WE GO UP TO RAMOTH GILEAD.
When I took command of the Column I chose Captain Douglas Leadley as my
Staff Officer, and a better man it would be almost impossible to find. I
never knew Leadley to forget anything, and it was a great relief to feel
that when once I had given him any instructions, I need have no further
anxiety about them, for he was absolutely reliable and competent in
every way.
When Leadley came to me, Major Neill selected Captain T. B. Brown to
replace him as Adjutant of the 38th Battalion, and an excellent staff
officer he made, as far as I could judge.
The concentration on the Auja bridgehead proceeded as rapidly as
possible, for the Column had to move soon after midnight.
I found that the 38th Battalion could not possibly concentrate in time,
for Captain H.H. Harris's Company was many miles to the north, where it
had been sent in pursuit of the enemy. I therefore ordered Major Neill
to follow me as quickly as possible to Shunat Nimrin, a position on the
Moab foothills, some ten miles to the eastward of the Auja.
At 2 a.m. on the 24th, Column Headquarters and the 39th Battalion
crossed the Jordan at the Auja bridgehead, scrambled up the steep Jordan
cliffs, and marched on towards Nimrin.
General Chaytor had meanwhile ordered an advance upon Es Salt (the
ancient Ramoth Gilead) and Amman, with his whole force, which consisted
of the Anzac Mounted Division (less one squadron), a field battery, a
heavy battery, two mountain batteries, Patterson's Column, the 20th
Indian Infantry Brigade, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions British West
Indies Regiment.
The mounted troops pushed forward rapidly, and soon out-distanced the
infantry and guns. The Anzacs were such gluttons for battle that they
broke down every resistance and completely destroyed and broke up the
enemy before the Infantry could come into action.
The 20th Indian Infantry and the guns followed the horsemen, for, from
their position on the Jericho-Es Salt road, they were much better
situated to take the lead than any other dismounted troops.
My Column struck the advancing troops at Nimrin, where I was just in
time to see General Chaytor fly past in a motor car. The General always
believed in being well to the front when there was a fight on, and has
been known on more than one occasion to be mixed up in the fray itself.
My orders were to form the rearguard to Chaytor's Force, and all day
long the main Column wound its way slowly past Nimrin until 3 o'clock in
the afternoon of the 24th. I then gave the order for the 39th to
advance, and left orders for the 38th, on arrival at Nimrin, to follow
on to Es Salt.
It was interesting to observe the strong positions from which we had
driven the Turks, and to see overturned cannon, limbers, wagons,
ammunition carts strewing the road; "Jericho Jane," an enormous gun that
used to fire into Jericho, the Divisional Headquarters, and generally
rake us all round, was lying ignominiously on her back in a ditch; dead
bodies of men, horses, and draught bullocks made the world unpleasant in
their vicinity; Bedouins flocked around like locusts, looting machine
guns, rifles, ammunition and stores of all kinds which had been
abandoned by the Turks in their hasty flight. The Arabs in these parts
had the time of their lives, for loot is to them as honey to the bee.
General Chaytor had left word at Nimrin that he wished to see me, so I
was anxious to get on to Es Salt as quickly as possible, where I hoped
to find him. I therefore gave all necessary instructions to Colonel
Margolin, and, leaving Captain Leadley with him in case anything
unforeseen should crop up, and he should require the assistance of my
Staff Officer, I rode on as fast as possible to Es Salt, taking my groom
with me.
After great difficulty and much squeezing we forced our way through the
miles and miles of wagons, baggage, guns, etc., which were slowly and
painfully crawling up the steep mountain side towards Es Salt. I arrived
there at about 9 p.m., but failed to find the General, who had already
pushed further ahead. I was hospitably entertained by the Indian
Infantry Brigade, and afterwards turned aside, and, tethering my horse,
lay down a little way off the road, with my saddle for my pillow, glad
to have a blanket to wrap round me on these heights, which felt
decidedly chilly after the suffocating heat of the Mellahah. I woke up
in the middle of the night just in time to recover Betty, who had broken
loose and was straying off towards a forage cart. Having tied her up, I
settled down again and slept until dawn. I wondered during the night how
it was that my bed was so warm, and as soon as daylight came I
discovered the reason--I had been sleeping on a bed of dry stable
litter!
