LIFE IN MELLAHAH.
Although the climatic change from the cool hill-tops of Samaria to the
inferno of the Jordan Valley differed as does Heaven from Hell, still we
had compensations in the fair, just, and kindly treatment meted out to
us by General Chaytor and every officer, non-commissioned officer, and
man of the Anzac Mounted Division.
The battalion stood entirely on its merits, and that it found favour in
the sight of these famous fighters is the proudest feather in its cap.
Their minds were as broad as the wide spaces from whence they had come,
and in their strong souls there was no room for petty spite or
discrimination. If we quitted ourselves like men and performed our
duties like good soldiers, then it did not matter, even if we were Jews.
The Anzac Mounted Division Headquarters were about eight miles from my
own, and it frequently fell to my lot to ride there through the
devouring heat of the day for a conference with the General. Never shall
I forget the delicious cool draught of shandy that always welcomed me,
straight from the ice-box, mixed by the cunning hand of Colonel Bruxner,
the A.A. and Q.M.G. of the Division. Bruxner would spy me from afar
off, and, being a man of understanding, had the nectar all ready by the
time I reached his tent, and oh, how good it was! No place in the world
can raise a thirst like the Jordan Valley, but it was almost worth
enduring when it could be quenched by a long draught of Bruxner's
elixir.
The principal objective on our special piece of front was the Umm esh
Shert Ford over the Jordan. It was some two miles to the East of our
most northerly posts on the Mellahah, and it was well protected by a
series of trenches, by barbed wire entanglements, and by the fortified
Jordan cliffs. If we could, by any chance, get possession of this
crossing, it would mean that the Turkish communications would be thrown
considerably out of gear, and all their local arrangements East and West
of the Jordan completely upset.
Furthermore, in the case of an advance on our part, by pushing mounted
troops across this Ford, the whole of the Turkish position, ten miles to
the East-South-East of us at Nimrin, would be turned, for the road by
the Umm esh Shert Ford was the short cut to Es Salt (the old Ramoth
Gilead) and Amman (the ancient Rabbath Ammon, where that splendid
Hittite soldier Uriah was treacherously sent to his death).
Our constant endeavour, therefore, in patrol and reconnaissance, was to
gather all possible information as to the ways and means of getting at
this spot and making it our own. No stone was left unturned and no risk
avoided which would lead to this important result, and in due course we
had our reward.
In such an isolated position as ours, the only thing to be done was to
adopt an aggressive attitude towards our enemies and so induce them to
think that we were a great deal stronger than was actually the case.
This policy succeeded admirably, and we put up such a good bluff, and
harried the Turks so vigorously, that they were in constant dread of
attack, and immediately began to erect barbed wire fences right along
their entire front, with every appearance of haste and nervousness.
Considering the nature and extent of the position which we held, we lost
very few men in killed, wounded, and missing during the seven odd weeks
we grilled in the Jordan Valley. We were daily and nightly shelled, but
the Turkish gunners rarely had any luck. On the other hand we harassed
them continuously, with the result that deserters began to come in
freely, sometimes singly, and often in twos and threes. It is strange,
but true, that until we came into the valley, prisoners and deserters
were very scarce.
On one occasion a prisoner was brought before me trembling violently. On
asking him what was the matter, he replied that he feared his throat was
about to be cut! His officer, he said, had told him that we finished off
all our prisoners in this way. I laughed, and (wishing to prove him)
told him that after he had had some food I proposed to send him back to
his camp so that he might tell all his comrades how well we treated
those who fell into our hands. On hearing this he cried bitterly that he
did not want to return to his camp at any price, and begged to be kept
by the British, a request to which I of course readily acceded.
A Turkish sergeant who was captured one day made us all laugh heartily.
Before he was marched off to the prisoners' compound somebody wanted to
take a photo of him. The little sergeant (for he was quite diminutive)
preened himself like a peacock, gave a rakish tilt to his headgear, a
fierce twist to his moustache, and struck a dramatic pose before he
would allow himself to be snapped. He was a regular Turkish Charley
Chaplin!
