Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 4. p 956

Berks Royal Horse Artillery -€” continued.

The First Battles in Palestine.

It was in November, 1916, that the Battery made their exodus from the Fayoum, and their eventual destination was Ayun Musa, some twelve miles out of Suez, and at that time an outpost against the Turkish and Arab forces occupying the Sinai peninsula. Ayun Musa, being interpreted, means Moses'™ Well, and this is the place where Moses is supposed to have made bitter water into sweet by casting in a tree branch. Some of the men listened to the story and then tasted the water, but the sweetening effect seemed to have vanished with the passing of the years. On the whole it was a pleasant camp which the Battery was destined to occupy for about three months. Good clean sand and sea bathing within a mile were adjuncts not so common as they might have been, and the Battery spent a fairly happy time. Quite a good Christmas was passed, and the Battery took part in a district football cup competition, and reached the semi-final. They were eventually beaten by the Berks Yeomanry in a match which caused considerable enthusiasm .

Early in the new year there began rumours of a move to the Palestine front, where Sir Archibald Murray had just taken Rafa and was feeling his way towards Gaza, but it was not until February was a week old that the Battery trekked for El Kubri, the first stage on the journey. After a day or so of idleness hereabouts there was a short train journey to Moascar, and thence through Ismailia to Ferry Post, where nearly a week was spent in preparation for the new conditions that were in store. First there was the question of ped-rails, without which no wheeled vehicle can travel across the sands of the desert. There was much shoeing of horses, fresh schemes for the carrying of equipment, and finally an inspection by a general officer and the Marquis of Exeter, who at that time had taken over the position of C.R.A. Towards the end of February the Battery trekked in one day to Kantara, or rather they thought they were going to Kantara, but on arrival there, tired and hungry, they were pushed on another six miles to Hill 40, where a kind of base camp had been set up. The Battery found that they were to be attached to a newly-formed division, the Imperial Mounted Division, a composition of Australian and British cavalry. The Berks, Bucks and Dorset Yeomanries were now styled the 6th Mounted Brigade, and the Berks gunners were again allotted to them, an arrangement which gave perfect satisfaction on both sides. The ammunition column was split up at H ill 40, and a combined camel column formed for the transport of ammunition. The G.S. wagons, with their heavy loads, would never have succeeded in crossing the desert, so they were left at Kantara, together with a certain number of the ammunition column's personnel. Many spare teams were drawn from the horses and these proved of invaluable assistance to the Battery during the arduous march that lay before it. Indeed, had there been only one team to each gun or vehicle, it is doubtful if the journey would ever have been accomplished, or at least it would have occupied an unconscionable time.

The first day's march was an indication of what was to follow, for so heavy was the going that the six or seven miles to Gilban, the first halting place, occupied over four hours. Guns sank to their axles in the loose sand, and without the assistance of the gunners on the wheels the horses would not have been equal to their job. This desert was a revelation to the men. Ninety miles of it to El Arish, rolling sand dunes, or stony tracts, with an occasional palm tree where there happened to be water. The only vegetation, as a rule, was a variety of wild thyme, or a sprinkling of cacti that sometimes covered the slopes of the dunes but never succeeded in obliterating the eternal yellow glare of the sand. Across the battlefields of Ramani, Bir-el-Abd and Mazar, the Battery eventually arrived at El Arish, after an eight days' trek. Barely had they bivouaced in a fig orchard before the rain came down and everyone was wet through in the space of a few minutes. Anyhow, the worst of the march was over, and a wetting more or less was of little account. And so on to Sheikh Zoweid, where enemy aircraft were first encountered, and thence to Rafa, where the yellow sand at last gave place to green grass, growing corn and red poppies. This was the boundary line between Egypt and Palestine and must have been the spot from where the Israelites first viewed the promised land. It certainly is an inviting outlook when approaching from the desert.

[photo, view] GENERAL VIEW OF GAZA. A familiar scene to the Berks Battery.

The Failure at Gaza.

When defeated at Rafa the Turks had fallen back on the Gaza-Beersheba line, where they occupied seemingly impregnable defences, strengthened by redoubts and well wired. Sir Archibald Murray had evidently decided on a frontal attack, and following a swift reconnaissance of the enemy's position, the attack opened at dawn on March 26th, 1917, screened at first by a thick mist. The main attack was on Gaza itself, and the Imperial Mounted Division was thrown into action some eight miles to the right and about in the centre of the Turkish line, the object being to prevent the enemy bringing troops from Beersheba to reinforce Gaza. Nearly all day the Battery pushed forward through standing corn, with the roar of the Gaza conflict in their ears, but it was late afternoon before the Yeomanry and Australians located the enemy columns moving to the support of Gaza. The Battery was soon in action, with good targets, and settled down in earnest to the work. No enemy fire was drawn until a Taube, circling low, espied the guns and hurried away with the information. Within a few minutes Johnny Turks' [sic] "whizz-bangs" were whining and banging over the gun positions. One landed right in the observation station, but only the range-finder, Bdr. Edmonds, was wounded, although Major Maynall was knocked over and picked himself up unhurt. Meanwhile the cavalry were finding their ground too hot to hold, and a general retirement was ordered. The Battery received many parting gifts from "Jacko", but managed to evacuate their position with no losses, and then began a memorable night retreat to Deir-El-Belah. Every track was filled with struggling columns of men, horses and camels, crossing one an other, breaking up units, and pressing back in a disjointed sort of mass. Men were so exhausted that they slept on their horses, and when at last the appointed rendezvous was reached they dropped down and slept with an arm through bridle rein. By dawn the Turkish advance had been stopped, but if they had followed up their advantage more energetically a serious situation for the British troops might have developed. In the meantime the infantry had succeeded in the capture of Gaza all to no purpose. Hemmed in on three sides and with sadly depleted numbers, they awaited the supports which could not reach them. Finally they had to abandon to the enemy what they had so dearly won and crept back to their own trenches with the sting of undeserved defeat in their hearts. Later events have proved that these frontal attacks on the Gaza-Beersheba line were unjustified and unnecessary, but recriminations wiil not bring back the gallant dead of the 52nd, 53rd, 54th and other Divisions, that won and lost Gaza on those two fateful days. In the succeeding days there was an opportunity of realising the toll that had been taken. A never ceasing procession of wounded travelled back to the clearing stations by motor ambulance and camel convoy, and some of them endured cruel sufferings before receiving the proper attention that was their due. Battalions and regiments had been reduced to one-fifth of their fighting strength in some cases, the chief sufferers being such battalions as the Norfolks, Sussex and 10th and 11th Londons, who had borne the full brunt of the savage Turkish counter-attacks.

The Second Disaster.

Unconvinced by this signal failure to smash in the Turkish line by a frontal attack, the powers that be immediately set about the preparation of a second attempt. Depleted units' ranks were swelled by such men as could be rushed up from the general base depots, and a swift reorganisation was carried out.

To return to the fortunes of the Berkshire Battery, the next fortnight was spent in resting and making good various deficiencies. One peculiar incident calls for comment. When taking down and overhauling the guns, the artificers found that one of the pieces had broken two buffer springs and had probably been firing in this condition for some hours. That it held out in these circumstances with no resultant accident to its crew is a testimony to the good and conscientious work done by those who were forging Britain'€s weapons at home. The Battery were able to indulge in some much needed sea-bathing, and beyond a few visits from "Jacko" in the air had a fairly quiet time until things were ready for the next desperate gamble for Gaza. April 19th was the ...