Imperial Camel Corps 1917-18

[Ed Kermode]

Steve

Yes, I've gone out and bought a 1 Terabyte backup drive, now I have to work out exactly what data files I need to keep backed up. Difficult, as I have various hard drives (inside and outside the computer) dating from as far back as 2004, a lot of it duplicated from drive to drive each time the computer is rescued. That's life in the cyber age ...

Then it will be back to the old "writer's block" ....

Ed K

[Fedelmar]

Steve ...

I have a lad KIA with the 1st ANZAC Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps on 11th April 1918 but war diaries finish end of March. According to his service file he was buried at Musselabah but CWGC has it as Jerusalem War Cemetery. Was the cemetery renamed as there is no exhumation info in his file. I would also like to know what engagement he would have been in.

Thomas William Campbell McKenzie 2403.

Thanks

Sandra

[stevenbecker]

Sandra,

I record this on your man;

McKENZIE-CAMPBELL Thomas William 2403 Pte Labourer age 19 Chicago SA Enl 21-6-15 Emb 4R/27Bn. ToS 12-1-16 to 1Bn 2Co 30-1-16 to L/Cpl 24-2-16 revert 30-12-16 to T/L/Cpl 18-8-17 to L/Cpl 27-10-17 to T/Cpl 24-11-17 KIA 11-4-18 Musallabeh "reported hit by shell fire to legs & thighs reported DoW". Buried at Jerusalem War Cemetery

This is part of a book I was working on but not completed on this action;

THE BATTLE OF MUSALLABEH

By Steve Becker

On the 2 April the exhausted Camel Brigade recrossed the Jordan River at the Ghoraniye bridgehead following the disappointing end of the Amman Raid. However, due to tactical reasons General Allenby needed the Ghoraniye Bridgehead kept open for prospective operations on the east bank of the Jordan River. General Chaytor was placed in command of all forces in the Jordan Valley and tasked with its defence. These forces included the Anzac Mounted Division of the 1^st and 2^nd Light Horse Brigades, New Zealand Mounted Brigade and the Camel Brigade.

While the major units of the division deployed around the bridgehead the Camel Brigade was allocated the line from Abu Tell to the Wadi Mellaha, north of the bridgehead which included the Musallabeh feature, attached to the brigade were two regiments of the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade supported by the 301^st Artillery Brigade RFA (60^th Division) and a section of 10^th Heavy Battery.

The Camel Brigade was at this time comprised of the following Companies;

Camel Brigade HQ BrigGen Smith VC

1^st Anzac Battalion

LtCol Langley & Maj Nobbs 2ic

1^st Co

Capt Wright

^2nd Co

Capt Mills

3^rd Co

Capt Hogue

4^th Co

Lt Love

2^nd British Battalion LtCol Bassatt

7^th British Co

Capt Deas

8^th British Co

Lt Inchbald

9^th British Co

Lt Brothers

10^th British Co

Capt Patterson

4^th Anzac Battalion LtCol Mills & 2ic Maj Hemphill (NZ)

13^th Co

Capt Nobbs

16^th NZ Co

Capt Yerex

17^th Co

Capt Hampton

18^th Co

Capt Howard

HKSB

Maj Moore

26 MG Sqn

Maj Millar

Aust Camel FA

Mc Laren

General Smith was given a large area to defend with his battered and diminished brigade he deployed the 2^nd Battalion on Musallabeh Hill or Pt 603 and along the Abu Tellul who relieved the 2/4^th Royal West Surrey and 2/4^th Royal West Kent Regiments of the 160^th Infantry Brigade 53^rd Division at 6.10 pm on the 2 April, while the 4th Anzac Battalion took up positions along the Wadi Mellaha and the 1^st Battalion was in reserve with the two Light Horse regiments of the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade when they arrived of whom the 7^th Light Horse Regiment reported on the 3rd April. The 301^st Brigade RFA (60th Division) and a section of 10^th Heavy Battery along with the Hong Kong Singapore battery supported the force along the Wadi El Audi.

