The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force Part 14

The receipt of these gifts excited considerable interest and gave infinite pleasure. The scene when the cans were being opened was absorbing. Men were behaving like children, exhibiting the articles to one another, exchanging when not quite to taste, rendering impromptus on the mouth organs, and laughing over their own interpretations of the messages. In these last, as might be expected, little incongruities were discovered, and the commanding officer of a neighbouring battalion, who admitted an age of 40 and a weight of some 200 lbs., felt flattered when he read the enclosed inscription, "To my dear little soldier boy."

That night went pleasantly enough--the men singing and talking until a late hour. Next morning, in beautiful weather, the Battalion paraded for divine service, which was conducted by the Rev. S. McBain, a chaplain of the 6th Brigade, in a manner that interested and pleased all. The dinner was a feast as compared with the meals of the previous months, and afterwards the Western Australians played their first, and a victorious, game of football in the A.I.F.--on this occasion against the 24th Battalion. A visit was also received from Colonel Burston, who was now located on the island in command of a large reinforcement camp. That evening in his own Mess he very pleasantly entertained some of the officers. Boxing Day was also observed as a holiday and pa.s.sed without incident except for a visit from a hostile aeroplane which pa.s.sed over the camp travelling eastwards at a considerable height.

Probably owing to the dislocation of the services brought about by the evacuation, the Battalion received no Australian mails for some time, and its latest news from home was quite two months old. About the 20th December, however, information was received that several thousand bags were in the vicinity. Later, curious members located these on the east side of the Bay. Representations made to higher authority failed to secure delivery, the statement being made that no transport was available but that battalions would receive their portions on reaching the next theatre of operations. This answer not proving satisfactory, a mild conspiracy was indulged in which covered the chartering of a local fishing boat and a trip across the Bay. Lieut. Nicholls was master, the owner pilot, and 28th men formed the crew. This and other measures were successful, and the Battalion got its letters just before the end of the month.

As time went on the Battalion so far improved in health and training that unit and Brigade route marches were undertaken. Here the Western Australians came under the eye of the Divisional Commander (Brig.-General W. Holmes, D.S.O.), who complimented them on their march discipline. On the 31st December he inspected them in close order drill and the practice of formations when under artillery fire. So pleased was he with their performance that he characterised the unit as "a d.a.m.ned fine battalion. I have never before seen such good work done in the Division."

On the 27th December was received, and read on parade, a message from the King congratulating the troops on the successful evacuation of the Peninsula. About this time arrived news of the deaths at Alexandria of Captain H. B. Menz and Lieut. H. E. C. Ruddock, both of whom had succ.u.mbed to disease.

A series of evening open-air concerts, arranged in the Brigade, concluded on New Year's Eve with that given by the 28th. Visitors from other units attended in considerable numbers and all enjoyed the following programme:--

28TH BATTALION.

_Camp Concert--Programme._

Song "The Deathless Army" Private Allanson.

Song Private "Sport" Edwards.

Song Private Bolt.

Recitation "Voice of Gallipoli" Private Carr.

Song "Queen of Angels" Private Rolfe.

Song Private Allanson.

Song Private Piggott.

Sketch "Chrysanthemums" Corpl. Haydock.

Song Private Carr.

Recitation Lieut. Field.

Song Private Vicaridge.

Song Private "Sport" Edwards.

Song Private Thomas Chorus "28th Anthem"

Chorus "Auld Lang Syne"

Lemnos Island, 31st December, 1915.

Many sat awake in their tents that night awaiting the arrival of the New Year and wondering what their future lot would be. At midnight whistle and siren sounds, so familiar, came from the vessels in the Bay.

About the 28th December instructions were received that the troops would re-embark within a few days and that a small party would precede each battalion in order to make the preliminary arrangements at the next a.s.sembly point. Captain E. A. Coleman was placed in command of the 28th details, and marched out on the 31st of the month.

January 1st was observed as a holiday, but training was continued on the following days, when the weather, which was now becoming broken with rains and cold winds, permitted. Definite instructions were issued to embark on the 5th, but these were cancelled later on account of heavy seas. However, at 7.30 a.m. on the 6th the camp ground was vacated, and two hours later 24 officers and 667 other ranks of the 28th began to file along North Pier and embark on the "Ansonia" (7,900 tons)--another Cunard boat.

The transport also took on board 3 officers and 53 others of the 2nd Divisional Train, under Captain S. Walker, and 6 officers and 717 other ranks, details of various units, under Lieut.-Colonel R. A. Crouch.

No difficulty was encountered in regard to quarters, and when the transport left the harbour next morning at 7.30 everybody had settled down.

The danger from submarines had become more acute recently, consequently special precautions were taken. No lights were exposed, and all life belts were kept handy. However, the voyage was without incident and, travelling rather slowly down through the Grecian Archipelago, Alexandria harbour was entered during the afternoon of the 9th January.

CHAPTER XI.

BACK TO EGYPT.

