HOW ZION MULES UPSET TURKISH PLANS
It will be remembered that I left Claude Rolo on V Beach to take charge
of our gear as it came off the _Dundrennon_, while Gye was left aboard
that vessel to hurry everything ashore; but it was not until the third
day that we had disembarked all our belongings, the delay being entirely
due to the shortage of steam tugs, on which I have already commented.
During the time that our gear was stacked on V Beach, with, of course, a
guard in charge of it, one of the sentries became the object of
suspicion to the French, who were now in entire control of V Beach.
After a few minutes, finding he could speak no understandable language
(for he only spoke Russian or Hebrew, which, no doubt, sounded Turkish
to the French), and seeing that he was armed with a Turkish rifle and
bayonet and had Turkish cartridges in his belt, he was taken for a
daring Turk who had invaded the beach to spy out the land. Without more
ado, he was tried by drum-head court-martial and condemned to be shot
out of hand. He was actually up against the walls of Sedd-el-Bahr
Castle, and the firing party in position to carry out the execution,
when the Sergeant in charge of the Zionist Guard luckily spied what was
happening, and, as he spoke excellent French, he rapidly explained the
situation. The man was released, but the shock was too much for him, and
when he was unbound he was found to be paralysed, and it was two months
before he was fit for duty again. After this, I allowed none of my men
to leave camp unless they could speak English or were accompanied by
some one who could act as interpreter.
Gye and Rolo worked hard to move the pile of equipment--water tins,
forage, etc., etc., to the little valley where the rest of the Corps
were already snugly encamped, overlooking W Beach. I was extremely glad
to have these two officers with me again, because, during these three
days and nights since the landing, while we were separated, I had had a
very strenuous time.
I remember when Gye saw me for the first time after coming ashore, he
got quite a shock, and I believe he must have imagined that I had been
indulging in some frightful orgy, because he observed that the whites of
my eyes were as red as burning coals; but it was only an orgy of work
and want of sleep.
I may say that when I did sleep I slept very soundly indeed, for a high
explosive shell dropped within seven or eight feet of my head, exploded,
blew a great hole in the ground, yet I never even heard it!
This feat was outdone by a man who, on being roused in the morning,
found himself lame, and then discovered that he had been shot through
the foot some time in the night, while asleep!
The work, owing to Gye and Rolo being with me, was now considerably
lightened, as we each took a convoy out to different parts of the front,
and so got the distribution of supplies through much more quickly. I was
unable at that time to make use of my Jewish officers, with the
exception of Captain Trumpledor, for they were without experience and
could not speak English. Later on they were able to take charge of
convoys and did the work very well.
Gye, Rolo and I made a cheery little party and never found the time hang
heavy on our hands, nor were we ever dull for a moment, even when we
returned from convoy work at two o'clock in the morning. We would then
have dinner together, and Gye was such a wonderful story-teller, and
Claude Rolo was such a good second, and he also possessed such an
infectious laugh, that I have often literally fallen from the box on
which I was sitting, convulsed with merriment. I am sure the men of L
Battery, R. H. A., who were camped close by, must have wondered what all
this unseemly racket was about at such unearthly hours of the morning.
Gye's knowledge of colloquial Arabic was profound. It is related of him
in Egypt that a Cairo street loafer on one occasion maliciously annoyed
him, whereupon Gye turned upon him and let loose such a flood of Arabic
slang, minutely vituperating the fellow himself and his ancestors for
fourteen generations back, that, despairing of ever reaching such
heights of eloquence, the loafer, out of sheer envy, went straight away
and hanged himself!
In this first little bivouac of ours I spread my ground sheet and
blanket in the corner of what had been a house. The guns of the Fleet
had evidently got on to it and now nothing was left standing but some of
the walls, which in places were about three or four feet high.
A day or two after settling in here I happened to jump down from one of
these walls and the ground gave way somewhat under me. We made an
excavation into it and discovered, hidden away in an underground
chamber, an old green silk flag, so ancient that a touch rent it, an
antiquated battle-axe dating, I should say, from the time of the
Crusaders, and also some antique brass candlesticks--a curious and rare
find in such a place.
It must not be supposed that the Turks left us in peace during the day.
They constantly dropped shells into our little valley, tearing holes in
the ground all round us, but by great good fortune while we were in this
place we suffered no casualty of any kind, either man or mule.
