FIGHT IN THE DESERT.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 July 1916, Page 9

FIGHT IN THE DESERT.

TURKS ATTACK IN FOG.

A BRILLIANT DEFENCE.

(From W. T. Massey). fi' Kantara, April 30. The defence of the post at Dueidar on April 23 is a story to stir the blood ot Britons. A gallant little company of Ayrshire Territorials, attacked at dawn in a thick mist, held an important oasis against the overwhelming odds of six to one, when all the conditions favorable to a surprise attack were with the enemy. Captain Roberts's company of the Royal Scots Fusiliers bad to withstand repeated rushes of a skilful foe, possessing a full measure of cunning and courage; but brilliant leadership, as everyone agrees was supported by that dogged determination, the will to hold on at all costs, and unquestioned obedience to orders, which are the characteristics of the Scottish soldier, and a triumph was secured when the slightest mistake wouM have ended in a serious reverse.

Tor four hours the garrison of 156 combatants, who included an officer and a few men of the Bikanir Camel Corps, resisted the violent attempts of more than 000 regular Turkish soldiers and Arabs to break through the defence, and though suffering considerable losses they had taken the heart out of the attack, and the oasis was effectively denied to the enemy, before reinforcements could reach them. It was aiother four tours before the Turks were finally beaten off, with losses which must be at least onethird of the strength of their column, but the chief honors of the day were earned between dawn and 850, when the garrison unaided kept the enemy at bay, refusing him an inch of ground he did not gain under cover of the mist. Two more excellent companies of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, with a troop of Yeomanry, marched seven miles through ankle-deep sand and scrub, without breakfast and with heavy equipment, in two hours, to the relief of the garrison, while a squadron of Australian Light Horse moving to a station were diverted and covered nearly thirty miles to Dueidar and beyond before the condition of their horses compelled pursuit of the defeated enemy to end. Infantry and mounted reinforcements did extraordinarily well, but they yield the honors to the admirable command of Captain Roberts and the stout resistance of his men. >

ENEMY'S DESPERATE EFFORT. Dueidar is a palm grove a quarter of a mile long and a hundred yardß wide in a depression in the desert about fourteen miles east of Kantara. It is quite hidden from view until you .ride into it along the track made centuries ago by caravans moving between Egypt. and Syria. Nine hundred yards eastwards is a ridge of great value if the post was being held in force, and nearer are several lower ridges, from a portion of which there is a field of fire covering practically the whole of the oasis. The enemy only got on a small part of this important line, though he made desperate efforts to secure a redoubt which dominated the whole position. It has been the humane practice of the authorities to allow a Bedouin market to be held near Dueidar once a week, so that supplies of millet and other food might reach hungry Arabs. On "• Saturday two Bedouins came into Dueidar and asked for the grain their sisters had left there, but Captain Roberts was talyng no risks, and sent them under escort to the west. It was not for this reason, but because it was his invariable practice, that the garrison stood to arms before dawn.

The first heavy mist for six weeks obscured everything more than forty yards away from the line the Scots were holding, which was an inner perimeter with no posts more than 200 yds from the fringe of the oa6is. At 5.17 a.m. there was heavy firing and a tremendous burst of Arabs cheering in front of the redoubt on the crest to the southeast of the oasis. The enemy had clear1/ been hiding in a grove of palms about half a mile beyond, which is the mord refreshing to the eye in the sunlight because it has as a background the golden sands of Katib Abu Asab, a blazing hill which shifts its position and alters its shape every time the kamsecn blows. A DOGGED STAND. To the attack there was an instant reply. Veterans who had done their duty before shopped the rush with a rapid burst ui fire, and every Turk seen to upproach the wire entanglements paid the penalty. At the sound of the first shot every tent in the oasis was lowered, and the men in reserve went out to reinforce the eastern and southern posts, but after the first few minutes it was not possibk' to give aid to the south-eastern post, li'cnuse the approach to it was under machine-gun fire. Every officer and man who attempted to get to that hot corner was hit. The main attack was made against this post, which- was only partly protected by wire, and the frequent violent rushes against it were only broken by the superb steadiness of the handful of men holding it. There was a machine gun in this post. It was hit in five places, and three men of the gun team were killed and ono wounded, but % the other men fought the gun to the end, and most of the Turkish dead were found in front of them, the nearest body being twenty-one yards away. The Royal Scots • Fusiliers will not let your forget the part the Bikanir Camel Corps played in the strenuous hours of the early morning. The Bikanir officer doubled his men up the ridge to the right of the south-eastern post, where there was a danger of the enemy getting through. They had no sandbag shelter, and simply took what cover the crest afforded, and tliroughout the eight hours' fighting the Bikanirs, with their officer wounded, kept their ground and were well forward in the counterattack at one o'clock. The southern post was held by eight men, three of whom were killed. To the left of the south-eastern post a small party was holding an entrenched position on rising ground above one end of the oasis. Not far in front of them a machine gun was in action,, and its'position was so frequetly changed that it could not be located. It became necessary to strengthen this position, and Captain Roberts sent Captain Bruce, Army Service Corps (Territorials) with a few men to lengthen the line.

A NOBLE EXAMPLE Captain Bruce, ■ who was supply officer at Dueidar, on the first shot being fired offered to do anything in defence of the post, and, apart from the gallant deed which resulted in his death, he will be remembered for the sterling example he set. At nine o'clock the first of the reinforcements were sent to assist at the spot Captain Bruce had been holding so strongly, but in crossing an open space Lieutenant Crawford fell wounded, and lay exposed to a murderous fire, the nature of which Captain Bruce had experienced for at least three hours. This did not deter

.him from setting out on an errand of mercy, and he felt the sandbag which had heen his sole protection and ran to carry in his comrade. He fell mortally wounded and died in a. few minutes. His noble example was followed, •and fortunately with succeess, by Corporal Clifford. The corporal carried to safety Lieutenant Crawford and brought in Captain Bruce's body, though the fire did not slacken and the hazard* were known to him.

There were other cool deeds that day. The signallers had to lie flat on their stomachs to keep open telephonic communication. The bullets tore to shreds the matting put up as a protection from the sun's rays, but every message was safely and rapidly delivered. The dressing station was under continuous fire,, but every wounded man brought to it was treated with a care which could not have been exceeded if the temporary shelter had been miles away from whistling bullets, some of.which inflicted grievous wounds. These calm operators were in the oasis, and heard the flight of shells fron a Turkish mountain gun, which was badly ranged and threw its projectiles into the camel lines, well beyond the palm grove.

With the arrival of reinforcements the clearing up took several hours. The reinforcements were not a first strong enough to permit a counter-attack, although an aeroplane which had plentifully strewn the enemy positions with bombs reported laden camels were moving eastwards. But the proper dispositions were made and before the Australian Light Horse came up the Turks were in full retreat. The Australians were sent forward, and they added to the triumph of the day by taking more prisoners. The collection of seventy dead within fifty yards of the defences tells the stirring tale of the early hours betteJ' than anything else, and the victory was the greater because no foe could have shown more daring or determination to capture the oasis.