About this time the spy peril was rather rife. We had orders not to leave our lines without revolvers, for protection against assassination by spies. To one particular "hush-hush" spot rode up a General with his Staff Officer, both faultlessly attired, accompanied by the usual Orderly. The General asked to be shown round, and his request was conceded with the thoroughness and courtesy due to his high rank. His inspection completed, the General expressed his thanks, and the party rode away, never to be heard of again,—at least not in that capacity. Shortly afterwards, a notorious spy was seen working as a coolie in the Egyptian Labour Corps. Perhaps he was the General.
The monotony of trench life was varied by occasional raids into the enemy trenches. Some very successful raids were carried out on the enemy's defences near the sea, especially at Beach Post, and other successful raids were made from the Apex upon the advanced trenches of the Sihan group of works. Mutual bombardments frequently enlivened the proceedings, the supremacy in which undoubtedly lay with our artillery. These never allowed a day to pass without doing some firing, and they had sniping guns ever ready to fire on any movement that might be seen in enemy territory. The enemy guns, largely manned by Austrians, reserved their fire for concentrated bombardments; evidently they were less able to replenish their supplies of ammunition.
The sector of the front line which fell to our lot to hold was a portion of the Apex. Our front line companies manned a continuous system of trenches, while the reserve company and headquarters occupied dug-outs dug into, or constructed with sand bags upon, the steep slopes of the escarpment. There were deep tunnel dug-outs, extending into the bowels of the earth, in the support area, but these were never used. In the front line there were no such dug-outs, except for such purposes as signal office and platoon head-quarters. In case of intense shelling, the front line garrison, except sentries, could obtain fair cover behind the traverses in the narrow trenches which connected up the wider and more exposed fire bays. It is a debatable question whether deep dug-outs in or near the front line are advisable. When the enemy shells intensively, if he means business, his barrage is closely followed by his infantry. When the barrage lifts, therefore, it is of vital importance to man the fire-step immediately. It is not easy to turn a large number of men quickly out of deep dug-outs which may thus prove only a Fool's Paradise. In one of the raids made near the sea, our infantry, following closely up to the barrage, caught the enemy taking refuge in dug-outs, and had no difficulty in capturing or accounting for the whole garrison of the raided trench. At the Apex we were three times bombarded and raided. On each occasion the garrison merely took refuge behind the traverses. Although they endured it, the bombardment was much more uncomfortable here than if the men had been in good dug-outs; yet they were able to man the trenches so quickly that in no case could the enemy effect a lodgment, and in only one case did he even reach the trench.
When we took over the Apex, the days of sporadic raids by us were past, and all thought was concentrated on preparations for the great day that was then imminent. On the other hand, there was great patrolling activity. Our officers' patrols went out nightly into No Man's Land, and brought back information as to enemy works in progress and activity in their trenches. These patrols had many exciting experiences, and, in the dark, frequently encountered patrols sent out by the enemy. Much useful information was brought in by these patrols to the battalions holding this sector of the line, especially during the first few days after the commencement of the great offensive which resulted in the capture of Gaza and Beersheba.
Gaza and Beersheba