CHAPTER XIV THE VALLEY OF DESOLATION

The Commander-in-Chief had now to decide whether or not he should hold the Jordan Valley during the summer. Local authorities declared emphatically that it was impossible for Europeans to exist there during the summer months, owing to the intense heat and the prevalence of malaria of a most virulent type. They pointed to the fact that even the native Arabs move out of it to the hills during the hot weather, and that Jericho itself is deserted. The only inhabitants of the district during the summer are the small and miserable tribe of the Abid Miriam, a people of negroid origin, descendants of African slaves imported by the Arabs in former times. These live about Ain el Duk, where they carry on a rude form of irrigation by means of a few of the old, Roman water channels that still exist.

The official military handbook of Palestine confirmed the local opinion by the statement that 'Nothing is known of the climate of the lower Jordan Valley in summer time, since no civilised human being has yet been found to spend a summer there'!

On the other hand, there were several strong reasons for continuing to hold the valley line if possible. Some of these have been indicated at the beginning of Chapter XI., but there was now another, and stronger, reason for holding it, which was to confirm the enemy in his belief that we intended to strike east of the Jordan in our next big advance.[Pg 178] Moreover, since it was clear that it would be necessary to occupy the valley and the river crossings, when the next advance was commenced, it was considered less costly to continue to hold it during the summer than to have to retake it later on.

After careful consideration, General Allenby resolved to hold the valley line permanently, and, as several of the German staff documents which we had captured assumed that we would strike in that part of our line near which the cavalry was stationed, it was decided to put them there.

The line was accordingly organised in two sectors. The left sector extended from the foot of the Jud?an mountains, along the north bank of the Wadi el Auja, to its junction with the Jordan, and included the bridge and bridgehead there. A rocky ridge, several hundred feet high, ran north and south through this position, from Tel el Sultan, near Jericho, and extended north of the Auja, along the hill of Abu Tellul, ending in an abrupt bluff at Musallabeh. This ridge was held by us, so that this portion of the line resembled a fist with the first finger extended, the finger representing the ridge, and the Wadi el Auja the line of the knuckles. Abu Tellul and Musallabeh overlooked a dreary expanse, part swamp, part stony plain, covered with large patches of dense scrub, and intersected by innumerable deep wadis. The Turks were able to move unseen among the scrub and wadis all round the salient in our line, a fact which caused us much annoyance all the time we were in occupation of the valley. It was, however, necessary to hold Abu Tellul and Musaliabeh, both to preserve the water supply of the Auja for ourselves, and to deny it to the enemy.

The right sector extended from the mouth of the Auja, along the right bank of the Jordan, to the[Pg 179] Dead Sea, and included the bridges and bridgehead at Ghoraniyeh.

The reorganisation of the cavalry was completed by the middle of May, and the Desert Mounted Corps now consisted of the Anzac and Australian Mounted Divisions and the 4th and 5th (Indian) cavalry divisions.[21] The valley line was held by two cavalry divisions, one in each sector, supported by a brigade of Indian infantry, and two battalions of the British West Indies Regiment. This organisation permitted of two divisions at a time being withdrawn to rest in camps established in the cool hills near Bethlehem, so that each cavalry division had alternatively a month on duty in the valley, and a month at rest in the hills. For the gunners of the Corps, however, there was no relief, owing to the shortage of artillery in the force, and they had to pass the whole summer in the valley, till the end of July, an experience which none of them is ever likely to forget.

In past ages the Dead Sea covered a much greater area than it does at the present day. The lower Jordan valley is, therefore, the bottom of the old sea, and is covered with a layer of white marl, several feet deep, which is strongly impregnated with salt. In spring the land supports a little thin grass, but the fierce sun of early summer scorches it in a few days to brittle dust. Under the feet of men and horses the marl of the valley floor soon broke up into a white powder, as fine as flour, which lay everywhere, in places over a foot deep. Every morning, after a breathless night, a strong hot wind arose from the north, and swept the dust down the valley in dense, choking clouds. About eleven o'clock in the morning the wind used to die down as suddenly as it had arisen, and for about half an hour there was[Pg 180] a period of deathlike stillness, accompanied by the most intense heat of the day. Then the wind recommenced violently, but blowing from the south, and continued till about eight in the evening. Innumerable, violent air currents swept about the valley, often carrying along 'dust devils' of immense height. It was no uncommon thing for one of these devils to tear up a tent, and lift it bodily high into the air.

There was a tiny patch of green cultivation at Ain el Duk, about five miles behind our line, and another at Jericho, and a few dusty thorn trees grew along the Wadi el Auja. The rest of the valley was a barren and awful wilderness of dust, stones, and boulders, inhabited, before we came, only by snakes and scorpions.

