LETTER FROM TROOPER JUDGE.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XVIIII, Issue 450, 18 November 1916, Page 1

LETTER FROM TROOPER JUDGE.

HOW Till'-: TURKS WV.WV. THRASHED. Mr W. K. Cadwallador, Levels, lias received an interesting letter from Trooper 11. Judge, of Levels, and who is at' present with the Mounted Division i;i Kgypt. Trooper Judge writing from '■-Somewhere in the desert ; " says:

1 suppose )ou will have -seen by the papers that the Turks -have at last made- their long delayed attacks on the canal, but I do not know that 1 can tell you a great- deal about it, as orders came out immediately after the fighting that no details were to be given in letters, although this has to a certain extent' been relaxed since. The actual hostilities lasted just eight days and iti was very .strenuous going. Jacko's was under estimated, but all the sum- the operations as a. whole were mos' successful and Jaeko got- the surprise of his life, prom the way he had dug wells and timbered them there is no doubt ho thought- lie was coming here- to slay, but he went, back a jolly tight, (pucker than he came, and his losses must have '-10011 very heavy in prisoners alone. I believe we -aptmed upwards of 500 U", and everywhere they left a lot. of dead. The first day's operations ,\ ere the most successful. Evidently a trap was "laid for them find-they tell flop into it, and that was how we got the bulk of the prisoners. They were the attacking force that day bud after I hat- they started to retire, always to places previously fortified, and the lighting was very stubborn, especially at. their last stand at Mis-el-Abe. Things looked very serious for our Mrigado two or three times that day. The Mrigado on our Hank struck a snag in iho shape of a very strong fori anil wore unable to advance, compelling the Mrigado which was next to us to retire. We were practically unsupported, and had the Turks only' had the pluck and dotei niinatioii ihey could have cut us oil- However we got the upper band end were able to retire in good order. When Me returned to the attack nexi meiT.oig Jacko was in full llight en I.into lor I'll Arisli The day we attacked Mis-01-A'.e was our heaviest- day. I ihink i\v were ai it soon after f a.m.; : ; was a very hoi day and it was S.-lo p.m. lei Hi- we arrived back to where we bivouacked the night bofo.ie. We i nly bad thieoquertors of an hour in which to Wilier and feed our horses, get a fee 1 for ourselves, saddle-up and take up a safe position lor the night. We had nothing to ear since about 3 a.m. and then a bi-euit and marmalade. Ii Has 1 o'clock Oelore we lay down to sloop, and -at •"> a.m. wo were- up and leu.ay oiick iiiler Jaeko again. Although | orhaps being one of the Alounlods 1 should not '-ay ii. liie whole ail'air reflects groat credit on the ntountods bore, as wo touted a. .force outnumbering us by nearly three to on.-. As far as I was concerned il was a wonderful experience and I would not have missed it lor anything. The -harpnel and high explosives wore very heavy el limes, end to give Jacko his due he is no mug with the big gun. but it is suprising how lit-t.'o notiee one takes oi it, or ride fire, alter the first half hour. What I do not like .are the air raids. \o ma'itei when- a bond) is going to land i* always seems as though it were ouiuitiL straight down on one and gives you a icost unpleasant sensation.

My the wa\, I must tell you of a iittle trip ;i h'W of us had just a fewJays before the real lighting started. Fourteen picked men from our troop, together with an officer and a sergeant were sent out on a very important and rather risky mission, i.e., to get in touch and remain in touch, at all costs, inents. We moved out in the evening and arrived at 4 a.m. at. a little hod (ii low place in the sand hills surrounded by a few trees —date [.alms) —which iii' intended making our base. All went well through the day. but at: night word came through on the bold telephone that- our ''heads."' had reason to believe that the Turks intended occupying a hod only a few miles away. At

hiybieak I and two others wore deailed to go to or a> near to it as iossiblo and find out. what was doing, louevcr, when \w got there, we

found the Australians in possession, 'out the officer in charge asked us to go on to another little iiod, and have a look round. This we did, and while my'mates took up stations on high ground to watch, I rode down into the hod. All .seemed clear hut just as I was leaving I caught sight of a strange footprint, which could have been made only by a Turkish sandal, so I decided to follow it up. It led to some old Bedouin bevies, so 1 circled round thorn, feeling a little creepy sensation down my spine, 1 must confess, as I did not know but that- any moment a sniper's bullet might come whizzing along. As nothing happened T drew in hut found nothing, and picking up the footprints again I saw they led up to the hc-vio and then on again so f continued to follow them until they seemed to he leading me too far away from my mates. T returned to thorn, and told them what- 1 had discovered, and ive n.ll went back and I followed the trail while they kept a look out, and very soon [spotted our quarry .and covered him with my rifle The Turk, for such he proved to bo, and a genuine sniper at that, put up his hands. He had a splendid position in some scrub on a sand hill, and was well equipped with ammunition and his rifle was loaded. It is a wonder ho did not have ;t pot at us hut J suppose lie thought the odds were too big. As this was the first prisoner that bad fallen to our Brigade during that fighting you can imagine how pleased we were With our capture, especially as tho (ii.ptivo was a sniper. I carried his rillo back to camp, and will send you a snapshot that one of the fellows took for me.

Wo were relieved on the third day dy some of the Regiment, and although T enjoyed the excitement of the work I cannot say 1 was sorry, nor for that matter, wore any of us, as we were liable to he cut off at any time; tliir; was just what happened to tho follows who relieved us on the second night; they were there, jjnd only tho sergeant got back to camp. It is a rum sort of a life we have out here on the whole and is no use to anyone. At times we are on the go both night .and day and then perhaps we do nothing for clays except, of course, "stables" and ordinary fatigue, and when not on these wo just lay on our backs in what shade we win rig up and curse the heat, flies, Eand and the war in general and the desert in particular. Patterson is the only Levels chap I hare come across as I am in the North Canterbury Bquadron, and so do not get much of a chance to run acroau thorn. By the way, the' Bth Regiment South Canterbury lost very heavily. Their O.C. and second in command (Blakcney of Fairlie.) were both killed,