artillery and Divisional Ammunition Column were at Kantara and Ballah.

Camels and other “Pets”

Reference has been made to the arrival of the camels on the night before the march of the 127th Brigade to Mount Royston. The Ship of the Desert henceforward played so important a part in the operations of the Mobile Column that gratitude demands a few words of appreciation. A hundred, more or less, with from thirty to forty native attendants, were apportioned to each battalion, and the troops by now would have been unimpressed if a squadron of elephants had been dumped upon them. The camels and their satellites were placed in charge of the odd-job subaltern, the sergeant surplus to Company strength, and the few simple men who would volunteer to trudge alongside a grunting, grumbling, snapping mass of vermin and vile odours, and listen to its unpleasant internal remarks, while gazing upon its patchy hide and drooping, snuffling lips. British soldiers are notoriously fond of animals, and will try to make a friendof anything with four legs, or even with none,[8]and no doubt some of these volunteers had visions of their sloppy, shambling charges eagerly responding to affection, answering to a pet name, and turning soft eyes of devotion upon the beloved master while he fondled it. If so, they were quickly disillusioned, and soon they became prematurely aged men, bitterly regretting the impulse that had led them to volunteer. The native gentlemen had apparently been chosen for their knowledge of the English language—some could even count up to four in that tongue!—their gambling propensities, their detestation and ignorance of camels, and their appearance of abject misery. By the camp fire, at the end of the day’s march, they became more cheerful as they compared thefts, smoked vile cigarettes, and babbled of the riotous time they would have in Cairo when they returned with their accumulated wealth. They were handy men, however, and the Lancashire lad regarded them with kindly tolerance, touched with the wondering pity he extends to all who have never watched Manchester United play Bolton Wanderers.

On the coast, two or three miles to the north of Romani, lies the hamlet of Mahamadiyeh, which sprang into fame as the most popular seaside resort in Africa, the battalions, with the exception of those of the 126th Brigade guarding the railhead, being sent there in turn for rest, recuperation, and sea-bathing. Further advance eastward by the Division was impracticable until the railway and pipe line had been pushed farther ahead, the present limit being a few miles beyond Romani. Meanwhile, a position was sited east of Oghratina to cover the extension of the railway, and this was reached by the Division, less the 125th Brigade, 1st Field Company, R.E., eight batteries, R.F.A., and the 1st Field Ambulance, on September 11. A prospecting party of Engineers had located considerable supplies of water, and the few trial wells were rapidly increased to forty-three, supplying 9000 gallons an hour. The water was slightly brackish, but was drunk by horses and camels. Water for the men was supplied to units at the railhead tanks. The 125th Brigade had been moved to section defences, the 5th Lancashire Fusiliers to Kantara, the 6th to Dueidar, the 7th to Hill 40, and the 8th to Ballybunion. A few weeks later the Brigade was reunited at Mahamadiyeh, where D.H.Q. was established.

For more than two months the Division shared with the 52ndDivision and the mounted troops the duty of protecting the railway and water-pipe from raiders, the troops occupying a succession of forward positions along the coastal road in advance of and covering the railway, each Division returning to Romani when relieved by the other. To pack up, load the camels, and move off to a fresh bivouac quickly became second nature. Steadily the railway was pushed forward towards El Arish, and alongside it a road was constructed, the sand being conquered at last by the ingenious device of wire rabbit-netting laid and pegged down. In this way the fatigue of marching was much reduced. The large main through which a daily supply of 40,000 gallons was pumped from the Sweet Water Canal through filters to Romani, was carried forward by the Engineers, who also erected reservoir tanks at the railhead. This supply was barely sufficient for the men, and none of it could be spared for the animals, so exploring parties of sappers went ahead to sink innumerable wells and erect signboards giving a rough estimate of the supply per half hour and the degree of salinity. They also prepared maps of a region that had hitherto been practically unmapped. It was an engineer’s war, and the amount of work done by them in the face of difficulties that had been considered insuperable was indeed amazing.