The average maximum daily temperature during July, as taken at the R.A. Headquarters on the top of the Tel el Sultan-Abu Tellul Ridge, was 113·2° F. in the shade. The highest reading recorded during the month was 122° and the lowest 107°. At the foot of the ridge the temperature was about 3° higher, and at Ghoraniyeh it reached 130° on several occasions. During August the temperature rose still higher, but no daily record was then kept of the thermometer readings. The tremendous evaporation of the Dead Sea keeps the atmosphere moist, and adds to the discomfort caused by the great heat, while the increased air pressure, due to the depth of the valley floor below sea level (1200 feet at Ghoraniyeh), induces a feeling of lassitude against which it is difficult to fight.

The effect of the climate on the horses was most remarkable. After about three weeks in the valley, they became so tired and dispirited, though they had little or no work to do, that they could scarce drag themselves the mile or so to water and back again.

[Pg 181]

An unceasing campaign was carried on by the medical staff of the Corps against the malaria-bearing mosquitoes which infested the valley, and this undoubtedly did much to lessen the incidence of malaria, especially of the malignant type, among the troops. In spite of all efforts, however, the sick rate was high, as it was bound to be under such conditions. Deaths and evacuations of sick to hospital averaged together about one per cent. of the total strength per day, which meant that the whole force in the valley would have to be replaced every three months. Actually, however, the alternate month in the hills enjoyed by the cavalry enabled many men, who had been sent to hospital, to recover in time to do another tour of duty in the valley. Curiously enough the Indian troops suffered more severely than did the British.

In this climate, and under such conditions, His Majesty's troops, white, brown, and black, held the line throughout the summer of 1918, and it is safe to say that few other troops in the Great War endured greater hardships and discomfort than did the Jordan Valley force.

There was but one action of importance during the summer. On the 14th July two Turkish divisions, supported by three battalions of German infantry, attacked our positions at Musallabeh and Abu Tellul from the west. Under cover of darkness the German troops, having cut our wire, penetrated between two of our posts, and actually reached our second line on the top of Abu Tellul, which was not occupied, owing to lack of troops.

The 1st A.L.H. Brigade was holding this sector of the line at the time, supported by a miscellaneous collection of artillery—horse, field, mountain and siege. The attack was preceded by a very heavy enemy[Pg 182] bombardment, which cut all our telephone wires. The batteries were thus, early in the fight, out of touch with their observers, and, as the latter had in some cases to move hurriedly from their posts to avoid capture, it was some time before communications could be re-established. In the meantime the batteries continued to fire on their S.O.S. lines.

The commanding officer of the 2nd A.L.H. regiment, against which the brunt of the attack fell, narrowly escaped capture, but succeeded with his staff in reaching a post in the second line on Abu Tellul. In the uncertain light just before dawn, he observed a large body of troops coming up the hill towards him, and at first took these for some of his own men retiring from the outer posts. When they reached the wire, however, and began to cut it, he realised that they were the enemy, and at once gave the order to open rapid fire on them. This had the effect of driving the Germans, who were ignorant of the fact that there were only twelve men in front of them, away to the right, where they occupied a post near the end of Abu Tellul, known as the Bluff.

Meanwhile the artillery officer with this section of the defence, who had had both his signallers wounded, succeeded in getting a runner back to one of the Horse Artillery batteries, with news of the state of affairs. An officer at once set out from his battery with two signallers, and, riding as far as the foot of Abu Tellul, under very heavy shell fire, dismounted, and set to work repairing the telephone wires. Having got into communication with the battery, the officer went forward on foot with his signallers, running out a fresh wire, and reached the top of Abu Tellul just after daylight. Here he found two officers and twelve men of the reserve regiment of the 1st A.L.H. Brigade, who were on their way to counter-attack the Bluff, a[Pg 183] strongly entrenched position in which there were, at the time, some eighty German infantry! The party moved forward cautiously, taking advantage of the cover afforded by the numerous rocks, but had not gone far when an enemy shell burst among them, killing and wounding six. One of the officers thereupon went back for reinforcements, and the remaining nine, including the gunners, continued their advance. After going a short distance farther, they observed a number of the enemy near the Bluff, some 200 yards distant. Fortunately the telephone line still held, so the fire of the battery was directed on the enemy. The little 13-pounder H.E. shell burst with excellent effect among the rocks of the position, and the Germans very soon had enough of them, and surrendered. They were collected, to the number of forty, disarmed, and put in charge of two of the Australians, while the 'counter-attack,' now reduced to seven, moved forward again. Another body of the enemy was soon discovered occupying the end part of Abu Tellul. The battery opened fire on these, and after a few minutes, believing that they were cut off, they too put up a white flag and laid down their arms. There were six officers and eighty men here, and their chagrin was great on discovering that they had surrendered to seven men. However, they were told that the rest of their force had been repulsed, and that our battery was quite ready to open fire again, if need arose. The two parties were quickly hustled away to the rear, being liberally shelled by their own gunners on the way.

