Though the raid on Amman had failed in its primary object of so damaging the railway as to compel the withdrawal of the Turkish forces in the Hedjaz, it had succeeded in drawing northwards and retaining not only the Turkish troops which had been operating against the Arabs, but also a portion of the garrison of Maan and the stations farther south. Indeed the number of enemy troops east of the Jordan, in the Amman-El Salt-Shunet Nimrin area, was doubled as a result of these operations.
Taking advantage of this weakening of the Turkish forces opposed to him, the Emir Feisal renewed his attempts on Maan, and, during the first half of April, successfully destroyed a considerable portion of the railway both north and south of it, and even captured an outwork of the town itself, within two miles of the main positions.
Apart from the help given to the Arabs, the raid had resulted in a loss to the enemy of nearly 1000 prisoners and of all his ammunition and stores at El Salt. His losses in killed and wounded were estimated to have been not less than 1700.
Moreover the bridgehead which had been established across the Jordan at Ghoraniyeh was maintained and improved, and, a little later on, another bridge was thrown over the river some four miles farther north, at the mouth of the river Auja.
These bridges were a perpetual menace to the Turks across the Jordan, and caused them great un[Pg 154]easiness. On April 11th they made a determined attack on the Ghoraniyeh bridgehead simultaneously with an attack by German troops on our positions west of the Jordan, north of the Wadi el Auja. The bridgehead was held at the time by the 1st A.L.H. Brigade, and the Auja positions by the 2nd A.L.H. Brigade and the Camel Corps. Both attacks were pressed vigorously throughout the day, but ended in the complete defeat of the enemy, who left some 500 dead on the two positions, and over 100 prisoners in our hands.
Towards the end of April preparations were begun for a second raid across the Jordan. After the failure of his attack on the Ghoraniyeh bridgehead, the enemy had largely increased his forces east of the river, and had improved and strengthened his entrenched position at Shunet Nimrin. At the end of April he had about 8000 troops occupying this position. General Allenby determined to try to cut off and destroy this force, and, if successful, to hold El Salt till the Arab forces could advance and relieve our troops.
The great German offensive in France in March and April resulted in the force in Palestine being called upon to send to Europe every man and gun that could be spared. Thus, during April, the Yeomanry Division and two infantry divisions, besides ten other infantry battalions and a number of siege batteries and machine gun companies, were withdrawn from the line, and embarked for France. These troops were replaced by Indian regiments, the Yeomanry by Indian cavalry from France, and the infantry partly by the Lahore Division from Mesopotamia, and partly by untrained native troops from India.[Pg 155][20]
It was originally intended that the raid should take place about the middle of May, when the reorganisation had been completed, and the full strength of the Desert Mounted Corps would have been available. A necessary part of the raid, however, was the co-operation of the powerful Beni Sakhr tribe of Arabs, numbering some 7000 fighting men, which was at that time in the district round Madeba, about twelve miles east of the north end of the Dead Sea. Towards the end of April this tribe reported that their supplies would be exhausted by the 4th of May, and that they would then have to move to their summer grazing grounds farther south. The Commander-in-Chief therefore decided to attack at once, without waiting for the arrival of the Indian troops, though, in doing so, he was compelled to carry out the operations with a considerably smaller force than would have been the case if he had been able to wait another fortnight.
Thus the troops available for the raid consisted only of the Anzac and Australian Mounted Divisions, with two brigades of the 60th Division, and the (Indian) Imperial Service Cavalry and Infantry Brigades.
There was good reason for the employment of this large proportion of cavalry in an operation that was to be carried out in country most unsuited for mounted work.
General Allenby was always reluctant to keep his mounted troops in the trenches, if he could avoid doing so. Cavalry are most uneconomical troops in trench warfare, since at least a quarter of them are occupied caring for the horses, and consequently are not available for the firing line. Moreover, while employed in the line, they are deprived of the opportunity of training for mounted work, and their horses[Pg 156] generally lose condition, since there are not enough men to look after them properly.
