THE FIRST TRANS-JORDAN RAID
In view of the successes obtained by the Arabs, General Allenby now
judged the time to be ripe for a raid by our troops on the Hedjaz
Railway at Amman, which he had long contemplated. The immediate effect
of such a raid would be to compel the enemy to withdraw the force which
had recently occupied Tafile. It might, in addition, force him to call
on the Turkish troops at Maan for aid, thus weakening the garrison
there, and giving the Arabs an opportunity to attack the place with
some prospects of success. A further result to be expected from the
raid would be to induce the enemy to keep a large part of his army east
of the Jordan, thus correspondingly weakening his forces in the Judæan
hills. The deep and difficult valley of the Jordan, and the river
itself, would, moreover, form a dangerous obstacle to communication
between the two portions of his army, a fact which might be expected to
assist us materially in our next general advance.
Amman was the one really vulnerable point on the Hedjaz Railway. The
Arabs had frequently destroyed portions of the line farther south, but
such raids only resulted in interrupting the traffic for a few days
at a time. Material for repair was available at every station, and
long practice had brought the Turkish engineers to a high state of
efficiency in restoring these temporarily damaged places. At Amman,
however, the line ran over a viaduct, and through a considerable
tunnel. If these two works could be thoroughly destroyed, the resulting
interruption of traffic might well be so prolonged as to compel the
retirement of the whole of the enemy force in the Maan area. Such a
prospect justified the acceptance of greater risks than General Allenby
proposed to incur.
The Turks were well aware that Amman was the Achilles' heel of the
Hedjaz Expeditionary Force, and had provided for its protection as many
troops as they could spare. The town itself, which lay immediately to
the west of, and covering, the tunnel and viaduct, had been garrisoned
and prepared for defence. An advanced defensive position had been
established astride the Jericho-El Salt road, extending from El Haud to
Shunet Nimrin, and a third position was in course of preparation on the
east bank of the Jordan, opposite El Ghoraniyeh.
The Anzac Mounted Division, with the Camel Corps Brigade attached, and
the 60th Division were detailed to carry out the raid, which had as
its sole object the destruction of the viaduct and tunnel. The town
of Amman, which is the principal Circassian settlement in Syria, lies
some thirty miles east-north-east of the north end of the Dead Sea,
and is connected with Jericho by an indifferent metalled road, passing
through El Salt, which the Turks had constructed during the war. From
the Jordan at El Ghoraniyeh, 1200 feet below the level of the sea,
to Naaur, sixteen miles farther east, at the edge of the plateau on
which Amman lies, the ground rises 4300 feet. Nearly the whole of
this rise occurs in the last ten miles before Naaur is reached, and
the intervening country is a maze of rocky hills, intersected by deep
ravines, and traversed only by a few narrow footpaths.
In the course of the ages the Jordan has cut a deep trough through the
valley, varying in width from a few hundred yards to a mile or more,
and lying about 100 feet below the general level of the surrounding
country. The bottom of this trough is a flat plain covered with a dense
jungle of tamarisk, and the banks are, in most places, perpendicular.
The present channel winds about down the trough, and is only about
forty yards wide in normal weather, but the river is deep and very
swift, and liable to a rapid rise after heavy rain.
The main watercourses descend from the hills on the east in a series of
deep gorges, which traverse the narrow strip of flat country between
the foothills and the old channel, and form a succession of barriers to
movement along this strip, north and south. Many of these gorges can
only be crossed by a single track, which runs from near Beisan, fifteen
miles south of Lake Tiberias, to El Ghoraniyeh.
The plan was for the 60th Division to force the passage of the river,
drive the enemy from his position at Shunet Nimrin, and then advance up
to Jericho-Amman road, as far as El Salt, which was to be seized and
held. Meanwhile the rest of the cavalry and the Camel Brigade were to
move direct on Amman by the tracks through Naaur and Ain el Sir. After
blowing up the viaduct and tunnel at Amman, and destroying as much
of the railway line as they could, they were to withdraw on the 60th
Division, and the whole force would then recross the Jordan, leaving
permanent bridgeheads on the east bank.
