Their commanding officer now called up his four squadron leaders, and sending “C” Squadron under Captain Steele out to the right to cover his exposed flank, ordered the rest of the Regiment to advance in echelon of squadrons extended. The ground was flat and covered with low scrub. “D” Squadron, which led, was under Captain Eve, “B” under Lieutenant Dawson, “A” under Captain Newton.
The Regiment had hardly got into the formation order when a Turkish shell burst on its left, and rifle-fire opened from some hidden trenches on broken ground ahead of the leading squadron. No enemy guns or Infantry were then visible, nothing but the convoy and its escort in the distance; but they were evidently there, and it was impossible to say in what strength. As the aeroplaneshad not made out any considerable body of them, they were presumably few, so it was decided that the Thirteenth should ride them down, and if possible gallop the convoy. The three squadrons accordingly drew swords and advanced at a trot, when it immediately became clear that they had in front of them not only scattered bands of Turks, but Infantry in concealed trenches with machine-guns and Artillery.
The order was then given to charge, and the eager horsemen swept forward with a cheer. A first low trench or water-cut was taken at a gallop, and some scores of Turks who held it threw up their hands, but as the squadron galloped on, some of these men seized their rifles again and fired into our men from behind, while in front the charging lines were met by a blaze of musketry which emptied many saddles, and broke the weight of the onset. Many brave men pressed on to the edge of the farther trenches, and even in places over them, but they found they could do little against Infantry in such numbers and on such ground. Their Colonel saw that the attempt to ride through was hopeless, and wheeling his three squadrons to the right at a gallop, and then to the right again, he withdrew them some distance until they were in comparative safety near the point from which they had started.
They were still under fire, but the remains of the squadrons rallied at once, and dismounted by order. The horses were sent away to the rear, and the troopers advanced on foot and occupied the trench which they had first taken. Leaving them there in the hope of another advance, or at all events of recovering their dead and wounded from the ground ahead of them, their Colonel went back to consult with the Brigadier and bring up support.
He returned soon afterwards, but only to be wounded by a Turkish bullet, and to find that the remnants of the three squadrons were too weak to push back the Turks and could hardly hold their own. They remained until dark in the Turkish trench. The rest of the 7th Brigade was similarly unable to advance, but held its ground in spite of a bombardment from about twenty concealed guns and a heavy rifle-fire, until the 6th Brigade worked round the enemy’s left and threatened his line of retreat. Such of the wounded as could be found in the darkness were then brought in.
Sergt.-Tptr.J. S. Styles(Killed at Lajj, 5th March 1917)
Sergt.G. Anderson(Killed at Lajj, 5th March 1917)
2nd Lieut.E. V. Rolfe(Killed at Lajj, 5th March 1917)
Sergt.W. Gilbert(Taken prisoner at Lajj, 5th March 1917)
Sergt.A. Harrison(Killed at Lajj, 5th March 1917)
So ended this day. The Thirteenth had shown a fine exampleof combined dash and steadiness. They had charged boldly over broken ground, and immediately after the charge had re-formed and gone forward again on foot, as ready to fight as ever in spite of their heavy losses. For they had lost heavily. Of the officers who had led the Regiment into the charge, three had been killed, one disabled and taken prisoner, and five wounded. Of other ranks, twenty-five had been killed and fifty-two wounded. Among the wounded officers were the Colonel and the second in command. The senior squadron leader was dead, and another was badly wounded. One squadron leader only came out of the charge unhurt. In all, about one-half of the officers and men who rode at the Turkish trenches were killed or wounded.
Of the three officers who died in the charge, the most prominent was the Captain of the leading squadron, Eve, who fell sword in hand among the Turkish Infantry. Many of his brother officers have borne witness to his courage and character. No braver soldier ever rode in the Thirteenth, and none was more beloved. The other two were newly joined 2nd Lieutenants, Rolfe and Lynch Staunton, who had not seen a shot fired before that day.
The following are extracts from letters and diaries bearing on the story of the fight. As the narrative in the text has been taken mainly from Colonel Richardson’s account and the Regimental Diary, others are quoted before these.
From Lance-Corporal Watkins, D.C.M., to the Hon. Mr Justice Eve.—“I was with your son, the (late) Captain W. H. Eve, on the 5th of March, when he was killed, and I was wounded almost directly afterwards.
“I was his signaller in most of the engagements in which we took part, and I should like to state, sir (although I am not in a proper position to do so), that he was the bravest man I have ever seen under fire, and under whom it was my good fortune to serve.”
May 23, 1917.—“On the 5th of March 1917 we had been on the move since early morning after three days’ rest, and about 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon we had word back from the advance-guard to say that they had got in touch with the Turks.
“We formed up, and your son, who (as I expect you know) was squadron leader of ‘D’ Squadron, received some orders from officer commanding Regiment, and we were ordered to advance.
“We went along at a canter, myself and Trumpeter Wren (he was afterwards killed) riding behind the officer commanding squadron.
“I noticed Captain Eve pulling his sword out of the scabbard, and shortly afterwards we all followed suit and we started to gallop.
“The squadron then had orders to wheel to the left, and Captain Eve, who had gone towards the right flank, dropped behind and I stayed with him.
“We followed behind the remainder, and I saw a Turk just in front of me put his rifle to his shoulder, and was going to fire at Captain Eve, but I just managed to get there in time to prevent him from doing so.
“Soon afterwards I saw a pal of mine (Private Jones, D.C.M.) lying on the ground badly wounded, so I dismounted and tried to get him out of it as best I could, and I then lost sight of Captain Eve and the remainder of the squadron.
“I did my best for my pal, but his wound was fatal, and I could not get him on my horse, so I looked about me to see if I could get help.