When, however, the three cavalry divisions were not used in the trenches, there were barely sufficient troops left to hold our long line securely, and very few infantry could be spared for extraneous enterprises. Moreover, though he would not put his cavalry into the line, if he could help it, the Commander-in-Chief had no intention of allowing them to grow rusty for lack of active operations. He was a firm believer in the old prize-ring adage that the best training for a fight is fighting.
The enemy's position ran north and south, astride the Jericho-Amman road, just west of Shunet Nimrin, his left resting on the deep gorge of the Wadi Kefrein, and his right flank thrown back in a half circle across the Wadi Arseniyat track to El Haud. Both flanks were protected by detachments of cavalry. From Shunet Nimrin two roads led back to Amman; the metalled road through El Salt, and the more direct track through El Sir. The former was the only one available for wheeled traffic, but the latter had been considerably improved by the Turks since our last raid into Gilead. The plan was for the infantry to attack this position from the west, with the New Zealand Mounted Brigade on their right flank, while the rest of the cavalry, moving along the east bank of the Jordan as far as Umm el Shert and Jisr el Damieh, turned into the hills up the tracks from these two places, and captured El Salt, thus cutting the road to Amman. The Beni Sakhr Arabs undertook to hold the Ain el Sir track. With their only two lines of reinforcement or retreat thus closed, there appeared to be a good prospect of capturing or destroying the enemy forces at Shunet Nimrin.
In order to prevent the enemy from transferring[Pg 157] troops from the east to the west bank of the Jordan at Jisr el Damieh, as he had done during the previous raid, one brigade of cavalry, the 4th A.L.H., was directed to seize the Turkish bridge at that place if possible. If, however, it proved too strong to be taken, the brigade was to take up a position covering the track to El Salt, and endeavour to prevent the enemy crossing the river.
Our force crossed the Jordan on the night of the 29th of April, and by dawn the cavalry were through the scrub on the east bank, and advancing up the narrow plain between the river and the mountains, led by the 4th A.L.H. Brigade. The 1st and 2nd A.L.H. Brigades were attached to the Australian Mounted Division during the operations.
The 5th Mounted Brigade, followed by the 2nd A.L.H., turned off up the Umm el Shert track, and made for El Haud, while the 3rd A.L.H. Brigade turned up the track from Jisr el Damieh towards El Salt.
The 4th A.L.H. Brigade, followed by the 1st, in reserve, continued its march towards the bridge, and was fired on, just after dawn, from a prominent hill on the east bank about 6000 yards north-east of Umm el Shert, known to us as Red Hill. The 1st A.L.H. Regiment (1st Brigade) was directed against this hill, and the 4th Brigade passed to the east of it, and reached Jisr el Damieh about six o'clock. The 11th Regiment was at once sent forward to seize the bridgehead, but found the Turks in great force and strongly entrenched, and was unable to dislodge them. A further attempt to drive in the bridgehead also failed, and it was evident that the brigade was not strong enough to carry out the task. Red Hill, however, fell to the 1st Regiment about mid-day, after some sharp fighting, and the 4th A.L.H. Brigade[Pg 158] then took up a position facing north-west about 2000 yards west of the foothills, and covering the Jisr el Damieh-El Salt track, from the Nahr el Zerka to a point about half a mile south of the track, with the 1st Regiment on Red Hill. It was supported by the three R.H.A. batteries of the Australian Mounted Division.
Early in the afternoon, columns of enemy troops were observed marching down to the west bank of the Jordan. They were engaged by our batteries and dispersed, disappearing among the broken ground on the far side of the river. It was not known at the time that the Turks had a pontoon bridge between Red Hill and El Damieh. It was towards this bridge that they were advancing, avoiding the one at El Damieh, which they knew to be under observation by our troops, and within range of our guns and machine guns.
At three o'clock the 1st A.L.H. Brigade was directed by the Corps to follow the rest of the cavalry towards El Salt, by the Umm el Shert track, leaving only one squadron on Red Hill.
Meanwhile our infantry had attacked the Shunet Nimrin positions on the west, and captured the advanced works, but were unable to make any farther progress, in face of greatly superior numbers of the enemy.