While this little comedy was being enacted at the end of the Abu Tellul Ridge, daylight had come, and the enemy's only chance of capturing the position had passed. Our outer posts, though surrounded, had all held out, and turned the fire of their machine[Pg 184] guns with good effect on the enemy on the southern end of Abu Tellul. Some of these worked south to the part of the ridge overlooking the Wadi el Auja, and suddenly found themselves looking down on a battery of mountain howitzers that were firing in the opposite direction, at some Turks who were attempting to cross the wadi. The howitzers were immediately turned end for end in their pits, and fired up the hill straight into the faces of the astonished Germans, who retired discomfited, to hide among the rocks and trenches farther north till gathered in by our troops later on.

By now the 5th A.L.H. regiment and the New Zealand Mounted Brigade, which had been sent up in support, had arrived on the scene. Pushing along both sides of the Abu Tellul Ridge, they quickly drove out the rest of the enemy, and restored the position.

The two Turkish divisions, which were to have attacked on each side of the German troops, had waited for daylight to make their assault, with the result that they were easily driven off. The southern force, indeed, only attacked once, and that but half-heartedly, but the division on the enemy's left made three attempts on Musallabeh, only to be driven back each time with heavy loss by a murderous machine-gun fire. The Turks left about 200 dead on the positions.

By ten o'clock in the morning the whole position was completely restored, and our prisoners (380 Germans and about 200 Turks) were on their way back to headquarters.

At this juncture there occurred an incident so typical of the Hun that it is worth recording. As they were marching back, a number of the German officers and men commenced to show evident signs[Pg 185] of distress, and presently began to drop insensible by the wayside. As they had only light field service caps on their heads, it was thought that they had been overcome by the sun. Ambulance carts were sent for, and the sufferers were conveyed to a field hospital near by, attended on the way with the most solicitous care by their Australian escort. On arrival at the hospital, however, it was discovered that they were merely speechlessly drunk, whereupon the incensed Australians soused them unceremoniously with water, and sent them on their way to the prisoners' compounds without more ado. It transpired afterwards that several small parties of Germans had been detailed to cut our telephone wires as soon as they had penetrated our lines. While engaged on this work they had stumbled on a tent, pitched in a little gully, in which were stored several cases of beer and one or two of whisky, which had been brought up at very great trouble for the men of the 2nd A.L.H. regiment. Unable to resist this liquor, the Germans, officers and men, abandoning their task of wire cutting, fell upon the cases, and, knocking off the heads of the bottles, poured the contents down their throats. When they had drunk all they could hold, they smashed the rest of the bottles, and staggered away, to be captured disgracefully by our troops. Had any of them been on the scene when the thirsty Australians repaired to the tent after being relieved from the trenches, they would undoubtedly have shared the fate of the bottles!

During the attack on Musallabeh and Abu Tellul the enemy was observed to be massing for an attack east of the river Jordan, opposite El Henu ford, about half-way between Makhadet Hajlah and the Dead Sea. The Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade immediately moved out from Ghoraniyeh to attack.[Pg 186] Taking advantage of the cover afforded by the broken ground and scrub on the east bank, the cavalry arrived within charging distance before they were observed. They charged at once, and routed the Turks, killing ninety with the spear, and taking about 100 prisoners and several machine guns.

During the remainder of the period spent in the Jordan Valley, action on both sides was confined to artillery activity, in which the enemy, owing to the freedom of movement he enjoyed, had the advantage of us, and to patrol work, in which our troops, more especially the Indian Cavalry, had it all their own way. The only sources of water, other than the Jordan, were the Wadi el Auja, which was used by the troops and horses in the left sector, and the Wadi Nueiameh, which arose at Ain el Duk, and flowed into the Jordan at El Ghoraniyeh. The latter wadi was used by the Headquarters of the Valley Defences and by the field ambulances and supply and ordnance troops. The east side of the Tel el Sultan-Abu Tellul Ridge, which was only about 7000 yards from the Jordan, was occupied by horse lines, ammunition column camps, and field hospitals. Early in July the enemy, who had received considerable artillery reinforcements, pushed a number of field guns and heavy howitzers southwards, east of the Jordan, and commenced a systematic shelling of these troops. Camps and horse lines had to be moved, and scattered about in sections, in most inconvenient situations, along the bottoms of small wadis running down from the ridge into the plain. Some protection was obtained by these measures, but there was not sufficient room in the wadis for all the units, and those which had to remain in the open suffered under a constant, galling shell fire, and had to shift their camps every few days.

