The Defence of the Suez Canal.
The New Zealand troops detailed to assist in the defence of the Suez
Canal were the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago Infantry
Battalions and the New Zealand Field Ambulance. At 7 a.m., on January
26, the entrainment commenced; everybody working with a will, the
last train cleared Helmieh Siding at 3 in the afternoon. Brigade
Headquarters, the Auckland and Canterbury Battalions, and two sections
of the Field Ambulance detrained at Ismailia; the Wellington and Otago
Battalions and one section of the Field Ambulance going on to Kubri,
about twelve miles north of Suez.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
EN ROUTE TO THE SUEZ CANAL.
Tel-el-Kebir is the scene of the famous battle fought by Lord Wolseley
in 1882.]
A glance at the map will show that the defence of Egypt from the
Turk was strengthened by two great natural obstacles--natural from
a military point of view--the arid wastes of the Sinai Desert, and
the chain of salt lakes connected by the Suez Canal. In those days,
when trained men were not plentiful, it was natural that this long
ribbon of sea water--nowhere less than sixty-five yards wide--should
be selected as the line of resistance, although much elaborate
fortification had been made on the eastern bank, more particularly at
Kantara. In the matter of heavy artillery we had the advantage, as the
Turk had to bring his guns over miles of soft sand, whereas we employed
ships of the Royal Navy, which, with their powerful guns, could move up
and down the defence line, easily outranging the most powerful Turkish
artillery.
[Illustration: EGYPT AND THE SUEZ CANAL..
This map shows how the troops defending the Suez Canal could have been
quickly reinforced from the camps near Cairo.]
[Illustration: "KUKRIS"
The Ghurka badge and weapon.]
About thirty miles south of Port Said a few low sandhills cut off
Lake Menzala from the Balah Lakes. Across this narrow isthmus ran the
old caravan route, through Kantara, from Syria to Egypt. This was the
classical way for an army attacking Egypt. So Kantara was made extra
strong and garrisoned by Indian regulars.
Based on Ismailia itself were three sets of posts. A few miles north
was El Ferdan, where a company and two platoons of the Auckland and
Canterbury Battalions were stationed; the second group was nearer
Ismailia--two posts, one called Battery Post, with two platoons of New
Zealanders as part of its garrison, the other, Ismailia Ferry, with one
company; in reserve at Ismailia were Brigade Headquarters, with the
remainder of the Canterbury and Auckland Battalions not absorbed by the
posts.
Between Lake Timsah and the Great Bitter Lake was an important stretch
of the Canal, only about seven miles long, but comprising the two posts
of Toussoum and Serapeum. At the latter post, two platoons of the
Canterbury Battalion (the 12th Nelson Company) were instrumental in
helping to stave off the most determined attack ever made by the Turks
on Egypt.
South of Serapeum the Canal widens into the Great Bitter Lakes and the
Little Bitter Lake, the defence of this part of the line naturally
being entrusted to the Navy, assisted by two French cruisers. Between
the lower lake and Suez, a distance of about fifteen miles, the
Wellington and Otago Battalions were distributed--units at different
times being posted at Shalouf, Baluchistan, Ghurka Posts, El Kubri and
Suez.
About midnight on the night of our arrival at Kubri, a party of Turks
made a great show of liveliness, evidently to draw fire and so obtain
some information as to our strength and dispositions. But nothing came
of these diversions, which occurred periodically.
Waiting for the Turk.
Some of our posts were on the Sinai side of the Canal, some on the
Egyptian side. Up and down we were connected by telephone to all these
posts and the batteries. The Turkish intelligence system was very
active, whatever its efficiency, for on one night the wires from Kubri
were cut no less than five times, although the line was being specially
watched.
[Illustration: IN THE SUEZ CANAL.]