The key in the defence of Ghoraniye Bridgehead was Musallabeh Hill lying approx 10 miles north, this large feature jutting out from the Judaean foot hills was 400 yards long and from 150 to 200 yards across extending from the southeast to northeast, the valley sides were steep on its east side as they contoured to the south, on its west side the steep sides limited observation from the top into the wadi below while to the north and west the ground was cut by a number of deep wadis which allowed the Turks some freedom of movement and two large hills named Brown and Green gave the Turkish positions for artillery observers to look onto the Musallabeh position. To the south the position extended throughout the Abu Tellul which had four large features veering in height to 343 ft and from Mesallabeh to the Wadi Aujah the distance was more than 2 miles.

The Wadi Mellahah on the eastern side of Musallabeh Hill proved a difficult obstacle by its steep sides which after the recent rains contain enough water to discourage direct attack in that area while the upper reaches of the Wadi contained a swamp and the muddy ground allowed only limited movement, the position from the Wadi Aujah along the Wadi Mellahah to Musallabeh was more than 5 miles.

On the 9 April the 1^st Battalion relieved the 2^nd Battalion on Musallabeh Hill at midnight, Langley’s Battalion was by far the strongest in the Brigade having suffered fewer casualties during the raid on Amman and so was given a large area to defend. Lieutenant Colonel George Langley still recovering from a wound placed Captain Ernest Mills MC with his 2^nd Company on top of Musallabeh Hill, replaced the 8^th company, which had completed limited work on the defence. The position was restricted and could hold only one company while the remainder of the Battalion were placed along the Abu Tellul with the 3^rd and 1^st Companies in post’s on the four highest points to cover Pt 603 to the Wadi Auji in the south. The 4^th company (less one section attached to the 2nd company) was held in reserve near the Bluff a small hill to the rear of Musallabeh along with Battalion headquarters. All posts along the battalions line was ordered to be placed about 500 yards apart and were to be held at least two officers and 40 men where possible.

The 4^th Anzac Battalion had deployed three companies in line along the Wadi Mullaha from Musallabeh Hill to the Jordan River with the 18^th company on the left flank and the 13^th company in reserve, the position was long and could not be entirely covered with the troops at hand, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Mills instead relied on a number of section posts with interlocking fields of fire to cover the area and the reserve company to counterattack.

The 2^nd Battalion had all four depleted companies around the crossing of the Wadi El Audi with the 6^th and 7^th Light Horse Regiments to their rear. Both Light Horse Regiments provided patrols to cover the gap between the 1^st and 4^th Anzac Battalions north of the Bluff as well as patrolling on the flanks. On the 9 April the 10^th company sent three sections under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Nottidge to support the 1^st Battalion and occupied a number of posts on the Abu Tellul while one section of the 9^th company under Lieutenant Alexander Worth was sent to the eastern end of the wadi Aujah overlooking the Jordan River.

The Brigade at this time was in a sorry state with many of the animals suffering from the effects of the weather, terrain and disease and well below strength from its losses during the Amman Raid both the 2^nd and 4^th Battalions had shouldered the brunt of the fighting during this battle and more than half their companies were lucky to muster 80 men, each camel holder being required to hold twelve animals instead of the normal four allowing more men for the firing line.

General Smith ordered the defences constructed with all work to be finished as quickly as possible, as an attack was expected on the bridgehead and all battalions tried to work on the trenches yet the ground was rocky and little impression could be made with the tools available to a mounted Brigade, some wiring was done on the hill however not to any extent.

