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WITH THE JUDÆANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN
[Illustration: _Photo by Vandek_
LIEUT.-COL. J. H. PATTERSON, D.S.O.]
WITH THE JUDÆANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN
by
LIEUT.-COL. J. H. PATTERSON, D.S.O.
Author of: "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo,"
"In the Grip of The Nyika,"
"With the Zionists in Gallipoli."
With a Map and 22 Illustrations.
London: Hutchinson & Co.
Paternoster Row
PREFACE
The formation of a Battalion of Jews for service in the British Army is
an event without precedent in our annals, and the part played by such a
unique unit is assured of a niche in history owing to the fact that it
fought in Palestine, not only for the British cause, but also for the
Restoration of the Jewish people to the Promised Land.
In writing the following narrative, my object has been to give a
faithful account of the doings of this Jewish Battalion while it was
under my command.
I am much indebted to Captain H. Davis, the Rev. L. A. Falk, Mr. Bendov
of Jerusalem, and Canon Parfit for permission to reproduce the
photographs illustrating this book, which add considerably to its
interest.
J. H. P.
London, 1922.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION vii
CHAPTER I.
THE BALFOUR DECLARATION 13
CHAPTER II.
THE SANBALLATS 18
CHAPTER III.
THE FORMATION OF THE JEWISH REGIMENT 23
CHAPTER IV.
TRAINING AT PLYMOUTH 30
CHAPTER V.
THE KOSHER PROBLEM 39
CHAPTER VI.
WE SET OUT FOR PALESTINE 43
CHAPTER VII.
BACK IN THE LAND OF BONDAGE 51
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER 62
CHAPTER IX.
WE SET OUT FOR THE FRONT 68
CHAPTER X.
THE NABLUS FRONT 79
CHAPTER XI.
WE MARCH TO THE JORDAN VALLEY 91
CHAPTER XII.
OUR POSITION IN THE MELLAHAH 103
CHAPTER XIII.
LIFE IN THE MELLAHAH 111
CHAPTER XIV.
WE WIN OUR FIRST HONOURS 118
CHAPTER XV.
CAPTURE OF THE UMM ESH SHERT FORD 125
CHAPTER XVI.
THE LOST TRANSPORT WAGONS 131
CHAPTER XVII.
WE GO UP TO RAMOTH GILEAD 137
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE CROWN OF VICTORY 144
CHAPTER XIX. PAGE
THE STRATEGICAL VALUE OF PALESTINE 150
CHAPTER XX.
HOSPITAL SCANDAL AT JERUSALEM 157
CHAPTER XXI.
LIFE AT LUDD 167
CHAPTER XXII.
AT RAFA 173
CHAPTER XXIII.
RETURN OF THE ANZACS 179
CHAPTER XXIV.
A RED-LETTER DAY 185
CHAPTER XXV.
JEWISH SOLDIERS ARE FORBIDDEN TO ENTER THE HOLY CITY 193
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE GREAT BOXING COMPETITION 199
CHAPTER XXVII.
BIR SALEM--AN EXCITING RACE 204
CHAPTER XXVIII.
DAMASCUS 211
CHAPTER XXIX.
AMONG THE PHILISTINES 219
CHAPTER XXX.
THE FALL OF GOLIATH 227
CHAPTER XXXI.
PROTESTS 230
CHAPTER XXXII.
A TRIP TO THE SEA OF GALILEE 239
CHAPTER XXXIII.
