CHAPTER VII NEARING THE HILLS

Early on the morning of the 13th the attack on the enemy positions began.

The Yeomanry Division and the Camel Corps Brigade advanced on the left of our line, with the 52nd Division on their right. Then came the 75th Division and the Australian Mounted Division, the latter covering a front of about eight miles. The orders to this division were to watch the right flank of our line, and attract the enemy's attention, as on the previous two days. In view of the large area of country to be covered, the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade, now Corps Reserve, was stationed at Khurbet Jeladiyeh. The 7th Mounted Brigade relieved the 5th, the horses of which were exhausted. The 2nd and 7th Brigades had only been withdrawn from the line late on the evening of the 11th, and had thus had but one day's complete rest. One of the chief difficulties of the Corps Commander at this time, and one which increased daily, lay in the fact that one or another of his brigades was always on the verge of coming to a standstill owing to the exhaustion of its horses. This fact compelled the continual movement of brigades from one part of the line to another, to relieve others unable to carry on the pursuit, thus increasing the fatigue and distress of the horses.

The country in which our troops were now operating is an undulating, treeless plain, rising here and there[Pg 78] into isolated, rocky hills, similar in character to the country farther south. It is, however, much more populous than southern Palestine, and is extensively cultivated, though at this time of year the crops had all been gathered, and the land was as bare as a village common. Partly, no doubt, for purposes of defence, and partly to avoid wasting the fertile plain land, most of the villages are built on the tops of the hills, where the rock, outcropping over large areas, renders the land unsuitable for cultivation. Many of these villages are surrounded by trees and small enclosed gardens, and some are encircled by stout mud walls. All of them command the surrounding country for a wide space, and, with their walls and cactus hedges, form admirable strong points, very difficult to reduce without the aid of heavy artillery. The village of El Mughar, on its high and rocky ridge, is one of the most prominent of these hill strongholds, and forms a notable landmark from the flat country to the west and south of it.

The 8th Mounted Brigade, leading the Yeomanry Division, approached Yebnah about eight in the morning, and two troops were sent forward to gallop into the village from either side. This was the usual method adopted by our cavalry, when approaching villages during a rapid advance, unless they were definitely known to be strongly held by the enemy. If there proved to be few Turks in the village, or none at all, these troops would signal back to their regiment or brigade to advance. If, however, the village proved to be strongly held, the few men in the exploring troops, moving in extended order and at a very fast pace, seldom sustained many casualties, while they nearly always succeeded in gaining a fairly accurate idea of the numbers of the enemy, the location of his machine guns, etc.

[Pg 79]

In the present case Yebnah was found very lightly held, and the 8th Brigade at once pushed through it, and advanced to the attack of the villages of Zernuka and Kubeibe, on which rested the extreme right flank of the enemy's line. The Turks were found in force in these two places, and the brigade was unable to make any substantial progress, in the face of very heavy machine-gun fire.

The 6th Mounted Brigade remained in divisional reserve at Yebnah, and the 22nd was ordered to try and push between Zernuka and El Mughar, and seize the village of Akir, behind the enemy's line. Intense machine-gun fire from Zernuka, however, on the flank of the line of advance, prohibited the brigade from moving forward till this place had been taken.

A brigade of the 52nd Division attacked the village of Katrah from the south about nine o'clock, and captured it by a fine bayonet charge, taking 600 prisoners and a large number of machine guns. The brigade then advanced on El Mughar, and succeeded in reaching the Wadi Jamus, about half a mile farther north. From the wadi to El Mughar the ground sloped gently upwards, devoid of any cover, and traversed by no depression capable of concealing troops. The infantry extended along the wadi, and attempted to advance up the slope towards El Mughar, but were checked by a tremendous fire from machine guns and riflemen concealed in the gardens of the village, and from field guns in action farther north. It was soon apparent that they could not hope to cross the wide stretch of open ground, and they were withdrawn into the shelter of the wadi. The 52nd Division then sent a message to the Yeomanry, asking the latter to co-operate by attacking El Mughar from the east.