While Allenby’s Army had slipped back across the Jordan river, the German Commander Liman Von Sanders was busy moving troops of the 4^th Turkish Army from Amman down to the Ghoraniye Bridgehead this was held by the 8^th Turkish Corps just south of Es Salt which included weak units of the 48^th Turkish Division and the East Jordan Group known to the Turks as the Seria Group now organized as a below strength mixed Division called Lutfu Murettep, also elements of Pasha II Group of the German Asia Corps and two Turkish Cavalry Regiments (6^th and 7^th) of the 3^rd Turkish Cavalry Division, while to the north in the 7^th Turkish Armies sector west of the Jordan River, the 20^th Turkish Corps of the 53^rd Division moved south of Nablus to threaten Musallabeh and the Ghoraniye bridgehead from that direction.

During the 1st week of April Colonel Selahattin commander of the 53rd Division pushed elements of his division down towards Musallabeh into the Wadis north of that hill and carried out a reconnaissance with the attached 8^th Turkish Cavalry Regiment 3^rd Cavalry Division of the area to be attacked.

The 53^rd Division were old sparing partners of the Camel Brigade having first met during the 2^nd Gaza Battle in April 1917, there the Camel Brigade come off second best in a long day fight and suffered their highest casualties of the war.

The 145^th Turkish Infantry Regiment (46^th Division) attached to the 53^rd Division led the forces supported by the experienced 163^rd Turkish Infantry Regiment and a number of batteries of the 14^th Artillery Regiment. These units moved into the hills north of Musallabeh and prepared for the assault while the 8^th Cavalry Regiment moved down along the Jordan to threaten that flank.

The success of which all these preparations that the Turks being ready by the 10 April. With the limited artillery available the main weight of the attack would fall on the defence around Musallabeh as its capture would compel the British to abandon the Ghoraniye Bridgehead, attacks would also be made on that bridgehead to pin the British and hasten their departure with the success at Pt 603.

The Light Horse patrols from B Squadron 7^th Light Horse Regiment were in contact with small groups of Turkish Infantry and Cavalry during the 8 and 9 April and A and B Squadron’s of the 6^th Light Horse were sent up the Wadi Auja and Wadi Abeid to protect the open left flank. The Turks started shelling Musallabeh from the 5 April looking for the movement of troops along the Wadi Auja and their Air force came over dropping a large number of bombs in the area which killed a number of animals and disrupted the supply services of the Camel Transport Corps.

On the 10 April Turkish artillery fire increased in strength searching for the Camel Corps posts on Musallabeh, the men were busy working on the defences yet the ground was full of clay and rocks and made work difficult with the summer heat, still with the Turks ever observant a number of men were soon hit inflicting heavy casualties on the exposed soldiers. Among those killed were the defenders of an isolated post of the 4^th company manned by Private’s John Souter, Claude Jackson, Herbert Garland, Francis O’Rourke and Walter McAuliffe and a number of others from 2^nd company who were hit by shell fire killing John Souter while from the 2^nd company Private’s Joe Osborne, William “fatty” Miller and William Taylor were killed, Taylor was No 3 with Souter when hit in the buttocks, he died of these wounds later in the day at the Camel Field Ambulance as did Joe Osborne who had been hit by shrapnel in the throat.

One thing remembered about the Musallabeh position was the fly’s which swarmed in large numbers getting into every thing from food to drink, it was said that they were worst then those on Gallipoli only bigger while these were smaller and “you could get more on a slice of bread and jam”. At night the mosquitoes came out to the discomfort of the troops which with the resiant rains had provided ample areas for there breeding and malaria would soon become a major problem.

Once night had fallen the section post’s heard movement to their front and soon calls of “Allah” could be heard in the darkness, all posts were “stood to” and some nervous fingers fired a few rounds which was taken up by a number of posts however the Turks did not show them selves, much to the disappointment of the men. The troops knew an attack was coming as many of these men were old hands most having been under arms for three years and there were still many Gallipoli veterans in their ranks and knew the signs that the Turks were coming to get them.

