In the cool of the evening the column started out full of glee, knowing that at last a march was to be undertaken without that horrible feeling that the further one went from camp the further one would have to retrace one’s steps. The weather was fine and the journey was along the high ground overlooking the Wadi Shanag, a continuation of the Wadi Ghuzze, past the peak of Goz Mabrouk and across the Shanag at Bir Esani to the high ground that lay between the fork of the function of the Wadis Imalaga and Esani, just south of Rashid Bek. About midnight the column halted, and the Battalion took up an outpost line reaching from Rashid Bek, a desolate, empty eastern house standing some 690 feet above sea-level, to the north bank of the Wadi Imalaga. The remainder of the Brigade extended the line to the north as far as the Karm-Beersheba Road. The line was taken up on the 22nd of October, and the Battalion remained here until the 28th of October. During the week forward reconnaissance work was done, and, under cover of the outpost, stores and guns were brought up by means of tractors, while large columns of camels and small white donkeys brought up ammunition, etc. A large dump of foodstuffs and stores was formed near the Khalasa-Esani road, and it was amusing to think that this dump was some few hundred yards in advance of the outpost line, although in front of the dump there was a cavalry screen of Australian mounted troops. Even if the Turk had attacked in force the outpost line would have proved a strong defence, though perhaps the dump and its camel lines would have been sacrificed. Strict orders were given to the officers in the line that no one was allowed through the line without strict scrutiny, as small bodies of nomadic Arabs acting as spies were always wandering about this neighbourhood. One evening a horseman approached one of our posts and was promptly halted. He was challenged. He argued in his Australian twang that he was friendly, but the officer was adamant and ordered him to advance for further investigation, to which he replied, “Do I look like a —— spy with these 400 —— camels?” and lo! from the darkness in front loomed a silent column of camels which had lost their way when returning from the dump and had not used the recognised gap in the line further to our right flank.
During this week every one wrote letters as it was a doubtful thing when the post would next be sent, once the advance had commenced. Every one rested and no movement by day was encouraged. Such relaxation came as a welcome change after the weeks of hard gruelling, and, to quote the words of our Commander-in-Chief, Field-Marshal Sir Edmund Allenby, on the occasion of his admission to the Freedom of the City of London, when he referred to the 60th Division:—
“Before it attacked Beersheba it was exercising so hard to keep fit that the G.O.C. ordered his men to eat and drink more and not work so hard.”
Not only for purposes of rest, however, was this stay made at Bir Esani. We had left our old line with its water supply many miles away, and it was necessary for the R.E.’s to develop and exploit wells that existed at Abu Ghalyun under the cover of the mounted patrols out to our front.
Our own part of the line was held by “C” and “D” Companies, with “A” and “B” in support. Fortunately the Turk did not trouble us, although a short distance further north a skirmish took place between the 74th Division and the Turk near the Karm-Beersheba road. The enemy was driven off with loss and gave no further trouble. On Sunday evening, the 28th of October, the march was resumed as far as Abu Ghalyun, which lay some seven or eight miles south-west of the Beersheba defences. The march was only a matter of a few miles and was along the level though stony bed of the Wadi Imalaga. The Battalion halted but bivouacs were not erected, and the very minimum of movement was made. It was a glorious day, and final preparations for the attack were made; aeroplane maps were studied and final orders were issued. The Commanding Officer told the Company Commanders, and through the usual channels the real facts of the case were put before the private soldier. Arrangements for transport and water were made, but the great event was the issue of a small bottle of tea and rum to each man. Rum was not a regular issue in this hot climate, but by this time (October) the nights were becoming colder and the light kit worn by the men required something more than keenness to get at the Turk to cheer the dawn, hence the rum and tea. No sign of the enemy was seen this day except two Turkish aeroplanes flying at a great height over the concentration of troops from Karm to Abu Ghalyun, but British air scouts were soon after them and by great skill drove them down. Later, when the plates in their cameras were developed at Cairo, a complete set of photographs showing the concentration of troops was obtained. Had these planes succeeded in reaching their lines our reception at Beersheba might have been even warmer.
On the evening of the 30th, before leaving Abu Ghalyun, the Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Colonel Bisdee addressed the Battalion and in a few words told us what he expected of us. The result was never in doubt, and the regiment rose as one man and cheered him. It is safe to say that at no time previously was the morale of the Battalion so high, and the morrow augured badly for “Jacko,” as the Turk was called. It was our first time “over the top,” as a Battalion, and every man from the Colonel down to the latest-joined private determined to prove that the 2nd Battalion of the Civil Service Rifles was worthy in every way to uphold the traditions of the Regiment, which had been so gloriously upheld in France by the 1st Battalion. The 60th Division had had a great deal of hard work and a rough time with no prospect of glory, but that night it was to start a career of much glory equal to that of any Division in the War.
The first stage of the march towards Beersheba that night was as far as Wadi Mirtaba, where the R.E.’s had developed an efficient water supply a little more than two miles from the Turkish positions. Here the whole of the wheel transport was parked under the cover of the steep banks of the wadi, and the infantry shed their packs and resumed the march in fighting kit. From this point we were only accompanied by camels carrying ammunition and medical and signal stores. A section of the Machine Gun Corps was attached to the Battalion here, for the actual attack.
From this point the Khalasa Road ran direct to Beersheba and formed a splendid guiding line through the wadis and hills on either side. From aeroplane maps sketches of the wadis had been reproduced, and each wadi had been allotted a familiar name; the local Arabic names were far too difficult to memorise. Such names as Service, Scottish, Kensington, Westminster, St. Pancras and Blackheath were given; while each Battalion had named the wadis in their own particular sector by popular names; some of our nicknames were Strand, Dorking, Watford, Walden and Ware Wadis.
About 3,000 yards from the Wadi Mirtaba the Khalasa Road was joined by the Wadi Halgon, and from this point right up to the Turkish trenches they intertwined so much that one could hardly tell whether one was walking on the road or in the wadi; from this fact the quality of the “road” can be best judged.
At night-time the Turks sent out patrols to the hills in advance of the trenches, and from these patrols resistance soon came in the shape of rifle fire, and after sharp skirmishes they were driven back to their lines. The only casualty on our side was a camel belonging to “C” Company. Later machine-gun fire down the road became heavy and the Companies soon got off the road into their prearranged wadis, where protection was good. It might be mentioned here that the wadis in this part were not deep ravines some sixty feet deep, like the Wadis Ghuzze, Imalaga and Mirtaba, which we had passed, but were simply small valleys between the hills, where a dried water-course was termed a “wadi” after the larger variety further south.