The 3rd A.L.H. Brigade, pushing very fast up the track from Jisr el Damieh, approached El Salt late in the afternoon, and was held up by fire from some enemy works covering the town on the north-west. The 9th and 10th Regiments attacked these works at once, and stormed them with the bayonet after a stiff fight. As soon as the position was taken, the 8th Regiment, which had been held in reserve under cover, mounted and galloped into the town, which[Pg 159] was full of enemy troops. The Turks, surprised by this sudden charge, fought without cohesion, and the hustling tactics of the Australians broke up all attempts at reorganisation. By seven in the evening the whole place was in our hands, with some three hundred prisoners, a large number of machine guns, and all the papers and documents of the Turkish IVth Army headquarters, which was located in the town. The commander of the army, indeed, only just made good his escape. One regiment picketed the approaches of the town on the north, while the position was being cleared and the prisoners collected.
A squadron of the 8th Regiment pursued the enemy some distance down the Amman road, and captured a considerable number of prisoners. On its return, about eleven o'clock at night, the 10th Regiment was sent out along the road in the dark, to make good the junction of the Amman-Ain el Sir roads, some seven miles east of El Salt. The enemy was located in position astride the road at Ain Hemar, just west of the junction, and, as it was impossible to ascertain his strength in the darkness, the regiment threw out pickets, and remained facing the Turks till daylight.
The 5th Mounted and the 2nd and 1st A.L.H. Brigades, with the headquarters of the Australian Mounted Division and two mountain batteries, were overtaken by night on the Umm el Shert track. They had to lead their horses in single file up a very steep goat path, and made but slow progress. The head of the column reached El Salt early in the morning of the 1st of May, and the 2nd Brigade at once pushed on along the Amman road to Ain Hemar, drove off the small force of Turks there, and occupied the road junction. The 3rd Brigade held an outpost line north-west and north of El Salt, and the 1st[Pg 160] Brigade a similar line to the west, astride the El Shert track. The three brigades thus formed a cordon round El Salt on the east, north, and west. The 5th Brigade was ordered to move down the main road towards Shunet Nimrin, and attack the enemy's rear vigorously.
Meanwhile, down in the valley, the 4th A.L.H. Brigade was in difficulties. All night long the enemy had been crossing the river unseen, by the pontoon bridge mentioned above. About half-past seven in the morning some 4000 Turkish infantry deployed from the broken ground east of the Jordan, and advanced in open order, with their right flank directed on the gap between the left of the 4th Brigade and Red Hill. When the 1st Brigade had been withdrawn the previous evening, leaving only one squadron on the hill, General Grant had sent a squadron from the 11th Regiment to reinforce it, and had ordered two armoured cars which he had with him to watch the gap. One of these cars was put out of action very soon by a direct hit from a Turkish shell, but the other remained in action, and did much to stem the first rush of the Turks, until it was forced to retire, owing to casualties and lack of ammunition.
Our three batteries at once opened a rapid and accurate fire on the advancing Turks. They were immediately engaged by enemy batteries on the west bank of the Jordan, and heavily shelled, but continued in action, and caused severe casualties to the enemy.
Simultaneously with the attack from the west, about 1000 Turkish infantry and 500 cavalry, who had made their way up the Nahr el Zerka, debouched from the river bed, and attacked the right flank of the 4th Brigade. This attack was driven off, after[Pg 161] a very sharp fight, but the Turks still continued to advance over the open ground from the west. At nine o'clock their forward lines had been annihilated by our fire, and they fell back a little, taking cover in some broken ground.
For about an hour there was a lull in the fighting. At ten o'clock a large body of the enemy, that had evidently worked south along the bed of the Jordan, suddenly appeared in the open, and swept over Red Hill, overwhelming the little garrison there. The remnants of our two squadrons withdrew to the broken ground south and south-east of the hill.