The provision of desert patrols, post guards, Canal patrols, listening
and examination posts, took up most of the time. The work was hard but
full of interest. The Turk was not far away, and it was exhilarating
making preparations for his downfall. On both sides of the Canal,
trenches had to be dug and sandbagged, and strong posts of tactical
importance constructed. Every day it was regretted that though the
Turks were quiescent, armies of mosquitoes were extremely active. Ships
of all the Allies and the neutral nations passed slowly through the
Canal, carrying many civilian Australians and New Zealanders to and
from the south. After the heat of Cairo, the daily dip was a great
boon, particularly as the ladies on the passing vessels threw many
luxuries to the soldiers in the water. Especially at Ismailia were the
surroundings agreeable. The men in their spare time bathed in Lake
Timsah, lolled in the shade of the high acacias, and marvelled at the
masses of bougainvillea climbing in its purple glory among the dark
green trees.
On January 28, the "Willochra" discharged the infantry of the Second
Reinforcements at Suez, from whence they travelled by rail to Cairo.
The ships carrying the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, together with
the New Zealand transports "Verdala" and "Knight of the Garter,"
steamed up through the Canal to the accompaniments of tumultous
cheering, which burst forth anew when their escort was discovered to
be the Australian submarine AE2, steaming awash between the banks
lined with enthusiastic East Lancashires, Indians, Australians and New
Zealanders.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Major Brunt, W.I.R._
TRENCHES ON THE CANAL BANK.]
The end of January drew near and still the Turks did not attack.
Occasionally the outposts on either side saw shadowy forms and fired
into the dark. Our Intelligence Department had gleaned some knowledge
of the enemy's dispositions. It was known that about forty miles east
of the Canal, opposite Serapeum, he was concentrating in a deep valley,
from whence it was believed he intended to advance in two columns--one
on Kantara and the other on Serapeum. These were the obvious routes,
the only other feasible one being by way of Kubri.
The troops were very fit and well dug in. Every man--English, Indian,
and Colonial--was a volunteer in the strictest sense and eager to
try conclusions with the enemy. On the last day of the month we were
greatly cheered by the news that the "Blucher" had been sunk in the
North Sea.
It was discovered that the Turkish column, marching by way of the old
caravan road towards Kantara, moved at nights, using the telegraph line
as a guide. The Indians had prepared elaborate fortifications and wire
entanglements out from Kantara, then skilfully altered the direction of
the telegraph line, so that it might end in carefully concealed barbed
wire and pointed stakes.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Major Brunt, W.I.R._
THE TARANAKI SECTION OF KUBRI FORT.
The wire running out is an alarm wire connected with the wire
entanglements in front.]
Affairs of outposts gradually became matters of frequency over the
length of the line. The Turk was making a show of reconnaissance from
Kantara to Kubri, but everywhere a warm welcome was awaiting him.
Our First Battle.
At last, on the night of February 2/3, it was obvious that the great
attack had commenced. At Kantara the enemy made an early morning
attack on the outposts, which was easily repulsed. Then their main body
came down the deceiving telegraph line. To the intense delight of the
Indians the enemy walked straight into the trap, and were scattered to
the four winds of the desert by carefully posted machine guns. It was
quite evident that Kantara would not fall. But the enemy maintained
a certain measure of activity, advancing and digging in just out of
range. He showed no anxiety for a closer acquaintance, but appeared
content to throw a few shells at the posts and occasionally at the
shipping on Lake Timsah. This continued all day, until he was evidently
ordered to the attack. It was a miserably feeble effort, which rapidly
converted itself into a hasty retirement.
Some of the Canterburys were at El Ferdan, upon which post four small
enemy field guns opened a desultory fire, but were quickly put out of
action by a few well directed rounds from H.M.S. "Clio."
Down at Kubri the troops were on the alert. H.M.S. "Himalaya" used her
searchlights all night, flinging her ghostly beams of light far over
the desert and preventing any surprise attack. A few shots were fired
by the outposts, but well-directed fire from the "Himalaya" deterred
the Turk from making any organized advance.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Capt. Saunders, 12th Nel. Reg._
WHERE THE ATTACK CAME.
This is the part of the Canal where the pontoons were launched. The
12th Nelson Company was holding a line near the fir trees.]
