OUR POSITION IN THE MELLAHAH.
We were now attached to the 12th Cavalry Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier-General J. T. Wigan, and on the 16th, 17th, and 18th August we
took over D and E sections of the Desert Corps front line, relieving the
19th Indian Lancers and the 6th Indian Cavalry Regiments. We were
unfortunately only a few days with the 12th Brigade, which was moved to
Ludd soon after we were posted to it.
The Jordan Valley, at the place where we were entrenched, is about
fifteen miles wide and is over 1,200 feet below sea level. It is for the
most part fairly flat, but is intersected here and there by huge
ravines, which are in places quite narrow, and at others some hundreds
of yards across, with sheer cliffs some thirty to fifty feet high as
banks. Looking at the valley from the hills that border it, one would
never suspect the existence of these great rifts. The River Jordan runs
in the centre of one of these depressions, which in places is 50 to 100
feet below the ordinary level of the rest of the valley.
The Wadi Mellahah is another huge cleft or rift, running about a mile to
the west of, and more or less parallel to, the Jordan. It is some 10
miles long, and varies from a few score yards to a mile in width. Steep
cliffs and slopes shut it in on both sides, and make the bed of the
Mellahah about as hot and stifling a spot as can well be imagined,
while, to add further abomination to it, noxious fumes arose in places
from its barren and desolate looking sides and bed. A tiny, briny
streamlet runs its straggling course through it in the dry season,
although in places it spreads out into large reed-covered swamps. The
water of this rivulet was so salt that a single drop was more than one
could bear to take on the tip of one's tongue.
We made our headquarters in this gully some three miles from where it
flows into the Auja, of which it is a tributary, and here we fixed up a
reed hut as our mess house, under the shade of the only tree in this
depressing spot. Of course we had to keep down in the depths of the
ravine, otherwise we would be seen and shelled by the Turks.
This Mellahah Wadi had been made in the course of ages by the rush of
water coming down from the Judæan range and from other hills to the
north where there is a heavy annual rainfall. Here and there in the
ravine, where it is at its broadest, stand isolated hillocks which the
water has not worn away, and on these had been constructed some of our
more northern redoubts; they were easy to defend and commanded a good
view, for their tops were on a level with the surface of the surrounding
valley.
One of our redoubts was named "Salt," and just to the north of it a
sparkling spring bubbled out of the side of the cliff. It looked so pure
and inviting that I took a mouthful, and was nearly poisoned for my
pains. It was the most briny, sulphurous liquid imaginable. There is a
fortune awaiting the man who exploits its medicinal properties!
The northern end of the Mellahah was held by the Turks, and there it
opened out into a huge swamp. Of course the mosquitoes bred and thrived
in this natural reserve, and played havoc, not only with the Turkish
Army, but with our men too; when the wind blew from the north it carried
the little demons amongst us in swarms. We had drained the swampy part
of the Mellahah within our own lines at enormous pains, so that unless
the wind blew from the north, we were fairly free of the irritating
pests.
As a matter of fact we used to go out every night half a mile or so in
front of our wire, deepening and diverting the streamlet, in order to
dry up the swamp and remove the breeding ground of the mosquitoes as far
as possible from our posts. This was always risky work, for, if the
Turks had discovered what we were about, they would no doubt have made
it very lively for us with rifle and machine-gun fire.
From a military point of view our position in the Mellahah was a
hazardous one.
We were now on the extreme right flank and extreme north front of the
British Army in Palestine--the post of honour and danger in the line,
with the Turks practically on three sides of us in the salient which we
held. We had the most exposed piece of front to guard which it is
possible to conceive, and we were so badly supported by guns, etc.,
that, had the Turks made a determined attack in force, we would probably
have been annihilated before succour could reach us. It was altogether
an extraordinarily risky position in which to place a raw battalion. The
authorities must have had great faith in our fighting abilities.
We were the only troops in the Mellahah, or within miles of it, our next
nearest neighbours being the West Indian Regiment, which had a much
better position than ours, close under the Judæan hills, with the swift
sweet waters of the Auja running through their lines.
The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade held the Jordan some three miles to the
south of us, and it would have been quite feasible for the Turks to have
concentrated a considerable force and thrust themselves into the gap
between our lines and theirs, and by so doing we would have been
completely cut off.
The Anzac Mounted Division was strung out a long way southward, from the
Auja to the Dead Sea, and some considerable time would have to elapse
before these doughty warriors could come to our assistance. The guns
guarding our section of the front were very few--about six 13-pounders
and a couple of howitzers, the latter being rarely brought into action.
We had in our neighbourhood part of the 4th Turkish Army, some 10,000
strong, with over 70 guns, so it can be seen how precarious our position
was. In our infant days some wag had bestowed upon us the unofficial
motto of "No advance without security," but here we did not live up to
it, for we were indeed well advanced without any security.
The Turks were in possession of the important Umm esh Shert Ford on the
Jordan, and held very strong positions covering the ford on our side of
the river, and their entrenched line ran right across our front and
onward to the Judæan foothills, some ten miles to the west of our
position.
