Part 6 (2/2)

Richon-le-Zion, besides sending its quota of young men and women to greet us, sent us also three casks of choice Richon wine, which in those thirsty days the battalion much appreciated.

We remained at Surafend for three days, and during our stay there, were inspected in our bivouac by General Allenby, who again expressed himself as well pleased with all he saw.

Major James de Rothschild came over from Jaffa, where he was then doing recruiting duty, and gave us a G.o.d-speed as we left our pleasant surroundings at Surafend for our journey to the Front.

We marched off at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of the 9th June, and reached El Kubab at 8.15 the same evening. Personally I only went half-way, for I was recalled to Cairo to preside at a General Court-Martial a.s.sembled there for the trial of three Royal Air Force officers who had been performing some unauthorised stunts. I rejoined the Battalion at Umm Suffah, a few miles short of the Turkish lines.

While the 38th was at this place there was an air raid on our lines, but no damage was done.

From El Kubab the Battalion went to Beit Nuba. They left on the 11th, and reached Harith the same day, where they came under the orders of Brigadier-General E. M. Morris, a first-rate soldier commanding the 10th Irish Division. They marched out of Harith at 5 p.m. on the 12th, and arrived at Umm Suffah at 10 p.m. the same day.

We were now among the hills of Samaria and the transport was much delayed on this march owing to the frightfully rough and stony road.

Several wheels got broken and, as a matter of fact, the transport, with the food, etc., did not arrive until the early morning of the 13th.

On the 13th June the Battalion was placed in Divisional Reserve. On Sat.u.r.day the 15th it first came under sh.e.l.l fire while we were holding Divine Service. Sh.e.l.ls exploded quite close to the men, but no damage was done, and the battalion took its baptism of fire quite cheerfully.

During the week that followed the Companies were posted to units already in the line, to gain some knowledge of the country, and to learn the nature of the duties to be carried out in the fighting zone.

Before we took our place in the line we were inspected by the G.O.C.

10th Division, who, when the inspection was over, expressed himself as very pleased with the general appearance and steadiness of the men.

On the 27th June A, B, and C Companies were detailed to garrison supporting points on the front occupied by the 31st Infantry Brigade, to which we were now attached, and which was under the command of Brigadier-General W. B. Emery, a genial gunner.

Battalion Headquarters and D Company moved up to the front on the 30th June and took over the second line of supporting points, from a place known as the Wadi Tiyur to the Wadi Belat, just to the west of the main road running from Jerusalem to Nablus (the ancient Shechem), where it cuts the Wadi Jib some twenty miles north of the Holy City.

On the 3rd July the Battalion relieved 2/101 Grenadiers in the left sector of the 31st Infantry Brigade front, the relief being commenced after dark and completed by 10.15 p.m.

We found the piece of country we took over most interesting. We occupied the summits of the hills facing the Turkish position, and were responsible for some three or four miles of front.

Our right rested upon Jiljilia, a pretty hamlet of Samaria, and our left upon Abwein, a strong, stone-built Arab village, nestling half-way down a steep hillside, surrounded by fig and olive trees. Our line on the hills between these two places twisted and turned about like a snake, for of course we conformed to the nature of the ground. Our frontage towards the enemy descended into the valley, some 200 feet below, in a series of rocky terraces, each having a drop of from six to twenty feet.

These terraces and hill slopes were dotted with olive trees. A wadi, called the Wadi Gharib, ran through the narrow valley which lay at the bottom, and then there was a very steep ascent up the opposite side to the Turkish line.

Our front wire was actually a few hundred yards down over the crest of the hill on the Turkish side, for from this position we had a better field of fire.

When we took over this position from Lieut.-Colonel Strong, the O.C. of the 2/101 Grenadiers, a considerable amount of work necessarily remained to be done, building stone sangars, digging trenches, making roadways, and generally improving the position in every possible way.

Our line was divided into four sections, one company guarding each part, Major Neill on the extreme right holding Jiljilia, and Captain Brown with his Company in Abwein.

We at once a.s.sumed a vigorous offensive policy; our patrols were pushed out every night down into the valley, and often up to the Turkish wire on the opposite hills. During daylight only the Observation Posts were manned along our front wire. A couple of men in each vantage point, equipped with field gla.s.ses or telescopes, and provided with a telephone, kept us informed of any movement in the Turkish lines. As soon as darkness had fallen each company marched its men over the crest of the hills and took up position in the sangars and defence posts along the barbed wire fence. All night long work and building, etc., went on, the unfortunate men getting very little rest. Listening posts were established well out beyond the wire, and strong patrols went down the ledges looking for trouble in Turkish territory. Our aggressive policy thoroughly scared the Turks, so much so that they never once attempted to come anywhere near our front.

Just as dawn was breaking, having made certain by means of patrols and scouts that no Turks were in the neighbourhood, the troops returned to their bivouacs behind the crest, leaving only the Observation Posts on the watch.

I had a very good Intelligence Officer in Lieutenant Simon Abrahams, who explored ”no man's land” very methodically, and who earned a high measure of praise from our Brigade Commander. Abrahams would go out with a daring scout like Pte. Angel (who afterwards won the M.C.) and sketch roads, routes, tracks, etc., right under the very noses of the Turks, and so careful was he, and so secretive, that his presence on the debatable ground was never even suspected by the enemy.

It might be thought that when the men had finished their night's vigil they would be allowed to rest, but instead of this, as soon as a hasty breakfast had been swallowed, they immediately had to fix up barbed wire entanglements, build stonework redoubts, gun emplacements, make railways down the hills, or bury animals which had died or been killed in somebody else's camp.

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