“Happily our stay here was very brief, every one being very thankful to leave these so-called barracks, which we did on the morning of the 23rd, rejoining our Brigade. The next morning we recommenced our pursuit of the enemy, who were located by Captain Robinson (with ‘C’ and ‘D’ Squadrons as a patrol) on the banks of the Diala river the following evening. We attacked them at dawn the following morning, and for the next four days our two Brigades were hotly engaged with the enemy, who were finally driven back on to Deli Abbas at the foot of the Jebel Hamrin Range. We bivouacked some ten miles back, and there formed a line of outposts. Meanwhile the enemy had apparently retired right up into the hills. On April 8th, our Brigade moved out from behind the huge mound where we had been under cover and marched down to the river Diala, which was some ten miles distant, to refill our water-carts and let the men do their washing and have a much-needed dip in the river while the horses were grazing. After a pleasant day here, during which our patrols saw no signs of the enemy, we went back to the mound. On the following morning, the 9th, the Regiment left the Brigade to make a reconnaissance of Deli Abbas. We had not travelled very far before we encountered no less than seven columns of the enemy, who had marched down from the hills during the night. This force proved to be the 13th Army Corps, some 28,000 strong. The Regiment immediately took up a position with all Hotchkiss guns, on a long low mound situated a few miles S.W. of Deli Abbas, and from here we were able to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, owing to their eagerness to surround and annihilate what they took to be an isolated Regiment. In this action Lieutenant Fitz-Gibbon, although wounded himself, succeeded in getting all our Hotchkiss guns safely out of action, when we were in danger of envelopment, and were forced to retire amidst a perfect hail of lead and shell. Meanwhile the remainder of our Brigade and the 6th Brigade had deployed for action. Now commenced what proved to be one of the hardest fights in which the Cavalry had yet been engaged, the enemy trying their hardest to effect an enveloping movement by forced marches. This object we were only able to defeat by a most stubborn ‘rearguard action,’ which we had to maintain until the arrival of our main force. Our two Brigades engaged them all day, and by nightfall our outposts were on the Serri, some eight miles from the mound where we had first come into contact with the enemy. Early the following morning they renewed the attack with increased violence, and slowly forced us back the whole day to the Tomb of ——, some few miles north of Deltawa, where they succeeded in getting well round our left flank, and were slowly enveloping us, when we received the most welcome news that our Infantry had arrived, and had succeeded by forced marches in getting well round the enemy’s right flank, which considerably relieved the strain from us. Our outposts on this night, the 11th, were about one mile south of the Tomb. Early the following morning we, co-operating with our Infantry, made a very strong attack and succeeded in driving the enemy from their position at Chaliyeh, where they left 315 dead on the field after a very fierce engagement. Renewing the attack at dawn the following morning, we forced the enemy back again to a small village called Serai Lik, where they again left the field full of their dead and wounded: some 200 dead and 900 wounded were counted. The following morning we again attacked the enemy, whom we completely routed, and after a very short stand they speedily retired on to Deli Abbas, a village situated right at the foot of the Jabel Hamrin range of hills. For two more days we continued to harass the enemy’s flanks until their main force had retired right up into the hills again. Our Infantry now formed a line of outposts some few miles from Deli Abbas, whilst on the 17th inst. the Cavalry marched back to the village of Deltawa, where we went into bivouac. Here it was decided to form the Regiment into two composite squadrons, owing to the great number of casualties we had sustained amongst both men and horses through wounds, sickness, &c. This was done on the morning of the 19th inst., and the remaining men and horses were sent into bivouac at a small village called Sindiyeh, some few miles farther back. In this district the Arab rifle thieves were very active, and on several occasions succeeded in getting clear away with rifles, in spite of the utmost vigilance, during the time we had a bivouac near that village. During the next fortnight the Regiment remained in bivouac at Deltawa, at the same time making wide reconnaissances between the line held by our Infantry, who had ‘dug in’ near the Serri, and the foot of the Jebel Hamrin Range. During these we occasionally came into contact with enemy patrols, with whom we had several sharp skirmishes. It was during one of these that Private Keany of ‘C’ Squadron was captured while carrying despatches.
“On May 4th we received orders to march down to Chaldari and there pitch our summer camp. We accordingly marched to Sa Salekh and from here to Chaldari, where we proceeded to erect our summer camp on the left bank of the Tigris some nine miles north of Baghdad. On the camp being completed, we went into it on the 13th inst., and on the same day the following awards appeared in our Regimental Orders for gallantry in our action of 9th April: Lieutenant Fitz-Gibbon the M.C. and Private Roberts the D.C.M. Private Roberts died from the wounds he received the day following the action.[54]
| BAGHDAD—STORKS |
| BAGHDAD—THE NORTH GATE FROM INSIDE |
| THE TRAMWAY—BAGHDAD TO KHAZIMAIN |
“Three days after this, the 16th inst., the Regiment received sudden orders to turn out at 4.30 P.M. on an Arab strafe. It was made known to us later that these Arabs had literally cut to pieces the whole of a British survey party, consisting of three British officers and their orderlies, and some sixteen native soldiers who were their escort.
“We marched at 4.30 and crossed the river at Baghdad. We bivouacked that night some ten miles east of it. Marching again at daybreak, we encountered a terrific sand-storm which made the going very difficult, nevertheless we succeeded in covering some thirty-nine miles over the waterless desert before bivouacking for the night.
“Continuing again early the following morning, we trekked another eighteen miles or so in the direction of Mushada, when a halt was made. Reconnoitring from here, we located the Arabs some distance from the village. We rested until dawn the 19th inst., when we attacked them and inflicted heavy casualties amongst them, at the same time driving them before us on to General Cobbe’s column, which had marched down from Samarrah. This column exacted a terrible revenge for those murders, and literally mowed them down with machine-gun fire. We inflicted some 3000 casualties in all amongst this huge band of Bedouin Arabs. This incident had a wonderful effect on the Arabs throughout the country, and no doubt prevented them from committing many similar outrages.
“On the conclusion of this we marched back to our camp at Chaldari.”
Private C. T. Massey, ‘D’ Squadron—March 24.—“On the 24th we turned out to graze, and while the horses were grazing Private Cox came up with the order to ‘turn in and stand to.’ We moved off in a north-easterly direction about midday, after buying oranges and limes from Arabs on the square. We rejoined the portion of the Regiment that moved off earlier in the day, at a camp next morning, the 25th.
“We were now on the right bank of the river Diala, and I kept no notes of daily events, but we had many severe engagements with the enemy. It was on Easter Sunday or Monday that we met the Turkish army coming out of the Jebel Hamrin Range. We were then at Deli Abbas. It was the 1st and 3rd troops of ‘D’ Squadron which bore the first shock of the Turkish attack, but we were greatly outnumbered, and retired only in the nick of time under a hail of bullets. A few horses came down; one man was killed and two wounded. My riding-horse got away, so I jumped on top of the pack-horse, but the gun-case had not been properly strapped up and the Hotchkiss gun fell out; but No. 5 on the gun, a man named Cartwright, who was riding behind, dismounted and picked it up, and I halted and it was put in the case again. We continued to retreat for several days, but it was part of a clever scheme; the Infantry meant to get in between them and the hills from which they came. The Infantry, however, came up too close, and the Turks retired again, before our Infantry could get behind them, but they suffered heavy losses in the retreat back to the hills. It was during these twenty-five days on the Diala that our horses suffered more than in the whole fighting up from Kut. We could only water once a day, and many a time I have felt faint from thirst and chewed grass for moisture, as well as wild oats and barley.”
A few days later the writer was sent on leave to India, and his diary comes to an end.