Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1917-1918 - Part 4

past our faces, coming
thicker and thicker, the
horses gone completely
mad, the certain feeling
that man and horse
must crash to the ground
I before we got the  to
the cover that was so
now, then men in
front pounding the way
to good cover, a mad
swerve again to the
right, and at last panting
horses and straining men
out of the inferno into
cover at last. Pools of
blood were lying about, some
of the poor wretches of horses
had been hit and were
bleeding profusely. A well
liked officer was mortally
wounded here, Mr. Webster.
It was now getting dark, and
the attack had to be pressed
if we wanted the guns. All of
us were over now, the horses
were under fair cover, our
machine guns had opened
on the enemy, so we lined
the ridges, then pressed forward 

to encircle the enemy.
But he kept retiring, fighting
every yard of the way. By
dark we had gone a long
way from our horses, and
with the Turks still firing
their guns and retiring
before us. Finally we fixed
bayonets and decided to
charge the shadowy line of
figures on the hills before
us, but just then the order
came from somewhere in rear
to retire. We got back to
our horses, and after a
short ride the whole regiment
 

formed up. We got behind
some hills, placed some
outposts, and to our intense
surprise most of us turned
in to sleep. The day after. Early
morning. Yesterday was a
great day, from dawn until
dark.  At dawn the regiment
formed up. The horses and
us had been by now thirty
six hours without water,
and the horses had only
three handfuls of grain each
left. Us men had some
rations, but were half
mad for tobacco, We
were to take the Turkish
guns to-day. Most of
the officers were observing
from the hill in front when
suddenly Major Bolingbroke
called out to our Captain
that the guns were escaping
The whole squadron were
instantly in the saddle, and at
a mad gallop were up over
the skyline and away. What
a mad gallop that was. Up
hills down hills, jumping gullies
and crevices, and over two
miles away, the two guns
toiling away along a road.
The squadron spread out,
and another squadron came
up on our left. How different
from yesterday. The Turks then
he were secure behind shelter,
and had us in the open. Now
both sides were in the open
We got nearer and nearer
the guns. Finally the artillery
men lost their heads, their
officers galloped off,  the
men left their guns and
ran off on foot. We passed
many boxes of ammunition
thrown off a bullock
waggon in haste. Clothes,
 

packs, gear, rifles, bayonets,
all littered the road. Then
we rode on one of the
guns, muzzle pointing towards us,
half slewed round on
the side of the road.  A
dead Turk lay beside it.
What sport it was. A
little further on we caught
the next gun. No screeching
shells burst from their black
muzzles now. Squat, solid
little brutes they looked.
On we galloped, and a
thousand yards away we
could see the Turkish
artillerymen running
panting for their lives.
We dismounted, and
blazed after them with
rifles and hotchkiss
guns. How great it was to
see the spiteful spurts
of dust kick the ground
around their desperately
moving legs. These were the
same fellows that had
helped to give us hell only
yesterday. Some tumbled
exhausted down a ravine
while others climbed the
bank and ran across the
open ground further away,
only to be caught as we
galloped up is them. Gear
of all sorts littered the
track. Turkish overcoats,
packs, rifles, shells, blankets
thrown just as their panic
stricken owners had left
them. That was a great
gallop, but in the middle
of it we galloped over
heaven. A big waddy,
and we plunged through a
big clear pool of water. No
time to stop now, though
the horses longingly
 

stretched their necks to the
water as we splashed through.
Then up over the hill, over
the coverless, cultivated ground
and down in a small valley
was to us a very pleasant.
A large Bedouin house on
the hill.  Just below it a
pretty little garden of
green fruit trees. Needless to
say, there were no fruit
left. By the trees there
was a big stone well
with a wooden water
wheel, and a big cement
tank. It was a change to
us, after the dust and
brown grey ground of
Palestine. About a mile
further we went, then
turned back to the well to
water our horses. What
a delicious drink it
was. Plenty of water,
for ourselves and the
horses. We had just finished 

watering, when whizz "Bang",
and a shrapnel shell burst
overhead. The Turks were
shelling the well. Off we
scurried, to the shelter of a
th white hill close by Another 

shell came, and burst
just above the Bedouins
house. Out of the house they
scurried like frightened
rats and made for the
shelter of the hill. Shortly
after we moved off, and 
by then, so far as I could
see, our squadron had
joined up with a squadron
of the Seventh. We split up
into troops, then scattered
over the country in the
direction we had seen
the last of the Turks go. Very
shortly after came the
 

crackle of rifle and
machine gun fire. Riding
over a ridge, we saw
advancing towards us a
long line of Turkish
infantry. We dismounted
straight away. The Turks
came on, and every
second we saw their
numbers were fast increasing. 

We just stood up
and fired as fast as we
could at the oncoming
enemy. Suddenly we found
a large body of Turks
were encircling our
right. Bullets  were
coming like hail from
two directions. We
mounted our horses as
the leading line of horses
were almost on top of us.
Then was another gallop
over slowly falling
ground with not a vestige
of cover, and fully ten times
our number of Turks firing
furiously at us. For fully a
mile those vicious little
pests chased us, whizzing
past, kicking the dust in
front all around, and
behind us. I began to think
we would never get out
of range of those high
powered Turkish rifles.
At last we got the shelter
of a hill, dismounted, and
waited for the Turks to
come on again. They came.
We went. And so on for
the rest of the morning. That
little fight was splendidly
managed. We had got into
a very tight corner, had
retired with very little
loss had fought again,
and all morning kept
 