“I saw Captain Eve about twenty or thirty yards [off?] taking about twenty Turks prisoners at the point of his sword. He must have seen me, as he left the prisoners and came over towards me and told me to get mounted and draw my sword and go along with him.
“There were about fifteen or twenty Turks in a nullah a short distance from us, and they were firing at us and the other men lying about wounded and otherwise.
“We galloped towards them; Captain Eve jumped over to the other side of the nullah, and I remained this side.
“The odds were strongly against us, but I think we did a good deal of damage to the Turks, before your son fell from his horse, right into the centre of the Turks.
“I cannot say whether he was shot or if he had been bayoneted, but I did not see him move after that, so he must have been killed outright.
CAPRICE AND FOAL BORN MAY 1920(From the picture byGeorge Paige Esq.)
CAPRICE AND FOAL BORN MAY 1920(From the picture byGeorge Paige Esq.)
“His horse galloped away, and I was told later that it had seven bullet-wounds in its neck.35I was left by myself then, and I reallydid not know what to do, so I looked over my shoulder to see if there was any one near to give me a hand, when I saw a Turk about five yards away ready to fire at me, and before I had time to do anything I got a bullet through my left arm close to the shoulder; the same bullet broke the blade of my sword, which was in my right hand. My horse took me back out of it, as I was too dazed to do anything myself; and if it had not been for ‘Chicko,’ I should not have been alive to-day. I was told later that Captain Eve, when found, still had his sword tightly grasped in his hand, and I am sure it will be some consolation to you to know that he died a hero fighting to the last.
“I may also mention several occasions before that in which he proved himself one of the bravest.
“He rescued a wounded man from out in the open under very heavy fire and at close range, and on the 25th of February 1917, in a dismounted attack on the Turks, he bandaged several wounded men up, regardless of the danger to himself in being exposed to heavy fire in the open.
“A bullet [hit?] him on that day, but luckily it hit his revolver-belt, and glanced off without doing him any harm.
“I was lying by the side of him at the time, and he said to me, ‘Watkins, I think we are both marked men,’ as I had been hit three times without causing any wound.
“One bullet passed through the sleeve of my tunic, and another stopped in my pocket, in a book that I carried, after passing through my pay-book; and I also got hit with a shell-case on my foot, which only caused a slight bruise, and I was able to carry on.
“I hope you will not think, sir, that I am trying to flatter myself in this letter, and making you think I am a hero, but I have only put down how things happened, and let you know as best I could how your son met his untimely death.”
Major Twist—March 1917.—“I feel I must write and say how we shall miss dear old Billy. You will have heard how he met his death from those who were actually with him at the moment, and though I was quite close to him I suppose the dust and confusion of the charge, and also my being myself wounded, prevented my seeing him killed. He was, I know, most gallantly leadinghis squadron, and fell from his horse without a word. I believe if he had been asked to choose, this was the death he would have chosen, and I remember him often saying that if he had to die he would like to be killed on his horse. His men are heartbroken, and it was a sad day for the Regiment when we lost him.”
Captain E. Wingfield Digby, V Battery, R.H.A.—“Well, here we are just outside Baghdad.... The saddest part of the whole show to me is poor old Eve’s death—he was just one of the best fellows on earth—anyway he lost his life charging the Turk (intrenched). I believe he took his man, and was then shot through the head from below—the bullet entering under his chin. The Thirteenth lost pretty heavily that day; we got very heavily shelled too—lost all our layers casualties, and a direct hit on one gun and one waggon,—it was a very dusty day and high wind, and one couldn’t see a yard. And when the wind dropped and mirage lifted in the evening, the Turks could easily see us in the open, and fired at us from three different directions.”
2nd Lieutenant Guy Pedder—March 15.—“I am afraid the only comfort I can give you is that he was killed instantaneously, and also mounted, in a brilliant charge—a death which I know he would have preferred to all others.
“I remember him telling me at Makina that personally he didn’t think a man could have a finer death than in jumping a large fence out hunting, but his was infinitely finer leading his squadron (I was directly behind him) straight at a small nullah full of Turks. He was probably shot by a Turk not more than two or three yards off. I did not see his body afterwards, as I was hit myself very shortly afterwards; but Mr Payne did, I believe, and no doubt he will have written to you.
“It is most awfully sad, and I shall feel it all the more when I get back to the squadron and he isn’t there. I never saw a braver or more fearless person than he was: he almost made it impossible for any one under him to be afraid.”
Lieut.A. M. Le Patourel.
Capt.H. C. D. FitzGibbon, M.C.(Wounded near Deli Abbas, 8th April 1917)
Capt.A. Veanto, M.C., R.A.M.C.
Capt.H. G. T. Newton(Accidentally drowned in Tigris, 25th April 1917)
Lieut.J. H. Hirsch
Pte.J. L. Roberts, D.C.M.
Lieutenant Fitzgibbon—March 21.—“I have seen by the way what no other Regiment has seen or done in this war—that is to say, the Regiment formed line and charged! It was a damned fine effort, but rather a mad one. We had been givenwrong information by aeroplanes, and ran our heads against the most beautiful trenches full of Turks I have ever seen. The old Turk just sat back and waited for us, and, by God! he let us have it. The noise was something impossible to describe: how the devil we any of us ever got out of it I still do not know. The dust did us in, but also saved us. Well, we eventually got out of it, rallied, dismounted, and attacked on our flat feet, and had the satisfaction of seeing the Turk evacuate his position at nightfall. We rather got a dusting though.
“My squadron (‘A’) went into action very weak from previous casualties, and we went in sixty-six strong and came out thirty-three. Fourteen officers of the Regiment were knocked out and five killed. Newton and I scraped out of it safely.
