GAZA
Gaza! What pictures this name conjures up in our imagination. From
childhood the city has been familiar to us for its dramatic associations
with Samson. It was here that he removed the city gates and carried them
to the summit of Ali Muntar, "to the top of an hill that is before
Hebron," and it was here that he took hold of the two middle pillars,
and, bowing himself with all his might, destroyed the temple of Dagon
with the thousands of Philistines that were his tormentors. The whole
history of Gaza is steeped in blood. It is the outpost of Africa, the
gate of Asia. Throughout the ages its strategic importance has been
immense. Scarcely an invading army has passed here without fighting a
battle. It figured in the wars of the Eastern invaders, was totally
destroyed by Alexander the Great, was the scene of one of Napoleon's
battles, and, during our campaign, saw six months of trench warfare and
no less than three distinct and sanguinary engagements. In the course of
its history, Gaza is said to have been taken and destroyed in war
between forty and fifty times. No city in the world has been destroyed
more often. Happy, indeed is the city that has no history!
Prior to this war, Gaza was a town of some 40,000 inhabitants, mostly
Moslems, to whom the city is sacred. It owed its importance in modern
times to being the junction of the caravan routes from Egypt to Syria
and from Arabia to the Mediterranean. The town itself stands back some
couple of miles from the sea, from which it is separated by sand dunes.
It is surrounded by gardens and plantations; most of these are bordered
by thick cactus hedges, which played a prominent part in the days of
trench warfare. The surrounding country is by no means level, but
consists of rolling arable land with low ridges and some hills. The most
prominent feature is the hill, Ali Muntar, a commanding height
south-east of the town. When we first approached it, the hill was clad
with trees and surrounded by a tomb; but six months' persistent
bombardment soon removed the trees and tomb and altered the conformation
of the hill. There are other ridges lying about the town, which were
afterwards incorporated in the defensive schemes of the Turks and of
ourselves. The geographical feature of principal military importance in
this neighbourhood is the Wadi Ghuzzeh. This wadi is a watercourse,
which, in times of rain, carries off the water from the hills between
Beersheba and the Dead Sea. It runs, approximately, from south-east to
north-west, at right angles to the coast line, and passes Gaza at a
distance of about 4 miles from the south-western or Egyptian side of the
town. During the greater part of the year this watercourse is dry,
though the sides are steep, and wheeled traffic can only cross at
properly constructed crossings. On either side of this wadi, distant a
mile or so from its bed, are ridges which run approximately parallel to
the wadi. That on the right bank is known as Mansura Ridge, that on the
left bank as In Seirat. The latter is a relatively high ridge and
affords cover for troops beyond. On the other side of this ridge,
protected by it, and distant some nine or ten miles from Gaza, is a
small village with a good supply of water. This village is known as Deir
el Belah, or, more frequently, merely as Belah. It formed our advanced
base during the later operations against Gaza.
We have seen that, at the end of February, 1917, General Dobell's force
had reached El Arish, while portions of it had crossed the border at
Rafa, and his cavalry had occupied Khan Yunus. The Turks had withdrawn
to Gaza, where they now took up a position. They had one force at Gaza
and another in the neighbourhood of Beersheba, with other troops
between. In March, it was decided to attack the enemy at Gaza. The
British force was concentrated at Rafa, whence it marched up secretly by
night. On the night of the 25th March, it moved forward from Belah
against the first objective, the In Seirat Ridge. This was secured
without serious opposition. There was a dense fog on the morning of the
26th, and, as the troops were moving through standing crops, finding the
way was none too easy. However, the Wadi Ghuzzeh was crossed, and the
high ground at Mansura Ridge was secured. From there, an attack was
delivered across the open against Ali Muntar and Gaza. The main attack
was made by the 53rd Division, plus one Brigade of the the 54th, while
the 52nd Division were in reserve. Our troops captured, and established
themselves on Ali Muntar, and also on the hill beyond, known as
Australia Hill. From these points they looked down upon and dominated
the town of Gaza. Meanwhile, the cavalry had been ordered to go round by
the right, and to cut off the enemy when he should retreat. The cavalry
not only got round, but succeeded in entering the town itself, where
they captured some of the Turkish staff. The Turks believed that the
game was up, and were now preparing to surrender. It was the opinion of
many who took part in the battle, that, had we held on for a short time
longer, we should have captured the town and the whole of this force,
and that we should have then been in a position to meet and to defeat
the enemy reinforcements, since the 52nd Division in reserve had not yet
been brought into action. However, Turkish reinforcements were now
reported to be coming up from the direction of Beersheba, and to be
threatening our right flank. Accordingly, a withdrawal was ordered, and
our troops fell back on the Mansura Ridge, the New Zealanders coming
right through the town of Gaza itself. That night, orders were given
for an immediate retirement, and our forces recrossed the Wadi Ghuzzeh.
