AMONG THE PHILISTINES.
When General Hoskin left Bir Salem to take up a command in England he
was replaced by Major-General Sir John Shea, under whom we had served
for a short time in the line. If this officer had not been called
elsewhere, I am quite sure that the regrettable incidents which I shall
have to relate would never have taken place; but, unfortunately, General
Shea was away practically all the time we were attached to his Division,
and a senior Brigadier acted in his place.
This Brigadier was apparently well aware of the anti-Jewish attitude
taken up by certain members of the G.H.Q. Staff, and trimmed his sails
accordingly, but unfortunately for himself, as the sequel will show, his
zeal to second their ill-advised efforts carried him to such lengths
that even those influential members whose policy he was supporting were
unable to save him from the consequences of his own outrageous folly.
No sooner had we come under his command than his anti-Semitic bias
became apparent. Certain areas were placed out of bounds to "Jewish
soldiers" but not to men in other battalions. Jewish soldiers were so
molested by the Military Police that the only way they could enjoy a
peaceful walk outside camp limits was by removing their Fusilier badges
and substituting others which they kept conveniently in their pockets
for the purpose. They found that by adopting this method they were never
interfered with by the Military Police.
Traditional British fair play seemed to have taken wings as soon as
General Z. appeared on the scene. I repeatedly made official complaints
about the way the men were persecuted, but nothing was done to mend
matters. As a British officer I felt ashamed to hold my head up in my
own camp owing to the unfair and un-English treatment to which the men
were subjected.
It may well be imagined that this attitude of the Staff made my command
anything but an easy one. In the first place, knowing how all ranks were
discriminated against, no officer or man wished to remain in the
battalion. It was exceedingly difficult under the circumstances to get
the best out of the men. While we were with the Anzacs, although we
suffered exceedingly from the deadly climate in the desolate Jordan
Valley, yet we were all thoroughly happy, because we were treated with
justice and sympathy by the Staff and by all other ranks in that famous
division. At Bir Salem, on the contrary, we were anything but a happy
unit.
It will be remembered that before we left Rafa the battalion had been
swamped by about 800 recruits. Physically they were a very fine lot,
but, being young and hailing from the United States, they were a bit
wild and difficult to handle. The moment they joined the battalion they
had to do real hard soldiering, and were put on outposts and detachments
up and down the country, guarding thousands of prisoners of war, long
stretches of railway line, millions of pounds worth of munitions, food,
ordnance supplies, etc. In fact, so arduous were these duties that the
men had scarcely more than every alternate night in bed, although it is
the rule in the army that whenever possible every man should be allowed
at least three consecutive nights' rest.
The great majority of my old trained men of the 38th had by this time
either been demobilised, invalided to England, or employed on special
duties between Cairo and Aleppo, so that a great part of the heavy
duties which had to be carried out fell on the American recruits. There
was absolutely no time to train these men, and I consider it was really
wonderful that they did so well under the circumstances.
I know of no more heart-breaking task for a Commanding Officer than to
endeavour to keep a battalion in a high state of discipline when he is
surrounded by a hostile staff, apparently all out to irritate and
humiliate both officers and men. From "reveille" to "lights out" it was
a case of countering the actions of those in authority which constantly
tended to create discontent and ill-feeling in our ranks.
I may mention that I had scores of protests from the men, often daily,
owing to the persecution to which they were subjected while we were at
Bir Salem. Is it to be wondered at that, suffering all these things,
some of the American volunteers at last became restive and asked
themselves, "Why should we serve England and be treated like dogs?"
I often felt it necessary to speak to the men, for I knew that their
loyalty was strained almost to breaking-point. At such moments I told
them that the honour of Jewry rested on their shoulders, and no matter
what provocation they might be subjected to, they must at all times
remain steadfast. The Imperial Government in England was sound and
sympathetic to their ideals, and eventually justice must prevail, and
the evil days through which we were passing would soon come to an end. I
appealed to them as Jews to be good soldiers, and, to their credit, they
always responded.
Before this persecution became acute volunteers were called for to serve
with the Army of Occupation in Palestine. Several hundred American
enthusiasts in the battalion offered their services, but owing to the
treatment they received their enthusiasm died out, and they requested
that they should be demobilized and repatriated. A small party of these
American citizens who were on outpost duty at Belah, some sixty miles to
the south of Bir Salem, sent in a signed memorial requesting
demobilization; otherwise they stated that they would refuse to do duty
after a certain date which was mentioned. This document I, of course,
forwarded to Divisional Headquarters.