“We had a good many shows besides this one, but none so good. It is something to be the only Regiment to have charged as a Regiment, and it did jolly well. We were the first Cavalry Regiment to enter Baghdad. We have lost our Colonel and also the second in command, Twist; the senior squadron leader was killed—such a nice fellow, Eve, shot through his head. I was the first to find his body, and took his things off him. It was very sad.”36
Colour-Sergeant F. Spanton, “B” Squadron.—“After a few minutes we were galloping towards the enemy with drawn swords, at a fair pace. We were well received by the Turks, who blazed away at us as hard as they could, and when we got close some of their shots took effect, and one or two spare horses were galloping about. After we had crossed the first trench my horse was apparently hit and pitched over, causing me to be thrown. I landed between the lines of Turks, and remained quiet, waiting to see what would happen next. The Turks now had turned about, and were firing over me into the rear of the squadrons. The Regiment changed direction to the right, and passed out of my view; the Turks got out of the trenches and continued to send a hail of bullets after the disappearing squadrons. I watched this as I lay on the ground, weighing my chances of rejoining the Regiment. TheTurks in front of me were now retiring, and moving to the left of the trench, and I thought if I remained quiet they would all probably pass me by unnoticed, and then I could get back to my squadron again. But no such luck: as the tail-end of the Turks passed by, one fellow stopped when he saw me, and raising his rifle to his shoulder he fired point-blank—but missed—the bullet not coming so near as the one that had cut the belt of my haversack in half a few minutes before. This man, evidently disgusted with his bad shooting, walked hurriedly away, so once again I thought my chances of getting back were good; but a group of three men coming along a little later came to see who I was, and lugged me off to a dug-out. I had hurt my knee rather badly when I was thrown, and couldn’t get along over fast; this annoyed the Turks, as we were still under a heavy fire from the British machine-guns, so they jabbed me in the back with the butt of a rifle as a signal to hurry.... Sergeant Gilbert was brought up to where I was, and duly deprived of his possessions. After a few minutes Lieutenant Pennington37was brought in. He was holding his wrist: he had been badly hit in the forearm, the bone being broken. I tied him up with my field-dressing, and made a plug for him until we could find a dressing station. In the meantime, Private Morrison had been brought in, and he also was shot through the arm and was bleeding freely. We were now hurried off, and came to a dressing station, where the wounds of Lieutenant Pennington and Private Morrison were dressed. We were now handed over to an escort, who had instructions to take us to the Headquarters, 18th Turkish Division, for interrogation. The escort made a wide chukker to get to the Headquarters. After a while they called a halt, and motioned us to sit down. Now they thought was the best time to change clothes. They commenced with Lieutenant Pennington, taking his puttees and spurs, and tried very hard to get a gold ring off a finger on his broken arm, which must have caused him considerable pain; but being unsuccessful they let him alone, and turned their attention to Private Morrison, whom they robbed of almost everything; next they came to me and took what the others had left.... Now they turned to Sergeant Gilbert and servedhim in a like manner. After they had got all they could out of us they continued to walk to G.H.Q., where eventually we arrived. Here we were interviewed by an interpreter, who spoke excellent English, and who was wonderfully informed, but I am afraid the satisfaction he got from us was little. I spoke to him about my clothes and possessions being stolen by the soldiers, but he said nothing could be done, as they were allowed to do it. Two Turkish soldiers fighting for possession of my revolver were interrupted by an officer, who thrashed them both and took it himself. The Turks were still retiring and we were sent to travel with a Field Ambulance Section.”
It will be seen that there was some measure of mercy shown by the fighting Turks towards the men who fell into their hands, but Sergeant Spanton’s diary goes on to describe the lives and sufferings of the British and Indian prisoners during their captivity, and the story is painful reading.
2nd Lieutenant Pinnington, who was wounded and taken prisoner at Lajj, had joined the Regiment only a fortnight earlier with 2nd Lieutenant Rolfe, after a long voyage from England by way of the Cape and India. More fortunate than his companion, he lived to be exchanged to England within a year. His account of the fight at Lajj is as follows:—
“The 7th Brigade, to which the Thirteenth belonged, led the way, one of the Indian Regiments—Watson’s Horse—furnishing the advanced and flank guards. The Division had been on the march several hours when the news filtered through that a Turkish convoy, escorted by a company of Infantry, had been sighted a mile or two ahead. The job of rounding up this convoy was assigned to the Thirteenth, and the Regiment drew ahead in the formation known as echelon of squadrons. We had not gone far when the whizz of bullets greeted our ears, and the order came to dismount for action—presumably owing to the impossibility, on account of the dust, of seeing what actually did lie in front of us. A lull in the dust-storm served to assure our leader that whatever opposition there was could be ridden down, and accordingly, after advancing a short distance dismounted, and snapping away with Hotchkiss gun and rifle, we were summarily recalled, ordered to mount, draw swords, and finally charge. Shells by this time were burstingoverhead, and the storm of bullets through which we rode gave the lie to the report that, with the exception of the convoy and its escort, all was clear ahead. We were quickly on top of a line of Turks who had abandoned their trench and were scurrying back to join their comrades in the rear lines. The horrible screeching told its own weird tale of the fate they met. In the onrush I got ‘winged’ and was left, as I ultimately learned to my cost, a few yards from the Turkish main-line trench. As I stood there dazed amid the dust, I saw another squadron come galloping up. It was a sight I shall not readily forget. The leader to the fore with sword aloft, the line of panting horses, the grim eager faces of the men, the flashing swords—I thought of Lady Butler’s painting ‘Floreat Etona,’ and marvelled at seeing the living parallel. Captain Eve was the leader, and as he approached ‘with a swiftness not to be conceived,’ I shook my right arm, which was hanging limply by my side, and shouted, ‘This thing’s shattered.’ ‘Hard lines, old boy. Never mind,’ he called back, and was gone. The line had passed and disappeared in the dust.