After an early cup of tea with the Indians, I pushed on through Es Salt
to General Chaytor's Headquarters, which were just beyond. Here I found
that the General had gone on to direct the operations which were then in
progress round Amman. Major Anderson of his Staff provided me with an
excellent breakfast, and soon afterwards we were joined by my friend,
Colonel Bruxner, who had had a strenuous night marshalling the guns and
transport on their toilsome journey up from the Valley.
I received telegraphic instruction from General Chaytor to make Es Salt
my Headquarters and put it into a state of all-round defence.
I put up my "bivvy" a little way out of the town, under an enormous fig
tree then laden with delicious fruit, close to the Nimrin, which flowed
swiftly by, almost at the edge of our bivouac.
Colonel Margolin and the 39th took over Es Salt and at once occupied the
commanding hills round about, where he was soon entrenched and ready to
give the enemy a very warm reception in case of attack.
[Illustration: THE AUJA
"A pleasant, swiftly-flowing streamlet"
(See _page_ 102)]
[Illustration: ES SALT
(The ancient Ramoth Gilead)]
The Turks had left a number of sick and wounded soldiers at this place
in a dreadful state. Captain Redcliffe Salaman took these poor wretches
in hand and soon brought about a wonderful improvement in their
condition. The town itself was in a state of indescribable filth, and
had it not been for the unceasing efforts of Captain Salaman and the
Sanitary Department which he organised, an outbreak of typhoid or other
dreadful disease must have ensued. No praise is too high for the work
which Salaman did during the period he was in Medical charge at Es Salt.
Soon after we had established ourselves here I found that the Bedouins
were looting the abandoned Turkish munitions, stores, etc., right and
left; as they were our allies, I did not want to interfere without
orders, so I reported the matter to General Chaytor.
The General promptly wired me to stop all looting by these marauders--a
proceeding which annoyed them intensely. I had to send out strong
parties from the 39th Battalion to patrol that part of the country
towards Amman, and the whole of the road from Es Salt back to Nimrin
had, in addition, to be watched and guarded. The 39th patrolled the
country from Es Salt as far as the El Howeij Bridge, some six miles
south of Es Salt, while the 38th took up guard duty from this point to
Nimrin. This was rather hard luck on the 38th, for they had almost
reached Es Salt when the order to counter-march came. They had to turn
and go back all that long weary way, practically without rest or food.
It was a march and counter-march that would have reflected credit on the
best marching Regiment in the British Army, and no better testimonial
could be given than that of Lieut. Cameron, a regular Highlander of the
old school, who freely admitted that this was the very worst he had ever
experienced in all his eighteen years of soldiering.
Cameron won the Military Cross, and also a bar thereto, while serving
with the 38th Battalion.
Major Neill afterwards told me that he received the greatest assistance
in getting the men along on this trying march from Captain H.H. Harris,
who had the arduous task of shepherding the weary ones along with the
rearguard.
No doubt if was one of these laggards who, some weeks afterwards, wrote
me a letter full of reproaches, which made me laugh heartily, and helped
to brighten the gloomy days through which I was then passing. I give an
extract from a very lengthy episode:--
"You kept us in torture for six and a half weeks at Nablus. Then
we left Nablus and thought after this torture you will send us
for a rest, but no, you make us march to the Jordan in full
marching order. You also gave us a bomb each man to put in our
pocket so as to lighten the burden of the transport. You had
consideration for horses, but not for humans. We travelled like
pedlars to the Jordan, living on fresh air. When we reached the
Jordan, it was a grand place, was it not? It surprises me you
could not pick out a worse place to send us. Is there any worse
place than the Mellalah in this God-forsaken country? (Evidently
a non-Zionist, this fellow!) You kept us in this hot hole for
another six-and-a-half weeks, no other troops ever being known
to stay there for more than two or three weeks--but of course
anywhere was good enough for the Jews."
From the above it will be seen that at least some of the men were of the
opinion that I was responsible for their troubles, while all the time I
was getting into the bad books of authority in my endeavours to get them
better treatment.