CHAPTER III.
FIRST STAY IN EGYPT.
Four trains, running at intervals of two hours, were used to convey the troops from the ship's side to the neighbourhood of Cairo. For part of the journey the railway ran parallel with and in sight of the Canal. Near Ismailia it turned west and led across the northern part of the Arabian Desert (once the Land of Goshen) to Zagazig, where it took another turn, to the south-west, and entered the capital. Though almost entirely desert, the country was not without interest to the new arrivals. Sand was not unknown in Western Australia, but had never been seen over such tremendous tracts and giving off such colours which, probably due to atmospheric influences, had very distinctive beauty. Here and there the oases, and the irrigation areas, were marked by palm trees or by crops of a vivid green hue. There was also seen much that at once directed attention to the fact that the land was one famed in biblical history. The costumes of the natives; the flat-roofed mud-coloured dwellings; the old fashioned wells, the hooded and veiled women bearing pitchers on their heads, the humble donkey, and the more dignified camel, instantly carried minds back to the pictures that were popular in childhood's days.
By midnight the last of the troops, detrained at a military siding near by, had reached the camp and taken shelter for the time being in a number of open-sided wooden huts.
The camp site, called Abbasia—after the adjacent quarter of Cairo, was in the desert just north of the Suez Road and about five miles from the centre of the city. The ground here was quite flat, and had been extensively used at different times for military reviews. It was also near the scene of a battle in 1517, when the Turkish conqueror, the Sultan Selim, overthrew the Egyptians. A second battle took place here in 1800, on which occasion General Kleber with 10,000 French defeated six times that number of Turks. On the west side were situated the cavalry and infantry barracks, at that time occupied by the 2nd Mounted Division (Yeomanry). To the north lay the quarters and hospital of the Egyptian Army units doing guard and escort duty for the new Sultan. North-east, a little over a mile away, the new city of Heliopolis, with its splendid buildings, was in full view. In other directions only the desert was to be seen, marked here and there with low hills—the highest being Jebel Ahmar, an outpost of the Moqattam Range.
The first day in the new camp was one of discomfort and worry. No brigade or divisional staffs were present to assist and advise as to the new conditions. The source of supplies had to be ascertained, kitchens constructed, baggage sorted, and the lines, which were indescribably dirty, cleaned up. All ranks were tired with the previous day's long hours and badly needed a hot meal which, at first, could not be satisfactorily supplied. A few men strayed away to Heliopolis, where they found members of the 5th and 6th Brigades, whose local knowledge they availed themselves of in their search for creature comforts. Fortunately other friends were near in the 13th Light Horse Regiment, which was temporarily occupying part of Abbasia Camp. The members assisted greatly in the settling down process and, in consequence, by the night of the third day tents were pitched, cooking arranged for, and the comfort of the individual much improved. Very shortly after, further advantages were provided in the shape of a regimental institute where fruit, groceries, and liquor could be procured. This scheme was subsequently extended in the direction of establishing a restaurant, a fruit and ice cream tent, a newsvendor's stall, and a barber's shop. This institute was valuable for several reasons. It afforded a means of supplementing the indifferent ration; prevented the infliction of exorbitant prices; guaranteed fair quality; reduced straying; ensured the profits coming back to the battalion; and did away with the necessity for admitting to the lines the clamorous and often filthy multitude of hawkers. After this no Egyptian or foreigner was permitted to approach the tents without a pass. Most of the local vendors had methods peculiarly their own. The agents for the "Egyptian Times" or "Egyptian Gazette" described their sheets in language which suggested guilelessness and earlier association with the 1st Australian Division. The orange, chocolate, and "eggs-a-cook" (small hard-boiled eggs) sellers seemed to possess the faculty of rising from the earth or dropping from the blue, for whenever bodies of troops, exercising in the desert, halted for rest, some half-dozen of these people—not previously in view—would suddenly appear, and, dragging their wares from somewhere between their not over clean garments and less clean skin, would offer them to the soldiers at "two fer a arf" (piastre).
Of course news of the progress of our troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula was eagerly sought. At first information was difficult to obtain. The only sources from which it could be gathered were the wounded and sick in the neighbouring No. 1 Australian General Hospital housed at the Heliopolis Palace Hotel, and the adjoining Luna Park. These men related their own experiences and impressions. Their auditors were able to appreciate the stupendous task of the landing parties and the heroism with which they had held on to the ground gained under devastating enemy fire and the ravages of disease. Of the relative positions of the opposing forces little of a definite nature was known, nor could anything be ascertained as to the plans for the future. The fact that so many troops were collecting in Egypt did, however, point to probable further developments, and gave the Battalion great hopes of being allowed to participate. The achievements of the Western Australian units already at the front had been proved more than worthy of emulation, and the 28th was determined not to be found lacking.
The situation in Egypt at this time was not without cause for anxiety. Some months earlier the Khedive Abbas Hilmi, an intriguer against Great Britain, had been replaced by Prince Kamil Hussein, who was proclaimed Sultan under a British protectorate. Sir Arthur Henry McMahon was High Commissioner, but the country was virtually under martial law administered by the G.O.C. in Egypt—Lieut.-General Sir John Maxwell. There was more than a little unrest amongst the civil population caused by the efforts of the Turkish and German propagandists. On the eastern frontier precautions had to be taken to meet a repetition of the raid of February made by Djemal Pasha on the Suez Canal. Towards the west the attitude of the Senussi, a great religious sheik, indicated pretentions to temporal power which must inevitably bring about a conflict. To meet this situation there were a few brigades of the Indian Army on the Canal,[E] whilst for the remainder dependence seemed to be placed on the units and reinforcements passing through to the Dardanelles. Maxwell made the most of these, and greatly impressed the populace by displays of force. These displays consisted of marching brigades of Yeomanry and Australians through the city and thickly populated suburbs. The 28th Battalion frequently took part—the marches mostly being carried out at night and forming part of the training in march discipline. The natives looked on sullenly, but there was little in the way of openly hostile display.
The organisation of the forces in Egypt brought the Australians under the supreme command of Sir John Maxwell, but they, and the New Zealanders, were grouped under the immediate command of Major-General J. Spens and known as the Australian and New Zealand Training Depôt. For self-contained organised units this arrangement was fairly satisfactory, but with regard to reinforcement drafts their management was the subject of much adverse criticism. Discipline was very weak and actual training not, apparently, a primary consideration. These defects continued for many months. They were not due to the men themselves, but to the absence of a policy in regard to the command and administration of training battalions generally. In later years the Australians managed these things for themselves, and with such good results that the British Service found it profitable to copy some of their methods.