“When once again the dust had settled, the Turks, observing that the attack was for the moment over, sallied forth from their trenches to pay attention to the casualties. An Arab relieved me of my possessions and led me to an officer in the trench. This officer, on seeing me approach, forsook the machine-gun he had been manipulating and shook my uninjured member warmly—a thing which no good Mahomedan should have done, as such contact with the ‘infidel’ is forbidden in terms of Koran regulations. Some one applied a tourniquet to my arm, which was still dripping, and I was taken to a bend in the trench where I came across Sergeants Gilbert and Spanton, and Trooper Morrison, the only other survivors amongst those who had fallen into Turkish hands. The horses of the two sergeants had been shot down, and Morrison was suffering from a wound in the forearm. We were led out of the trench and across the open country to the Headquarters of the Turkish forces (instead of rounding up a convoy the Thirteenth had ridden through a Division), and in the course of our journey to the rear had ample opportunity of realising how much nastier is the effect of British shrapnel than that of the Turk. Arrived at Headquarters, we were separated and interrogatedin a very polite manner by one who spoke English fluently. In this interrogation, to my surprise and the credit of the enemy, there was not the slightest suggestion of coercion to extract information. After a few hours’ rest, Morrison and I, with some wounded Turkish soldiery, were given seats in a rickety waggon, and with Sergeants Gilbert and Spanton marching behind, we set out. It was early the next morning that the palm groves of Baghdad, topped by the domes and minarets of the city’s many mosques, came to sight. At Baghdad, Morrison and I were taken direct to a hospital, where a Jewish doctor, Alalou by name, dressed our wounds and gave us food and drink.”
SCENE OF THE FIGHT AT LAJJ. 5TH MARCH 1917
SCENE OF THE FIGHT AT LAJJ. 5TH MARCH 1917
Lieutenant Pinnington was afterwards sent on to Mosul, and he writes: “It is perhaps worthy of mention that on many occasions during my imprisonment there I received compliments from Turkish officers on the bravery of the British Cavalry in making their ill-fated charge on the 4th [? 5th] March.”
Captain Newton, the one squadron leader who came out unwounded from the “ill-fated” charge, evidently took much the same view of it as his subordinate. The entry in his diary for the 5th March is as follows:—
“Marched 4.45 past Zeur almost to Lajj, where enemy reported. Tried to take them on mounted, but found them intrenched and very strong, and had rather a bad time. Retired a bit, and came into action dismounted, and held on all day. Awful job getting wounded away at dusk. Eve, Lynch Staunton, and Rolfe killed. Pinnington missing. Colonel, Twist, Dawson, Pedder, Welstead wounded. Total casualties eighty-seven. Retired to biv. near Lajj bend, getting in soon after 10. An awful day, wind and dust terrible. A little rain at night. Took sixty-six men into action, and brought out thirty-three.”
In a letter of the 21st March 1917, Captain Newton gives a somewhat longer account.
“The poor old Regiment has been through some pretty troublous times, and has been pretty well knocked about, but it’s done most awfully well, and got a great chit for itself....
“I last wrote on Saturday the 3rd. They gave us a rest next day. We got orders to parade at 4.45A.M.(on the 5th), and it was awfully cold and dark turning out. We had an uneventful marchfor some time, but quite unexpectedly came in touch with the enemy in the middle of the morning. We came into action against them, and there seemed to be very few, so the Colonel decided to ride them down. Then we found that we were wrong! There were a few scattered Turks in nullahs who ran away or held up their hands as we rode over them, but just behind were some beautifully concealed and very well-dug trenches, and we fairly caught it from rifles and machine-guns. We rode right up to them though, and even in places across them, but we couldn’t do anything, and had to rally and go about, and eventually came into action dismounted. It was a pretty tough business though, as one did not know where any one was. Young Welstead was hit in the arm before we charged, and Twist during it. Billy,38Vavie,39Lynch Staunton, Rolfe, and Pinnington could not be accounted for at first, but later in the day we got forward a bit and found poor old Billy’s body, and Vavie lying out wounded, and several other wounded men. Poor Billy was shot through the head, and death must have been instantaneous. He must have been shot in the very act of jumping a nullah, as his body was lying in it as he had fallen with his sword by his hand. Vavie was very badly hit in the knee, and must have had an awful day, as we couldn’t move him till after dark, and the Turks had been at him and taken all his equipment off, and even the rings off his fingers, I believe. Rolfe’s body we found after dark, and Lynch Staunton’s next morning. Pinnington we have no news of, and he must be a prisoner, as his body was never found. When we had established ourselves in a nullah to hold on we continued to have a few casualties, as we had very little cover. Young Pedder got one through the shoulder, and soon after that Jimmy (the Colonel) got one through the arm. Then my troubles began, and I found myself in sole command of such as there were of three squadrons. ‘C’ were not with us, and it was not till much later that we got news that they were away on our right, though they had had a few casualties. We hung on all day, and I had a pretty anxious time, as there were an awful lot of Turks in front of us, and I couldn’t make out what they were going to do. We had frightened them pretty badly, and they cleared off after dark. We collected all we could find and brought themin; but we had no stretchers, and it was pretty hard work, and there were a lot of snipers at us all the time. Vavie was splendidly plucky. He was one of the worst cases, and we got him in on a ground sheet, and although I knew he was in agony he kept quite cheery, and would only apologise for the trouble he was giving us.