The health of the troops had suffered greatly by the prolonged strain under a tropical sun, and a number of men had been sent into hospital with dysentery. There had also been a few cases of cholera, presumably contracted from Turkish prisoners and camping grounds. A number of men, pronounced medically unfit for the arduous duties of the Mobile Column, were formed into a composite battalion and stationed at Kantara, where they were engaged upon guard duties and training. In October a much-appreciated scheme of rest and holiday cure was recommended by the medical authorities. Parties of officers and men were sent to Alexandria for a week’s real relaxation, and during this week they were practically free to do as they liked. It was a novel military departure, as there was neither work nor duty for officers or men. The change of surroundings, the freedom, and the sea-bathing worked wonders. The coming once more into touch with civilization had in itself a good effect; health quickly improved, and with the cooler weather a complete change for the better was experienced.

In October, Major-General Lawrence, having returned to England, from the 23rd of the month until the arrival of Lieut.-General Sir Philip Chetwode early in December, Major-General Sir William Douglas was given temporary command of the Desert Column, the name by which the Mobile Force was now known, Brig.-General Frith assuming command of the Division. As Brig.-General King had been appointed C.R.A. of the Desert Column, the command of the Divisional Artillery was taken over by Brig.-General F. W. H. Walshe, D.S.O., who had been in command of the artillery attached to the Anzacs.

The Advance to El Arish

The mounted troops, co-operating with bodies of infantry fromone or other of the two Divisions, kept in touch with the enemy, and pressed him farther and farther to the east as the work of construction went forward. The railway reached Bir-el-Abd, nearly thirty miles east of Romani and more than fifty from the Canal, then to Salmana, then Tilul, and in November the railhead was at El Mazar, about eighty miles east of the Canal. Engagements took place at Bir-el-Abd and at El Mazar, the latter forcing the enemy to withdraw upon El Arish, their base and the most important town in Sinai. As each stage of railway and water-main construction was completed the main bodies of the 42nd and 52nd Divisions also advanced a stage. Viewed from a distance, the slow-moving column seemed to have strayed into the scene from out of the twentieth century B.C., as the long line of laden camels wended their deliberate way along interminable stretches of bare sand, or across salt lakes of dazzling whiteness, or through undulating scrub country which raised fleeting hopes that the desert had been left behind. Turkish aircraft continued to harass the advance, but the bombing was rarely effective, and even the natives of the Egyptian Labour Corps grew accustomed to the raids, and no longer bolted like rabbits for cover when a plane was sighted. Due acknowledgment must be rendered to these Gyppies, who worked with admirable rapidity and cheerfulness, each gang being in charge of a native ganger whose badges of authority were two stripes and a stick which was freely used. While working they invariably chanted, the ganger acting as fugleman, and the heavier the work the louder the chanting. When they were not chanting they were not working. It was at times fortunate that the soldiers did not understand the words chanted. The English soldiers soon took up the idea, and when collective effort was required, it was done to the accompaniment of some extraordinary singing. Towards the end of November the 42nd Division occupied El Mazar, only twenty-five miles from El Arish, and the railway was already pushed on to El Maadan, about ten miles further east, where an important railhead was constructed and arrangements made for the storage of a large water supply to be fed by railway tanks. Three or four times a week every man had for breakfast a 1 lb. loaf baked in Kantara on the previous afternoon.

On December 20 a concentration of all available troops was effected at El Maadan. There were at least 30,000 men, including natives, and 18,000 camels, marching in parallel columns as far as the eye could reach. A rapid forward move and a surprise attack upon the Turkish positions covering El Arish had been planned, and the prospect of celebrating the close of the year 1916, and the completion of the hundred-mile stage of the conquest of the desert, by a good stand-up fight was looked forward to with exhilaration, except by the pessimists who freely betted that there would be no fight. In the small hours of the morning of December 21 the company commanders received orders to prepare to march—but, alas! back to El Mazar, not forward to El Arish, for the bird had flown and the stunt was a “washout.” Brig.-General Walshe had gone out in anaeroplane to reconnoitre the position for artillery purposes, and as no sign of the enemy could be seen the pilot brought the machine down until they skimmed along the top of the palm-trees, and made sure that the Turk had cleared out. The disappointment was intense. El Arish was occupied by the mounted troops and the 52nd Division, while the 42nd gloomily marched back to Mazar. In the words of the order: “The Turks having fled, the Division was no longer required to fight them.”

