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[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all
other inconsistencies are as in the original. Author's spelling has
been maintained.]
WITH A HIGHLAND
REGIMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA
[Illustration: General Sir Stanley Maude And His Staff, Baghdad, 1917.
_Frontispiece._]
WITH A
HIGHLAND REGIMENT
IN MESOPOTAMIA
1916-1917
BY
ONE OF ITS OFFICERS
BOMBAY
THE TIMES PRESS
1918
TO
THE CHILDREN OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE ---- REGIMENT
BRIEFLY DESCRIBING THE DOINGS OF THE
2ND BATTALION IN MESOPOTAMIA
WRITTEN SO THAT THEY MAY NOT FORGET THE
HARDSHIPS ENDURED AND THE SACRIFICES WHICH
HAVE BEEN MADE ON THEIR BEHALF
1916-1917.
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
In writing this short account of the 2nd Battalion in Mesopotamia, my
aim has not been to write a military history of all that was achieved;
that will be the task of some one more competent to judge of merits
and demerits than myself. My object has been to give an account in
simple language of the two years spent by the Battalion in the Iraq,
so that the children of the men of the regiment may know of the brave
deeds and the hardships cheerfully borne on their behalf.
Two articles describing our last two battles are here reprinted with
the permission of Brigadier-General A. G. Wauchope, from whom I have
also received many details of our earlier fights, and I am also
indebted for information to Captains J. Macqueen, W. E. Blair, W. A.
Young, Sergeant-Major W. S. Clark, and other officers of the
Battalion.
MESOPOTAMIA,
_October, 1917._
_Telegram from_
HIS MAJESTY THE KING.
Received by Colonel A. G. WAUCHOPE, D.S.O., Commanding, 2nd
Battalion--January 1917.
I thank you, Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men, for the card
of New Year's greetings.
I have followed the work of the Battalion with great interest. I know
how well all ranks have done, what they have suffered, and that they
will ever maintain the glorious tradition of the Regiment.
GEORGE, R.I.,
_Colonel-in-Chief_.
_Order by G. O. C., ---- Division._
I cannot speak too highly of the splendid gallantry of the
----Highlanders, aided by a party of the ---- Jats, in storming the
Turkish Trenches.
Their noble achievement is one of the highest.
They showed qualities of endurance and courage under circumstances so
adverse, as to be almost phenomenal.
SIR GEORGE YOUNGHUSBAND,
Commanding ---- Division.
After the action fought on the 21st January 1916 on the Tigris the
above was published.
* * * * *
_Letter to O. C. 2nd Battalion ----._
Tell the men of your battalion that they have given, in the advance to
the relief of Kut, brilliant examples of cool courage, and hard and
determined fighting which could not be surpassed.
SIR PERCY LAKE,
Commanding the Army in Mesopotamia.
_July, 1916._
* * * * *
_General Munro, C.-in-C, Indian Army, addressing the ---- Regiment,
Tigris Front--October 1916._
Your reputation is well known, I need say nothing more.
* * * * *
To the ---- Regiment.
_From Sir Stanley Maude, Army Commander--March 1917._
You led the way into Baghdad, and to lead and be first is the proper
place for your Regiment.
WITH A HIGHLAND REGIMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA.
CHAPTER 1.
At the outbreak of war, the 2nd Battalion ---- was stationed at
Bareilly, having been in India since the end of the South African War.
Of the fighting in that campaign, the 2nd Battalion had had its full
share. At first it formed part of General Wauchope's Highland Brigade
and fought with traditional stubbornness at Magersfontein and
Paadeburg, and later on identified its name with many of the captures
and some of the hardest marches of that campaign.
On the mobilisation of the Indian Corps, the 2nd Battalion formed part
of a Brigade of the ----th Division and landed in France early in
October 1914, and were in the trenches holding part of the line near
Festubert before the end of the month. At no time, except in the early
months of 1916 in Mesopotamia, was the Battalion so severely tried as
in these first two months in France. The conditions certainly were
comfortable neither to mind or body. The trenches were knee deep in
mud and water, and were without dug-outs or shelters; the enemy were
in great numbers and combined their aggressive tactics with the use of
trench mortars and grenades, weapons of which we had neither knowledge
nor training; of rest for man or officer there was little, yet no
yard of trench entrusted to the Battalion was ever lost either in
France or Mesopotamia. With the spring came better times, and at Neuve
Chappelle a fine victory was won at small cost, but on the 9th of May
the Battalion suffered heavily in making an attack from the Orchard in
front of the Rue-de-Bois. Often and with pleasure have we in the Iraq
looked back on that summer spent in Picardy. Scouts and snipers,
machine gunners and bombers, we all have different memories of those
stirring days as the battalion moved from month to month along the
trenches from Givenchy Hill to Northward of Laventie; and of the days
of rest in billets behind Bethune, Richebourg and the Rue de Paradis;
memories of close comradeship, of well-loved friends, of most noble
deeds and of lives freely given for King and Country. But the day we
recall now and shall ever recall as the red letter day of the year is
the 21st of September. Five battalions of the Regiment joined that day
in the battle of Loos, and though separated in the line, at one in
spirit, all five battalions swept forward regardless of loss, driving
the enemy from their trenches, captured line after line of the
position and penetrated deep into the German defences.