[Pg 80]

General Barrow ordered the 6th Mounted Brigade, which was now extended from Yebnah to El Gheyadah, about a mile north of Beshshit, to carry out the attack.

From his position at El Gheyadah, General Godwin had observed that the infantry advance on El Mughar had been held up, and was anticipating an order to co-operate with his brigade. He had accordingly already got one of his regiments, the Bucks Yeomanry, into the Wadi Jamus, at a point about a mile south-east of Yebnah, and had sent officers' patrols forward to reconnoitre a line of approach. The reports of these patrols confirmed the General's own impression that the enemy position could only be reached by a mounted charge. The country west of El Mughar was just as bare and open as that to the south, over which our infantry had found themselves unable to advance. On the other hand, the absence of obstacles favoured a galloping attack, and, though the distance to be traversed in the open (over two miles) was considerable, there appeared to be a good prospect of the enterprise succeeding, provided it was adequately supported by the R.H.A. and machine gunners.

Having decided on a mounted attack, General Godwin brought up the Dorset Yeomanry, and galloped them across the open in small parties, into the shelter of the Wadi Jamus. This regiment was directed on the left, or northern, end of the enemy position, and the Bucks on a portion of the ridge to the right of the Dorsets' objective, and immediately north of the village itself. The Berks Yeomanry was held in reserve, west of the wadi and near the south end of Yebnah. The Berks Battery R.H.A., which was at Beshshit, and the Machine Gun Squadron were ordered to provide covering fire from the south.[Pg 82] The 8th Mounted Brigade, which was attacking Zernuka, would afford protection to the left flank of the 6th during the action.

map

Diagram illustrating the action of El Mughar

The Berks Battery was soon in action among some trees north of El Beshshit, registering the village of El Mughar, and the ridge to the north of it. The machine gunners, taking advantage of some broken ground south-east of Yebnah, got into the Wadi Shellal el Ghor, and worked their way along it to a position about 1000 yards south-west of El Mughar village.

As soon as the steady bursts of fire from the wadi apprised General Godwin that his machine guns were in action, he gave the order to advance, and the two regiments scrambled up the steep sides of the Wadi Jamus into the open, and trotted forward over the plain in extended order, the squadrons of each regiment following one another at a distance of about 200 yards. Two machine guns on pack horses accompanied each regiment, moving on the outer flanks.

The appearance of the cavalry was the signal for a tremendous fire on both sides. Every weapon the enemy had in action was turned on the advancing lines of cavalry, while the Berks Battery and the 6th Brigade Machine Gun Squadron poured an intense fire on the ridge of Mughar, sweeping it from end to end.

The regiments trotted quietly across the open till they were some half a mile from the enemy position, when they shook out into a fast canter, and swung up the rocky slope at the Turks. A hundred yards from the top the order to charge was given, and the men sat down and rode.

The leading squadron of the Bucks went through the Turks with the sword in ten seconds, killing[Pg 83] many of them, and galloped right over the ridge before they could pull up. Ere the enemy troops had time to rally, the second and third squadrons dashed into them, completing the rout. In a few minutes from the time when the order to charge was given, the Bucks Yeomanry had secured their objective, and commenced to consolidate on the position.

The Dorset Yeomanry, on the left, encountered more broken ground, and the leading squadron dismounted and attacked with the bayonet. The other two squadrons, however, stuck to their horses, and reached the top first. There was not much momentum left in the charge by the time the cavalry met the enemy, but the long swords do not need much pace behind them to do their work properly, and the issue of the fight was never in doubt. Before the dismounted squadron had gained the summit of the ridge, the other two had cleared the position, and the surviving Turks were in flight or had surrendered. Incidentally it may be remarked that the squadron on foot lost more heavily, both in men and horses, than the two that had gone in with the sword.