SCENE OF THE CHARGE AT LAJJ. 5TH MARCH 1917
SCENE OF THE CHARGE AT LAJJ. 5TH MARCH 1917
“CAPRICE” WITH PTE. C. HOGG, WHO FOUND HER IN MAY 1918AFTER SHE HAD BEEN “MISSING” FOR 14 MONTHS
“CAPRICE” WITH PTE. C. HOGG, WHO FOUND HER IN MAY 1918AFTER SHE HAD BEEN “MISSING” FOR 14 MONTHS
“I was simply dead-beat when we got back to the horses. I don’t think I ever felt so done up in my life before. We reached bivouac about 10P.M., and I was overjoyed to find Charles40safe and sound, and to find I was only second in command and not commanding officer.”
2nd Lieutenant F. N. Payne to his Wife—March 13-16.—“At last I am able to write to you, and very lucky I am to be alive to do so, for we have been through a terrible time, and suffered heavy losses....
“On March 5th the Cavalry, pushing on ahead of the army, ran into the enemy again at Lajj, thirty miles below Baghdad. The aeroplanes and armoured cars reported that they were about 300 strong, and protecting a convoy that was trying to get away safely, so we were given orders to round them up and bring them in, while the rest of the Division attacked the convoy. Our Regiment was sent round the right flank to get behind their trenches, the river being on the left. We started out in extended order, and gradually worked up to them, when about a hundred Turks seeing us coming, walked out of the nullah they had been firing at us from, and the Colonel gave ‘Draw swords-charge.’ The hundred dropped their arms and surrendered. We charged through them, and ran into their concealed trenches that were packed with a solid mass of Turks, and three thousand rifles from all directions, together with shrapnel and bombs, came pouring into us, and eighty-two of our good fellows went down. We had to get out the best way we could, and retire about a mile with what was left, and get away the remaining horses and advance on foot, for we had to recover our wounded at all costs: they were left all over the place as their horses reared and plunged till they toppled out of their saddles. Then came the worst part of all. I rallied all the men near me, after finding I was not killed or even wounded, and forty of us all told and cut off from any possible help kept the Turks in their trenches, and in about three hours made good the nullah, and heldit till dark with our Hotchkiss gun and twenty rifles. We, of course, all expected to be wiped out, which would have been an easy matter, but they were satisfied to stay where they were except for a number of the boldest who walked out and stripped our wounded. I killed two of them myself, but we could not stop them, and that day the Turk seemed to return to his ancient savagery, for we found they had murdered several of our chaps that were lying helpless. Poor Eve was killed instantly, to the sorrow of every man in the Regiment: he always wanted to die in a charge, but we do want him so badly, and it seems such a shame that he isn’t there to enjoy the victory in Baghdad. Dawson was very lucky to come off with his life—he fell right up against one of their sniper’s holes and couldn’t move with a shattered knee, and the Turks had taken everything off him, but couldn’t get his ring off, so threatened to shoot him as they had done to seven others alongside him, together with the brave chap who tried to carry him in.41Eight of us worked our way up the nullah, and held them off till dark, when we got him out of the open. We had had nothing to eat or drink since 3 that morning, and had three miles of ploughed land to carry sixteen men in without stretchers, and fired on all the time. Some got hit several times on the way back. When we called the roll in the darkness, we found that thirty-two had been killed and twenty-six wounded. The Colonel, who is the bravest man next to Eve, was hit only at the very last: he was always to be seen in the thickest, carrying up ammunition and encouraging the men with a smile on his face, and you could hardly see him for the dust of bullets hitting the ground round him. The second in command was hit, Eve killed, and three young officers who had just joined killed. Pedder got a nice one through the shoulder, and two others wounded, so that Jeffrey and myself found ourselves alone in the squadron, absolutely staggered at being alive. I lost most of my men—all the best, of course—and have now only thirteen: we had to make two troops out of what was left of the four. When we moved on and saw the position, we stood aghast that it was possible, and the army commanders of the Infantry when they came on, sent messages of their deep admiration and gratitude forthe work we had done that would have delayed them considerably. I believe our Colonel is to be decorated later on, and we are having our reward now in that ‘For Valour’ our Regiment was chosen to garrison Baghdad when it fell.
“There were some very sad cases in these chaps that were killed. Out of five new officers that had joined and not been under fire before, three were killed and one wounded, and none of them more than twenty-one years of age. Only a few minutes before we went into the charge, and were halted awaiting orders, Eve called out one of my men42to present him with the D.C.M. for extraordinarily fearless bravery in the last show that had just been sanctioned that morning, and I promised to send a cable home for him if we got up alongside any of the gunboats. Another fellow, a great big, rough, hard-working fellow, remarked that if we could have one in the troop we could just as easy have two, and he was going to get it in the next show we got into or die in the attempt. I saw him try: he rode past me yelling and whooping and ran his sword through the foremost Turk, only to be bowled over the next second. When I went out later to find him, my sergeant, who had a shattered thigh, told me not to risk myself any further, as he had seen a Turk blow his brains out, as they had also done with the boy who had just won his medal. I have finished up after being in fifty shows without a scratch: they’ve whistled past my nose, through my coat and everywhere, killed four of my horses, one after another, and never touched me. You may call it providential or the hand of God. I don’t know what it is other than miraculous good luck, for it’s not right to think that I should be spared when such good fellows as Eve are struck down, and all three poor new chaps, who had never heard the terrible swish of a bullet pass their heads before, to meet death the first time. It doesn’t seem right that I should be spared.... I had absolutely no thought whatever about my soul or the hereafter, in fact everybody seemed to be in a state of pleasant anticipation. When Eve galloped by me and I looked to him for orders he had a beautiful smile and just sailed along, and I waved my men on to follow him, and next second his soul had left his body. I don’t believe he had a thought of death, or that it meant anything to him. I know only when we hadbreathing-space in all these occasions did I worry about anything, and that was how you would get along, and whether I had left everything satisfactory.... Lynch Staunton, whose father was a Senator from Hamilton, was one of the six new subalterns who hadn’t been under fire before.... Poor fellow, he rode right down into the Turk trench and walked his horse along it over the Turks, that were as thick as gooseberries, as much as to say you are my prisoners; and they certainly would have been, had not that murderous fire from their main position bowled him over. They took him prisoner, but we found his body next day: they had dressed his wound, but later decided he would be a hindrance to carry along, so murdered him and took everything off him.”
