THE CAMEL CORPS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 14, 16 July 1937, Page 4

THE CAMEL CORPS

ISTRANGE ALLIED FORCE

FUTILE BATTLES OF GAZA

OBSTINATE TURKS

The Imperial Camel Corps, that costmopolitan unit that comprised Englishmen, Scotsmen, Australians, New :Zealanders, Egyptians, Sikhs, and [Mohammedans, was one of the strangest fighting forces of the Great War, jsays ' a writer in the Melbourne '"Herald." It was formed to meet tine [Special contingencies and conditions of fighting in the desert in Arabia and Palestine. They figured prominently in the Palestine campaign, particularly in the Battle of Gaza, where the triumphant Allied advance in 1917 received a check at the hands of the Turks.

The. Imperial Camel Corps was first ■formed when operations against the Senussi tribesmen on the Egyptiau front had to be undertaken. Necessity j dictated that a mobile unit, lit for desert warfare, should be formed Mobility had to be its principal quality. Thus, self-contained, it could cruise for a week at a time, inde-i pendent of anyone. Each camel carried a five-day ration of food and water; the water in a five-gallon fantassie. which, at.a pinch, could last for seven, or even ten, days; and there were 501b 'of durrah for each camel. The story of the Arabia-Palestine campaign is a fascinating one; and one in which the übiquitous Anzacs did their large share of, operations. Feb:ruary, 1915, saw the first Turkish attack on the Suez Canal, which faded out in a day or two. The British then crossed the Canal into Sinai, built, up. an elaborate defence system, and waited for the Turks to have a second knock. AGAINST THE CANAL. Easter, 1916, was the apex of their success, both in Mesopotamia and Sinai. On the Tigris, Kut had fallen. Close by the Mediterranean an enemy force fell on a British Yeomanry Brigade- and virtually destroyed it. Only the heroism of a small detachment f Scottish infantry saved a worse disaster. Towards the end of July came the expected advance against the Canal. The battle of Bomani was fought and won. The Turks retreated in disorder, but the British pursuit was not energetic. Not till-just before Christmas did the British forces enter El-Arish where the coast angles sharply northward to Hafa, and the Palestine border. The tale of this force's experiences 3s told by Captain John Stevenson. He writes:— For the most part we were the same troops that had been glad enough to see the last of Gallip'oli's noisome gulJeys in December, 1915. Soldiering in Sinai proved, if less dangerous, far more monotonous. Now and again there might be an-affair of outposts, or a night march to destroy water cisterns, so denying them to the enemy, or sight of a black-crossed aeroplane picked out by fleecy puffs of shrapnel, but that was about all. We usually.'had enough water for drinking, but almost never enough to keep ourselves clean. to the sea for .a bathe took the place of Home or Paris leave, and were nearly as welcome. Scratches went septic and dug deep into our, flesh. We grew to hate the taste of liquified bully beef, crumbled biscuits, and lime juice. Canteen luxuries were a rarity. Judge, then, wit) what joy the Egyptian Expeditionary Force first sighted an earth that.had-colour.'(we were sick of dawns and sunsets), and how the horses whinnied with delight at scent and taste of real grass, after the dry grain and tibbin which had been all their fodder since many w;' x., months. / ■ .■ OPTIMISM GENERAL. The ground hardened. Marching became less burdensome. The banks of wadis, still damp from winter spates, were gay with familiar flowers. Bedouin boys ran up to sell us freshgathered oranges. Palestine "stood dressed in living green" of barley fields ripening to April harvest. What, a glorious picnic] "Finish Turks! English kriskattia!" shouted the Bedouins, laughing, and clapping their hands. At the halts were speculated on the chances of Easter in Jerusalem. Few had any serious doubts of our speedy triumph. The Turks from the very iirst had failed to win or hold any important objective. The E.E.F. went always forward, first water pipe-line and then railway, consolidating communications and supplies. Apart from single-day engagements at Maghdaba and Kafa in December and January—where they were taken by surprise—the enemy had not stayed to welcome us. Whether the Higher Command thought Gaza a similar proposition Ido not know. Mine was only a subaltern's view. Briefly, however, on the morning of March 26, the situation was that the Turks defended Gaza and its environs seaward strongly. They also held Beersheba, to the. south-east. Between lay a dozen or more miles of no man's land, hill and plain, mostly desert or very sparsely cultivated. The British plan was that the Desert Column (Sir Philip Chetwode) of Ahzac and Yeoman's cavalry, should cut between Gaza and Beersheba, and then attack the enemy .from the rear, while, at the same time, Eastern Force (Sir Charles Dobell) made up of Scottish, English, and Welsh Territorials (52nd, 53rd, and sil'j.si1 'j. Divisions) would be generally responsible for the. centre, and left flank.. A few units of the Royal Navy and the French battleship Hequin were also to co-operate by bombardment from the sea. LEADERS' INDECISION. Up to a point, though operations suffered delay from a thick morning fog, all went well. The cavalry duly worked round almost behind Gaza, but were not in time to check the arrival of much-needed enemy reinforcements. In the centre, and on the sea shore, the infantry made progress, in spite of determined resistance. Alas, however,, the Higher Command had become all too used to one-day fixtures. When night fell with the issue still in doubt they seemed nonplussed. For the next twenty-four hours everyone concerned perforce had part in their indecision. Fighting became desultory Finally, on the evening of the 27th, we received orders to retreat back across the dry bed of the Wadi Ghuzze, and encamp round about the hills, of En Seirat and the coast village of Dir el Belah. Of the troops engaged, the cavalry, the 53rd (Welsh) Division, and the 161 st Brigade of the 54th (East Anglian) Division were the heaviest losers. Now occurred one of the strangest events of the whole war. Instead of gathering forces again at once and attacking more determinedly, the British "sat down and look root" some six miles from the enemy, and builtup a great camp of E.P. and other tents, with horse lines and the rest— for all the world as if this were Salisbury Plain and not hostile country. One ludicrous result was that a few mornings later the Turks galloped up a battery of-light artillery and shelled our "circus" very effectively. Easter also intervened, the first Easter a British Army had spent in