While the position was being cleared and consolidated, a number of the enemy in the village opened fire on our troops with machine guns, inflicting some loss, and interfering with the work. Two squadrons of the Berks were sent up at a gallop, and fought their way into the village on foot, clearing the Turks out of it, and taking about 400 prisoners.

About 600 enemy dead were counted on the position afterwards, and many more were killed, as they were trying to escape, by the fire of the machine guns which had accompanied each regiment in the[Pg 84] charge. In addition to those taken in Mughar village, 1100 prisoners fell into our hands, with three guns and a large number of machine guns. The enemy's right was completely broken. His troops evacuated Kubeibe and Zernuka after dark, and fell back in considerable confusion.

Our casualties in the two regiments were 129 officers and men and 265 horses killed and wounded, not an unduly heavy bill when compared to the number of enemy dead, and, still more, to the great results obtained.

The 22nd Mounted Brigade rode forward to attack Akir, as soon as Mughar had been taken, but was held up till nightfall by unexpectedly strong enemy opposition. The Brigade rounded up seventy prisoners and a few machine guns retiring from El Mughar, and occupied Akir next morning, the enemy having retired during the night.

Meanwhile, in the centre, the 75th Division had captured Mesmiye with the bayonet, taking 200 prisoners, and reached a point on the Deir Sineid line about two miles west of Junction Station in the evening. The Turks attacked in considerable force during the night, but were driven off, and the division entered Junction Station early next morning.

The Australian Mounted Division advanced a few miles, covering the right flank of the 75th Division, and seized Tel el Turmus without encountering serious opposition. During the day the headquarters of this division, at the village of El Jeladiyeh, three miles east of El Suafir el Sharkiye, got into touch by helio with the 53rd Division twenty miles away to the east, and exchanged news. This was the first and last communication between the two parts of our force, from the day of the battle of Sharia, till the 7th of December, when the 10th A.L.H. Regiment[Pg 85] gained touch with the 53rd Division in the hills ten miles south of Jerusalem, two days before the city fell.

Next day, as soon as it was light enough to see, our line was on the move in pursuit of the enemy.

Early in the morning a couple of armoured cars, sent forward to reconnoitre, entered Junction Station, and drove suddenly into a crowd of some 400 Turks employed in setting fire to the buildings, and doing a little private looting on their own account. The commander of the leading car summoned these men to surrender, and was answered by a scattering volley from their rifles. Whereupon he shut the armoured doors of his car, and charged down upon them, with his machine gun going full blast. The discomfited Turks turned and fled, pursued for two miles by the cars. Over 200 of them were killed or wounded; the remainder escaped into the hills.

The 75th Division entered Junction Station shortly afterwards, and collected 100 prisoners, a number of guns, and a quantity of rolling stock.

The Australian Mounted Division pushed on to the north-east, the 4th Brigade seizing El Tine Station, on the Beersheba line, early in the morning, where large quantities of ammunition and stores were found intact. Continuing their move, units of the division penetrated through the enemy front, which was now broken at Junction Station, and reached the railway two miles east of the station.

The Yeomanry Division, moving in advance of the 52nd, pushed through Akir to Naane. The two brigades which occupied the latter place were heavily shelled by the enemy from about Abu Shusheh, some three miles farther east, but no other opposition was met with.