2nd Lieutenant Guy Pedder, one of those wounded in the fight, writes to his mother from the hospital at Amara: “No doubt you will have heard by now how we ran into it on the 5th, but in case you haven’t I will try and give you a rough idea of what happened. After camping at Azizieh for four or five days (I wrote to you from there), the Cavalry Division moved at 5A.M.(we were centre Regiment of the leading Brigade) on March 5th with orders to camp at Lajj, which was about twenty-six miles away, the flying people having reported all clear. After we had gone about twenty miles we halted and watered, and fed on the river bank, three monitors steaming past us up-river, and an aeroplane over our heads—quite a dramatic picture. At 10.30 we moved off again, and almost immediately a sand-storm started, the strong wind taking all our dust out in front of us. We went about five miles, when one of our armoured cars brought in a Turkish officer, and the news that there were a few of the enemy scattered about, who were probably only waiting for us to collect them as prisoners (like the lot we took in the pursuit), so we got orders to move out to the right to verify this or collect prisoners. Eve told us this, and quickly changed on to his favourite mare. Three squadrons moved out to the right, the fourth (‘C,’ Stirling’s and Ormrod’s squadron) right out to the flank; ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘D’ then advanced in line of troop column extended and almost immediately came under heavy rifle-fire. We walked about half a mile and then trotted; the dust was awful and you couldn’t see more than one hundred to two hundred yards in front; all of a sudden, through the dust, I could see a lot of Turks in the openand in a nullah. Eve gave the order, ‘Draw swords—form line—gallop,’ and before we knew where we were we were into them. Some stood up and surrendered, others lay flat on their backs and shot at us at two or three yards’ range; two fellows let off their rifles right in my face, but missed both Matches43and me. There was a small nullah at the part of the line where ‘D’ charged, and the Turk lying flat was pretty well safe, but we got a certain number; the noise was tremendous, bullets from revolvers, rifles, and machine-guns cracking all round. Beyond the first nullah, and running at right angles to it, was another much deeper, and we gave the Turks holding it a splendid target. I lost sight of Eve, who was just in front of me at the first nullah, but his orderly who was shot (wounded)44close by him, tells me he was shot from two yards’ range, as he was bending down to charge a group of Turks. At any rate, he must have been killed instantaneously.
“There were a great many dead horses and empty saddles by now, and I tried to rally all the men who were near me; it was extremely difficult, as we were under very heavy fire at very short range; there was deafening noise and a hard wind blowing, and if you collected men in bunches, the bunches would very soon have a machine-gun on to them, so what men I got under hand I kept extended, and galloped a fair way back and handed over the horses and went up dismounted. The Turks’ guns had now got our range and were very annoying, but their shells were bad, or I should not be writing to you now. I met Jeffrey, and we all went on by short rushes together, until we met the Colonel, who told us roughly where to go, and we got into the nullah we had first charged, and there we held on till dark, when we collected the wounded, who were lying out in front. I was hit clean through the shoulder about 2P.M., having got through the charge and dismounted attack, and when I was sitting in the nullah talking to the Colonel, who got hit in the arm very shortly after me.
“We had nine officers casualties—two killed, Eve and Rolfe (from Aldershot, first time under fire), two missing, believed wounded and prisoners, Lynch Staunton and Pinnington (just joined from ‘A’), and five wounded, Twist, Colonel, Dawson, Welstead, and self. ‘A,’‘B,’ and ‘D’ lost very heavily. ‘D’ had thirteen wounded and thirteen killed, and I think we got off lighter than ‘A’ or ‘B.’ Dawson is the worst hit of us five; the Turks robbed him of everything, even taking his water-bottle and ring—we left him at Sheikh Saad, and I hope he won’t have to lose a foot. Poor old Thirteenth, we fairly ran into it. My troop sergeant and best corporal were killed, new sergeant-major badly hit. And now I hear we have crossed the river again to the right bank, and are three miles west of Baghdad. I wish I was with the Regiment—it’s sickening....
“Later. News has just arrived Baghdad has fallen, only five days after I was hit: isn’t it sickening I was not there?...
“I am awfully sorry about poor Billy Eve, but he died just the death he would have preferred, certainly a very noble one. He was one of the most fearless people under heavy fire I have so far seen, always rushing about looking after any one who was hit.”
It need hardly be pointed out that 2nd Lieutenant Pedder, being when he wrote in hospital at a distance from the front, was not in a position to get the most accurate information about casualties or other matters connected with the Regiment. The Regimental Diary, written by the Adjutant, states the casualties as follows:—
This gives the total of casualties at nine officers and seventy-eight other ranks—of whom four officers and twenty-six other ranks were killed or missing. How many wounded died of their wounds does not appear, but none among the officers. The horse casualties were ninety, of which fifty-four were killed.
