FIGHTING IN THE DESERT.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 245, 26 January 1917, Page 4 (Supplement)

FIGHTING IN THE DESERT.

A WEEK OF BATTLE. I 1 NTEHESTiNG DETAU.S. Writing from the Aotea Convalescent Home, under date October 3rd, to a friend in Wanganui, Trooper L. 1!. Gibb give an interesting account of a 1 six days' li. with the Arabs:— "So you k'l', 1 am at Aotea, which meaiis 1 am practically at home, as everything is New Zealand, from the Aery efficient stall' to the dainty set tables and well-cooked food. Well, old friend, you will have s. en we had a little smack-up 011 tho desert, and 1 am glad to say 1 saw and took part in a'l of it, from i'omani and Rayston Mil-, to tho heavy rear guard action it Hir-El-Abd, G days' later. The first intimation we had of the enemy making an advance from their basj at El-Arish j was about July 20th, they having evi-j dently made a night's march, and dur-| ing tlio day hid in prepared ."belters and palm oasis, which made them invisible to the aeropkims. and a second night's march brought them to Bir-El-Abd, where there are a number of fairly good wells. Hero they dug in and took up a strong position, thinking wo <hould g: out to the attack; but the general staff very wisely waited, and LET THEM DO THE ATTACKING. Finding that they would have to eonio! further canaiwards (15 :-E!-Abd being j out from I'omaui), they advanced a I further six 111 ' -s, and again entrenched 'at the oasis of "Ozghratina," a strong petition. Here they stayed and made strong defence-", bedding their howitzers in a hard bed of sand mixed with some kind of cement, a" •' surrounded h.' wiro entaagk nts, all stakes for which had to be brought from their line in Palestine. Ail this ti* ie mounted j troops patrolled the Irollt. occasional.y | having a .-crap with < neiiiy outpost-., jand oieli day bringim: home a iew ;i'i- ! s.iiiers. On the night of August •'?" d Ihi v made their linn I advanci' in full | li>!'c(. towards Katia (n large o'isi-) "> n ibs from Romaui). Here they hail •> 'uiiti! midnight, Ihcii advanced <ui l'oj 111:: 11 i. Three lll'les from the Jailer p'jicc they were ii a by (he Ist and '2nd Ilu i'r >d- s i f the f.i'iht ll"r-e and flic | \\*.-lli 11 "j;f< n .Mount d>, and (he fighting 1 c .ii i ii: cue d. (he ino'inte I in en e'radu d!v | i;ll!ii<■ r hack "■) as to draw the eneitu ! i'.v !!' ■ • ■ ud d' 'i■ s of 1 f nil 111 : . \ I ( "ee .|> , ".I |.,,0" eel VI e eh-... li-> ■ e '■ !.i I , i'v i!-i rk and (*••• fe . h IT..| ~", V in•!- for e '.ill' . f .r< . '. and in j i ii \\ a i lo ealviag Ihf.y on l " ( n v. *j h ». rii-h i vine •

•ALLAH, ALLAH, FINISH AUSTRALIA,"

n;t Australia knew what was coming, md as soon as they had the enemy the sand dunes the whole garison of Koniani took part —artillery, liaehine-guns, imantry, and mounted —and ii w.i.; not very long bof ire .1 | j KU tion cl the force we - cut olf and 21 GO ■ irboners, a hat'ery of guns and ma- ' •nine-guns, and a great quantity of itks and ar.uinition a;:d equipment ~ vero secured. Meanwhile a portion oi force hud taken up a position 011 |, Mount Koystoii, to the south of -!o-i p mini, and tho Canterbury Mounted, j,, Auckland Mounted, Warwick, (jloueos-- M tor, and Wo-co-tor Yeomanry, all | ( mounted, with a battery of guns, were ' j arought up to attack. This lighting '| lasted all the afternoon, until at about j p.m., when, owing t., the splendid . .1 shooting 011 the part of the artillery, j and the concentrated lire of machine- -| guns and rifles, the enemy commenced v t > retire, but some smart thinking move- 1, mruts <m tho part of the mounted men ~ cut olf a large number, am! immediately tho j WUITK I'LA(..S WKKR SHOWN* IN*'! DUZICNS, • and throwing away their riiles, some t 7tJO to IUUU prisoners were taken, in- 1 eluding a colonel and 1' majors: also j machine-guns, some horse, and camels. I: was on this day (I. Blair and Lieut. 1 J'Yeelh wire wounded; also the padre, j The infantry taking up tli position at dark, tho mounted men, after watering the hundreds of horses at a railway 1 siding, managed to get a few hours : .sleep, but 1 eforo daybreak saw us , again on the way. making a wide Ibuiking movenunt southward in the direction ef our old camp (NoNon Camp). ! Tlio enemy having split in into s .vera! 1 batallions, a brigade of Light Horse, j tile itll. I think, attack d a force dug in at llainislia, and in a very short time 1 reiiti <| tl.em, c..pturing :ioi) pr:><iners, I i t". A cotiside''alp : e force having en- j trenched at K.isia, after retiring from j Itomalii and Mount I?o\>t• >ll. the w hole of the mount (1 forces available went 1 forward to the attack, support, d by 1 machine-guns, the brigade 1 f Light } llor-o going in with bj\omfs lixed ami a:- a steady gallop. Canterbury, oil their rght, al o galloped in to witnin I (I'M) yards of the en- :nv to the lir-t dip ie I lie ■ round, wlee we disiimunte.!. aod the order v.as given io go forward o'i fo.it ill slioi't ril It :. i |e: -eiadly !i"li '\ e as do ol her ; u !:o v. ere ore'' lit. 1 l|,at had the whole I'ore" goii > forward i , ;t sj. idV I illrgo at the ".ahop. wi'll jla.op-'ls lived, v.e slou'd have cipII every lean of Ih ■■ • -ay Ivfor"