Immediately afterwards, the Turks attacked again along the whole line, rushing forward recklessly, shouting 'Allah! Allah! Allah!' Our small force, outnumbered by five to one, and hampered by its horses in the difficult country, was gradually forced back to the east against the hills, fighting desperately every step of the way. The right flank was driven back across the El Damieh-El Salt track, and the enemy entered the foothills north of the track, and began to work round to the rear. At the same time parties of Turks began to push southwards, between the left flank of the 4th Brigade and the remnants of the Red Hill garrison, now clinging grimly to their position south of the hill. Two troops, all that could be spared, were sent out to try and check this movement long enough to allow the right flank of the brigade to be withdrawn. The brigade headquarters and every man of 'B' Battery H.A.C. that could be spared from the service of the guns were also thrown into the fight. This little handful of men fought heroically, but hopelessly, against the ever advancing waves of the enemy, and at last was pushed back across our line of retreat to the south.
When his right flank was turned, General Grant,[Pg 162] realising the impossibility of holding on any longer in the face of such odds, had ordered a retirement to a shorter line farther south, covering the Umm el Shert track. The right flank regiment was to retire first, followed by the regiment in the centre, and the line was to be re-formed, east and west across the valley, just north of Red Hill.
The brigade was now, however, in a very difficult position. Our troops had been forced back till they were facing due west, with their backs to the tangled maze of rocky hills, impassable for cavalry and guns. Some of the Turks were across their line of retreat to the south, though only in small numbers as yet. Others were working round the right flank of the brigade. All along the line our troops were hotly engaged at close quarters. To withdraw to a flank under such conditions was a very hazardous operation, but it appeared to offer the only chance of extricating the brigade from its desperate situation.
Two regiments of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade, which had been co-operating in the attacks on the Shunet Nimrin positions from the south, had been despatched to the assistance of the 4th Brigade, but they had fifteen miles of bad ground to cover, and could not possibly arrive in time to save the position. The most they could hope to do was to form a rallying point for the 4th Brigade to fall back upon.
The 4th A.L.H. Regiment, on the right flank, held on till the enemy closed to within 200 yards, in a desperate effort to cover the retirement of our guns. 'A' Battery H.A.C. was in this sector of the line, the Notts Battery R.H.A. near the centre, and 'B' Battery H.A.C. at the south end. The position of the two northernmost batteries was quite hopeless. Driven back to the verge of the impassable hills, they[Pg 163] were in action in the open in the front line, and the only way of retreat feasible for wheeled vehicles was to the south, down the line of our troops, and in full view of the enemy at a few hundred yards distance.
Nevertheless the two batteries fought steadily on, attempting the impossible task of retiring by sections to the left flank. Each time a Turkish attack broke and melted away before their fire, the enemy dead lay a little closer to our guns. Each time a short retirement was made, the heavy pressure of the enemy pushed the guns farther into the hills; and each time there were fewer men and horses to move them. At last they were forced into a position from which there was no way out, and here they made a final stand, fighting till all their ammunition was exhausted, and the Turks were within two or three hundred yards on three sides of them. Even then a last effort was made to find a way out, but the teams were mown down by machine-gun fire, and the guns had to be abandoned. The remaining men and horses scrambled up the hills to the east, and succeeded in reaching the Wadi el Retem. The Australian troopers accompanied them, fighting grimly and silently, as an old dog fox, run into by the hounds, turns on his pursuers, slashing right and left, and dies with his teeth locked in a hound.
'B' Battery H.A.C., having a shorter distance to go, succeeded in retiring to the south, through the enemy, and came into action again near the Umm el Shert track, to cover the withdrawal of the rest of our troops. During its retirement a gun was overturned in the bottom of a deep wadi, and had to be abandoned. A party of men, under an officer, descended into the ravine, and made a fine effort to right the gun and get it away; but the Turks appeared on the banks above, and opened fire on[Pg 164] them with machine guns, killing nearly all the horses, and the attempt had to be abandoned.
Scrambling hurriedly through the foothills, our troops reassembled on the new position about mid-day, and took up a line along the south side of a small wadi, facing north, with Red Hill, which was occupied by the enemy, slightly to their left rear. General Chaytor, of the Anzac Division, now arrived in a motor, and assumed command. He at once decided to make a further retirement to a position immediately north of, and covering, the Umm el Shert track. This withdrawal was carried out successfully, with the assistance of the two Ne............