On May 1st, after nightfall, I sent Claude Rolo out in the direction of
the Gully Ravine, with ammunition and supplies for one of the Brigades
of the 29th Division. He got to his destination safely, but while he was
unloading the convoy, at about ten o'clock, whether by chance or design
I know not, a tremendous hail of shrapnel was poured upon them from the
Turkish guns a couple of miles away. Some forty of the mules had already
been relieved of their loads and many of these broke away and galloped
off into the darkness.
This turned out to be a providential diversion, for they helped to save
the British Army that night, in much the same way as the cackling geese
once saved Rome, for, all unknown to us, masses of Turks were at that
very moment creeping up in the dark just before the rise of the moon.
They were in three lines, the first line being without ammunition, as it
was their particular business, when they got near enough to our
trenches, to rush them with the bayonet. The Turkish General Staff,
however, had not calculated on Zion mules! The terrified animals, scared
and wounded by the shrapnel, careered over our trenches and clattered
down with clanking chains on the stealthy foe. The Turks undoubtedly
took them for charging cavalry, for they poured a volley into them and
thus gave away their position.
Our men instantly lined the trenches and opened such an intense fire
that the Turks were utterly routed, and those of them that were left
alive fled back to the cover of their own trenches. The battle was taken
up all along the line, and, if volume of musketry counts for anything,
it was the hottest night fight we had during all the time we were on the
Peninsula.
Claude Rolo had a most arduous and perilous time collecting his men and
mules in the midst of all this turmoil, but he eventually got them
together and took them down a side track to the Gully, into which they
all scrambled helter-skelter, for safety.
One of the men, Private Groushkousky, distinguished himself greatly in
this fight, for when the hail of shrapnel descended on the convoy and
stampeded many of the mules, this plucky boy--for he was a mere
youth--although shot through both arms, held on to his plunging animals
and safely delivered his loads of ammunition to the men in the firing
line. I promoted Private Groushkousky to the rank of Corporal, for his
pluck and devotion to duty, and, in addition, recommended him for the
D. C. M., which I am glad to say he obtained.
While Rolo and his men were having such a strenuous time on the left of
the line, I took a convoy to the Brigade holding the centre. At about
two o'clock in the morning, soon after we had returned, we were all
having a much-needed sleep, for we were worn out with constant coming
and going day and night. I was roused from a deep slumber into which I
had fallen by a messenger to say ammunition was urgently required by the
Anson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division and other units on the right
flank of our line. I remember what a difficult task it was to rouse the
men, who lay about on the ground, like rolled-up balls, in front of
their mules. I found a very effective plan was to shout loudly in their
ear: "Turks!" That, coupled with the roar of the guns and the crackling
of the rifles, quickly brought them back to realities, and almost in the
twinkling of an eye the Zion men were loading up cartridges with
feverish speed at the Ordnance Depot, which was situated not many yards
below our lines. I always kept our mules saddled throughout the day and
night, in relays, for I knew that in those strenuous times I would be
likely to get a call at any moment to supply the firing line with
ammunition.
No matter at what hour of the day or night we went to the ammunition
stack, Major Howell Jones, the Chief Ordnance Officer of the 29th
Division, was always on the spot to issue it; and not only was he there,
but if there was any "push" on, he turned to and helped to load up the
mules with his own hands. He was one of the hardest-worked men on the
Peninsula, and I sincerely hope that the 29th Division realises all it
owes to his energy and foresight.
In those early days after the first landing, when we were pressing the
Turks so steadily before us, and we all expected that one final push
would drive them over Achi Baba, the Zionists petitioned General
Hunter-Weston to be permitted to take part in the assault. After some
consideration, the General refused to let us go, saying that we were
performing invaluable services in keeping the men in the trenches
supplied with ammunition and food. Although we were denied officially
the privilege of actually taking part in the attack, yet unofficially
some of the Corps, at least, had the gratification of joining battle
with the Turks.
It must be remembered that our troops had suffered terrible losses in
those early battles, and the Inniskilling Fusiliers had fared no better
than the rest, and they had very few men indeed with which to man their
trenches in the event of an attack. Now it so happened that the Turks
made a determined onslaught upon them on one occasion, when a party of
the Zion Mule Corps was close by, unloading a convoy; and these
Zionists, having the lust of battle strong in them, and seeing how weak
the Inniskillings were, left their mules to take care of themselves and,
under the leadership of Corporal Hildersheim, leaped into the trenches
and materially assisted in repelling the Turks.