The 2nd and 4th Battalions had attacked together from Fauguissart and,
in reaching the Moulin de Pictre, an advance of two miles made with
little support on either left flank or right, the losses had been so
severe that the two battalions were afterwards amalgamated into one
under the command of Colonel Wauchope. These two battalions, in
conjunction with another Highland Regiment under Colonel Thompson,
despite several attacks and four mines being blown up within our
first line, held Givenchy Hill throughout October. Then, when the
Germans quieted down in this neighbourhood, we returned to our old
line near the Rue de Bois. There rumour had it that the Indian Corps
was soon to be sent to Mesopotamia. Some welcomed the idea of change,
no one looked forward to another four months of the mud of Flanders.
Almost everyone who did not know imagined that they would be giving up
every discomfort which the winter brought for a pic-nic in the East,
and a quick, successful and enjoyable march to Baghdad, and so when
the rumours were confirmed, the whole battalion was in great spirits.
Some obtained short leave to say 'Good-Bye' to their friends across
the channel before leaving for the East, where there would be no short
visits home, no getting letters and parcels daily, but the Regiment
had gained great honour beneath foreign skies, so probably it was
going to add to them even if it was only establishing marching records
along the Tigris to their goal at Baghdad. Besides, was not Townshend
and his gallant force in danger in Kut? And the idea of forming part
of the relieving column appealed to every man.
So at the end of November the Regiment entrained behind that long
Western Front where they had fought for so many months against such
terrific odds, and where so many gallant comrades lay buried, and
everyone was happy, and no one thought that within a few short weeks
the battalion would practically cease to exist. Before they arrived in
France, many had never left the shores of Great Britain, and now they
were embarking on an Expedition that would reveal to them some of the
wonders of the East. Is it any wonder, under those circumstances, that
no one was downhearted?
The train journey through the heart of France from the mud of the
trenches, leaving the cold and cheerless days behind for the sunny
south was full of interest, and of looking forward to what was in
store. Marseilles, that busy Mediterranean Port which has seen such
wonderful scenes of troops arriving from all parts of the world, and
of all colours, naturally turned out to see the Regiment it had
welcomed to defend its Frontiers a year before, and which was now
en-route to defend and fight for the honour of the Allied cause three
thousand miles away. And so on December the 6th, it was 'Good-Bye' to
the pleasant land of France, and the Regiment embarked on the
Transport nine hundred and fifty strong. Having suffered heavy
casualties on the Western Front, few of the original number left
France, bound for Basrah _via_ the Suez Canal.
Before leaving, in appreciation of the stubborn fighting in the battle
of Loos by the 2nd Battalion, the Cross of the Legion of Honour was
conferred on the Commanding Officer, Colonel A. G. Wauchope, D.S.O.
Never was an honour more richly deserved, never was the conferring of
one more popular. No one who has not served in the Regiment can
possibly be aware of what the Colonel has done to make his Battalion
one of the most efficient in Mesopotamia. I was very interested in
listening to a story told me by a brother officer who was standing
alone in a traverse of a trench. Two Staff Officers were talking in
the next traverse and he heard one remark: "Of course, out here at the
present the Regiment is Wauchope, and Wauchope is the Regiment." It is
a name most closely connected with the fortunes of the ---- Regiment.
[Illustration: At The Base. Scene on a creek below Basrah.]
[Illustration: Colonel A. G. WAUCHOPE, C.M.G., D.S.O., Commanding The
2nd Battalion ----.]
The journey was a pleasant one; the wonderful change from the damp
depressing dug-out to a comfortable cabin was appreciated by the
officers, and a dry and comfortable place to sleep in, instead of
trying to sleep in the mud of a fire trench was welcomed by the men.