They were not downcast, however, for any length of time. A remark of the Divisional Commander, as he commiserated with his men on having missed the promised “scrap,” gave rise to rumours and much discussion of the Division’s prospects. “Never mind, lads,” he had said, “you’ll get as much as you want very soon.” Could it mean France, Salonika, India, Mesopotamia? Perhaps, even an advance through Palestine—though this was scouted as too wild a notion. But Christmas was at hand, and hopes and chagrin were laid aside for the moment, as men’s thoughts were wholly occupied with visions of Christmas festivities. Anticipations were fully realized; the mail and parcels from home arrived at the right time, and the Christmas of 1916 was thoroughly enjoyed. The rest of the stay at El Mazar was not. The Turk had been stationed here in force and had bequeathed a legacy of lice of abnormal size and ferocity, which swelled the fighting strength of the Division to many times its normal number. A delousing apparatus was brought up by train, and the men conceded that it was not wholly ineffective—in assisting the young lice to attain maturity more speedily, and in whetting their appetites. There was also an alarming development of septic sores, probably due to the filthy sand.

Meanwhile the mounted troops had been busy. On Christmas Eve they had struck suddenly at Maghdaba, a dozen miles to the south of El Arish, and had destroyed the garrison there, and, later, had made a brilliant lightning raid on Rafa, about thirty miles to the east, on the border of Sinai and Palestine. The enemy, taken completely by surprise, surrendered after putting up a good fight.

In the middle of January 1917, the 42nd Division marched by stages to El Arish, halting for a few days at El Bitia en route. This place furnished a welcome change from the ordinary desert scenery—palm groves, flat stretches of firm sand peculiarly adapted for football, a roaring sea close at hand, and a fine beach for bathing. El Arish was reached on the 22nd, and this was the furthest point east attained by the Division, though the Engineers, with a Company of the 8th Lancashire Fusiliers, spent a few days at El Burj, ten miles beyond. At El Arish wells were sunk at the edge of the beach where, to every one’s surprise, excellent water was found in abundance only twenty yards from the sea. A very bad sandstorm was experienced here, and there were periodical but ineffective bombing raids by aircraft. Before the end of the month the Division, less the squadron D.L.O.Y., was ordered back to the Canal, their destination being Moascar, near Ismailia.

BIR EL GERERAT. BIVOUACS.

A “HOD” OR OASIS OF DATE PALMS.

TURKISH LINES AT MASAID.

EL ARISH.

The Work Accomplished

The heavy sand through which the guns had been hauled and the difficulties of the water supply for the horses had provided a hard test of the endurance and skill of the Divisional Artillery, and it is greatly to the credit of the batteries that they had overcome all obstacles. Men and horses had become accustomed to desert trekking, and at the end of a day’s march the bivouacs were prepared, the horses watered, and everything running as smoothly as under peace-time conditions. On Christmas Day the batteries had (on paper) been formed into six-gun batteries, but the scheme was not actually put into operation until the Division had returned to the Canal zone.

As in Gallipoli, the Divisional Signal Company had been kept continuously at work and had displayed energy and efficiency beyond praise. Every task that had been set them—and their name was legion!—had been done well. The Supply details of the A.S.C. had accompanied the Division during the six months’ operations in the desert, and it may safely be said that no Division was better maintained in the matter of supply. The R.A.M.C. had formed mobile sections in each Field Ambulance, and two of these with camel convoy had accompanied each infantry brigade, and had shared their experiences. In spite of the heat and the shortage of water the desert life had on the whole proved healthy.

The magnitude of the work accomplished in the desert may be estimated by the following figures—

The defence of the Suez Canal had now been made secure. The revolt against Ottoman rule in the Hedjaz had broken out, and the Turk was in no mood for further adventurous enterprise. Henceforward he would confine his energies to defensive operations, and would ask nothing more than to hold his own.