their artillery had time to got the ( i ango, as we could distinctly sco them run from their trenches when they saw ' !li., Australian bayonet glistening in the , sun. However, wo fought a . HOT ENGAGEMENT \ ' t r\ the afternoon, sniping as we got a , chance (between the short ruslies), from bclund the brush covered sand t heaps. Tho shrapnel fell around us in shower", liko sowing wheat, while the | enemy kept up a continuous fire from their deverly concealed machine-guns 1 and rifles. V lien darkness fell and the ( fire died away, we retired to our horses, tiking our wounded with us. il, us • ended the second day's fighting. Ilia * ineniy retired during the night to c tlii'ir previously prepared position at , Oghratina. Here, tor the next two j days, was a continuous artillery duel, , the whole of oi;r batteries, also the ... i i liina Bay, concentrated their fire on 1 the enemy'fj position. while the mount- f c! men harassed their flank, and gatli- 1 1 ered in manv stragglers. On the night ■ ,y the 7th' August they evacuated J Oghratina, and retired t.> their strong < lino at Bir-El-Abd, where they had ac- , cumulated a large stock of amunition and high explosive shells. Here we attacked them on the Oth, and for 13 l hours there was a continuous cannon- < •>do and mir> and ma< liine-gun fire. Three times t!ie enemy erunter-attacked and wero driven oack with heavy loss. • Towards the afteroon they received 1 fresh reinforcements from El-Arish. and , i genera! a'tack along their whole line forced us to retire a ;hort distance, and as they came forward in ' close order the artillery in several in- • (stances caught them and caused great slaughter, while the whole of our force, with machine guns, kept up a continu- i ous fire until dark, when operations for . that dav were suspended. During the , night tho enemy retired to Bir-Sel- 1 mana. where on the 10th our artillery ; shelled them as they retired. Our regi- i ment had a I CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF ! CASUALTIES | i on that day (tho 9th August). Sam | Winter was severely wounded in the left arm, and has'now gone to Eng- I. land. Frank Goodrick was killed in j action; Major Hurst was wounded and j two or three of the C.M.R. officers were casualties. Many who were present said tho artillery fire was as hot i as they had seen in the heaviest of the , Gallipoli fighting, hut the enemy casu- j alties wero much heavier than ours, as : they left over 400 dead in front of our 1 positions. The same day the Imperial ; Camel Corps attacked a force of the retreating enemy at Mageibra. and took four hundred prisoners. This practical- • ly ended tho fighting, except for a ; long-range artillery action. I was sent , to hospital on the 10th with cholera, ' and just- reached Port Said in time, as it took two days to come in off tho 1 desert and down tho Canal. On reaching the hospital I was with two other : New Zealanders, at once isolated, and TREATED FOR CHOLERA, j and I can assure you, not for a fortune would 1 go through that week again. I just felt that I did not care whether i I lived or not. It is a brutal sickness, and the after-complications are almost, as bad. An Auckland sergeant who , was ill the next bed died after the ninth day. Poor fellow, lie stifTered severe- j ly. As more cases arrived, special huts > were built, away from the main build ings. and hero we were well looked alter. ]lj in all, a few having died out ' in tho desert at Katia isolation hospital; but the authorities put the out- : break down very quickly, and I don't think thero were more than half a dozen deaths for which cholera was im-1 mediately responsible. 1 expect to go 1 back to duty soon, as 1 shah soon b& ; as well as ever, and feet no ill effects of the sickness; but it makes one think, old friend, when one has passed through "tho Valley of the Shadowy' and it is great to feel so well again. I cannot I express in mere words my admiration of tho manner in which Dr. Hood and the Sisters and staff worked to stop the scourge from spreading, and their great kindness and attention I can never forget. Jt makes one think that, alter all, these women of ours, no niatj tor where they are, are doing as much 1 and more than we are; and 1 trust tliej j will bo justly rewarded when the great struggle is over.