The operation was thus purely a raid. Our cavalry would again be
engaged in a country that was at least as unsuited for mounted work as
was the Judæan Range, of which we had already had such unfavourable
experience. The only information available about the Amman hills,
other than that of natives, which was always quite unreliable, was
contained in a memorandum written for the Commander-in-Chief by two
mission fathers who had spent many years in the country east of the
Jordan and Dead Sea. This document was an admirable ethnographical and
geographical treatise, but, from the military point of view, which
requires the utmost detail of description as regards the terrain, it
left much to be desired. It appeared, however, that cavalry might be
expected to be able to move with some speed up the Naaur-Ain el Sir
track to Amman, in fine weather, and thus carry out the necessary
demolition on the railway, and make good their retreat, before the
enemy should have time to reinforce his troops east of the Jordan.
During the night of the 21st of March a party of swimmers of the
60th Division succeeded, after many fruitless attempts, in getting a
line across the Jordan at Makhadet Hajlah, some six miles south of
El Ghoraniyeh, and bridge building began at once. Our infantry and
engineers suffered severely from the enemy's fire, but the bridge was
completed by eight in the morning, and by mid-day a brigade of infantry
was over the river, and forcing its way through the dense tamarisk
jungle on the east side.
Meanwhile, similar attempts to cross at El Ghoraniyeh during the night
had been frustrated by the strength of the current. The efforts had to
be abandoned during the daytime, owing to the activity of the enemy,
but were renewed during the night of the 22nd. These attempts again
failed, and it was not until the morning of the 23rd that a raft was
got across here. At four o'clock in the morning a regiment of the New
Zealand Mounted Brigade crossed the river by the pontoon bridge at
Makhadet Hajlah, and, galloping along the bank to the north, cleared
the enemy from the east bank opposite Ghoraniyeh, thus facilitating
the crossing of our infantry at that place. By mid-day this regiment
had seized the high ground commanding El Ghoraniyeh, capturing about
seventy prisoners and several machine guns.
They were followed across the Jordan by a regiment of the 1st A.L.H.
Brigade, which cleared the enemy from the country south of Hajlah, and
gained touch with a party of infantry which had crossed the Dead Sea in
motor boats, and landed on the east bank of the river near its mouth.
By nightfall a second pontoon bridge had been thrown across the Jordan
at Hajlah, and three more had been completed at Ghoraniyeh. The whole
force detailed for the raid had safely crossed the river before
daylight on the 24th.
As soon as it was light enough to see, the advance on Amman commenced.
The 1st A.L.H. Brigade moved up to El Mandesi, about three miles north
of Ghoraniyeh, to cover the left flank of the 60th Division during the
attack on the enemy positions astride the Amman road, at El Haud and
Shunet Nimrin. El Haud was captured about three in the afternoon, after
hard fighting, and its possession enabled our infantry to turn the
right flank of the enemy, who then retired on El Salt. A squadron of
the New Zealanders pursued the Turks, followed by our infantry, but the
bad state of the road, which the enemy blew up in several places as he
retired, delayed the pursuit. The rest of the New Zealand Brigade moved
on El Sir up the Wadi Jofet el Ghazlaniye. At nightfall our infantry
had only succeeded in advancing about four miles from Shunet Nimrin,
and were in touch with the enemy astride the road.
Meanwhile the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade, followed by the Camel Corps, had been
floundering up the Wadi Kefrein, south of the road, and reached Rujm
el Oshir about half-past three in the afternoon. Here the track, such
as it was, petered out altogether, and all wheeled transport had to be
sent back, the ammunition being transferred to camels. This caused a
long delay, and it was not till half-past nine at night that the march
could be renewed. Heavy rain had fallen for several days prior to the
commencement of the operations, and all the tracks were deep in mud.
Rain came on again during the night of the 24th, and continued during
the whole of the next three days, accompanied by bitter cold. Under
this downpour the tracks marked on the map revealed themselves for
what they really were, the beds of mountain streams. Each of them was
transformed into a rushing torrent, carrying down rocks and mud in its
course. Bad as they were, however, they formed the only possible lines
of advance in this mountain country, and the cavalry had to make the
best of them.
Pushing and pulling their shivering and exhausted animals up the track,
the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade and the Camel Corps stumbled on in the rain and
darkness all night. At half-past four next morning the head of the
column reached Ain el Hekr, having taken just twenty-four hours to
cover the sixteen miles from the Jordan. The whole day was spent in
closing up the remainder of the column, and it was not till half-past
seven in the evening that the last of the Camel Corps got in, having
walked the whole way, pulling their camels after them.
