FOREWORD

Little has been said, and less written, of the campaigns in Egypt and Palestine. This book is an attempt to give those interested some idea of the work and play and, occasionally, the sufferings of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, from the time of its inception to the Armistice. Severely technical details have been reduced to a minimum, the story being rather of men than matters; but such necessary figures and other data of which I had not personal knowledge, have been taken from the official dispatches and from the notes of eye-witnesses.

Here I should like most cordially to thank the following old comrades for their generous help: Capt. B. T. Hinchley, R.A.S.C., late of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, and L. Allard Stonard, Esq., late of "A" Battery, the Honourable Artillery Company, for permission to print their excellent photographs, which will, I am sure, add materially to the interest of the book; and R. Arrowsmith, Esq., late of "A" Battery, the Honourable Artillery Company, whose admirable notes have been of the greatest assistance to me in compiling some of the later chapters.

ANTONY BLUETT.

Highate, July 1919.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE
[I.]Mersa Matruh and the Senussi[1]
[II.]"Somewhere East of Suez..."[19]
[III.]on 'untin'—and Some Other Matters[38]
[IV.]Kantara and the Railway[46]
[V.]The Wire Road[63]
[VI.]"The Long, Long Trail"[75]
[VII.]On the Fringe of the Holy Land[88]
[VIII.]The First Battle of Gaza[98]
[IX.]The Retreat[113]
[X.]The Second Attempt[127]
[XI.]Tel el Jemmi and the Camels[144]
[XII.]Cave Dwellers and Scorpions[157]
[XIII.]In the Wadi[170]
[XIV.]The Attack on Beersheba[184]
[XV.]Gaza at Last[196]
[XVI.]The Road to Jerusalem[211]
[XVII.]Où l'on s'amuse[223]
[XVIII.]In the Jordan Valley[235]
[XIX.]The Valley of Chaos[247]
[XX.]In Full Cry[260]
[XXI.]Over the Ladder of Tyre[270]
[XXII.]Deserted Villages in Lebanon[281]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGE
[Native Market at Mersa Matruh][16]
[Sunday Morning in the Gulf of Suez][32]
[Feluccas bringing Supplies to Kantara] (see p. [54])[64]
["The Long, Long Trail"][80]
[I. Camouflaging a Tent with Desert Scrub] (see p. [29])[144]
[II. A Camel Convoy][144]
[Summer in the Wadi Ghuzzee][176]
[In the Jordan Valley—Wadi Auja][240]
[I. A Water Convoy][256]
[II. The Valley of Chaos—before the Turkish Retreat][256]
[The Valley of Chaos—after the Bombing Raid] (see p. [255])[272]