Historical records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot)

by R. S. H. Moody

V. Defence of Jerusalem

Now at this time the enemy had conceived it possible that on account of our supposed despair at the shortage of rations and difficulty of transport it would be possible by a resolute attack to recover possession of Jerusalem, which is a place as sacred to Mahommedans as it is to Jews or Christians, and so, on the night of the 26th/27th December, John Turk marched resolutely southwards, astride the Nablus road, until he came up against the 60th Division, who refused to make way, and the enemy soon found himself resolutely counter-attacked by the 10th Irish Division, which was on the left of the 20th Corps. The struggle lasted three days, for the enemy also attacked the 53rd Division to the east of Jerusalem, and it was quite evident that the operation was not a minor affair by any means, but had been carefully prepared and planned out and was being determinedly attempted. By noon on the 27th, however, the great counter-attack made by the 74th and 10th Divisions, which was launched at 6.30 a.m., had made itself felt, and on the following day, this counter-offensive continuing, the 230th Brigade, Buffs included, of course, was pushed up the centre of the line towards Ram Allah. Fortunately the day was fine and dry. At first this forward movement took the Buffs up the valley and the battalion was in artillery formation, but, later on, broken and rocky ground was experienced again until there came a rest as darkness fell, and the men sat down and made preparations for some food. Very soon, however, came orders to advance in line on Ram Allah, taking direction from the 60th Division on the right. The companies were somewhat scattered, and in the stony country with a night as black as pitch it was a terrible job for the runners to discover the several companies and for them to come back into touch with battalion headquarters. There were no paths or tracks and the map was useless. As one who was out that night remarked, “If you take a line to march on and then bark your shin on a rock, next have to circumvent a boulder and immediately afterwards fall into a bog, you are apt to lose your direction.” The Buffs stumbled about till they reached a large marshy valley, where they came across the Royal Sussex and learnt that the division was resting close by with no intention of going on to Ram Allah that night; so an outpost line was thrown out and the men lay down till dawn. About 8 o’clock next morning an advance was made straight across a most tremendous country of vine terraces and walls, and, with but little opposition, A and D Companies got into the town, a filthy place on the brink of another precipice. On the top of the hill opposite to it the Turks had several machine guns and snipers posted and they now began to show some activity, the Sussex Regiment coming under a fairly heavy fire, so that B Company was held in readiness to go to their aid, while C and A Companies took post along the front of the village overlooking the precipice. That night was as black as the former, and a line of advance allotted to the Buffs was so precipitous that the battalion formation was bound to get into some sort of confusion, though every effort was made to keep touch with the companies and with other units. Opposition had died away, however, and so ultimately a new outpost line was taken up with the Suffolk Regiment on the Buffs’ left, and here the regiment remained for several days. The weather was terribly wet at this time and the ground so saturated as to be almost impassable for mules.

The Jerusalem-Jaffa road was now in our hands and was the principal lateral communication. General Allenby now decided that no further advance was possible or necessary for the present and that his next task was to drive the enemy over the Jordan. The outpost line referred to above was relieved on the 3rd January, 1918, and the Buffs went back to Beit Izza and Beit Likia, the rain still continuing with fury and the shortage of rations proving still a considerable hardship. The 10th Irish Division had commenced making a new road to supply the front line and save to some degree the permanent Latrun-Jerusalem one. This engineering work was called, out of compliment to that division, the Irish Road, and it now became the scene for some weeks of the Buffs’ activities. The battalion began work on it on the 9th January near Beit Sirra, and it was not till the 7th March that it took over an outpost line, this time in front of Lake Balua. This period of labour was lightened on the 18th January by a parade for the distribution of medal ribbands, on which occasion Sgt. Turner got the D.C.M., and Ptes. Kite, C. W. Scott and Betts the Military Medal.

The above-mentioned move was in reality a very complete change from two months’ heavy work to real soldiering again, even if it were only infantry soldiering, as the gallant Yeoman of Kent may possibly have put it. A patrol of B Company advancing from this outpost line found Yebrud occupied by Turkish snipers and the battalion got orders to occupy the village by midnight, but it was found to be so strongly held that the reserve companies had to be absorbed into the line to support the attack, and it was not till 8 a.m. on the 9th that the place was occupied and a new outpost line on Burj Bardawile taken up. 2nd Lieut. F. W. H. Cooper was killed in this affair and Captain Ponsonby and seven other ranks wounded. Next day the advance continued, the country getting worse and worse, but more positions were taken in the evening, A and B Companies having a climb of three and a half hours before the Turkish trenches and sangars, perched on the forward slope of a precipice, were theirs. Eight other ranks were wounded. The Buffs were now three thousand feet up, and it was bitterly cold and wet. Moreover, the old ration and supply difficulty became once more acute; the stuff could only be got to the foot of the precipice on which the men were, and then the tired soldiers, after a heavy day’s work, had to scramble down to fetch it. On the 11th March El Tel was occupied, which meant another very stiff climb. After this road-making south-east of El Tel and on the Nablus road was resumed, and outpost work near Turmus Aya. A very good piece of patrol work is recorded during this period. It was carried out by Lieut. Barnard of the Buffs and a few of his men on the 1st April. These men met an enemy’s patrol and promptly charged them with the bayonet, though the enemy were backed by machine guns. The Buff party killed three Turks and had one of their number slightly wounded.

On the 21st March, 1918, the Germans, who had now been freed from all anxiety as regards Russia, commenced in France their last stupendous effort for victory and were so far successful that all troops that could possibly be spared from other theatres of war were hurried to the rescue of our Western front. For this reason it came to pass that early in April it was decided that the 74th Division must be taken from the Egyptian Force, in which it had served one year, and be shipped off to Europe, where it was grievously needed. On the 8th of this month, therefore, the march to the railhead at Ludd commenced, the Buffs moving by Beitunia and Beit Sirra. On the 13th they entrained for Kantara, and on the 28th left that place for Alexandria and for France.

SOUTHERN PALESTINE

CHAPTER X
THE WESTERN FRONT
(November, 1916, to July, 1917)

I. Summary of Events

As has been seen, both Baghdad and Jerusalem fell to British arms during the year 1917, but other mighty events of war were happening on the various fronts, and, while England was knocking out the Turk with her left hand, so to speak, she was still engaged in a furious fight against Germany on the Western front with her right, in conjunction, of course, with her faithful allies. Moreover, other things happened in 1917 which very materially influenced the course of the great struggle. The two most important events were the coming in of the United States of America and the dropping out of the Russians.