The only place at which a comparatively serious attack was pressed home
was in the neighbourhood of Toussoum and Serapeum. On the evening of
February 2, the 12th Nelson Company of the Canterbury Battalion was
holding a section of 800 yards. On their left the line was taken up by
the 62nd Punjabis. At about 3.25 next morning the enemy opened fire
with machine guns, and at 3.30 it was evident that he was making an
attack a few hundred yards on our left. Thirty men of the Nelsons were
at once doubled over to assist the Indians, but were surprised to find
no troops there! The enemy, in five pontoons, was already crossing the
Canal! The handful of New Zealanders opened fire and drove back the
boats. The other platoons of the Nelsons kept up a steady long-range
fire. Soon both banks of the Canal were ablaze with the spluttering of
rifles fired by soldiers undergoing their baptism of fire. The rival
artilleries now came into action, and by dawn the battle raged over
the two and a half miles of Canal in the neighbourhood of Toussoum and
Serapeum. The Turk made attempt after attempt, but our infantry easily
accounted for the men in the pontoons; the field artillery scattered
the bridge-making squads; and when it was fully light, the ships' guns
caused such consternation in the enemy's reserves that gradually the
attack melted away. Everywhere in front of the line between Toussoum
and Serapeum lay dozens of enemy dead.
[Illustration: LIFTING THE PONTOONS.
The fir trees on our side of the Canal are discernible. The pontoons
were sunk by rifle fire. The large holes were made with axes to render
the boats unserviceable.]
At noon the Punjabis counter-attacked with considerable effect,
took many prisoners, and cleared a large area of the enemy. In the
afternoon the New Zealanders were ordered to close on the 22nd Indian
Brigade Headquarters, and during this movement we suffered our first
New Zealand casualties--one sergeant being wounded and a private of
the 12th Nelson Company died as the result of wounds received in
action--the first soldier of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to be
killed on the field of battle. The troops spent an expectant night, but
nothing further materialized.
[Illustration: THE FIRST MAN KILLED IN ACTION
The last resting place of 6/246 Private William Arthur Ham, 12th
(Nelson) Company of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion.]
Captured Turkish Orders.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
CAPTURED PONTOONS AT ISMAILIA.]
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Capt. Boxer, N.Z.M.C._
A TURKISH PRISONER.]
From daylight on the morning of the 4th, parties cleared up the
battlefield, burying hundreds of Turks. Captured orders showed that
the attempt was to have been made on a grand scale, but something must
have sadly miscarried. The following extracts dealing with the main
attack reveal Turkish Orders at their best: "By the grace of Allah we
shall attack the enemy on the night of February 2/3, and seize the
Canal. Simultaneously with us the right column will attack Kantara;
the 68th Regiment will attack El Ferdan and Ismailia; the left column
will attack Suez; and one company from the 10th Division will attack
Shallufa. The champions of Islam, from Tripoli in Africa, from the left
wing will advance to Serapeum and the south of Serapeum.... As soon
as it is dark the heavy artillery battery will take up its position.
Its task is to destroy the enemy's warships in Lake Timsah. If it
gets the opportunity, it is to sink a ship at the entrance to the
Canal.... Three regiments will proceed to the Camp of the Bridgemakers;
the detachments will take pontoon and engineer soldiers from the
companies selected as attack column.... The advances from the 'place
of preparation' is to be made simultaneously in eight columns at a
place to be fixed, and in a straight line; a pontoon is to be given to
each squad; each squad is to send forward a party to reconnoitre....
The march to the Canal is about four or five kilometres, and is to
be accomplished without halt. The pontoons are to be launched in the
Canal and the passage across is to begin immediately.... The first
duty of the detachments which cross is to occupy the slope of the
western bank. The two companies collected on the western bank are to
advance 500 or 1000 metres from the Canal and take up a favourable
position facing west. After all the battalions in the first line have
been mustered they are to continue the march. The 2/75th Regiment
is to seize Toussoum and occupy the hill with small force. The 74th
Regiment is to take the direction towards Timsah and the west, and is
to advance as far as the railway line.... If the regiments meet with
opposition from the enemy while occupying these positions, they are at
once to execute a fierce bayonet charge.... At first I will be at the
little hill on which are two sandhills; later on I shall go towards
Toussoum." All of which showing that even early in the War the best
laid plans of Turk and Hun went very much astray. Instead of executing
fierce bayonet charges and taking up favourable positions facing west,
the broken remnants of the champions of Islam had in large measure
fled a considerable distance east--going so far and so quickly that
an aeroplane reconnaisance of sixty miles showed great clouds of dust
still hastening towards the desert sanctuary.