[Pg 187]

The whole of the Wadis el Auja and Nueiameh was under the enemy's observation either from Red Hill and other high ground east of the Jordan, or from the foothills west and north-west of Abu Tellul. The Turks took full advantage of this to shell our watering parties almost every day. The drinking-places were frequently changed, and every effort was made to distract the enemy's attention, during the hours when horses were being watered, by shelling his positions vigorously. But the dense clouds of dust raised by even the smallest parties of horses on the move, generally gave the game away, and we had constant trouble and numerous casualties among men and horses.

About the same time as the Turks became aware of the possibilities of artillery on the east bank of the Jordan, they got a six-inch long-range gun in position in the hills north-west of our line in the valley, and shelled Ghoraniyeh, Jericho, and other back areas at a range of some 20,000 yards. The gun was nicknamed 'Jericho Jane' by our gunners, and the name found its way eventually into the Corps' Daily Intelligence Report. But when the enemy brought up two more such guns into about the same position, and the three were referred to in the daily report from one of the R.A. Headquarters as 'Jericho Jane and her two wicked sisters,' the powers that were decreed that such slang was inappropriate in official reports!

For the first week 'Jericho Jane' confined her unwelcome attentions to Jericho, into which she put about thirty shells, and to various camps and horse lines in the neighbourhood. But, when her wicked sisters arrived, they at once commenced to pay court to the 13th Cavalry Brigade, which was in reserve at the time, and was camped about Ain el Duk on the[Pg 188] west side of the ridge. This position had hitherto been deemed the only safe spot in the whole horrible valley, and it was a sad blow to the 13th Brigade, who had a comfortable camp close to water, to find their sanctuary invaded by these outrageous viragoes.

The first shot hit the top of the Mount of Temptation, just above the rock-hewn hermitage of a community of Greek monks. The line of fire then moved slowly down the mountain side, the thunderous crashes of the bursting shells sending the good monks to the shelter of their rock cells quicker than ever the prayer bell had done. Meantime the cavalry were breaking camp in record time. Before the first shell burst in the camp, the whole brigade was mounted and moving southwards into the Wilderness, homeless as the Children of Israel. The 'safe' camp, the envy of all the valley, with its outlook over a beautiful patch of vivid green at Ain el Duk, was abandoned to the snake and the scorpion, and the indignant troops had to find such shelter as was available here and there in the bottoms of arid, dusty wadis.

The three sisters were eventually spotted by aeroplanes, and silenced by some of our heavy artillery in the mountain sector. In the valley itself, it was almost impossible to locate the enemy guns. Owing to the very broken nature of the country, the damp atmosphere and the constant dust, our aeroplanes were unable to spot them, even when firing, and they caused us constant annoyance, while remaining almost immune from our fire. Flying over the valley was at all times most hazardous work, owing to the innumerable vortices and pockets in the air, and there were many bad accidents.

The Australian Mounted Division left the valley finally on the 1st August, followed shortly after[Pg 189]wards by the 5th Cavalry Division. The two divisions were relieved by the 4th and the Anzac Divisions. Marching by easy stages during the night, and remaining hidden by day among vineyards and olive groves, they crossed the mountains to the coastal plain, and went into camp in the neighbourhood of Selmeh and Ludd.

The blessed coolness of the nights, and the clear and comparatively bracing air of the plain, soon began to have a good effect on the jaded troops and horses, worn out by their long periods in the dismal Valley of Desolation. Training recommenced at once, and continued till the middle of September, when the two divisions marched into positions of hiding, preparatory to the Great Drive. The 4th Cavalry Division, having left the valley on the 11th September, joined them on the 17th.

The Anzac Division remained sweltering by the Jordan till after the commencement of the September operations, suffering greatly from sickness, but 'carrying on' with the cheerfulness and courage typical of the Australians.

Just before leaving the valley, the writer heard an Australian trooper sum up the all-pervading horror of the place in a characteristic sentence. After gazing for some time at the hideous expanse of white dust and blistering rocks at his feet, he remarked slowly: 'Well, I reckon God made the Jordan Valley, and when He seen what He done, He threw stones at it!'
FOOTNOTES:

[21] See Appendix I. a. for detail of cavalry.