Part 21 (1/2)

I may mention that I had scores of protests from the men, often daily, owing to the persecution to which they were subjected while we were at Bir Salem. Is it to be wondered at that, suffering all these things, some of the American volunteers at last became restive and asked themselves, ”Why should we serve England and be treated like dogs?”

I often felt it necessary to speak to the men, for I knew that their loyalty was strained almost to breaking-point. At such moments I told them that the honour of Jewry rested on their shoulders, and no matter what provocation they might be subjected to, they must at all times remain steadfast. The Imperial Government in England was sound and sympathetic to their ideals, and eventually justice must prevail, and the evil days through which we were pa.s.sing would soon come to an end. I appealed to them as Jews to be good soldiers, and, to their credit, they always responded.

Before this persecution became acute volunteers were called for to serve with the Army of Occupation in Palestine. Several hundred American enthusiasts in the battalion offered their services, but owing to the treatment they received their enthusiasm died out, and they requested that they should be demobilized and repatriated. A small party of these American citizens who were on outpost duty at Belah, some sixty miles to the south of Bir Salem, sent in a signed memorial requesting demobilization; otherwise they stated that they would refuse to do duty after a certain date which was mentioned. This doc.u.ment I, of course, forwarded to Divisional Headquarters.

I had been writing to the authorities for months, requesting that these men should be demobilized and sent back to the United States, and at last I heard, unofficially, that the order for repatriation was on its way.

I sent my adjutant to inform the Belah men that their release was coming through in the course of a few days, and to tell them to carry on meanwhile like good soldiers.

More than half of the men responded, but the rest, being young and untrained, refused to perform any further soldierly duties after the expiry of the time limit; they just remained quietly in their tents, for they wished to bring matters to a head.

I am glad to say that the Jewish soldiers, both Americans and British, serving with me at Bir Salem, stood firm and carried out their duties as usual.

After personal investigation into the conduct of these foolish youths at Belah I remanded them for trial by Field General Court Martial, and forwarded the charge sheets, with summaries of evidence, to General Z. I had framed the charge sheets most carefully, but apparently my drafting did not suit the General, for he framed fresh charges of mutiny, and sent his A.D.C. with them to me for immediate signature. I had but a moment to scan the charge sheets, for the A.D.C. was impatient to catch a train which was due to leave. I did not like the General's drafting, but, being a very obedient soldier, I duly signed the doc.u.ments as ordered and handed them back to the waiting Staff officer, wis.h.i.+ng him luck with them as he galloped off.

According to King's Regulations, a soldier remanded for trial by Court Martial has the right to request the help of an officer to act as his friend at the trial, and, of course, it is the bounden duty of such officer to do everything in his power to get the accused acquitted. The Belah men pet.i.tioned Lieutenant Jabotinsky to act as their advocate, and he, somewhat unwillingly, a.s.sented to undertake the ungrateful task. He was not anxious to defend these men of Belah because he held that they should have carried out their duties faithfully to the end, even although they felt that they had a grievance against authority.

The trial took place at Kantara, and, in the course of it, Lieutenant Jabotinsky pointed out a fatal flaw in the charge sheets, with the result that the charge of mutiny failed, and the Court had to be dissolved. The President (who belonged to Major-General Louis Jean Bols'

late Regiment) was furious at the fiasco, and said, ”This is all the fault of Colonel Patterson, and I shall report him.” My adjutant, Captain Sandison, a staunch and st.u.r.dy Scot, was present in Court as Prosecutor, and, knowing all the facts of the case, at once turned on the President and said, ”You have no right, Sir, to make such a statement about my Commanding Officer. The G.O.C. Division rejected his charge sheets, which were in perfect order, and framed the faulty ones himself, so now you know whom to report.”

A new Court had to be convened, but the men were now arraigned merely on the lesser charge of disobeying an order. Even on this lesser charge they were savagely sentenced to various terms of penal servitude, ranging from seven years downwards. Had they been found guilty by the first Court on the charge of mutiny I presume they would all have been shot!

I am confident that if these young Americans had been properly trained as soldiers, this Belah incident would never have taken place. I had given the authorities ample warning of what was likely to happen when these recruits were thrust upon me, but my advice was ignored.

All I can say is that if an Australian, English, Irish, or a Scottish battalion had been treated as this Jewish battalion was treated, Divisional Headquarters would have gone up in flames and the General himself would have been lucky to escape.

Be it noted that the mutineers of other British units, the men who had openly defied all authority and set Kantara in a blaze, were not even put on trial!

Until the recruits were forcibly thrust upon me, I can vouch for it that the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers was one of the most exemplary units that ever took the field, crime being practically unknown. The men endured hard marching, hard knocks, fatiguing manual labour, at times scanty rations of food and water, the seething heat of the Jordan Valley and the anti-Semitism of the local military authorities, and withal gained the highest praise from the General Officer Commanding under whom they served in the field.

Notwithstanding the fact that we were so despitefully used, the authorities found that the men's services were invaluable. In addition to garrisoning large areas of Palestine, I had officers, N.C.O.s, and men, holding all kinds of important posts throughout the E.E.F., from Aleppo to Cairo. The demand for men from the 38th Battalion was ever on the increase, for executive officers found the Jewish soldier steady, sober and reliable, three qualities, the importance of which I was always impressing on the men, although, as a matter of fact, sobriety is one of the outstanding virtues of the Jewish soldier.

CHAPTER x.x.x.

THE FALL OF GOLIATH.

The violent anti-Semitism shown by General Z at last reached such a pitch that on one occasion (the 16th July to be exact), he rode into camp and, without the slightest provocation, abused and insulted the men, threatened one of them, and actually went so far as to strike an unoffending private soldier with his whip, using at the same time language which would make Billingsgate blush.

I was not present at this outrage, but I heard a full account of all that happened from various eye-witnesses who reported the affair, and all I could imagine was that the General must have suddenly gone insane.

The whole battalion was in an uproar, and I had much ado to pacify the men and keep things going.

The man who was struck was sent to Hospital with a swollen arm, and the other men who were specifically insulted reported to me at the orderly room and complained of the treatment they had received. I forwarded their complaint to General Z, together with the sick report of the man he had struck with his whip. He replied requesting me to have these particular men paraded so that he might speak to them.

I arranged for this embarra.s.sing interview, and, to prevent any hostility which the outraged battalion might have shown towards General Z when he entered the camp, I kept the men in their tents, with N.C.O.s in charge of each door, with instructions to see that no untoward incident took place.

On arrival the General apologised to the insulted men, but so indignant were they that at first they refused to accept it, or to shake hands when he offered to do so. Finally, after over half-an-hour's persuasion, they agreed to accept his apology, provided it was given publicity, and also to the whole battalion on parade. This he did very fully, and I sincerely hoped that the incident was happily ended, and that for the future, in dealing with us, General Z would see that no injustice was done merely because we were Jews.