[Illustration: [_Photo by the Author_
BOWS OF TURKISH PONTOONS.
The pontoons are of German make, as the spelling of "the home port"
indicates.]
[Illustration: TURKISH PRISONERS CAPTURED ON THE CANAL.
This picture, which shows the physique of the Turk, was taken by Lieut.
A. E. Forsythe, (12th Nelsons) who was killed on Gallipoli.]
The enemy's total casualties were about 3000 in killed, wounded and
prisoners. The British loss was 18 killed and 83 wounded. The naval
casualties were also infinitesimal--one man killed on the "Swiftsure"
and ten wounded on the "Hardinge." Thus was the enemy's much-heralded
attack brought to confusion. From that day the Suez Canal, thanks to
the efforts of the British and Indian troops and the Allied navies, has
been open day and night to the ships of friendly nations.
Three weeks of waiting ensued. There was certainly work to be done, but
the Canal is just the Canal, and men get very sick of it. Any change is
welcome to the soldier. It was a relief to climb into the troop trains
on February 26 and eventually arrive in the old encampment near Zeitoun.
Return to Zeitoun.
The New Zealand and Australian Division was now feeling its feet, and
towards the end of March the Third Reinforcements arrived and were
promptly drafted to the units requiring them, particularly the Field
Engineers and Divisional Train. Among them was a Maori contingent of 14
officers and 425 other ranks, eager to prove that they were too good
for garrison duty. Egypt had never seen their betters as regards drill,
physique and discipline.
About this time the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force came into being.
The air was full of rumours; soon it became manifest that the two
Colonial Divisions--the 1st Australian Division and the New Zealand
and Australian Division--were, as the Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps, to be called on to engage in a most important enterprise.
Bustling administrative officers from the two Divisions commenced
addressing their letters to Army Headquarters as A.N.Z.A.C., little
realizing they were unconsciously creating a word destined to ring with
glory down the ages.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
A COSMOPOLITAN ARMY.
In this picture are Australian Signallers, Ceylon Rifle Planters,
British, French, and Australian Officers.]
How the prospect of humbling the Turk appealed to these young crusaders
from the far South! What an atmosphere of anticipation pervaded the
camp when it was learned that the Division was to be paraded for the
last searching inspection by the illustrious soldier to whom Britain
had entrusted the confounding of the Turk. There was a certain element
of romance in these young, untried divisions from the New World daring
to confront one of the oldest and most warlike of the Old World races.
An Inspection on the Desert.
Just a year before, Sir Ian Hamilton, reviewing the New Zealanders and
Australians in their own lands, expressed the wish that some day these
wonderful horsemen might be shown to the world. By a strange chance,
here they were in Africa, soon to be led by him in their first great
visit to Europe. Surrounded by his staff, here again he sees them in
the desert. Squadron after squadron go the 1st Light Horse Brigade,
the pride of all Australia; then the New Zealand Mounted Rifles--men
from the Waikato, the Wairarapa, the Waitaki, and every country
district in between--prance gaily past in a cloud of dust and locusts;
following the mounted rifles come the divisional artillery, all New
Zealanders--with their cap badges blackened for war and their guns
bedaubed with multi-coloured paints in a manner to make an old battery
sergeant-major go crazy. Here are the handy men of the army--the
divisional engineers with their great pontoons, and their confreres the
signallers--wise men with buzzers and telephones and other signalling
paraphernalia bedecking their horses and waggons. Following the "fancy
troops," in solid ranks of khaki and with bayonets flashing in the
desert sun, come the infantry brigades of the Division. These are the
men who trudge all day in the desert and at night dig themselves in,
bivouacking and trudging on again next morning. The New Zealand Brigade
marches brilliantly; every man is a prouder man than when he left New
Zealand, for the infantry alone out of our Division participated in the
defence of the Canal.