Most of our prisoners told us quite frankly that they were tired of the
war, their ill usage, and bad food, and were glad to be in our hands,
more especially as they never got any rest in front of our lines.
On the 26th August thirteen Turks of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the
2nd Regiment of the 24th Division surrendered. These men deserted _en
bloc_ while they were holding a post which guarded the flank of their
battalion. I found out from them that their relief party was due to
arrive before I could possibly get a half platoon from my battalion to
occupy the deserted post. If time had allowed me to lay a little trap, I
should like to have seen the faces of the incoming Turks when they found
themselves looking down our rifle barrels as they marched into their
post. They must have been sufficiently astonished as it was to find the
place empty.
I watched an exciting little adventure one morning as I stood in one of
the fire bays of our most advanced redoubt, just as dawn was breaking,
peering through my field glasses to the northward, along the jagged
course of the Mellahah where it spread out into many channels and
ravines near the Turkish lines.
All at once I spied, some 800 yards off, two Turkish officers standing
at the foot of a huge sand slope, gazing at something away to their
left. They looked to me as if they had come out to shoot a hare, or
perhaps a gazelle, as there were some of these pretty creatures in the
Valley. One of the officers was extremely tall and wore a long black
cloak.
Now I knew that I had an officer (Lieutenant Evans) and man out scouting
in that neighbourhood, and I felt rather anxious for their safety if
they should, unexpectedly, come upon the Turks. I therefore searched the
vicinity with my glasses, and sure enough, there they were walking
calmly along on the opposite side of the high sand bank under which the
Turks were standing. Neither party was aware of the presence of the
other. I felt it was not a time to take any chances, for I did not know
how many more Turks there might be concealed from my view behind the
many sand hills that were dotted about, so I called up Major Ripley and
sent him and half-a-dozen men at the double, to cause a diversion, and,
if possible, to capture the enemy officers.
While giving these directions I kept my glasses on my two scouts, hoping
that a lucky turn would take them out of danger, or expose the enemy to
them before they themselves were spotted. All at once Lieutenant Evans
headed up the side of the sand ridge, and I knew then that all would be
well, for the Turks had their backs to him. As soon as he reached the
top he cautiously peered over, and he must have been astonished to see
the enemy so near, for he promptly ducked his head out of view. He then
slid down the slope, took his orderly with him, and ran to put himself
between the Turks and their lines, hoping, I suppose, to ambush them as
they returned. The latter, all unconscious of what was going on, were
taking things very casually, and instead of going back to camp, they
came on a little way in the direction of our lines. This upset Evans'
calculations, so he and his man began to stalk the Turks, and just as he
was about to open fire on them they discovered him, and then both sides
loosed off their rifles and a regular duel began.
Meanwhile Major Ripley and his men had climbed half-way up the side of
the ravine, and they in turn began to blaze away at the Turks, who were
now thoroughly scared. They took to flight, and in the many twists,
turns and channels thereabouts managed to get safely away to their own
lines.
Evans and his scout got back to ours, none the worse for their
adventure.
I had a narrow shave myself in this same post a couple of days later. It
was my custom to scan the enemy's lines soon after daybreak every
morning from this commanding position in order to see if any changes had
taken place in the night. A Turkish sniper must have seen me and marked
me for his own. At all events I had just finished my survey, and stepped
down from my perch, when a bullet buried itself with a thud in the bank
just where my head had been!
A couple of days later Lieutenant Mendes and Sergeant Levy were out
scouting along the intricate course of the Mellahah, to the north of our
lines, when they walked into an ambuscade; the Sergeant fell at the
first volley, but luckily Mendes was not hit. He refused to surrender,
and, in spite of some fleet-footed Turks making the pace very hot for
him, he eluded the lot and got back to our lines safely, but thoroughly
exhausted.