The following is an account of the day given by Private Massey of “D” Squadron in his diary of the war:—
“Next morning, the 5th of March (a day to be remembered in the annals of the Thirteenth Hussars), we moved off about 5A.M.and proceeded up the Tigris, in the teeth of a terrible sand-storm, which blinded both horses and men, and through which we could only see 80 to 100 yards ahead of us. Suddenly, out to our front,we heard the sound of rifle-fire, and bullets whizzed amongst us. The report came through that a Turkish convoy was attempting to get away, and it was decided to make an attempt to capture it. Still under fire, the order was given to ‘draw swords,’ and we continued to trot on in extended order. As we got nearer, the fire became heavier, and the whizz-whizz of the bullets, as they flew in amongst us, told us we were in for ‘hot stuff.’ Then we got the order to canter, and when within a hundred yards of the Turks (whom we could now see through the sand-storm lining the parapet of the first-line trench) the order to ‘charge’ was given. Digging in our spurs, and with a loud shout, we charged the Turks in their trenches. Seeing us on top of them, the whole front line surrendered, holding up their arms, and some were waving white flags. The order was given to bring the left shoulder round, and immediately we commenced doing so, the enemy’s guns opened on us with shrapnel; and he also had a second line 800 yards behind his first one, and we came under a heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, and our losses were rather heavy. On wheeling out of action, but still under fire, the Colonel rallied his men. The order was given ‘dismounted action,’ and No. 3’s of sections led the section’s horses to the rear, while Nos. 1, 2, and 4 of the sections formed line and charged with fixed bayonets. I went to the rear with the gun-section’s horses, and many wounded men were being helped to the first-aid dressing station.
“I had gone all through the charge, riding my own horse, and leading the horse carrying the Hotchkiss gun. I saw M‘Nulty at my side during the charge with his revolver in his hand. He was very excited and shouted across to me, ‘Come on, Charlie’; a second later he fell shot in the head. My section-corporal was wounded in the elbow, and his horse had a nasty shrapnel wound in its neck. That I got through it all without a scratch seems hardly believable. Riderless horses, and horses carrying automatic rifles were galloping madly about, and I was told that I was the only one who had stuck to my led horse all through the charge.
“But the Turks played a dirty game on us, even those who had surrendered in the first-line trench fired on us when we had passed over them; and several men, whilst dressing our wounded where they had fallen, were shot at point-blank range in the head.
“But to return to my former subject: after the rally, and when a halt was called with the led horses well out of rifle-range, and knowing that the section-corporal was wounded, and that they would probably want the gun and ammunition up in the firing line, I decided to volunteer to return with it to the trenches. I asked the sergeant-major, and he gave me permission to take it up. I was about to start up with it, when I saw Private Galloway, who had caught a gun-horse which had got loose in the charge, leading it up towards the firing-line on foot. I thought that a much better way, and though one could not go so fast leading as riding one and leading, it had the advantage of offering a much smaller target for the enemy’s machine-gunners. I told the sergeant-major my opinion, and he took my riding-horse from me, and I started to lead the gun-horse towards our fellows in the enemy’s captured first line. On coming in view of the enemy, he opened on me with a machine-gun, and bullets were kicking up the dust at my feet, and buzzing round the horse and myself. I passed close to Corporal Taylor, who was lying wounded on the ground waiting for the Field Ambulance to fetch him in. He shouted to me to clear off to the right, as he had already been wounded once. I didn’t think I was drawing the enemy’s fire on him until he reminded me of the fact. After that I began to run, and seeing me coming up with the gun, two N.C.O.’s rushed out and hurriedly took off the ammunition. They didn’t want the gun, and gave me a stern order to ‘get away as quickly as you can.’ I then started to run back with the gun-horse. When I had gone a dozen yards I remembered that I had left my rifle behind, and turned round to go back and fetch it, but the sergeant told me to go on and leave it. It was certainly a hot corner, and perhaps it was best I did.
“I then started to run back as fast as I could go, as the Turks knew I was bringing up ammunition as well as I did, and meant to make it hot for me, but I got back quite safely. On the way down I passed the Colonel talking to a wounded man.
“As soon as I had got back, however, Sergeant-Major Tassie called me, and ordered me to go up to the line again with more ammunition. I again started for the first-line trench. I arrived in safety, and having put it down was told to stay in the trench.Here we hung on till nightfall, as the wounded on the field pinned us to the trench. Several were killed in the trench by rifle-fire, and the Turks heavily shelled V Battery, knocking out a gun and limber and killing several men. Whilst in the trenches the Colonel and Major Twist (second in command) were both wounded,45and the command fell on Captain Newton of ‘A’ Squadron.
“Towards night the Turks retired, so we collected the wounded, and slowly, very slowly we returned to camp, three miles to the rear, the end of a hard and terrible day. On arriving in, after taking over our horses we watered at the river-side.”
The writer proceeds to describe how in trying to get a bucket of water, he was carried away by the stream and nearly drowned. He was rescued, and the day’s entry finishes: “After getting into bed it started to rain, so I put on M‘Nulty’s cape and British warm, laying it all over the bed, as I knew poor Mac would never want his any more.”
To close the story of the fight at Lajj, the Colonel’s account of it is given in his own words. He had commanded the Regiment throughout the day, had led it in its charge, and after rallying it when the charge was over had taken it into action again dismounted. Conspicuous for his courage among many brave men, he had won the admiration of all; and the wound which disabled him towards the close of the action was happily not severe enough to prevent his commanding the Regiment again.