At 4 am on the 11 April the Turks made no attempt of surprise when a heavy bombardment was opened on Musallabeh Hill and surrounding posts, this lasted for an hour with one shell falling every second on the hill during which the Turks crept up close to the 2^nd company’s posts before launching their assault. At 5 am heavy formations of the 145^th Turkish Infantry Regiment under Major Ali Riza attacked from the east and north of Musallabeh under the cries of “Allah”, soon the first soldiers were held up on the thin barb wire screen and shot down in large numbers as more pushed forward only the men of the 2^nd company meet them with rifle fire and bombs. The bravery of the Turks was impressive shouting “Allah” they threw themselves at the defences with abandon despite the intensity of fire directed on them they came on again and again looking for the weak spot in the defences.

The Turks during this time were having to struggle up the steep slopes of the hill which made them visible to Australians on Musallabeh and Abu Tellul and once they became exposed on top the Cameliers opened an effective fire yet couldn’t engage those further down the slope without themselves becoming vulnerable to Turkish return fire which by standing up the Turks would pick off any man raising his head above the trench.

Captain Mills was wounded early in the fight and forced to control the battle from his HQ while Lieutenant Arthur Mackenzie took over the company in the forward area directing fire and encouraging the men as the Turks closed in on the posts manned by the 2^nd company throwing bombs and firing at the exposed heads of the Cameliers yet as long as the ammunition and bombs held out they knew the posts could be retained. Private Roy Woodhead was killed while carrying bombs from company HQ when a shell hit him, his pay book and a piece of tunic was all that was found two days later.

Lieutenant Harry Malcolm was in charge of one of the most exposed post on Musallabeh this post on the far right flank and was attacked by over 100 Turks from all sides still Lieutenant Malcolm and his small garrison crushed every assault directed at them inflicting heavy casualties on the Turks, he was wounded late in the day yet this isolated post held on.

In another post Private George Spring was the last man left in his Lewis gun section and while wounded held off attacks with his Lewis gun all day constantly exposing himself to the Turks and when his gun was knocked out he calmly fixed it and continued fighting while Private Tom McGrath in command of a section of the company bombers moved from post to post throwing bombs until he was hit in the head, his work and bravery helped the defences during this critical time.

As the struggle developed Private William McGrath, Captain Mills orderly ran messages from company HQ to the isolated posts when the telephone lines were cut, eight times he exposed himself to fire running up and down the mountain with messages and guiding reinforcements without being hit.

Within an hour of the start of the battle the first wave of the Turks appeared broken however the Turks had only gone to ground and opened a intense fire at close quarters on the trenches pinning the 2nd company with machine guns dragged up the hill and from snipers which appeared to be all over while a second assault was organized.

The 4^th Company at this time was committed as the Turks pushed around Musallabeh from the north as fighting spread to the Pimple with the 4^th Company and the flank of the 18^th company which became engaged as it directed fire at the Turks trying to attack the hill on three sides. After 3 hours of fighting the ammunition began to run low and at one stage one of the posts were throwing rocks down on the Turks yet the Cameliers mastered every situation with the skill of Captain Mills and Lieutenant Bob Love of the 4^th company who commanded a section post under heavy attack and where his skill at handling the Lewis gun teams broke up two Turkish assaults. At 8.45 am the worst of the fighting appeared over and the 7^th Light Horse alerted earlier to support the 1^st Battalion was withdrawn other then one Troop of B Squadron under Lieutenant Ducker instead a Troop from B Squadron 6^th Light Horse was sent to the right flank of the 4^th Battalion to support their open flank.