The Battalion disembarked at 10 a.m. on the 10th January and at once boarded a train. Little of Alexandria could be seen except the sea front and the southern and eastern portions which the railway skirted in its way out between the large shallow lakes, Mariut and Abukir, into the Libyan Desert. The route lay across the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile and through the railway junctions of Tanta, Benha, and Zagazig, to Tel-el-Kebir, a station on the Sweet Water Ca.n.a.l some 16 miles west of Zagazig. Here there was a large military siding and signs of an extensive camp.

Leaving the train the Battalion proceeded to its camp site eastwards for some distance along a new military road. There, standing conspicuously on a little knoll, the first object to catch the eye was a bulky figure which had last been seen at Blackboy Hill and was now recognised, with ironical cheers, as belonging to the Camp Provost Corporal--the terror of all newly-joined recruits.

Near the camp site was parked the Regimental Transport which, under Lieut. T. D. Graham, had for over four months been impatiently awaiting orders to rejoin its parent unit. Men, horses, and vehicles were in fine condition and showed the benefit of the hard training that had been undertaken in antic.i.p.ation of an advance after the enemy had been dislodged. In the care of the Transport were Australian mails, which had been acc.u.mulating for four weeks. These were very welcome.

Judging by the appearance of the lines of the neighbouring units, tents were not plentiful. Thanks, however, to a thoughtful Quartermaster and an unsuspecting Ordnance Officer at Alexandria, the Battalion had brought with it on the train a supply sufficient to house all ranks and allow a few over for the rest of the brigade. Beyond tents and a limited water supply, drawn from a neighbouring main, none of the ordinary conveniences, such as were found at Abbasia, were available. All these had to be provided by the Battalion's own efforts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAP OF THE COUNTRY ADJACENT TO TEL EL-KEBIR.

SHEWING ENTRENCHMENTS (ARABI PASHA REVOLT 1882) AND AUSTRALIAN CAMPS 1916]

The greatest difficulty was encountered in connection with the kitchens, which could not be satisfactorily constructed in mere sand and gravel without other aids. To some extent relief was obtained by secretly requisitioning some of the loose railway material. When, however, some newly wrought points, which were required for an additional siding, disappeared, the railway engineers and divisional staff descended in wrath upon the battalions and compelled the broken-hearted Sergeant-Cooks to dismantle their improvised establishments.

Notwithstanding this discouragement, the cooks stuck to their tasks with that faithfulness which always characterised their att.i.tude to the remainder of their comrades. They never let the men down.

At Tel-el-Kebir had been concentrated the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions. The N.Z. and A. Division was at Moascar (near Ismailia). The 8th Infantry Brigade, which had arrived in Egypt from Australia about the middle of December, was covering a wide front on the eastern bank of the Suez Ca.n.a.l. The three brigades of Light Horse had recovered their mounts and were stationed near Cairo.

The camp of the 1st and 2nd Divisions ran for some two or three miles along the north bank of the Wady Tumilat, through which in ancient days had flowed the waters of the Nile to an outlet in the chain of lakes, of which Timsah was the nearest. The stream bed is some two miles wide and is dotted about with small villages and extensive cultivated tracts, whose edges are sharply defined by the sand and gravel of the Arabian Desert. On the south bank are traces of a ca.n.a.l excavated about 600 B.C., whilst on the north bank runs the Ismailia, or Sweet Water, Ca.n.a.l.

This is also a work commenced in ancient times, re-opened some 60 years ago and continued to Suez originally for the purpose of supplying those engaged on Lesseps' great work.

The camp backed on to the railway line and faced towards the open desert, to the north. The 28th was on the extreme right of the infantry, but still further to the right lay the three brigades of the artillery of the 2nd Division, which had recently arrived from Australia. The neighbouring ground was historical. On it had been camped Arabi Pasha's rebel army of 25,000 Egyptians and 5,000 Bedouins to oppose Sir Garnet Wolseley's flank march on Cairo from Ismailia. About 1,000 yards to the east of the 28th, was a line of earthworks--ditch, rampart, bastion, and redoubt--which, commencing at the Sweet Water Ca.n.a.l, extended about due north for nearly five miles. Other and smaller works lay to the west of this line. At dawn on the 13th September, 1882, the British, 17,000 strong with 61 guns, had attacked the Egyptian Army by storming the fortifications. Within an hour the enemy was routed with heavy loss, including 58 guns, and at the small cost to the a.s.sailants of 57 killed and 412 other casualties. The following night Cairo had been entered and the submission of Arabi Pasha and his followers received.

The first necessity, after the arrival of the Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir, was to complete the refitting of the _personnel_ where it left off at Lemnos Island. Here began in earnest the system of charging individuals for losses of Government property. Up to date, these losses had been attributed to active service conditions and considered almost inevitable. But now a kit inspection revealed a deficiency of over 1,000 worth of articles that had been delivered to members of the Battalion less than a month before. This condition of affairs could only be set down to carelessness, and as a corrective, those in authority ruled that the individual must pay. Then followed little debit entries in the Paybooks. These annoyed the owners, but had the desired effect.

