[52]“The land from the Wadi el Arish—the ancient ‘River of Egypt’—to the Philistian plain had for twenty-six hundred years been a cockpit of war. Sometimes a conqueror from the north like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon and Mehemet Ali, or from the south like Ali Bey, met the enemy in Egypt or Syria, but more often the decisive fight was fought in the gates. Ascalon, Gaza, Rafa, El Arish, are all names famous in history. Up and down the strip of seaward levels marched the great armies of Egypt and Assyria, while the Jews looked fearfully on from their barren hills.... In this gate of ancient feuds it had now fallen to Turkey’s lot to speak with her enemy.”
In December 1916 a little company of 22 officers and 226 other ranks, under Major Nutt, embarked with their eight Tanks at Devonport and Avonmouth and landed in Egypt in January.
The first business was to show the Staffs of the various fighting units, with whom they were to co-operate, exactly what Tanks could and could not do.
Demonstrations were therefore given among the sand dunes near Kilban, a village which lies between Port Said and El Kantara on the Suez Canal.
One day in February—the exact date seems uncertain[53]—the detachment received orders to entrain immediately for the fighting zone, and within three hours of receiving the message, the whole little force with its Tanks and accessories was travelling towards the forward area. A delay occurred half-way, at El Arish, which had only recently been captured, but next morning the Tank Train arrived at its destination, Khan Yunus, an old Crusaders’ stronghold, surrounded by fig groves and lying inland about fifteen miles south-west of Gaza.
Here the detachment remained for about ten days.
During these ten days the First Battle of Gaza had come to an end.
Gaza had not been captured, as, though we had fought in its streets, we had just not been able to keep up the attack long enough to keep what we had gained owing to lack of water.
In his despatch, General Murray, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, characterised it as a most successful operation which only the waterless nature of the country had prevented from being “a complete disaster to the enemy.”
We had been obliged to withdraw again to our water supplies, but we immediately began to prepare a second attack in greater force.