As soon as they were in, the advance was continued, _via_ Naaur, in
pouring rain. During this part of the march the way was not so steep as
in the earlier part, but the alternate deep mud and slippery rock over
which the track led caused endless delays, especially to the camels,
and the force was soon strung out again over a length of many miles.
At five on the morning of the 26th, the head of the column met the New
Zealand Brigade at the cross tracks one mile east of El Sir. The New
Zealanders had encountered similar difficulties of country and climate,
and both men and horses were in an exhausted condition.
General Chaytor now received orders to push on at once, and seize
Amman! But, as his men had been marching for three consecutive nights
(including the move to the point of assembly west of the Jordan), under
conditions of the utmost discomfort and fatigue, he considered that
they were in no state to make an attack on a strongly held position,
even if it were possible to reach Amman before nightfall, which was
extremely unlikely. He therefore asked, and received, permission to
halt for twenty-four hours, and march on Amman next morning. Outposts
were placed north, east, and south of El Sir, and strong patrols of the
2nd Brigade were sent out to reconnoitre northwards, as far as the El
Salt-Amman road. These patrols encountered a body of the enemy near El
Sweileh, and dispersed it, taking 170 prisoners. They also destroyed
thirty German motor lorries and a car, which they found here, stuck
fast in the mud.
While the Anzac Division was struggling towards El Sir on the 25th, the
infantry of the 60th Division had been marching up the main road from
Shunet Nimrin towards El Salt, with the 1st A.L.H. Brigade on their
left flank, on the Wadi Arseniyet track. This brigade reached El Salt
about six in the evening, and was joined there, some two hours later,
by a brigade of the 60th Division. A second infantry brigade arrived at
midnight. The place had been evacuated by the enemy, in consequence of
the threat to his rear caused by the advance of our cavalry to El Sir.
Our infantry were now quite as exhausted as the cavalry. They had
been marching or fighting continually for three days and nights, over
difficult mountain country, and in most inclement weather, and it was
necessary to give them a day's rest. The first A.L.H. Brigade was
directed to remain at El Salt, and patrol the country to the north and
north-west of that place.
Thus, on the morning of the 27th, when the advance was resumed, the
foremost troops of the raiding force were little more than two-thirds
of the way to Amman. The delay had been of the utmost value to the
Turks, who were hurrying up reinforcements by road and rail.
During the previous night General Chaytor had sent two small raiding
parties, mounted on the freshest horses available, to try and blow
up the Hedjaz Railway north and south of Amman, in order to entrap a
considerable quantity of rolling stock which was reported to be in
the station. The 2nd A.L.H. Brigade party made for the railway north
of Amman, but encountered a body of Turkish cavalry, and was forced
to turn back. The New Zealanders, who were directed south of the
town, were more fortunate, and succeeded in reaching the railway at
a point some seven miles south of Amman station. Having destroyed a
considerable stretch of the line, they withdrew safely, and made their
way back to El Sir.
This march, carried out at night, in unknown and very difficult
country, without guides or reliable maps, and into the heart of the
enemy's country, was a striking example of the special qualities of
the Australian and New Zealand Cavalry. Trained from the cradle in the
art of finding their way in uncharted country, they have the bushman's
almost uncanny sense of direction. Tireless as the wiry horses they
breed and ride, possessed of a wonderful keenness of vision, alert,
wary and supremely self-confident, they are the finest scouts in the
world.
The advance on Amman was resumed on the 27th. Early in the morning a
light car patrol arrived at Sweileh from El Salt, but could get no
farther east, owing to the mud. General Chaytor, therefore, ordered the
cars to remain at Sweileh, as a flank guard to his division during the
attack on Amman. A brigade of infantry, with two mountain batteries,
set out from El Salt at five in the morning, to march to the support of
the Anzac Division. This brigade could not be expected at Amman till
late at night, but it was hoped that the Anzac Division would be able
to take the place before then. Unfortunately the delay to our troops
caused by the rain had afforded time to the enemy both to improve his
defence and to reinforce his garrison.
General Chaytor directed the New Zealand Brigade to cross the Wadi
Amman, south-west of the town, and move against the high ground
overlooking the town and station from the south. One battalion of the
Camel Corps Brigade, acting on the right of the New Zealanders, was to
destroy as much of the line as possible.