The rapidity with which the Mughar-Kutrah line[Pg 86] had been captured on the previous day had resulted in the Turkish army being again broken into two separate parts. The thrust of the Yeomanry to Naane had now driven a wedge between these two parts, and the operations of the next two days were directed towards widening the gap. The larger portion of the enemy force entered the hills to the east, and commenced to retire along the main road towards Jerusalem, shepherded by the Yeomanry and Australian Mounted Divisions. The smaller portion retired northwards over the plain, followed by the Anzac Division. The 1st A.L.H. and New Zealand Brigades made good Kubeibe and Zernuka early in the morning, and then advanced on Ramleh and Khurbet Surafend respectively, with the Camel Corps Brigade patrolling the sand dune country on their left. The New Zealanders encountered a force of Turks on the high hill of Ayun Kara (Richon-le-Zion) about two in the afternoon, and drove them off without much difficulty. Half an hour later the Turks emerged from the shelter of the large fruit orchards and vineyards which surround Ayun Kara, and launched an unexpected counter-attack on the New Zealand Brigade. They were well supplied with bombs, and pushed their attack fiercely right up to our line. The New Zealanders then went in with the bayonet, and drove them back to the bottom of the hill, inflicting heavy losses on them. Two squadrons from the 1st Brigade and a company of the Camel Corps reinforced the New Zealand Brigade, which had suffered somewhat severely, but the enemy had had enough, and made no further attack. This was the only serious fighting of the day.

The two brigades held an outpost line for the night from the sea coast, through Ayun Kara to Khurbet Deiran, in touch with the Yeomanry on their right.[Pg 88] The Camel Corps Brigade occupied a support line a short distance farther south. The Yeomanry Division remained in occupation of Akir and Naane, watching the northern exits from the latter place, with the 52nd Division lying behind it about El Mughar. The 75th Division had a brigade in Junction Station, and the remainder of the division at Mesmiye, while the Australian Mounted Division held an outpost line in observation of the country to the south-east.

map

Diagram illustrating the Situation on the 14th November

On the 15th the Anzac Mounted Division, moving northwards over the plain, occupied Ramleh without opposition, taking about 350 prisoners, and on the following day the New Zealand Mounted Brigade entered Jaffa, where it was received with acclamation by the populace. On the 17th the division had reached the Nahr el Auja, near its mouth, without having yet succeeded in bringing the enemy to action. Favoured by the hard ground on the plain, and assisted to some extent by the railway along which they were retreating, the Turks made the best use of the nights during this period, and never stopped till they had put the wide and deep channel of the river Auja between themselves and our troops. They were now located, entrenched along the north bank of the river, from near the sea to about Khurbet Hadrah. The Anzac Division received orders to halt opposite this line, and remain in observation of the enemy, pending the arrival of reinforcements, while the more important task of the advance on Jerusalem was taken in hand.

Meanwhile the Yeomanry division was engaged driving the right half of the enemy army into the hills. The road from Jerusalem to Jaffa runs through a deep and narrow valley in the mountains, which has its outlet at Amwas, near Latron. Here the[Pg 89] valley opens out into the Vale of Ajalon, which slopes gently down to the level of the coastal plain. Running north and south across the western end of the Vale, a bold ridge stands up sharply from the plain, between the villages of Sidun and Abu Shusheh. The northern end of this ridge terminates at Abu Shusheh, and the southern end at the hill of Tel Jezer, the ancient Gezer, round which so many battles have been fought in the past.

The enemy had posted a strong rearguard on the northern end of the ridge, to cover the retreat of his main body up the Jerusalem road. The Yeomanry Division was ordered to dislodge this rearguard, and then clear up the foothill country from Amwas, at the eastern end of the Vale of Ajalon, to Ramleh.

The enemy's position was one of great natural strength, and was held by a force of about 4000 Turks, well supplied with machine guns and artillery. The greater part of this force was distributed in, and on each side of, the village of Abu Shusheh, but a considerable body of Turks with machine guns was stationed some distance farther south, evidently in order to outflank any attack on the village from the west. The country on that side of the position was of an undulating nature, and afforded some cover to troops advancing over it. The ridge itself rose abruptly from this undulating country, a forbidding-looking mass of boulders and scrub. In places the solid rock outcropped from the hill over large areas, and there were a number of caves among the rocks, in many of which the Turks had posted machine guns.