STRANGE METHODS OF THE E. E. F. STAFF 249
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE FIRST JUDÆANS 259
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE JERUSALEM POGROM 262
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE DAWN 274
APPENDICES 277
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
LIEUT.-COL. J. H. PATTERSON, D.S.O. _Frontispiece_
"I HAD AN ABLE AND ENTHUSIASTIC STAFF" Facing page 34
LIEUT. VLADIMIR JABOTINSKY " " 44
THE REV. L. A. FALK " " 46
JERUSALEM " " 62
THE BATTALION ON PARADE " " 64
TOMB OF RACHEL, NEAR BETHLEHEM " " 64
CHOIR OF THE JEWISH REGIMENT " " 70
THE WAILING WALL AT JERUSALEM " " 92
THE JERUSALEM-JERICHO ROAD " " 96
NEAR THE WADI KELT " " 96
THE AUJA ("A PLEASANT, SWIFTLY FLOWING
STREAMLET") " " 140
ES SALT (THE ANCIENT RAMOTH GILEAD) " " 140
ROMAN ARCH AT AMMAN " " 144
IN THE OLD CITADEL AT AMMAN " " 144
PART OF THE GREAT AMPHITHEATRE AT AMMAN " " 146
CIRCASSIAN CART AT AMMAN " " 146
"HERE THE TENTS OF ISRAEL WERE PITCHED" " " 174
GROUP OF OFFICERS AT RAFA " " 180
RUINS OF BAALBEK " " 210
MY CHARGER BETTY " " 210
RUINS OF THE OLD CITY OF TIBERIAS " " 244
INTRODUCTION
In the darkest days of the War, the British Cabinet decided that it
would be good policy to create a Jewish Regiment, and accordingly, in
August, 1917, the first Jewish Battalion was formed.
From that day forth, as a matter of duty and loyalty to King and
Country, it was clearly incumbent on all those in authority to treat
this new unit with justice, and do everything in their power to make it
a success.
It is to be deplored that this Jewish Battalion--this ewe lamb of
Israel--did not receive, while on Active Service in the Holy Land, that
measure of justice and fair play that was its due.
In common with the vast majority of my countrymen I have the "fair play"
sense strongly developed. I am always prone to be on the side of the
under dog--more especially when I see that the poor devil is getting
more kicks than in all fairness are his due. In Palestine,
unfortunately, I was constantly called upon to ward off unfair blows
aimed at the Jewish Battalion under my command by certain members of the
local staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
I have passed over many of our sufferings in silence, and no record of
them will be found in this book, but I am afraid they have left an
indelible mark in the mind and heart of every man who served in the
Jewish Battalion under my command, and I fear that the evil effects of
the local Military Administration will reverberate throughout Palestine
for many a long year.
But before I proceed further, let me first of all make it clearly
understood that I am not a Jew,--indeed, at the outbreak of the Great
War I knew nothing of this ancient people, always excepting what I had
read about them in the Bible, and other Jewish books. My first contact
with Jews was in the Gallipoli campaign, where I was sent in command of
a Corps composed of Zionists who had escaped from Palestine at the
outbreak of war and taken service with the British Forces. Presumably
because I had had this experience, I was appointed to the command of the
first Jewish Infantry unit raised for service with the British Army. The
career of such a unique unit is bound to be closely followed by all
Jews, while it would not surprise me if the historian of the future
seizes upon this dramatic appearance of the Jewish warrior, fighting for
the redemption of Israel under the banner of England, as one of the most
interesting episodes of the great World War.
Unfortunately for us, with a few honourable exceptions, the local Staff
of the E.E.F. were "troublers of Israel." Instead of furthering the
policy of the Home Government by holding out a helping hand to this new
unit, on the contrary every obstacle was placed in its way.
In our times of tribulation in the Holy Land, my thoughts often went
back to the Dardanelles, and I was heartened and cheered by the
remembrance of the vastly different treatment meted out to the Jewish
soldiers by the Staff in Gallipoli. Sir Ian Hamilton had vision enough
to foresee what a tremendous force would be won over to the cause of
England by dealing justly with Israel. In the Mediterranean
Expeditionary Force the attitude was essentially British. I regret I
cannot say the same of the Staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in
1918 and 1919.
I am happy to be able to put on record that the Battalion was treated
fairly and justly all the time it was stationed in England. The Staff at
Plymouth always held out a helping hand when needed, and we embarked for
Egypt with the blessing of the War Office, and of the Adjutant-General,
Sir Nevil Macready, who told us before we sailed that it was his aim to
form a Jewish Brigade, and that he was writing to the Commander-in-Chief
of the E.E.F. to recommend that this should be done as soon as our
numbers justified such a step.