The refitting was spread over many days, the greatest difficulty being experienced with hats, which were scarce, the requisite numbers not arriving until many weeks later.

The return to Egypt involved a reversion to conditions regarding rationing which were far from satisfactory. The 8-1/2d. per diem per man for groceries and extras was quite inadequate. Prices were higher and supplies more difficult to obtain. The soldiers could not be fed properly and grave trouble was threatening although all ranks were loyal and recognised that the best possible was being done to improve conditions. Eventually the Corps Commander, paying heed to the strong representations made, issued orders that the whole matter of supplies should be taken over by the Australian Army Service Corps and units provided direct with what was required. An immediate and vast improvement was the result.

The climate was found now to be very different from that of four months earlier. It closely resembled September in Western Australia, with occasional light showers of rain and nights cold enough to make at least two blankets desirable.

During the afternoon of the 15th January the 1st and 2nd Divisions were inspected by General Sir Archibald Murray, the Commander-in-Chief in Egypt. The Brigade was drawn up in a line of battalions in ma.s.s and mustered some 3,000 of all ranks. The General rode along the front of the Brigade and commented in very favourable terms on the appearance and steadiness of the Western Australians. In connection with this parade the Divisional Commander (General Legge had by now returned to duty) had been emphatic in regard to the dress of the troops. As a consequence company commanders were instructed to take especial pains to see that their men were correctly "turned out." When the unit was a.s.sembled the C.O. also inspected them and apparently found nothing to complain of.

However, when the distinguished visitor arrived at the front of the 28th, there, standing in the centre of the front rank, could be seen a soldier wearing on his head nothing less than a yellow cap comforter.

After the parade was over the Divisional Commander said what he had to say to the Colonel and, in accordance with the custom of the service, the Colonel pa.s.sed the good words on.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF TEL-EL-KEBIR, January, 1916.

Captain Rowan-Hamilton, Lt.-Col. J. Walker, Brig.-General J. Paton, Lt.-Cols. W. Dollman, G. A. Ferguson, and H. B. Collett.]

At Tel-el-Kebir camp visits were exchanged between the various W.A.

units. Members of the newly-arrived 32nd Battalion also called in on their way to Cairo. Brig.-General, J. J. T. Hobbs, from the 1st Division, found time to look in on his fellow-countrymen.

Leave to visit Cairo was now granted to a percentage of all ranks. As the majority of the pay accounts were substantially in credit this privilege was made use of freely, and a very pleasant and well-earned holiday of two or three days' duration spent in the city. Some men could not wait for their turn. They evaded the police for the time being, only to return later on, perhaps under escort, and face "Orderly room." There they usually pleaded guilty to the charge against them--convinced that in this instance the game had been worth the candle.

For some months past many complaints had been made at the front, and in Australia, in regard to the parcel post. Parcels intended for soldiers or their relatives had failed to reach their destinations. Where the leakage was occurring it was impossible to say. However, about the beginning of 1916 a change and reorganisation took place in the Army Postal Service and a tremendous improvement resulted. That this change was not viewed altogether without apprehension may be gathered from the remark attributed to some individual--"Everybody but the rightful owners has now been supplied with woollen underclothing, socks, pipes, tobacco, and cigarettes for the next twelve months, as well as with cigarette holders and wristlet watches. Why should we again have to go without whilst a new lot of people are being equipped?"

Training was resumed immediately the Battalion had settled down into its new camp. The General Staff still, apparently, held the opinion that the Turk, reinforced by the German, would advance on Egypt. In consequence, exercises in defence and in desert and night operations were constantly practised. The Battalion also studied those portions of the textbooks relating to savage warfare, to movements in echelon of companies, to the formation of squares to resist hordes of barbarian cavalry, and to suitable dispositions to counter the effects of artillery fire. During the dark hours movements on astral and compa.s.s bearings were tried and met with uniform success. Once a route march to an oasis some six miles to the north-east was attempted, and the hard smooth gravel in the desert in these parts made the "going" comparatively easy. Usually the training was carried out on the scene of the battle of 1882 and the feet, or inquisitive entrenching implement, of the soldier displaced many relics of that engagement which was sometimes referred to in short talks given when resting.

On the 22nd and 30th January, the whole Battalion, under Major Davies, crossed the neighbouring ca.n.a.l and the Wady Tumilat and, in conjunction with the 27th Battalion, engaged in a tactical exercise in which ball ammunition was used. The enemy was represented by tiles suitably arranged in the desert to the south.

Shortly after its arrival at Tel-el-Kebir the Battalion was notified that volunteers were required for a new unit--the Imperial Camel Corps--which was to be formed for operations in the desert. A number of names were given in, and a few days later Lieuts. T. D. Graham, H. R.

Denson, and J. F. Quilty, with a goodly party of men, took train to Abbasia to report to the I.C.C. Depot. Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant R. G. s.e.xty was promoted to fill the vacancy caused by Lieut. Graham's transfer.