Mail just going. Best love.
_P.S._--We had a Celebration on a boat this morning, which I was very
glad of, also a voluntary parade service.
* * * * *
LAST LETTER FROM R.P. TO L. PALMER GIVING STORY
FROM JANUARY 12TH TO JANUARY 21ST.
I wrote you last week a summary of our doings during the battle of D.
Now I will tell you what we have done since, though it is mostly
unpleasant.
The evening after I posted last week's letter "D." Coy. had to find a
firing party to shoot a havildar, a lance-naik and a sepoy for
cowardice in face of the enemy. Thank goodness North and not I was
detailed for it. They helped dig their own graves and were very brave
about it. They lay down in the graves to be shot. Corp. Boughey was
one of the party and when I condoled with him afterwards on the
unpleasantness of the job, he replied, "Well, Sir, I 'ad a bit of rust
in my barrel wanted shootin' out so it come in handy like"!
_Thursday, 13th._ We marched at 7 carrying food and water for two
days. We were in support of the frontal containing force. The enemy
were on the Canal, eight miles off. We marched about four miles and
then halted, and waited most of the day for orders. A strong S.E. wind
prevented us hearing anything of the battle but we could see a certain
amount of shelling. About 3 p.m. we got orders to go up in support of
the frontal force, which (we were told) had advanced, the enemy having
abandoned the Canal. We marched another three miles to a fort, which
stood about one and a quarter miles from the Canal, and from which we
had driven the enemy in the morning. Here we waited till after dark,
when we heard that the frontal force had blundered into a Turkish
rearguard holding the Canal, and had lost heavily and been obliged to
retire. It is these disconcerting surprises which try one's spirit
more than anything else. We ate a cold and cheerless supper just
beyond the fort, and then dug ourselves in, with other units of our
brigade on either side of us. It was windy and very cold. There was a
small and filthy hut with every mark of recent Turkish use, just
behind the trench, but sooner or later every officer (I among the
first) came to the conclusion that dirt was preferable to cold, and we
all packed in round a fire which our signallers had lit there.
_Friday, 14th._ After a tolerable night we stood to arms at 5.30, a
wholly displeasing process. As soon as it was light, we advanced to
within 1,200 yds. of the Canal and started digging in. But it soon
became clear that the enemy had cleared out in the night, so we
stopped digging and started to clear up the battlefield, _i.e._, the
space between us and the Canal. The stretcher parties had been out
during the night, but they had been fired on so heavily that they
could not get beyond the 1,200 yd. line, so there were wounded to pick
up as well as dead to bury and equipment to collect. The dead were so
pitiable that one quite forgot their ghastliness; but it was a
gruesome job searching their pockets. The poor wounded had had a
fearful time too, lying out in the cold all night, but the
satisfaction of getting them in cheered one up. The ground was simply
littered with pointed bullets.
In the middle of this job we were recalled and told to march to the
support of our outflanking force; but by the time we were collected
and fallen in the need for our assistance had apparently passed, for
we were merely marched to the Canal and then along it to where it
joins the river; where we have been ever since. We got into camp here
soon after noon, and were very glad to be within reach of water again.
The weather was the limit. It blew a gale all the afternoon, and the
dust was so bad one could hardly open one's eyes. We had no tents, but
the Major (Stilwell) had a bivouac and invited me in with him, which
was a blessing as it rained all night.
_Saturday, 15th._ Rained all the morning on and off. Afternoon grey
and cold. Nothing doing and no news. Sniping at night.
_Sunday, 16th._ Morning grey and cold. Rained all the afternoon and is
still at it (8 p.m.). Padre held a celebration on one of the boats,
and an open air voluntary parade service. Dug a bridge-head perimetre.
We are waiting for the bridge. The gale and the river bust it.
_Monday, 17th._ Rained on and off all day. Grey, cold and windy.
Ordered to cross river as soon as bridge is ready. Bridge reported
ready 6 p.m. so we struck camp. We took only what blankets we could
carry. When we reached the bridge, we found it not finished, and
squatted till 8.15. Then the bridge was finished and immediately
broke. So we had to come back to camp and bivouac. Luckily the
officers tents were recoverable, but not the men's.
_Tuesday, 18th._ Rain stopped at 8 a.m. Whole place a sea of mud ankle
deep, and slippery as butter. Nearly the whole bridge had been washed
away or sunk in the night. We got men's tents from the ship, cleared
spaces from mud and pitched camp again. Rain started again about 1
p.m. and continued till 4. The Canal or "Wadi" had meanwhile come down
in heavy spate and broken that bridge, so we were doubly isolated. I
went out to post piquets. It took two hours to walk three miles.