The 2nd A.L.H. Brigade was ordered to push forward to the railway north
of Amman as quickly as possible, and cut the line, in order both to
isolate the rolling stock in the station, and to delay the arrival of
possible reinforcements from the north. The brigade was then to attack
the enemy positions from the north-west. The Camel Corps Brigade, less
one battalion, was to attack from the west.
There was no divisional reserve. It was considered that the superior
mobility of our cavalry and camelry would enable them to disengage
from the fight, should such a course become necessary, and fall back
on our infantry advancing from El Salt. Moreover, the difficulties of
the country were so great that it was doubtful if a divisional reserve
could have reached any distant part of the line that was hard pressed,
in time to be of any service.
The three brigades set out from Ain el Sir at nine o'clock. All three
were much impeded by difficulties of terrain. Deep mud alternated
with stretches of wet and slippery rock, on which neither camels nor
horses could get secure foothold. The camels suffered particularly
severely. Designed by nature for work in the soft and yielding sand of
the desert, they are more unfitted than any other animal to march over
stony country, or through mud. Many of them fell and broke their legs,
and had to be shot. Many more had already met the same fate during the
awful climb up to the plateau from the Jordan Valley. In several places
large morasses were encountered, and much precious time was wasted
finding a way round these. The wadis, too, were deep and precipitous,
particularly the Wadi Amman, which was impassable save in one or two
places, and then only in single file.
The New Zealanders reached this wadi about half-past ten in the
morning, and were delayed so long in crossing it that it was three in
the afternoon before they reached the railway.
The Camel Corps Battalion then moved south along the line, with a
demolition party, blowing up the railway. While engaged on this work,
they met an enemy train, steaming slowly over the very portion of the
line that had been blown up by the New Zealanders the night before! The
train was engaged with machine-gun fire, and withdrew. Our men then
examined the line, and learnt a valuable lesson in the art of temporary
destruction of a railway.
It was the custom at that time for our raiding parties, which could
only carry a small quantity of explosives, and no tools suitable for
carrying out a systematic destruction, to blow a piece out of each
rail, by means of slabs of gun-cotton placed on each side of it. The
gaps thus made were about a foot long. A length of several miles of
line, in which each rail had a piece cut clean out of the middle, had
the appearance of having been very thoroughly destroyed, and it was
believed that the whole line would have to be relaid with new rails
before it could be used. But the ingenious German engineers discovered
that, if a hard-wood sleeper were pushed into each gap, with its end
flush with the inner edge of the rail, trains could be run over the
line at once, provided they were driven slowly.
As a result of this experience, Captain Brisbane, an engineer officer
of the Australian Mounted Division, devised a better method, which
consisted in attaching one slab of gun-cotton only to the outside of
the rails at each joint. When this was detonated, the fishplates were
blown off, and the ends of the two rails were bent sharply inwards.
Demolitions carried out by this method could only be repaired by
relaying the line completely.[17]
While the New Zealanders had been searching for a crossing place
over the wadi, the 2nd A.H.L. Brigade had pushed forward on the
north-west, and got to within three miles of Amman, when it was heavily
counter-attacked, about eleven o'clock, by a large force of the enemy,
well supplied with artillery. The attack was beaten off, after severe
fighting, but more Turks appeared to the north of the brigade, and
began to work round its left. General Ryrie had to form a defensive
flank to meet this threat, and his advance was stopped. Meanwhile the
Camel Brigade, advancing straight on Amman astride the Sweileh track,
was held up by heavy machine-gun fire, on reaching the open ground west
of the town, and could get no farther.
The New Zealanders fared no better. They were very heavily attacked
when attempting to seize the high ground south of Amman, and forced
to give ground. The Turks attacked repeatedly on the north, west
and south, and in ever increasing numbers, and our small force was
hard put to it to hold its own. It was soon obvious that no farther
progress was possible. General Chaytor, therefore, ordered his
brigades to hold their present positions as night outposts, till the
arrival of the infantry, and to keep touch with the enemy by means of
frequent patrols. The force was strung out over a wide front, lateral
communication was very difficult, and only small, local reserves were
available. Fortunately the Turks contented themselves with digging hard
all night, and erecting rock sangars, and made no serious attempt to
attack.