I had been writing to the authorities for months, requesting that these
men should be demobilized and sent back to the United States, and at
last I heard, unofficially, that the order for repatriation was on its
way.
I sent my adjutant to inform the Belah men that their release was coming
through in the course of a few days, and to tell them to carry on
meanwhile like good soldiers.
More than half of the men responded, but the rest, being young and
untrained, refused to perform any further soldierly duties after the
expiry of the time limit; they just remained quietly in their tents, for
they wished to bring matters to a head.
I am glad to say that the Jewish soldiers, both Americans and British,
serving with me at Bir Salem, stood firm and carried out their duties as
usual.
After personal investigation into the conduct of these foolish youths at
Belah I remanded them for trial by Field General Court Martial, and
forwarded the charge sheets, with summaries of evidence, to General Z. I
had framed the charge sheets most carefully, but apparently my drafting
did not suit the General, for he framed fresh charges of mutiny, and
sent his A.D.C. with them to me for immediate signature. I had but a
moment to scan the charge sheets, for the A.D.C. was impatient to catch
a train which was due to leave. I did not like the General's drafting,
but, being a very obedient soldier, I duly signed the documents as
ordered and handed them back to the waiting Staff officer, wishing him
luck with them as he galloped off.
According to King's Regulations, a soldier remanded for trial by Court
Martial has the right to request the help of an officer to act as his
friend at the trial, and, of course, it is the bounden duty of such
officer to do everything in his power to get the accused acquitted. The
Belah men petitioned Lieutenant Jabotinsky to act as their advocate, and
he, somewhat unwillingly, assented to undertake the ungrateful task. He
was not anxious to defend these men of Belah because he held that they
should have carried out their duties faithfully to the end, even
although they felt that they had a grievance against authority.
The trial took place at Kantara, and, in the course of it, Lieutenant
Jabotinsky pointed out a fatal flaw in the charge sheets, with the
result that the charge of mutiny failed, and the Court had to be
dissolved. The President (who belonged to Major-General Louis Jean Bols'
late Regiment) was furious at the fiasco, and said, "This is all the
fault of Colonel Patterson, and I shall report him." My adjutant,
Captain Sandison, a staunch and sturdy Scot, was present in Court as
Prosecutor, and, knowing all the facts of the case, at once turned on
the President and said, "You have no right, Sir, to make such a
statement about my Commanding Officer. The G.O.C. Division rejected his
charge sheets, which were in perfect order, and framed the faulty ones
himself, so now you know whom to report."
A new Court had to be convened, but the men were now arraigned merely on
the lesser charge of disobeying an order. Even on this lesser charge
they were savagely sentenced to various terms of penal servitude,
ranging from seven years downwards. Had they been found guilty by the
first Court on the charge of mutiny I presume they would all have been
shot!
I am confident that if these young Americans had been properly trained
as soldiers, this Belah incident would never have taken place. I had
given the authorities ample warning of what was likely to happen when
these recruits were thrust upon me, but my advice was ignored.
All I can say is that if an Australian, English, Irish, or a Scottish
battalion had been treated as this Jewish battalion was treated,
Divisional Headquarters would have gone up in flames and the General
himself would have been lucky to escape.
Be it noted that the mutineers of other British units, the men who had
openly defied all authority and set Kantara in a blaze, were not even
put on trial!
Until the recruits were forcibly thrust upon me, I can vouch for it that
the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers was one of the most exemplary units
that ever took the field, crime being practically unknown. The men
endured hard marching, hard knocks, fatiguing manual labour, at times
scanty rations of food and water, the seething heat of the Jordan Valley
and the anti-Semitism of the local military authorities, and withal
gained the highest praise from the General Officer Commanding under whom
they served in the field.
Notwithstanding the fact that we were so despitefully used, the
authorities found that the men's services were invaluable. In addition
to garrisoning large areas of Palestine, I had officers, N.C.O.s, and
men, holding all kinds of important posts throughout the E.E.F., from
Aleppo to Cairo. The demand for men from the 38th Battalion was ever on
the increase, for executive officers found the Jewish soldier steady,
sober and reliable, three qualities, the importance of which I was
always impressing on the men, although, as a matter of fact, sobriety is
one of the outstanding virtues of the Jewish soldier.