During this interval the 2^nd Battalion was ordered to send a company up to the 1^st Battalion as the remainder of reserve 4^th company had been committed to support Captain Mills. The 7^th Company had been alerted at 6.30 am and moved up as the Turks now hiding behind what ever cover they could find still inflicted casualties on the Cameliers, Lieutenant Arthur Nield was killed shot in the head trying to observe over the trenches for his Lewis gun teams as was Private Bob Quinn while Private Walt Feebry was shot in the neck, Private Tom McKenzie-Campbell from Chicago South Australia was mortally wounded by shell fire, as was Private Bill Raynor and Arthur Brown who were killed. Private Turlough O’Brien was almost hit by a shell only to suffer concussion and suffering from shell shock was comforted by his mates as the Turks cut off any hope of evacuation, the Camel Field Ambulance tried to extract the wounded however the Red Cross was no protection from the fire and the wounded had to wait till dark to be recovered. At 9 am Captain Deas took temporary command of his position on Abu Tellul while the Turks continued to shell the area.

By midday the Turks now suffering from the heat were desperate for water many were spared by the Cameliers when trying to find water a habit not reciprocated by the Turks whose snipers were kept busy shooting at any movement. The Battalion signallers had been working all day repairing lines cut by the heavy shell fire, these signallers Corporal Stanley McCallum, Private’s John Bond and Lewis Gitsham were on their feet for over 70 hours during the next few days repairing telephone lines and helping out with the defence while under the able command of Lieutenant James Holland the Battalion signal officer.

By the afternoon the Turks foiled in their frontal assault directed troops towards the Wadi Auja and the 3^rd and 10^th companies on Abu Tulul or Pt 343, B Squadron of the 7^th Light Horse moving from Tell Et Truni checked them on the upper reaches of the Auja and a mixed force of the 7^th and the remainder of the 10^th companies were sent to Abu Tulul with a number of Machine gun sections of the Brigade Machine gun Squadron as the 3^rd company was now drawn to the north to support the defences around Musallabeh.

At 3 pm the Turks were seen massing in the Wadis Bakr and Mereighat to attack the positions on Abu Tulul and at 4 pm a heavy bombardment fell around Musallabeh under cover of which elements of the 163^rd Turkish Infantry Regiment assaulted, this time they gained a hold at the base of the hill and still were unable to maintain there position, Sergeant Charles Ledingham of the Brigade Machine gun Squadron beat off one attack after other as they rushed his position, his section using their Vickers guns and bombs held them off enabling a quick counterattack which drove the Turks out of their limited gains and down the slopes by the aggressive used of the bayonet and bomb. At 4.30 pm the remainder of the 10^th company was moved up to support the 7th company while Lieutenant Walker’s troop of C Squadron 7^th Light Horse supported by moving around Musallabeh from the south to help clear snipers from the sector, this pressure stopped the Turks in the threaten area and relieved the danger from that flank.

By dark the Turks had enough after three separate major assaults on the Musallabeh Hill position they had failed to gain any ground and had squandered many lives. Despite the courageous attempt the Turks were now exhausted by the battle and had no water all day, furthermore the attacks around the Ghoraniye Bridgehead had also failed and during the night the Turkish commander ordered the assaults stopped and withdrew taking with them they’re many wounded.

As blackness fell over the battlefield the stunned soldiers of the 1^st Battalion searched for their mates and waited for the battle to be resumed, however despite the silence of the night there was much movement in the dark as the Turks withdrew. This allowed the Medical Corps to remove their own wounded and supplies to be brought up. The casualties were heavy amongst the engaged companies and the men were exhausted by their experience, the 2^nd company whose strength never numbered more than 100 men had lost around 60 casualties.

With the coming morning patrols of the 2^nd Battalion and A Squadron 7^th Light Horse Regiment were dispatched covered by the A Squadron 6^th Light Horse, they found and counted over 170 dead Turks around the Musallabeh position and discovered they had withdrawn into the hills to the north, one Turkish Cavalry soldier was captured by C Squadron 7^th Light Horse Regiment. On the 12 April the Brigade changed its positions as the 2^nd Battalion took over the left flank along the Abu Tellul and the 1^st Battalion concentrated in the centre, the 4^th Battalion remained in its present location. One company of the Patiala Imperial Service Regiment moved up to assist the 2nd Battalion.