Colonel Richardson.—“The following extracts are taken from a letter written home about the middle of March, when events were fresh in my memory:—
“We started on the 5th of March, leaving camp an hour before dawn, and our orders were to march the Infantry to Zeur, twelve or fourteen miles on, and the Cavalry to Lajj, about six miles farther on still. Our Brigade, the Seventh, were leading, and we made Zeur, where we watered and fed the horses a little before 10, and we marched again at 10.30. Soon after we started armoured-car reports came in to say that there was a small convoy ahead of us proceeding in the direction of Baghdad with an escort of about 250 Infantry, and that otherwise the country was quite clear. The formation of our Brigade wasthe usual formation, with the 13th Lancers (Watson’s Horse) leading and finding one squadron advance-guard, and one squadron each on right and left flanks; then the Machine Gun Squadron, Thirteenth Hussars and 14th Lancers, and V Battery R.H.A. We had gone about two miles when our Brigadier ordered me to take the Regiment up abreast of Watson’s Horse with a squadron as advance-guard, and soon afterwards pointed out what he took to be the convoy on the march, and hinted that we might be able to get in on it with the sword and round it up. And so, having had a good look at this supposed convoy, which was about two and a half miles to our right front, I called up the squadron leaders, explained the situation to them, and sending ‘C’ Squadron well out to the right or exposed flank to work to the north of some small hillocks, I ordered ‘D,’ ‘B,’ and ‘A’ Squadrons in that order to advance in echelon of squadrons extended. (I should say here that the day was an exceptionally bad one for visibility, as a strong east wind had got up and was carrying along with us all the dust we raised and a good deal more, which filled the air and made it difficult to clearly distinguish things.) Of course a Regiment in this order covers a lot of ground and takes a certain amount of time to get its formation, and even before the formation was complete a shell bursting on our left warned me that we were seen, and that the enemy had at least one gun, and made me wonder whether the convoy was just a convoy, or whether it was not a gun or two with their ammunition-carts. At this time too, rifle-fire was opened on us from apparently a trench, for no Infantry were then visible, a few hundred yards to the front of the leading squadron; at the same time I heard rifle-fire well away to our left, showing that the advance-guard was coming into touch with the enemy. All this convinced me that we were up against a much bigger thing than the scattered bands of Turks reported by the aeroplanes and armoured cars, but already the leading squadron was on top of the first line of Turks, and the latter, about forty or fifty in number, were already running for all they were worth, or standing with their hands up. Some of these latter, I am told, picked up their rifles after we had passed and fired into our backs, but very few of that first lot reached their friends; they were either “stuck” or taken prisoners. In the meantime our impetus had carried us on two or threehundred yards, and into a very heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, from what I took to be a big nullah or water-cut some eight hundred yards to our front. Men and horses were dropping right and left, so I tried to wheel them right-handed and backwards until we had crossed the trench, or as it proved, small water-cut, from which the Turks had first opened fire on us. Having crossed that, I halted the remnants of the three squadrons (‘C’ Squadron was still operating by itself out on the right) some three or four hundred yards farther on, dismounted them, sent the horses back out of rifle-range, and advanced on foot until we had reached this trench originally held by the Turks, and which was still full of their equipment and rifles. I may say here that the test to which I put these squadrons—viz., of halting and dismounting under fire, and when the squadrons were all mixed up and actually retiring at a gallop, albeit a slow one—was a very high one, and the way in which they responded was beyond all praise. It was only when we reached the Turkish trench that we were able to take a breather and take stock, and then only did I fully realise the cost of our ride. Major Twist, I heard, was hit, though slightly; Captain Eve was missing, and it was feared killed; Captain Dawson missing, Lieutenants Rolfe, Pinnington, and Lynch Staunton missing, and Welstead hit; my trumpet-major killed, and my orderly badly wounded, and a number of sergeants and men missing. It was patent to me that the men who were missing must be lying, if hit, between us and the big nullah in which the Turks were, and that our only chance of getting to them was to draw the Turks out of this nullah, and it was very soon apparent that we could not do this by a frontal advance without considerable reinforcements: so I went back to Brigade Headquarters to consult with the Brigadier, and pointed out to him that I thought the quickest and cheapest method was to outflank the Turkish position to the northward. He said he would consult with the Divisional Commander, and in the meantime sent up two squadrons of the 14th Lancers to fill the gap between us and the advance-guard of Watson’s Horse. Soon afterwards I heard that the 6th Brigade was being sent to find the left flank of the Turks, and I believe they did find it, but late in the afternoon, showing that we could not be up against much less than a TurkishDivision, and that I believe was corroborated later. In the meantime we hung on to our line, but were quite unable to advance, and it was whilst sitting in this shallow water-cut that about 4.45P.M.I was hit by a rifle bullet in the right forearm. At the clearing hospital I was able to ascertain from the books that night and next morning the approximate extent of our casualties from wounds, and since then I have had a few corrections and additions to make, with the result that I can append a pretty accurate list as under:—
“The wounded men are all most extraordinarily cheery, tremendously pleased with themselves, and keen as can be to get fit and go back to the Regiment; and I am glad to say that quite 50 per cent of the wounded cases are very slight, and if not already discharged from hospital, are likely to be there only a few days longer.
“At about 4.30 or 5 o’clock the enemy opened a heavy bombardment with about twenty guns, knocked out one if not two of the guns of V Battery by direct hits, and at the same time opened heavy rifle-fire, and it looked as if they intended to make a strong counter-attack. The event, however, proved otherwise, for as soon as darkness fell, about 6.30, they withdrew from their positions in haste; we were able to get all our wounded in, and eventually retired a few miles to the river. Next day the advance was resumed, and we were then able to judge the strength of the position, where the Turks evidently had intended to put up a big rearguard fight, and it became apparent that the shelling of ‘S’ Battery of the 6th Brigade from their left rear had caused the Turks to realise the danger in which they were of being cut off, and had consequently hastened their retreat. The Regiment received congratulations from many Divisional and Brigade Commanders for the fine show they had put up on this occasion, and it naturally was very pleasing to us to realise that we had effected good work, and that our heavy casualties had not been altogether in vain.”