Now come the newly joined 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, and, closely
following, the waggons of the divisional train; finally the field
ambulance, flying their great Red Cross flags. By this time everybody
is covered with grey desert dust and the plain is obscured as if with
the smoke of a great bush fire. The march past over, units make for
home by the shortest route. Soon the horses are rubbed down and are
munching their tibbin and crushed barley, while the men are crowding
the showers preparatory to the call of the cook-house.
That night we realized that at last the long-desired standard was
attained--the New Zealand and Australian Division was pronounced fit
for active service.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
DIVISIONAL HEAD-QUARTERS.
Showing Headquarters cars and signallers on the old Suez Road. The
officer in the foreground is Lt. Col. G. R. Pridham, D.S.O., R.E., the
talented C.R.E. of the Division in Gallipoli and France.]
A Riot in the Ezbekieh Quarter.
Good Friday was a bad day for Australia and New Zealand. This was the
occasion of the great riot. There were reasons for this outburst. On
that holiday morning all troops were given leave for the day. There
was nothing to do in the town, so some men got more than was good for
them of the wretched liquors sold in those tenth-rate cafes and dancing
houses. Soldiers under the influence of drink do not behave any better
than their civilian brothers. They are necessarily high-spirited people
and very fit. In retaliation for some real or fancied grievance, a few
irresponsibles commenced throwing things out of a top-storey window.
The red caps were not popular, and both sides receiving reinforcements,
a melee ensued. Some fool fired the broken furniture lying in the
street, and from this it was only a stage to firing the houses. An
Egyptian fire brigade arrived, but the soldiers, by this time numbering
thousands, cut the hoses and pelted the unfortunate firemen with their
own gear. Realizing that only disgrace could come of the affair, the
sane people gradually got the rioters away, and after about four hours
of Bacchanalian revelry the city was again quiet. A legend has grown up
that the work was a good one, and that the soldiers had determined to
rid the city of those sinks of iniquity. It is almost suggested that
the good work was the result of a religious revival among the troops.
It must be admitted that it was a bad business; but, it may be honestly
set down that throughout the four years of War there were few instances
of excess participated in by New Zealand troops.
Leaving Cairo.
The men of the Maori contingent were disappointed to find that
they were not to join up at once with the Division, and after an
entertainment and haka before Sir John Maxwell, the High Commissioner
of Egypt, one of their officers made an eloquent plea to be sent on
active service. The promise was made that the request would be acceded
to after a short term of garrison duty at Malta, for which station they
left Zeitoun Camp on the evening of Easter Monday, embarking on the
S.S. "Runic" at Port Said.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Capt. Boxer, N.Z.M.C._
KIT INSPECTION IN THE FIELD AMBULANCE LINES.]
Easter Monday was a most trying day. The khamseen blew, the breakfast
dishes were full of grit, horses were fidgety in the driving
sandstorm, everyone's temper was on edge. Egypt is a delightful place
for the tourist, who can amuse himself indoors if the conditions
be undesirable without. The soldier, on the contrary, must soldier
on, khamseen or no khamseen, so over the drifting wastes of sand,
artillery, engineers, infantry, divisional train and ambulance, wended
their several ways to their different rendezvous in the desert. This
was a new idea in the matter of parades--parading by ships--all to
go on the "Lutzow" mustering in one place, those for the "Katuna" in
another, and so on. Men, horses and vehicles were carefully checked
by the known capacity of the transports already waiting in Alexandria
Harbour.
Because the country was known to be mountainous and almost devoid of
water it was recognized that in the initial stages of the campaign the
mounted men must be left behind. This reduced the fighting strength of
our division from four brigades to two. The mounted rifles for once
were sorry they had horses, but hardly envied the infantrymen the daily
long-distance route marches with the seventy pounds of pack and a
rifle, dusty tracks, and an angry sun.
Everything comes to an end, even training in Egypt. In the week
following Easter, all ranks were thankful to get aboard the troop
trains in the dark and disappear into the black Egyptian night. The
only regret was that their comrades of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles
and Australian Light Horse were left fretting in the desert camps.