To return to the 127th Brigade. The three battalions had set off immediately the order was received, the 5th and 7th Manchesters leading. Heavy though the going was under the pitiless desert sun, they arrived upon the scene sooner than the Anzac commander had thought possible. As they drew near they could see the Turkish shrapnel bursting above the Anzacs, who, now that reinforcements were at hand, regained their horses and began to mass for a charge or pursuit. At about 2000 yards from the enemy position the leading battalions extended into lines, the 7th on the left, the 5th on the right. But the Turk did not wait. Worn out as he was by the marching and fighting of the past few days, the sight of the new British troops moving steadily towards him, line after line in regular waves, shook his faith in the assurance of victory. As the Manchesters attacked the ridge of Mount Royston the Battle of Romani was over. Those Turks who doubted their ability to get away in safety held up their white sandbags in token of surrender, seven officers and 335 men, with many horses, mules, rifles, and much ammunition falling into the hands of the Brigade. The Anzac cavalry accounted for the rest of the Turkish force at Mount Royston, having swept round the hill and cut off the retreat. Hundreds of Turks were seen being rounded up and marched back by a handful of troopers.
It was a great and decisive victory, in which, though the 42nd Division had played only a minor part, their share had been most opportune. The 127th Brigade had entered at exactly the right moment, and their march across three miles of deep, loose sand, under a blazing sun, in the hottest season, coming into action within one hour thirty-three minutes of receiving the order at Pelusium, was a noteworthy performance, which richly merited the following letter from the G.O.C., Anzac Mounted Division—
Romani, 18. 8. 16.
Major-General Sir Wm. Douglas, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O. Commanding 42nd Division.
“My dear General,
“Just a line to ask you to be kind enough to express my thanks to Brig.-General Ormsby and the 127th Brigade for the prompt manner in which my request for support was complied with on the afternoon of the 4th inst., in spite of the heat and the soft sand-dunes the men had to march over.
“I understand the Brigade moved within three minutes of getting the order from you, and I found them actually in position at least an hour before I expected them.
“Yours very sincerely,
“H. G. Chauvel,
Major-General.”
The Turk had been decisively beaten, and on August 4 the menace to the Canal had passed, and it was now our turn to take the offensive. That evening plans were made to follow up the success by a forward move which, though slow and wearisome at first, and discouraging in its second stage, finally developed into the brilliant campaign in Palestine and Syria under Allenby, with its amazing succession of shattering victories.