During the night a raiding party, consisting of a few men from the 2nd
A.L.H. Brigade, succeeded in penetrating through the enemy in the dark,
and blew up a two-arch bridge near Khurbet el Raseife, seven miles
north of Amman. The gallant little party returned safely before dawn,
having done damage sufficient to interrupt traffic from the north for
at least forty-eight hours. Before that period had expired, it was
hoped that Amman would be in our hands.
Dawn found our weary troops cramped and stiff with their long night's
vigil in the bitter cold. They had been marching and fighting for four
days and nights, with only one night's rest, and had been wet through
the whole time. The Turkish guns opened the ball soon after daylight,
and shelled our positions intermittently during the morning.
About mid-day two battalions of infantry arrived from El Salt. They
had been delayed at Sweileh, the previous night, in consequence of
having marched into the middle of a sort of Belfast riot between
the Circassians (Moslems) of Sweileh and the Christian Arabs of El
Fuheis. With two separate wars thus going on in the same area, the
situation appeared too obscure for farther advance, especially as
both Circassians and Arabs showed a disposition to fire impartially
on all who came within range, quite irrespective of their religion or
politics. The column had, therefore, halted for the night.
General Chaytor had expected to be reinforced by a brigade of infantry
during the previous night, and, in anticipation of its arrival, had
issued orders for an attack soon after daylight. Though disappointed
at receiving only two battalions, and those not till twelve hours
later than he had expected, he decided, in view of the urgency of the
situation, to attack at once.
The infantry were pushed in between the Camel Corps and the 2nd A.L.H.
Brigade, and ordered to advance with their right on the Sweileh-Amman
road. The attack commenced at two o'clock, and the whole line pressed
forward vigorously, and got to within 1000 yards of the enemy positions
in the centre, when a very heavy counter-attack was launched against
the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade. The cavalry were pressed back some distance
under the weight of this attack, thus exposing the left of the
infantry. Intense machine-gun fire was now opened on the infantry
and Camel Corps, who were on the edge of a bare, open plateau, which
extends for some distance west of the town. Our attack was brought to
a stop, and, as it was clearly impossible to make any farther progress
in face of the strong enemy resistance, and as night was coming on,
General Chaytor withdrew his force a little, to positions suitable for
battle night outposts, and ordered them to hold on till next morning,
when the remainder of the infantry brigade was expected up.
Desultory firing continued all night, but the enemy made no attack.
Parties of the 2nd A.L.H. and New Zealand Brigades were active
throughout the night, patrolling up to and across the railway, north
and south of Amman. They were assisted by friendly Arabs, who spent
the hours of darkness sniping at parties attempting to mend the bridge
which had been blown up the previous night. Others co-operated with a
troop of the New Zealand Brigade, to prevent any trains approaching
Amman from the south.
The rest of the infantry brigade, accompanied by two mountain
batteries, joined General Chaytor's force about mid-day on the 29th.
We then had two brigades of cavalry, one of infantry, and the Camel
Brigade at Amman; a cavalry brigade and an infantry brigade at El Salt,
fifteen miles farther west; and a third brigade of infantry between
Shunet Nimrin and the bridgeheads on the Jordan. There were no troops
available to increase this force.
During the morning, fresh enemy reinforcements reached Amman by rail
from the north, and these troops immediately developed a strong attack
against the left flank of our line. The 2nd A.L.H. Brigade drove off
this attack, but the Turks repeatedly assaulted the position held by
the brigade during the day, and gave our weary troops no rest.
Meanwhile a further complication had arisen, owing to a considerable
body of the enemy from west of the Jordan having crossed the river at
Jisr el Damieh, fifteen miles north of Ghoraniyeh, on the previous day,
and commenced to advance up the track towards El Salt. On the morning
of the 29th, the advance guard of this force, consisting of the Turkish
3rd Cavalry Division and two brigades of infantry, was beginning to
make its pressure felt against our positions at El Salt. The 1st A.L.H.
Brigade, supported by some field artillery, moved out to oppose it.
The rain had continued without abatement from the commencement of the
operations, and the country was now in an almost impassable state. To
add to our difficulties, the Jordan suddenly rose no less than nine
feet during the morning of the 29th, and the flood water swept away all
but one of our bridges. The approaches to the remaining bridge were
under water, and it was evident that, if the river rose any higher, it,
too, would be swept away, and our force east of the river would be cut
off in the enemy's country.
