The cavalry had reached their final goal, and their fighting work was over. But there was still much to be done. The Desert Mounted Corps took over the administration of the conquered country from Damascus in the south to Marash, in Cilicia, 120 miles north of Aleppo; and from the sea coast to Ras el Ain, 120 miles east of the Euphrates, an area of about 35,000 square miles. Corps headquarters was established at Homs. The 5th Cavalry Division, at Aleppo, had a brigade at Aintab, eighty miles farther north, and detachments at Alexandretta, Islahie, Marash, Arab Punar and Jerablus on the Euphrates. Later on, infantry, attached to the Corps, occupied Alexandretta, Adana, Tarsus, Smyrna, and other towns on or near the coast. The 4th Cavalry Division remained at Beir?t and in the neighbourhood, and the Australian Division at Tripoli, with a brigade at Baalbek, and detachments at Shtora, Lebwe, and Rayak. At the end of February 1919, when the Australians returned to Egypt, the 4th Division handed over Beir?t to the French, and was quartered at Homs, Baalbek, Rayak, and Deraa.

As was only to be expected after the events of the past four years, the country was in a most unsettled state. The crops and live stock had been mercilessly requisitioned by the Turks over large areas, and many of the peasants, left callously to starve,[Pg 296] had taken to a life of brigandage. The whole country was infested with robber bands. Even large parties dared not travel at night, and indeed few ventured to travel at all. Those whose business or duty took them about the country crept from village to village by unfrequented bye-paths, avoiding the roads. Merchants and shopkeepers buried most of their wares, displaying in their places of business only a few miserable samples.

The direct road from Damascus to Homs was so overrun with robbers that even considerable bodies of Turkish soldiers marching along it had been attacked and massacred; so that it had been, at last, altogether abandoned as a line of communications in favour of the longer, and far worse, road through Baalbek.

Within three weeks of the signing of the Armistice, unarmed pedestrians travelled alone and unafraid through all the land. On every road were to be seen throngs of refugees returning to their ravished homes, accompanied by carts piled high with household goods. When night came on, these people pulled off the road, and slept in peace and safety till morning. Merchants brought out their wares from secret places, and buyers crowded into the cities in thousands.

During the whole time the British forces were in occupation of the country, from the end of October 1918 till November 1919, there were only two attempts to disturb the peace, and both of these were nipped in the bud at once. The first occurred on the night of November the 30th, 1918, when a notorious robber chief, who lived in an almost inaccessible village up in the Anti-Lebanon, attempted to raid one of our ammunition and store depots at Rayak. The robbers were driven off, with the loss of six men killed and[Pg 297] twenty prisoners, and we had no more trouble of that sort.

jurisdiction

Within the jurisdiction of the Desert Mounted Corps.
The River Euphrates at Rakka.

aintab

Aintab.

The second attempt took place at Aleppo on the 23rd February 1919. A plot was engineered by Turkish ex-officers and local Arabs, to bring about a massacre of the hated Armenians in the city. The disturbance was quickly put down, but not before a few persons on both sides had been killed. Several prominent natives were arrested in connection with the plot, and tried by a mixed court of British and Arab officers. Those of the conspirators who were proved actually to have taken life were executed, and others were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. These sentences had a most salutary effect, and there was no further effort to disturb the peace.

There was a detachment of the Arab Army, about 200 strong, at Aleppo, and one or two soldiers were quartered in all outlying villages of any importance. It is pleasant to be able to record that the Arab Government made a genuine, and successful, effort to assist in maintaining law and order in the country, and the Arab Governor of Aleppo was always on the best of terms with our officials. The Governor at this time was Gafar Pasha, who had been a general in the Turkish Army, and had fought against us in the Senussi Campaign, where he was taken prisoner, and sent to Cairo to be interned. He was liberated, at his own request, in order to join the Arab Army, in which he commanded a division with distinction from the latter part of 1917 till the end of the war.

One of the most difficult tasks carried out by the Corps was that of restoring to the Armenians their houses and property. A Reparation Committee was formed in Aleppo, with representatives at Aintab and Marash, and much useful work was done. All houses that formerly belonged to Armenians were[Pg 298] evacuated by their Moslem occupiers, and, as far as possible, restored to their rightful owners. Very many of these had, however, been killed or had disappeared. Others, attracted by tales of the fabulous sums to be made in Aleppo by trading with the British, flocked into the city, and refused to return to their own homes. Many Armenian women had entered the harems of Turks or Arabs, and a number of these did not now wish to leave. They were well treated there, and protected, and they preferred the comfort of the harem to the prospect of starting again in the cold world outside.

The difficulties of the Reparations Committee were much increased by the intrigues and lies of the members of local branches of the Turkish Committee of union and Progress. These people had been the chief offenders in the persecution of the unhappy Armenians, and they, more than any others, had grown fat on the plundered property. Now that their power was broken, they feared not only the confiscation of their ill-gotten goods, but drastic punishment, possibly even death, for the many murders they had committed. It was not to be wondered at, therefore, that they should seize every opportunity to hamper and embarrass our officials in their investigations. More than one prominent local member of the C.U.P. had to be removed from his position as headman of a village, in consequence of his obstructive tactics.

Notwithstanding all these difficulties, very large numbers of Armenians were restored to their houses, furniture and effects were recovered or made good, and families were re-united. Some 3000, who were awaiting repatriation, were housed in the barracks at Aleppo, fed by the British, and given work at high wages.

[Pg 299]

It must be confess............