The telephone plays an important part in open warfare, as it does in the trenches, and though the Brigade Signalling Officer and many of his men were killed, intermittent communication was kept up throughout the battle between the battalion, the covering batteries, and the Brigade Commander. The value of this was now extreme. By telephone our Colonel communicated his intentions to the firing line, and thus prevented those sporadic attacks by independent platoons, at once so gallant, so ineffective, and so deadly in losses. By telephone he explained the situation to the Brigadier, who ordered up half a battalion of another Highland regiment, old friends of ours, but never more wanted than now, and by telephone he arranged that the batteries should bombard as heavily as possible the trenches on the right of Sugar Loaf Hill, the bombardment to begin at 6.25 and to last for six minutes.
SERGEANT-MAJOR I. E. NIVEN.
INTERIOR OF A HOSPITAL WARD IN MESOPOTAMIA.
During this hour rifle fire grew less and less, artillery firing ceased. High above the battlefield some crested larks were singing, even as they sing on a quiet evening over the trenches in France, as they sing over the fields at home. A few green and bronze bee-eaters hovered almost like hawks over the sand-dunes, and a cloud of sandgrouse were swinging and swerving across the open ground that divided Highlander from Turk. The wind had died quite away, and a scent of alyssum filled the air. There was no movement among the troops, there was none even among the slender wild grasses of the plain. The sun, that had been blazing all through the day, now hung low in the western sky. The sound of battle was dying, even as the day was dying. "The world was like a nun, breathless in adoration." And we soldiers, absorbed in this remote corner of the world war, intent on the hour immediately before us, lay there breathless in expectancy. Suddenly our 18-pounders opened gun fire. With rare precision shrapnel burst all along the enemy trenches, and at 6-30, as the shelling slackened in intensity, the Highlanders rose as one man, their bayonets gleaming in the setting sun, and, with the Gurkhas on their left, rushed across the open. There was little work for the bayonet. The Turk fled as our men closed, and the position so long and hardly fought for was won.
The Highlanders had gained their objective, but had lost heavily in officers and men. The remainder were exhausted by the labours of the past twenty-four hours and by lack of water; but when orders came to push forward and capture Mushaidie railway station there was no feeling of doubt or hesitation. Some time was spent in re-organisation, in bringing up and distributing reserve ammunition; the two left companies were amalgamated, and an officer detailed to act with the right wing of the Gurkhas, since that battalion, though it had not suffered such heavy losses in men, had only two officers left unwounded. The two companies of the supporting Highland battalion now arrived and were detailed as a reserve to our attacking line. The third regiment of our brigade had been operating far out on the left flank, and were now occupying Sugar Loaf Hill, from which they had driven the last remaining Turks, and the Indian regiment on the right of the railway, which had fought so well with us throughout the battle, received orders to halt for the night.
And thus we advanced alone; but though hungry, thirsty, weary, worn, there was full confidence among all ranks, and one resolve united all—the determination to press forward and complete the rout of the enemy.