I felt that the Adjutant-General had confided a great trust to me when I
was selected for the command of this Jewish unit. It was a complete
change from the command of an Irish Battalion, but the Irishman and the
Jew have much in common--temperament, generosity, love of children,
devotion to parents, readiness to help those down on their luck, and, be
it noted, great personal bravery. These qualities will probably not
appear out of place to my readers so far as the Irishman is concerned,
but I imagine many will be surprised when they hear that they also apply
to the Jew. It is true, however, and so should be more widely known.
The soul-stirring deeds on the battlefield of such heroes as Judas
Maccabæus, Bar Kochba, and many others can never be forgotten.
I had one fear when I took over command of the Judæans, and that was
that I might not be able to do them justice. I felt that, if a suitable
Jewish officer could be found, it would be more appropriate that he
should have the honour of leading these soldiers of Israel in the
struggle for the redemption of Palestine; but, although I publicly
stated that I should be glad to see a Jewish officer appointed to the
command, no one came forward, and I was left with the whole weight of
this great responsibility to the Jewish people on my shoulders. I
therefore made up my mind, from the moment I took command, that, so far
as was humanly possible, the Jewish Battalion should be brought through
its fiery ordeal with honour.
It was unfortunate for the new Regiment, and doubly unfortunate for the
Jewish people in Palestine, as this narrative will show, that the
attitude of the local Staff was diametrically opposed to the declared
policy of His Majesty's Government, which had announced to the world, in
the famous Balfour Declaration, that Palestine should once again become
a National Home for the Jewish people. In the face of this British
announcement, certain officials in the Holy Land acted as if this
epoch-making Declaration were nothing but a mere "scrap of paper."
When I observed the vain strivings of these men, and remembered the
Promise to Israel, I called to mind the saying of Gamaliel, the great
Rabbi, "If this work be of men it will come to naught, but if it be of
God, ye cannot overthrow it."
This local anti-Jewish policy eventually culminated in the Jerusalem
pogrom, described at the close of this book, when, under British rule,
murderous native mobs ran riot, practically unchecked, for nearly three
days within the walls of the City.
This deplorable outrage at last opened the eyes of the Imperial
Authorities to what was going on in Palestine, with the result that the
Military Administration was abolished. A competent civil Governor
replaced the Military Administrator, and Sir Herbert Samuel was sent out
to pour oil and wine into the wounds which the unfortunate Jewish
inhabitants had received, and to carry out the declared policy of
England as announced in the Balfour Declaration.
[Illustration: MAP
Showing chief places mentioned in the book.]
WITH THE JUDÆANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN
CHAPTER I.
THE BALFOUR DECLARATION.
In the early days of 1917 the outlook for the Allied Powers was
particularly black and menacing. England, the mainstay in the great
struggle, was in deadly peril, for, just about this time, the ruthless
Submarine campaign was at its height and our shipping losses were
appalling.
The Central Powers, with startling rapidity, had crushed and overrun
Belgium, Serbia, and Roumania, and a large slice of France was in the
grip of the invader. It was a case of stalemate with Italy, while
Russia, the Colossus with the feet of clay, was in the throes of a
Revolution and lost to the Allies.
Turkey, the so-called "sick man of Europe," was found not only able to
"sit up and take nourishment," but strong enough to administer some
nasty knocks to the surgeon, as we discovered to our cost in Gallipoli,
and other places in the Near East.
The Great Republic of the West did indeed throw in her lot with us in
April, 1917, but many perilous months would have to elapse before she
could pull her full weight, or even make her enormous power felt to any
appreciable extent on the battlefields of Europe.
At such a moment as this it was of the very greatest importance that the
world should be carefully scanned, and every available ideal and policy
made use of, which could be of advantage to our righteous cause.
The happy inspiration thereupon seized upon our Ministers to win over to
the side of the Allies the teeming millions of the Children of Israel
scattered throughout the world.
The restoration of these people to the land of their forefathers had
long been engaging the thoughts of mankind, and our Statesmen now felt
that the time was ripe for this age-long issue to be brought to
fruition.