Jubber Khan sick all day, so I had to manage for myself, helped by
North's bearer. Foster being sick North is O.C. "D." Coy. and I share
a 40lb. tent with him. He is 2/4th, son of the Duke of Wellington's
Agent at Strathfieldsaye, but has served three years in N. Rhodesia,
so is quite used to camp life.
Desultory bombardment all day.
_Wednesday 19th._ Sun at last; first fine day since Thursday last.
Orders to cross Wadi as soon as bridge repaired. Crossed at 4 p.m. and
camped in a dry place.
_Thursday, 20th._ Fair, sun, heavy bombardment all day. Post going.
* * * * *
ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE ATTACK ON
THE TURKISH POSITION OF UM EL HANNA, ON JANUARY 21ST, 1916.
_By an Officer who was There._
The Turkish position, which is about ten miles up stream from Shaikh
Saad, is on the left bank of the Tigris. The position is a very strong
one, thoroughly entrenched, with the river protecting its right flank
and absolutely secured on its left flank by a very extensive marsh
which stretches for miles.
Our camp was about five miles from the Turkish position (downstream)
but our forward trenches were within about 1,000 yards of it.
On January 20th our guns bombarded the enemy's trenches at intervals
during the day, and on the following morning at 3 a.m. we moved out of
camp preparatory to the attack which was to commence about 6.30 a.m.
The ---- Brigade was to push the main attack with the ---- Brigade
(ours) in support of it, whilst a third brigade was to make a holding
attack on our right.
The leading brigade entrenched itself during the night within about
500 yards of the position, whilst our Regiment with one Indian
Regiment formed the first line of supports. We were in our trenches
about 1,000 yards from the enemy's position, ready to make the attack,
by 6 a.m.
For some reason, which I do not know, the attack was delayed, and our
guns did not open fire till 7.45 a.m. instead of 6.30 as originally
intended.
At 7.55 a.m. after our guns had bombarded the enemy's trenches for
only ten minutes the infantry were ordered to advance to the attack,
our support line advancing at the same time.
Our Battalion, which consisted of three Companies (one Coy. being in
Kut-el-Amara) advanced in three lines, "B" Coy. forming the first line
under Lieut. Needham, "C" Coy. the second line under Capt. Page
Roberts, and "D" Coy. the third line under Capt. North with Capt. the
Hon. R. Palmer as his 2nd in command. Lt.-Col. Bowker was with the
third line.
As soon as we left the trenches we were under a heavy rifle fire, and
as we advanced this became more and more intense, with machine gun and
shrapnel fire added. The ground was perfectly flat and open with no
form of cover to be obtained, and our casualties soon became very
heavy. We continued to advance till we got to within about 150 yards
of the enemy's trenches, but by this time our casualties were so heavy
that it was impossible to press home the attack without
reinforcements, though at the extreme left of our line, our troops
actually got into the first line of trenches, but were bombed out of
them again by the Turks.
No reinforcements reached us, however, and we afterwards heard that
the Regiment which should have come up in support of us was enfiladed
from their right and was consequently drawn off in that direction. All
we could do now was to hold on where we were, making what cover we
could with our entrenching tools, and this we did until darkness came
on, when we withdrew.
The weather had been terrible all that day and night, there being
heavy rain with a bitterly cold wind coming off the snow hills. The
ground became a sea of mud which made it most difficult to remove the
wounded, and many of these had to lie out till the armistice was
arranged the following day.
* * * * *
FURTHER DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FIGHT AT UM EL HANNA,
BY EYE-WITNESSES.
_By an Officer of the 4th Hants._
"The fighting on the 21st was a pure slaughter. It was too awful....
"The troops from France say that in all their experience there they
never suffered so much from weather conditions.
"We were wet to the skin and there was a bitter wind coming off the
snow hills. Many poor fellows died from exposure that night, I am
afraid; and many of the wounded were lying out for more than
twenty-four hours until the armistice was arranged the following day."
* * * * *
_Another written down from a Private's account._
"The three Companies of Hampshires were in support, with two native
Regiments, and a Battalion of Connaught Rangers. The Black Watch and
Seaforths were in the firing line. The Hants men were next the river.
The two native Regiments refused to leave their trenches when they
saw the fierce fire from the machine guns. The Connaughts were
fighting further off. So the Hampshire men were obliged to go on
alone. 'We never made a rush, and just walked slowly through the rain.
A slow march to our deaths, I call it.'"
He then said they had got mixed up with the Black Watch and got into
the first Turkish trench, but had been driven out of it again. He saw
Capt. Palmer fall about 200 yards from the trench but did not see
whether he got up again, or where he was wounded.
* * * * *