back a force of Turkish
infantry at least ten times
our number. About
12 O'Clock reinforcements 

reached us we and
we took up a position
on a Wadi bank. The
Turks stopped then, until
about two O'Clock in
the afternoon. By that
time, as far as I could
make out, the 5th Mounted
Brigade had come up away
out on our left, with
their battery of light guns.
Then came most of our
Brigade. The two brigades
were in the shape of a
crescent. I don't know if any
of our other troops were
there. Where our squadron
was we could look down
over the flat county on
towards the Turkish road.
Suddenly there appeared, for a
length of five miles as far as
I could tell, a long line of
blue clad Turkish infantry.
They were in open formation,
and came steadily on. Then
about two hundred yards
behind, came another line of
men. And shortly after, another
long line. We heard just then
that Gaza had fallen, and
what was left of the Turkish
army had just managed to
evacuate. We mounted troops
were now right in behind
Gaza, and these Thousands of
men coming towards us must
be a flank guard to push us
back and stop us hindering
the retreat of the main army.
They looked simply grand,
those chaps, big blue men
coming to push us off the
face of the earth. We were 

all very anxious. Could
our thin little line hold
back this advancing swarm
of men. Towards the centre
over to the left of our crescent
line, the Turkish main
attack spent itself. Just
when the machine gun
bullets began to whistle
round, a saw a squadron
of our fellows gallop
right up to the Turks,  jump
off their horses, swing their
machine gun and rifle
fire into the enemy while
the horseholders galloped
the horses back to cover.
What a swirl of dust, of
maddened horses, and running
men that little movement
was. What happened exactly
I don't know. Anyway
after a good scrap the
Turks retired a little,
 and sat down within rifle
range. All the afternoon we
blazed away at each other.
Hearing a great buzzing in
the sky, I looked up, and
there were twenty eight of
our 'planes going to bomb
the retreating Turks on the
main road .Soon we could
hear their bombs exploding a
little distance away. They flew
back, and returned once again
that afternoon. Towards dark
we saw a great fire on the
big road, and great clouds of
black smoke went to the sky
for many hours after. Then
darkness came on. Soon all
along our front there were
great fires lit, and we could
see the flames leaping and
sparkling and jumping as the
Turks burned cases of
explosives. They The Turkish
 

army was burning its stores
and baggage, the stuff that
it had managed to save
so far. Long after dark
we retired about half a
mile just past the wadi
where the water was. That
night we did outpost.  That
morn  Next morning,
which was yesterday morning,
we thought we would
surely be let water the
horses and given some
rations ourselves. But no,
at daylight we moved
off, under the shrapnel of
the Turkish rearguard,
with orders to move on
whether we had rations
or not. We were miserable

enough ourselves, but
we almost cried for our
poor horses. Nothing to
eat for 48 hours and no
water. All along the road
was smoke from big fires.
There were a few more troops
moving about this morning,
and the Turks tore their
shrapnel and high explosives
into us quick and lively.
We made just for the tail
of the rear guard. Bert and I
had a narrow shave from
shrapnel. A shell burst
just above us, and down
went the horse in front of
me, very badly hurt, and
Dish Ruttledge with him, a
pellet in his leg. About half
a mile further on Bert said
to me "By jove, my horse
is hit". There was a
leaden bullet clean through
his saddle, but the
bullet had stopped on
his saddle cloth. As I
dismounted I caught sight
 

of blood on my poor
little mares leg. She had
been hit in the rump, but
thank goodness not badly,
We crossed a flat still
one  under shell fire, and
came across a couple
of Turkish transport
waggons, the bullocks dead
beside them. There was
a lot of gear littered
about. Then some more
waggons. Over the hill we
came on an Aerodrome
with lots of big aerial
bombs lying about and a
big store of petrol.
There was gear scattered
everywhere. Close by was
a well, but the Turks
had hurriedly blown up
the pumping engines.
Then a camp, with
equipment lying everywhere, 

tents still standing.
We got the first prisoners
here, just getting ready to
leave camp. A little further
on we came on a dead
bullock half skinned and
left there showing the
hurried leave taking of the
Turks. Then more camps,
equipment bullocks and
waggons everywhere. And
suddenly we rode on two
squat, 4'7 howitzer guns.
No doubt the Turks were
in full retreat. Suddenly
we rode on what had
been a fair sized camp,
with some hundreds of
Turks hurriedly packing
up to get away. We took
some hundreds of prisoners
here, and so on all through
the day. I laughed very
much at one little Turkish
 

officer who was furiously
riding  walking up and
down a line of half
loaded camels, swishing
his cane. He was just
caught nicely. Broken
down waggons littered
the road, other waggons
with the poor little
bullocks killed beside
them, stopped on the
road as the bullocks
fell, fully loaded. Our
troop was sent back from
there to guard the two
guns. All the way back
be from the Bedouin
villages, were long
strings of camels of
Bedouins, men women
children and loaded
donkeys, looting the
Turkish baggage. Some of
them I had sacks of
nice little flat loaves of
brown Turkish bread. We
promptly commandeered a
lot of it. It was splendid.
Then for a couple of hours
we stood by the guns, and
our rations at last coming
up, had something to eat
and gave our horses a feed.
But we could find them
nothing to drink. About four
O'Clock we left half a dozen
men in charge of the guns,
and the rest of us moved
out to join the Brigade. They
must have moved on rapidly
after we left them, because at
dusk we could find no
trace of them. All along
the road was scattered
bundles of Turkish gear
and equipment. Now and
again we passed a blood
stained Turk lying very