It was of course known to the leading Zionists that the British
Government was considering the policy of making a pronouncement in
favour of the Jewish people, and many of the leaders of Zionism, such as
Dr. Weizmann, Mr. Sokolow, Mr. Jabotinsky, Mr. Joseph Cowen, etc., lost
no opportunity of pressing home the importance of winning Jewry, the
world over, to England's side, by declaring boldly for a Jewish
Palestine.
It was felt by many that the right and proper way for Jewry to help
England was by raising a Jewish Legion to aid in the redemption of
Palestine, and of this movement the leading spirit was Vladimir
Jabotinsky, a distinguished orator, author, and journalist.
Ever since the beginning of the War this remarkable man, a Jew from
Russia, had carried on a vigorous propaganda on behalf of England. At
his own expense, he had founded a newspaper in Copenhagen, and
distributed it broadcast among Jews in Russia, Poland, neutral
countries, America, etc.
His propaganda was of great value to the Allies, for the Jews naturally
hated Russia, owing to their harsh treatment and persecution in that
country, and it was not until Jabotinsky set to work that they perceived
that their real interests lay with the Allies.
To show a good example to others, he enlisted as a private in the 20th
Battalion London Regiment, where he gathered round him a platoon
composed principally of men who had recently been serving in Gallipoli
in the Zion Mule Corps.
From his humble position in the ranks he bombarded the Prime Minister,
and the Secretaries of State for War and Foreign Affairs in this
country; he sent emissaries to America, North and South, to Russia,
Poland, the Caucasus, etc., and when, in July, 1917, the Government
declared their intention of creating a Jewish Regiment, he had
everything in train for the formation of a legion at least 50,000
strong.
I mention this here as one instance of this gallant officer's efforts
for England, and I will ask the reader to make a mental note of it, for
before this narrative is ended it will be my painful duty to show how
Jabotinsky was rewarded for all his invaluable services to the British
cause.
The Government policy towards world Jewry was brought to a head by a
vigorous Zionist offensive, and resulted in the creation of a Jewish
Battalion in August, 1917, followed a little later by the famous Balfour
Declaration in favour of a National Home for the Jewish people in
Palestine.
This bold and wise pronouncement of British policy was of great and
far-reaching importance, and is regarded by Jewry throughout the world
as their Charter of Liberty.
It is embodied in the following letter to Lord Rothschild:--
FOREIGN OFFICE,
2nd November, 1917.
DEAR LORD ROTHSCHILD,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of H.M.'s Government,
the following Declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations,
which has been submitted to and approved by the Cabinet:
=His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in
Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people, and will use their
best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object=, it being
clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the
civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in
Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any
other country.
I should be grateful if you would bring this Declaration to the
knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR.
This was, perhaps, the most momentous Declaration made throughout the
War, and it derived a special significance from the fact that it was
made just at the time when the first definite steps were being taken
towards freeing Palestine from the yoke of the Turk. It was received by
practically all sections of the British Press with the most cordial
approval.
By pious Jews it was regarded as little short of the Voice of God,
bringing their long-cherished aspirations within sight of fulfilment.
All down the centuries from the time of the Dispersion it has been the
dream of the Jew that one day he would be restored to his ancestral
home. In his exile the age-long cry of his stricken soul has ever been
"next year in Jerusalem."
Christians too have always believed in the fulfilment of prophecy, and
the Restoration of the Jewish people is of no little interest to them,
so it can be imagined with what feelings of joy and gratitude the masses
of the Jewish people looked upon this promise of England, holding out as
it did the prospect of the realization of their dearest hope. Nothing
like it has been known since the days of King Cyrus. It is not too much
to say that this epoch-making Declaration uplifted the soul of Israel
the world over.
Sir Arthur Balfour may not live to see the full fruits of his famous
pronouncement, but prophecy will assuredly be fulfilled, and his name
will go down for all time, second only to that of Cyrus, in the
Chronicles of Israel.
Jeremiah's prophecy on the Restoration of Israel has a wonderful
significance in these days: "Hear the word of the Lord, _O ye nations,
and declare it in the isles afar off_, and say, He that scattered Israel
_will gather him and keep him_, as a Shepherd doth his flock."