Upon the second (and last) night at Tahta, a very pathetic, but stirring, burial-ceremony was held at about 21.00, which those privileged to attend will remember to the end of their days. The ground selected for the burials was a little gully running off the main wadi. Dead animals, horses, mules and camels lay all around; upturned wagons and limbers were to be seen everywhere. During the deep roar and vivid flashes of our guns, just to the rear, and the sharp crack of bullets striking the rocks just above, the solemn and earnest words of our Chaplain could be heard. Above all, the full moon, bathing the gully in a bright light, combined to make a fitting background for the laying-to-rest of those who had been called upon to make the "supreme sacrifice".
On leaving Tahta the Squadron marched on foot to the vicinity of El Burj (guns on packs), arriving before daylight (November 30th). Here they stayed for the day, in reserve, cleaning guns, etc. At 18.00, that night, they moved nearer El Burj in support of the Australians, arriving about 21.00. Nothing happened; but the Squadron stayed all night and the next day. That night they moved into El Burj; next morning (December 2nd) they returned, and found their horses awaiting them. Headquarters, "A," "D" and "E" Sub-sections now re-joined "B" and "C" Sub-sections and transport. It was not likely that the Squadron would be required again in the Tahta district, except in an emergency, as the country was quite unsuitable for cavalry tactics; as it turned out, they were not destined to do any more fighting for a long time to come.
But the British advance had by no means been stopped, in spite of the check in the hills. The absence of roads and shortage of water here, made operations exceedingly difficult, and it was decided to attack the Turkish positions covering Jerusalem, from the south-west and west, instead of from the north-west. The troops were moved into position, and the main attack was launched at dawn on December 8th. This attack was immediately successful and resulted in the surrender of Jerusalem by the Turks to the 60th Division on the morning of Sunday, December 9th. Thus, after four centuries of conquest, the Turk was ridding the land of his presence in the bitterness of defeat. On this same day, 2082 years before, another race of conquerors, equally detested, were looking their last on the city which they could not hold, and, inasmuch as the liberation of Jerusalem in 1917 will probably ameliorate the lot of the Jews more than that of any other community in Palestine, it was fitting that the flight of the Turks should have coincided with the national festival of the Hanukah, which commemorates the re-capture of the Temple from the heathen Seleucids by Judas Maccabæus in 165 B.C.
PART III.
After Jerusalem—A Rest!
During the last-mentioned operations, the Squadron had lost three officers and 67 men (out of the total of seven officers and 182 men, with which it started from Amr), and had only received one officer and three men as reinforcements. The losses in animals were: 50 riding horses, 15 draught and pack animals and one donkey. Of these animals, 25 had been killed at Tahta alone, and, considering that the Squadron had covered nearly 300 miles in five weeks, the losses due to fatigue, etc., were remarkably small. It was now necessary that the Squadron be re-equipped and re-organised, but reinforcements and remounts had first to be obtained, when training could be re-commenced. At length on December 5th Sergt. Knowles and Sergt. Lewis, with 10 reinforcements, arrived from the base; Sergt. Knowles being posted to "D" Sub-section and Sergt. Lewis to "E". Both these Sergeants did excellent work. Unfortunately, Sergt. Lewis went to hospital shortly after he arrived, and was not able to return for a long time; owing to ill-health and bad luck, neither of them was able to go into action with the sub-sections they did so much towards making efficient. A fortnight was spent at Akir in complete rest, after which the Brigade moved, via El Mughar and Beshshit, to the sand hills north-east of Esdud and about 1½ miles from the coast.
"Re-Grouping" at Esdud.[9]
Conditions were not too pleasant here, but they might, perhaps, have been a great deal worse! The weather was very wet and cold and the sudden change from summer to winter was trying, even for the strongest constitutions. Being upon sand, the camp and district was certainly free from mud, but in order to water the horses a great sea of mud had to be gone through twice a day in order to reach the troughs that were erected at the Wadi Sukereir, two miles away. Warm clothing was issued out to all, and when fresh meat came up from the base, the members of the Squadron felt that they were enjoying luxury indeed!