The usual stay at Port Said after successfully evading the submarines,
where the wily Arab fleeces the unsuspecting Tommy, was not without
interest. The Padre tells an interesting story about how, when he was
returning from home leave to the Regiment in India in 1913, he had his
fortune told by one of the many fantastic liars that fatten on the
stories they weave in this Eastern cesspool. The Fortune-teller told
him that within a year he would be returning to Europe by the same
canal. In those piping days of peace he never suspected that it would
be with the regiment on Active Service but when almost to the day and
within the year, he passed through Port Said on his way to France,
this one saying at least of the Fortune-teller was forcibly brought
home to his mind.
Egypt in December is delightful, and more than one expressed the wish
that for a time at all events they could be stationed in this most
wonderful country. The Canal displayed enormous activity, there had
been no such activity since the days when it was made. Thousands of
Arabs and others toiled and died in making this great work. To-day the
Canal is guarded by thousands of troops. Enormous camps have been
established at different places, and Posts are in existence all along
the waterway. It being so narrow, 3-worded conversations take place
between the troops on the banks and the men on the Trooper. 'Who are
you?' asked the men on the bank. When the reply is returned, shouts
of 'Good Old Scotland' are raised ashore. Some asked, 'Where are you
going!' 'Mesop' they say. 'Poor Devils', is the encouraging reply.
Then some lonely soul asks if any of his Regiment are on board, and so
it goes on all day. Some swim out from the shore and shout and talk,
but one is chiefly impressed by the great number of men guarding this
important waterway.
[Illustration: Scenes On The Creeks Below Basrah.]
[Illustration: G. J. ANDERSON. H. W. BRUCE, CAPT. A. M. GRIEVE, S. F.
G. ALEXANDER, D. H. ANDERSON.]
[Illustration: C. J. McCONAGHY.]
[Illustration: C. J. McCONAGHY, Capt. A. M. GRIEVE, S. F. G.
ALEXANDER, H. W. BRUCE.]
At Suez a short stay is made. The water is a wonderful opal colour;
the great Desert on our left, the barren rocks, sunburnt and bare on
our right, help to make a fascinating picture. One remembers the first
time one had passed through the Canal, years before in time of peace,
and how one had been filled with admiration for the Medical Officer
who came out to the Mail Boat to give it a clean bill of health to
pass through the Canal, because she was a woman, and standing month
after month of Suez summer weather, which proves too much for many
men, leave alone women. But the stay is short and so as the Sun sets,
making wonderful colouring over the Desert and sea, the journey down
the Red Sea is commenced. The Red Sea in December is shorn of its
terrors and can be quite enjoyable. Aden is passed, two or three days
steaming along the inhospitable coast of Southern Arabia and the
entrance of the Persian Gulf is reached. The Straits of Ormuz have the
reputation of being one of the hottest places on earth. The rocky, and
wild Arabian coast looks very beautiful in the sunshine with its
innumerable islands, and the sea is a dead calm. For some hours the
shores on our left are visible, then we steam, up along the Persian
shore and get a good view of the barren, rocky mountain range
running parallel with the coast. Those who have good glasses make out
villages on the shore. The Captain is pestered with questions about
the date and time of arrival at Basrah. Excitement is being felt
again; one wonders what the news will be, and what has happened to
General Townshend; and so at last anchor is dropped at the mouth of
the Shatt-el-Arab at the head of the Persian Gulf. The two rivers
Tigris and Euphrates join at a place called Kurnah, and from there to
the sea the river is called 'Shatt-el-Arab.' Everyone is disappointed
that there are no signs of land anywhere, and one wonders in which
direction land lies. But what a relief it will be to get off the ship,
how delightful to stretch one's legs ashore, as in spite of the good
food, the sports and the usual joys of a trooper, it is impossible not
to feel cramped and so once again everyone was rejoicing that the sea
voyage was at an end. The shore is so low-lying that nothing could be
seen of it as the transport had to anchor some miles off the mouth of
the river. We had to transship to smaller boats to proceed to Basrah,
about eighty miles inland. Transshipping is a long and tedious
business but at last it is completed and we say farewell with a cheer
to our transport, and the smaller boat steams towards the shore. In
about half an hour we make out some palm trees and everyone is on the
lookout for their first view of Mesopotamia. Slowly we approach the
wide mouth of the river, successfully pass over the bar, and the new
campaign for us has begun, and it is the last day of the year--31st
December 1915.