The bulk of the force retired to Belah, while outposts held the In
Seirat Ridge. After a two days' battle, wherein complete success had
been almost within our grasp, we had but little to show save casualties.
From the summit of In Seirat Ridge, a commanding view is obtained over
the whole country from Gaza to Beersheba. From this point of vantage the
Turks could be seen, throughout the first fortnight in April, busily
digging themselves in and wiring their positions. We, on our side, were
no less assiduous in preparations for another battle. Patrols were sent
out to reconnoitre the country, and working parties went out into No
Man's Land to construct ramparts and make all preparations for getting
guns across the Wadi Ghuzzeh. The 74th Division were brought up to
Belah. A few of the newly invented "tanks" arrived from England, and
aroused great expectations.
The day of the second battle of Gaza arrived. On the 16th April, the
force moved out from Belah and crossed the Wadi Ghuzzeh by night. On
this occasion, the first objective was Mansura Ridge, which was captured
without much difficulty. The second, and principal objective, was the
strong line of Turkish positions to the south and south-east of Gaza,
and fronting the Gaza-Beersheba road. The troops detailed for the attack
were the 52nd, the 53rd and the 54th Divisions, the 54th to move forward
from Mansura, the 52nd on their left and the 53rd close to the sea. It
was contemplated that most of our difficulties would be obviated by a
long artillery preparation and by the newly arrived tanks which had
acquired a high reputation in France. Accordingly, the enemy positions
were shelled for two hours, and then the infantry advanced, preceded by
these tanks. But, alas, the tanks were few in number; some were soon put
out of action, or caught fire; and the hopes that they had raised were
disappointed. The infantry advanced over some 3,000 yards of perfectly
open plain, until they reached the enemy's uncut wire; here they were
mown down by the enemy's machine guns. That night, those that were able
to do so, crept back under cover of darkness to Mansura Ridge. The dead
lay where they fell, a gruesome spectacle, for over six months, until
buried by our own parties after the third battle of Gaza. Those that
returned were collected and reorganized at Mansura Ridge, and at once
commenced to dig in at this position. This was the night of the 19th
April. Next morning, the Turks came pouring out of their positions to
gloat over their success. By this time we had done little more than
scratch the surface; had the Turks closed to deliver a determined
counter-attack, they might have made matters distinctly uncomfortable.
As it was, they came out merely as spectators. Our guns opened upon them
and they withdrew. After this, our digging proceeded apace, and we soon
had a satisfactory position entrenched from Mansura to the sea.
There is a saying in the East that the British always come back, meaning
that reverses only make them more determined to try again and to
succeed. Thus did the British come back into the Soudan, and into the
Transvaal. Thus was the surrender of Kut wiped out by the capture of
Baghdad. And so were our losses at Gaza in this spring avenged by our
victory on these same battlefields in the following autumn. For the time
being, however, both sides settled down to the routine life of modern
trench warfare.
Now followed a complete reorganization of our army in Egypt. On the 28th
June, 1917, the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary
Force was taken over by General Sir Edmund Allenby, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. The
organization into an Eastern Force under a subordinate commander, which
had been instituted in the summer of 1916, was abolished, and the force
was organized in Corps. The strength of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force
was augmented, much artillery being added, besides three divisions of
infantry. The 10th (Irish) and the 60th (London) Divisions were brought
across from Salonica. The 75th Division was organized in the country and
consisted of four battalions of Indian troops, taken from the Suez Canal
Zone defences, and nine battalions of West of England Territorials, that
had been in the East since the beginning of the war, and had, for the
most part, been garrisoning India.
When this reorganization was complete, this army was constituted as
follows: The 20th Corps, comprising the 10th (Irish), the 53rd (Welsh),
the 60th (London) and the 74th (Dismounted Yeomanry) Divisions. The 21st
Corps, comprising the 52nd (Scottish Lowland), the 54th (East Anglian)
and the 75th (Wessex and Indian) Divisions. The Desert Mounted Corps,
comprising the Australian Mounted Division, the Anzac Mounted Division
and the Yeomanry Division. General Allenby had, as his Chief-of-Staff,
Major-General L. J. Bols, C.B., D.S.O. In addition to the above troops,
there was, on this front, a composite brigade, consisting of French and
Italians, familiarly known as the "Mixed Vermouth" Brigade. Other
regiments were represented, such as Indian Imperial troops, and
battalions of the British West India Regiment, while representative
units of the Egyptian Army did duty upon the Lines of Communication.
Although each Division was associated with some particular portion of
Great Britain, from which it took its name, the association was not
exclusive. Thus, the 52nd Lowland Division had at least one Highland
Battalion, the 53rd Welsh had more battalions from England than from
Wales, and the 54th East Anglian contained one battalion from London and
one from the South of England. It will be best, therefore, if, in our
future pages, we refer to divisions only by number.
An interesting feature about General Allenby's army was that, from this
time forward, the greater portion consisted of Territorials.