It was clear that, if Amman was to be taken, there was no time to be
lost. General Chaytor had intended to attack as soon as the infantry
reinforcements had arrived, but, in view of their exhausted state, he
decided, after consultation with the brigadier, General Da Costa, to
put off the attack till dark.
Such men as could be spared from the fighting had been set to work
repairing the road beyond El Salt, and, by the afternoon of the 29th,
it was sufficiently restored to enable a battery of Horse Artillery to
start for Amman from Shunet Nimrin.
The New Zealand Brigade, with one battalion of the Camel Corps on
its right, was directed to seize Point 3039, a high hill about a
mile south-east of Amman town, which commanded both the town and the
station. This hill was strongly held by the enemy, who occupied two
lines of entrenchments, one above the other, on the southern slopes.
The Camel Corps Brigade and the infantry, moving respectively south and
north of the El Salt road, were to attack the town and the old citadel.
The 2nd A.L.H. Brigade was instructed to make itself as offensive as
possible on the north flank, so as to distract the enemy's attention
from the movements of our troops farther south.
The advance began at two o'clock in the morning. It was very dark and
raining hard, and the troops had great difficulty in keeping in touch
and maintaining direction over the rocky ground. The New Zealanders,
very skilfully led, evaded the enemy trenches at the bottom of the
hill, and reached the second line, higher up the slope, which they
attacked with the bayonet, and captured. When day broke the Turks in
the trenches below were forced to surrender without firing a shot. The
New Zealanders now got on to the top of 3039 at the southern end, where
they were held up by intense machine-gun fire. The Turks followed up
this fire with a determined counter-attack, just at dawn, which was
beaten off, but only with the greatest difficulty.
Meanwhile the Camel Brigade and the infantry, in the centre, had met
with success at first, having captured the enemy's advanced trenches,
with about 200 prisoners. About nine o'clock the Camel Brigade, then
about 800 yards west of the main enemy position, came under heavy
machine-gun fire from both flanks, especially from the north end of
3039, which the New Zealanders had been unable to take, and from the
old citadel on the left front. At the same time the enemy launched a
powerful counter-attack against the left flank of our infantry, in the
gap between them and the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade. This attack was repulsed,
but the Turks maintained a continuous and heavy pressure against this
flank all day, and our troops were barely able to hold their ground.
Fresh enemy reinforcements arrived from the north about ten o'clock,
and immediately launched another violent attack on the New Zealand
Brigade, which was clinging precariously to the southern edge of Hill
3039. The attack was repulsed, but only after prolonged and anxious
fighting. The Somerset Battery R.H.A., which had left Shunet Nimrin the
previous day, and had been marching for thirty hours, arrived just in
time to take a decisive part in repelling this attack.
The enemy then directed an intense shell fire on the New Zealanders,
and attacked the Camel Corps battalion on their right, with the evident
intention of outflanking our troops on the hill. This attack was
also beaten off, and, for the rest of the day, the Turks contented
themselves with shelling the hill heavily, but did not succeed in
dislodging the New Zealand Brigade.
Early in the afternoon the persistent enemy attacks against the left
flank of our infantry ceased, probably as a result of a push forward
made by the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade farther north. The infantry took
advantage of this respite to resume their dogged advance on the Amman
town position. They pressed forward till they were held up by the deep
fosse on the west side of the citadel. Here they came under a murderous
machine-gun fire from both flanks. The few mountain guns with our
force were quite inadequate to the task of keeping down this hostile
fire, and could make no impression on the thick stone walls of the old
citadel. Our infantry had to withdraw to shelter.
Fresh enemy troops continued to arrive from the north, and General
Chaytor now reluctantly reported that he saw no hope of taking Amman
with the force at his disposal, and that any further attempt would only
entail useless loss of life. No reinforcements were available; indeed,
during the day, a battalion of infantry had been ordered back from
Amman to El Salt. This battalion was the only one that had not been
engaged, and constituted the last of our reserves.
El Salt itself had been heavily attacked all day long. The enemy column
that had crossed the Jordan, and advanced up the Jisr el Damieh track,
drove in our advanced post on that side during the morning. The Turks
continued to press their attack with the greatest determination from
the west, north-west and north, and soon all our scanty reserves were
involved. One battalion of infantry had been spared from the brigade
that was covering the country from the Jordan to Shunet Nimrin, and one
had been sent back from Amman, as already stated.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, our troops at Amman and El Salt were
only just holding their own, and it was doubtful if they could do so
much longer, in face of the constantly increasing strength of the
enemy. General Shea,[18] who was in command of the whole force, decided
to withdraw. The troops at Amman were to move first, breaking off the
action as soon as it was dark, and retiring along the Ain el Sir tracks.
