Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1917-1918 - Part 6

and we could not see
much of the town. There is
a very old ruined church
there, with crumbling tombs
that must be as old as the
Judaean hills that look
down upon them. There is
also a modern church there,
with a cross on it, and a
white flag hanging from
the cross. In the narrow
lanes of the town were
filthy dirty. The place
was crowded with
troops. On again through
the native town of Lud,
with its crowd of filthy
natives. A first  few miles
further on we camped
in an olive grove and are
ready to move off this morning.
It rained a little last
night. This is splendid country
and the agriculturalists among
us are loud in its praise
About 1 a.m. We moved off this
morning ll the way through
flat cultivated lands and
presently left the white houses
of jaffa on our left. To our
right are the judaean hlls,
now encroaching closer
towards the coast the smaller
forthills being dotted with
villages, many of them barely
a stones throw from one
another and surrounded
by their fruit trees. About
an hour ago the Turkish
guns lung us a couple of
shells, and soon after we
rode down a splendid
avenue of Australian gums

with fine two storied
farm houses on both
sides. of stacks of hay 
everywhere, gardens, fowls
and everything showing
a perfect farming prosperity.
We have camped here
for dinner and have
seen half a dozen fine
strapping girls. The first
civilized girls for how
many months. But they
are Germans. Close by thoue
there is a school house
with a bell that persists
in clanging every quarter of
an hour. From the school
comes this sound of laughing
childrens voices.
Dotted about are snipers
possies, with a little
heap of empty Turkish
cartridges by each possy.
Near the corner of a
house is a heap of cartridges
where I a machine gun has
been turned on our chaps
when they were advancing.
........Next day, bout 10 am, When 
we had been in the village
about two hours , Ive found
that the place was a German
colony. The young men had
long enlisted some fighting
for the Fatherland in France, others
in Palestine. We had taken some
of them prisoners in Beersheba. The 
place is full  of very hefty
young women. They sold us very
good brown bread, honey, butter
milk, fowls, and even sucking
pigs, also hay for our horses
We wondered what the Belgian
people would have through of
similar treatment. We kept
our horses well up amongst 
the houses in among the gum
trees. During the afternoon

there was a heavy, splintering
crash, and a big high explosive
shell burst just in front of
the houses nearest the Turkish
positions. Then another and
another, and another. Two of 
our signallers got
hit with one of these
shells. Then when any of
our fellows went away
from near the houses
shells would come from
the hills, of different
calibres. But it was late
in the afternoon that I got
about the worst shock
since it I enlisted, because
I've been sick this last
week I think. From a little
village two thousand yards
towards our right front
came the sudden crackle
of machine gun fire, and
away from the village, at
full gallop, came a troop
of our own fellows. This machine
gun and riflemen surprised
our fellows very much, we
had not expected the enemy
nearly so close. We were
mighty glad for the screen
of ^friendly gum trees all round. An
hour afterwards during the
rattle of that damned active
machine gun, came a 
pattering all around us, and
a fun little somethings
hissed past my ear and
buried themselves in the
ground at the horses feet.
we sprang up immediately.
The machine gun had our
exact range. Its burst
stopped, and to our great
luck fired no more on us.
I think that the trouble was 
that the gunners had to 
shoot through the trees, and

so could not see the
results of their shooting.
If any of the men or
horses had been hit
with that first burst
someone from the village
would have telephoned the
gunners and we would
have got it hot and strong.
For the for rest of the 
afternoon we were all
on a more or less nasty
state and were very
glad when dark began to
come on. It was certain
there were Germans in
the village with underground
telephone wires to
the Turkish batteries, and
with the Turks on our right 
flank, we felt anything
but comfortable. I think
it was being sick, and
those machine gun bullets
coming so unexpectedly, that
made me feel so rotten.

Darkness came on early, and
with it rain. After dark we
filed out and formed an
outpost line in front of the
village, and all through
the night expected a Turkish
counter attack. They must have
known to a man our strength
only one Regiment holding that
long thin line. As soon as
darkness came I felt alright. No
man likes being shot at by an
unseen enemy, with a hostile
people at his rear. It rained
all night, and was a fairly
miserable night, lying on the
wet, ploughed ground I'm
blessed if I could get an even
of piece of ground to lie on
anywhere. About 12 O'Clock a
flare went up in front. We 
watched closely, but had we

known it, it was the
Turkish rearguard signal to
retire. Dawn broke black
and drizzling, and after
sending patrols out in front
we went back to the
village and boiled up. We
bought some ripping brown
bread from some German 
people with a great
picture of the Kaiser hanging
over the mantlepiece. Some
chaps were lucky enough
to buy butter, some honey.
What a great breakfast
that was! Bert went away
and came back with a 
Turkish billy can full of
milk, and we made some
great coco. Then we had to
go a few miles out in front,
and found that the Turks
had retired a few miles
during the night. From a 
high hill we had a great
view of the country, and
among other things could see
a big battle raging to our
right, between us and Jerusalem.
To our left was the sea
and jaffa, with all the
villages and pretty red
towns dotted everywhere over
the cultivated lands. About
11 O Clock the 7^th regt relieved
us and we gladly left the
village of Wilhelm and went
back towards Kamleh for
the rest of the day. Next day
it rained heavily yesterday
and last night, but this 
morning is glorious sunshine
We are out again but
have seen no sign of the
Turkish rearguard so far.
We are splendidly supplied
with tucker now. Everything
throughout these operations

anything else, then I spent
some rather awful lightening
like seconds trying to be
sure whether I was
mortally hit or not. I 
could feel it in two
places, and see a bloody
hole in my arm. As
soon as the doctor 
got hold of me they found
I'd stopped it in six
places altogether, but
luckily for me no bones
were broken no vital
places were hit. Very 
soon I was swathed in
bandages like an
Egyptian dummy. But
what a marvellous escape.
According to all the 
rules of the game I should 
have been blown to
pieces. They put me into a 
sand cart ambulance, and
very soon certain illusions
I had concerning theses
same sand carts disappeared.
A sand cart looks
nice and springy to
ride in, but very
soon I found myself
grasping the side of the
cart and hanging on desperately,
trying to ease the bumps
when going over the
slightest uneven ground.
About night fall
they left me at on of our
clearing stations, where they
gave me a good feed
and dressed one of my
wounds, the bandages
of which had slipped

off. The doctor also got 
a piece of steel out of
my back. Then I was 
bundled into a motor
ambulance, en route
for jaffa. Then came 
another disillusion.
Motor ambulances look
nice, easy things as they glide
along a good road, but for a
wounded man, at the rate
the [[?]]  drivers drove their
cars, it was just a long
journey of torture. Very soon
we were speeding up dark
lanes, around corners, between
high walls in through the
streets of Jaffa. But I just
hung on to the stretcher and
prayed for the car to stop.
At last that awful ride in
the dark ceased, we pulled up
a/3 before a large, well lighted
building, The Australian casualty
clearing station, I think it
was called. Stretcher bearers
got hold of the stretcher,
carried me up some steps ,
and into a well lighted
hall. Here some doctors had
a look at me, after which
I was carried into a large
bare room and the
stretcher laid down on
the marble floor. A meal
and some tea was given me,
then I was left alone. The big
room was partly dark,
being lit up only by the
light coming in from the
well lit corridors on
either side of it. From
these corridors came a great
noise of talking and