To the southward of the Umm esh Shert Ford we had an observation post on
the cliffs which overlooked the Jordan, and on a moonlight night it was
an eerie experience to stroll across to it and lie on the warm sand,
listening to the melancholy howling of the jackals and hyenas which
filled the air with their dismal cries and wailings. I often wondered if
the thick growth of tangled trees and shrubs which spread out over 100
feet below me up and down the river banks did not conceal many strange
wild creatures, still unsuspected in these regions; the place lends
itself to the weird in all things, but the only uncanny thing I saw
there was a reddish coloured hare with enormous ears, which, on that
occasion at all events, got away safely to the shelter of the reeds.
The Turkish outposts at this point were established on the opposite bank
of the Jordan, but they never molested us, or attempted to cross at this
point.
Our sector of some seven miles of front stretched from this point in a
north-westerly direction, and we held a series of redoubts, some on the
Jordan bank of the Wadi Mellahah, others on hillocks in the ravine, as I
have already described, and three more on the right bank of the Wadi.
This sector was divided into two. I placed Major Ripley in command of
the north-western part, while Major Neill commanded the south-eastern
wing. Each of these officers had some six redoubts to defend, and
several of the posts were quite isolated and had to depend entirely on
themselves in case of attack.
I recommended that two of these posts should be abolished, for they were
unsuitable for defence purposes. The Corps Commander (General Chauvel),
the Divisional Commander, and all their staffs came out one day to see
if my suggestion was sound. I remember we all stood in a row looking
over one of the parapets of the useless redoubt in full view of the
Turks; if they had only fired a lucky shot from "Jericho Jane" that
morning they might have made a good bag!
All the generals agreed that the two posts were useless, so we
dismantled them gladly, for it meant less men to find for duty each
night--a most important consideration when one's men are all too few for
the work in hand.
This was the last I saw of General Chauvel and General Hodgson, for they
were soon afterwards ordered out of the Valley to prepare for the great
concentration which was being secretly carried out on the extreme left
of the Army near Jaffa. When the Australian Division was removed we were
attached to Major-General Sir Edward Chaytor, who commanded the Anzac
Mounted Division of immortal fame. This was a piece of rare good fortune
for us, for we found in General Chaytor a man of wide sympathy and
understanding, a demon for work and efficiency, but always ready to give
honour where honour was due--even unto Jews.
Although our position in the Mellahah was such an isolated and
precarious one, we had no pessimistic forebodings with regard to our
ability to give a good account of ourselves if attacked. We felt that
"the greater the danger, the greater the honour," and it behoved us to
be all the more vigilant, and up and doing at all times.
The magnificent way in which the men responded to the call of duty in
that desolate, nerve-racking region, is beyond all praise. All day long
the sun beat down mercilessly on them, their only shelter being a flimsy
bit of bivouac canvas, and the nights were stifling. Perspiration
streamed from every pore, even when resting. Flies and mosquitoes
deprived everyone of sleep, for our mosquito nets soon became torn and
worthless, and could not be replaced.
Just before dark every available man other than those required to go on
patrols and reconnoitring duty had to parade fully equipped and march to
his post on the redoubts. Here the apparently endless night was spent.
At dawn the men marched back to their comfortless bivouacs to snatch
what repose they could before they were again called upon to work on
strengthening the redoubts and deepening the trenches.
It was in truth an exceedingly strenuous life under such terrible
climatic conditions.
Water could only be obtained in very limited quantities; every drop had
to be carried from the Auja four or five miles away. The whole place was
constantly enveloped in stagnant dust, so it can be imagined with what
appetite a man could tackle food under such appalling conditions, every
mouthful of which was necessarily full of sand and grit.
An Australian summed up life in the Jordan Valley very well, when he
remarked one sweltering day, "God need not have troubled to make Hell
when He had the Jordan Valley."
This part of the Jordan Valley is not supposed to be habitable during
the months of August and September. Even the wild Bedouins, who linger
in these parts to feed their flocks of goats, flee from the accursed
place in these two dreaded months.
No British soldier had yet been called upon to endure the horrors of the
Mellahah even for a week; nevertheless the Jewish Battalion was kept
there for over seven weeks at the most deadly period of the year.
Looking back upon it all I can only say that the Jewish people may well
be proud of their Battalion for the admirable way it "carried on" in
this abomination of desolation. It was about the hottest, most
unhealthy, and most God-forsaken place in the universe--in fact some of
my men assured me that they saw the Devil himself there, horns, tail and
all!
Such was the position allotted to the 38th Battalion to defend and hold,
and it can be imagined that the change from the hill tops of Ephraim to
this inferno was appalling.
Knowing that our enemies had already tried to abolish the Jewish
Battalion, I was strongly reminded of the story of Uriah the Hittite!
How terribly we suffered owing to our tour of duty in this pestilential
region will be described in a later chapter.