General Barrow directed the 22nd Mounted Brigade and the Camel Corps to attack the hill on the north-west and north respectively, and the 6th Mounted Brigade from the south-west. At seven o'clock the[Pg 90] two former brigades were in action, advancing dismounted. In view of the open nature of the country on the west side of the ridge, and the distance to be covered, General Godwin, who had been reconnoitring the position with his regimental commanders since dawn, decided to repeat his tactics of the 13th. Had he been able to obtain a nearer view of the appalling country over which he was launching his squadrons, it is possible that he might have decided to make at least the final assault on foot, in which case we should have lost a classic example of the capabilities of cavalry when well led.

Having made up his mind to attack mounted, he sent half of the brigade machine guns, covered by a squadron of the Berks Yeomanry, to push forward dismounted, taking advantage of what cover the ground afforded, to a point west of Abu Shusheh, and as close in as possible, from which to engage the enemy machine guns on the ridge. The Berks Battery R.H.A., from a position some 3500 yards south-west of the village, assisted in this task. The Bucks Yeomanry were ordered to charge the enemy at Abu Shusheh, while the remainder of the Berks charged on the left, against a spur running out to the west of the ridge, just north of the village. The Dorset Yeomanry were held in reserve on the right, to protect that flank. The attack of the 22nd Brigade protected the left flank.

As soon as the battery and the machine guns were in action, Colonel Cripps led the Bucks Yeomanry out into the open, in column of squadrons in line of troop columns, and cantered forward towards the village, under a fairly heavy, but ill-directed, fire. As they neared the position, the Yeomanry came under severe enfilade fire from the group of enemy machine guns on the southern[Pg 91] portion of the ridge. Leading his regiment at a gallop into the shelter of some dead ground, Colonel Cripps halted them and signalled back for support. The Dorset Yeomanry were at once sent off to make a turning movement to the south, and take the hostile machine guns in rear. Some of the guns of the Berks Battery were also turned on to this party of the enemy.

The appearance of the Dorsets engaged the attention of the Turkish machine gunners, and the Bucks Yeomanry, taking advantage of the respite, emerged from concealment, and raced at the position.

Their appearance was met by an outburst of hysterical fire from Abu Shusheh, through which they passed almost unscathed, and reached the foot of the ridge. Then, catching their horses short by the head, they put them at the slope. Slipping and sliding, scrambling like cats among the rocks, they galloped up, and went over the Turks with a cheer.

The two squadrons of the Berks galloped up on the left at the same moment, and completed the work. Once our cavalry were in the position the enemy made but a poor fight.

Meanwhile the Dorsets took advantage of the confusion caused in the enemy ranks to charge the machine guns farther south. The charge got well home, and most of the Turks were sabred; the rest surrendered.

While the three regiments were clearing the ridge of isolated parties of the enemy who still showed fight, a force of Turks appeared from among the rocks farther south, and attempted a counter-attack against the right of our troops. The Berks Battery, however, was on the watch, and at once opened a rapid and accurate fire on these Turks, driving them back with heavy losses, and breaking up the counter-[Pg 92]attack. By nine o'clock the whole of this strong position was in our hands, with 360 prisoners, and all the enemy machine guns. About 400 Turks were killed with the sword alone, and many more were found dead on the position, as a result of our gun and machine-gun fire.

Our own losses were extraordinarily light, only thirty-seven of all ranks killed and wounded. The Berks Battery and the Machine Gun Squadron, by their effective covering fire, had helped materially to keep down our casualties; but the chief credit for this desirable result must be given to the Turks themselves, whose shooting during the attack was exceedingly bad, and appeared to be completely out of control. It is probable that among the garrison were many who had spoken with survivors from El Mughar, and we may be sure that the story of that charge had lost nothing in the telling, and probably contributed largely to the 'nerves' of the Turks. The action earned a generous tribute from the Commander-in-Chief, who described it in his despatch as a brilliant piece of cavalry work.

The 22nd Brigade pursued the enemy towards Amwas, rounding up a few prisoners, but the majority of the Turks escaped over the rocky, inaccessible country to the east, where our cavalry had little chance of catching them.