As soon as darkness fell the New Zealand Brigade and the detached
battalion of the Camel Corps disengaged, and fell back to the west
bank of the Wadi Amman, where they held a line of posts to cover the
withdrawal of the infantry and the Camel Corps Brigade. The infantry
marched along the El Salt road, covered by the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade, as
far as Sweileh, where they turned off towards El Sir, to avoid the
fighting that was going on at El Salt. The New Zealanders held their
position west of the wadi till the infantry had reached El Sir, and had
a sharp action with the Turks, who had followed up closely. The enemy
was finally repulsed at daybreak, and the New Zealanders then fell back
slowly to Ain el Sir, which they reached in the evening. The retirement
continued through the night, in the rain and darkness. Just as the
rearguard troops of the New Zealand Brigade were moving out of El Sir,
they were treacherously fired on by some of the local inhabitants. A
troop was at once sent back into the village, and attacked a party of
Arabs caught in the act of sniping at our men. Thirty of the natives
were killed in the encounter, and this condign punishment had an
instant effect. We had no more trouble from the local Arabs.
Meanwhile the fierce attacks on El Salt had continued all through
the 31st, and it was not till eleven o'clock at night that the Turks
finally drew off exhausted. During the night of the 1st of April, our
troops withdrew from the village unmolested, covered by the 1st A.L.H.
Brigade, having destroyed all the enemy ammunition and stores there,
and the whole force was safely across the Jordan by the evening of the
2nd.
The operations had lasted twelve days, and it had rained almost the
whole time. The troops were without tents or shelter of any kind, and,
for the last ninety hours of the operations, they had been marching
and fighting continuously, without sleep or rest. The fighting, too,
had been severe, and our casualties, about 1600 killed, wounded and
missing, sufficiently heavy, considering the small size of our force,
and the absence of any great artillery concentration against us.
The wounded suffered severely. The nearest hospital was at Jerusalem,
separated from Amman by more than sixty miles of bad mountain road.
From the firing line the wounded were taken in camel cacolets[19] to a
motor ambulance relay station on the road between Amman and El Salt.
The tortures of this mode of conveyance to a wounded man have to be
experienced to be believed. When the animal, having received its double
burden, rises with its peculiar jerk forward, it nearly pitches the
patients out of the cacolets. Thereafter, each lurching step of the
long, agonising march stretches the unhappy victims upon a species of
rack comparable to that of a mediæval torture chamber.
At the relay station, five miles east of El Salt, the wounded were
transferred to ambulance motor cars, which ran them into El Salt. Here
there was an advanced dressing station, where wounds were attended
to, and then the victims were again loaded into ambulances, and run
down to the main dressing station at Shunet Nimrin. At this station
they were taken over by a fresh relay of cars, which carried them
as far as Jericho, if they were lucky. When the bridges were washed
away, however, it was for a time unsafe for the cars to cross the one
remaining bridge, and the men had to be carried across the river on
stretchers, and put into cars on the west bank. At Jericho there was
an operating unit for serious cases, and there is no doubt that this
unit saved the lives of many by an immediate operation, who would
almost certainly have died had they been sent straight on to Jerusalem.
Another change of cars was made at Jericho, and another at Talaat el
Dumm. And then at last the long nightmare of the journey ended in the
blessed peace and comfort of a hospital in Jerusalem.
Nearly 2000 cases, including the sick, were evacuated in this way
during the operations.
[Illustration: German motor boat leaving Jerusalem for the Dead Sea.
(From an enemy photograph.)]
[Illustration: Turks loading grain from Moab for transport across the
Dead Sea. (From an enemy photograph.)]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 17: At a demonstration given some months later by a small
party of engineers specially trained by this officer, one mile of track
was completely destroyed in ten minutes.]
[Footnote 18: Major-General Sir J.S.M. Shea, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O.,
commanding the 60th Division.]
[Footnote 19: Canvas hammocks, stiffened with bamboo poles and slung
one on each side of the camel, to take a man lying down.]