The infantry entrained for Kantara,en routefor Moascar, during the first days of February, and though the hundred-mile railway journey was far from luxurious the troops were glad enough to be spared the weary march back to “th’ Cut.” They had watched the railway grow mile by mile, and their interest in it was almost that of a proprietor, but this was the first time they had ridden upon it for any distance.[9]Most of the units halted for a day or two at Kantara,a station with which they were familiar enough. Here the only subject for comment seems to have been the remarkable number of gulls that swarmed overhead at meal times. The mention of these birds will remind many officers and men that the 42nd Division made very useful contributions both to the knowledge of the fauna of the Sinai Peninsula and to the supply of animals to the Cairo Zoo. Many desert mice and rats, lizards and tortoises reached the Zoo alive, and one rat was so exalted by the prospect of introduction to Cairo society that it gave birth to a healthy litter while in the parcel post. Insects of great interest and rarity, and of peculiarly local distribution, were sent to the Ministry of Agriculture at Cairo twice a week for six months; and species entirely new to science were discovered. A battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers, from the R.S.M. and the Cook-Sergeant down to the sanitary men, took to collecting and nature study with great ardour and much success.

From East to West

Divisional Headquarters and the Signal Company arrived at Moascar on February 4. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th the various units (less the 2nd Field Company, R.E., which proceeded direct by rail to Alexandria) set out from Kantara on the two-days’ march to Moascar along the new road by the side of the Canal. The change from the soft sand of the desert to the hard road was a sore trial to the feet, and a big proportion of the men limped rather than marched into Moascar. All ranks now knew what most had suspected for some time, that the Division was bound for France, and there was general enthusiasm. The prospect of a change from the sand, the glaring sun, the discomfort of intense heat, the monotony and isolation of the desert, was hailed with joy by the majority. A number of officers and men had not been home since September 1914, and knew that there was little chance of home-leave while the Division remained with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Yet there were some among those who had been out longest upon whom the spell of the East had fallen, and who were disappointed that, having accomplished so much of the preparatory work, they, like Moses, could only see the Promised Land from afar, and were not allowed to go forward into Palestine.

While at Moascar the Division was inspected by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Dobell, commanding the Eastern Force, and it also marched past General Sir Archibald Murray, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. An event of even greater moment for men who had been nearly twelve months in the desert was a week’s visit from Miss Lena Ashwell’s Concert Party. The troops were grateful and appreciative, and they showed it unmistakably.

FLASHES OF UNITS IN THE 42ND DIVISION.

In view of the impending change every man now required sergeclothing, winter underclothing and service cap. The field-gun batteries were established on a six-gun basis, and two artillery brigades, the 210th and 211th, were formed out of the three existing brigades of four-gun batteries. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Field Companies, R.E., were re-numbered as the 427th, 428th, and 429th Field Companies respectively. Many details left behind during the advance across the desert rejoined the Division, as did also the R.A. Base at Ballah, and the instructors and staff of the Divisional School at Suez. This school had done most useful work, a large number of officers and other ranks having been put through a series of short courses, and much progress had been made in bombing and in the use of the Light Trench Mortar, or Stokes Gun.

To the great disappointment of all ranks it was decided that the A.S.C. should remain in the East, as a new 42nd Divisional Train had been formed in England to join the Division on its arrival in France. There was sincere regret on both sides at the severing of comradeship. The Divisional Train left Kantara early in March to join the 53rd Division, to which it was attached during the operations against Gaza. On the formation of the 74th (Yeomanry) Division it became the 74th Divisional Train, took part in all operations with that Division in Palestine, went with it to France, and remained with it until disembodied. The Divisional Squadron, now with the 53rd Division, was engaged in the first and second battles of Gaza. Later, it was attached in turn to the 60th and 52nd Divisions in Palestine and Syria; it took part in the third Battle of Gaza, in numerous skirmishes, outpost affrays, and pursuits, and shared in the honour of the great campaign that brought Turkey to her knees.

Before the end of February all preparations had been completed, and units had entrained for Alexandria. On March 2, 1917, the last transport left the harbour, and, after two and a half years of service in the Near East, the 42nd Division was at last on its way to the Western Front.

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