Patrols continued during the week to encounter groups of Turks and the Hill was shelled however there was no serious fighting in this area, a number of deserters came in and on the 15 April the Commander and Chief General Allenby arrived to inspect the Brigade, he complemented the men on their actions and recommended that Musallabeh Hill or Pt 603 should be renamed the Camels Hump in Honour of the Brigade for their stout defence.

This was to be the last major action by the Camel Brigade and the casualties again reflected the aggressive bravery of the Camel soldiers.

The casualties to the Australians of the 1^st Battalion were one officer (Lieutenant Nield), 18 men killed and four officers and 82 other ranks wounded of which two men died of wounds, principally all in the 2^nd Company.

The 2^nd Battalion reported three men killed and nine men wounded while the Brigade Machine Gun Squadron did not record any casualties.

The 4^th Anzac Battalion reported their losses as three men wounded while New Zealanders of the 16^th Company were not engaged and recorded no casualties

Cheers

S.B

[Fedelmar]

Thanks heaps Steve

[edith clifford]

Hi Steve.

I have been trying to find my gr uncle Joseph Arthur Fletcher.

Dave found his metal card He was with Glouc Yeo #3077 and MGC cav #110540

but from here I hit a brick wall.Dave suggested I try you to see if uncle went into theICC

Do you have any ideas?

Frank

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

I am sorry to say the Glostershire Yeomanry were not used for the ICC, so far I have only found two possible men from the Glosters that possibly transfered over,

Bailey FH Lt Ex Gloster Yeo
Jones William G. 50892 Pte 9Co Ex Gloster Yeo (1662) and (235030) WIA 27-3-18

None of the first five companies were drawn from the Gloster Yeo,

The units if I understand your county names were drawn for these Yeomanry units;

6Co - Cheshire, Shropshire, Montgomery and Denbeigh units.

7Co - Scottish and Border Yeomanry units

8Co - Bucks, London Yeomanry, Berks and Dorset units.

9Co - London units

10Co - East Riding, Stafford and Lincolin units.

Its possble the unit he went to was one of the Bde MG Sqns formed to suport the Yeomanry Bdes.

Sorry

S.B

[jamesday]

Hi Steve

Could you tell me anything about a 1C 2R relative of mine, Cuthbert Harvey? Born 1893? Pvt. 8th Coy ICC 50172. Died 28/3/18. Buried Damascus. I recently found him on the Memorial in Embankment Gardens.

Thank you very much.

James

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

I record him as;

Harvey Cuthbert 50172 Pte 8Co Ex West Kent Yeo (2003) and Hussars and West Kent Regt (270934) DoW 28-3-18

He was shot during the fighting outside Amman during the last days of march 1918, I wrote this articale on the fighting there, hope it helps?

BATTLE OF AMMAN

By Steve Becker

.

With the fall of Jericho on the 12 March 1918 the Jordan Valley was now firmly under British control and this victory along with the success of the Arab Army under the Emir Feisal with the capture of Aqaba had enabled General Allenby to make plans to draw the Turkish Army away from his exposed northern flank by a raid on the Turkish supply and communications base at Amman.

This raid would have many benefits to the Allied cause, first it would unite both British and Arab forces which up too now had been fighting a separate war, secondly it would help Feisal by drawing the present Turkish forces engaged in fighting the Arab Army back to Amman leaving Feisal free to capture Maan and to advance on Amman, thirdly draw Turkish forces away from any planned offensives and lastly it could destroy enough of the Hejaz Railway to put this vital line of transportation out of the war for some time.

General Allenby entrusted this important operation to General J.S. Shea (commander of the 60^th Division) which was christened “Shea’s Force”. It consisted of the Australian and New Zealand (Anzac) Mounted Division under General Chaytor, the 60^th Infantry Division, with the Camel Brigade and the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade. General Shea was instructed by General Allenby to first secure the passage of the Jordan River by the 19th March then to bridge the river and advance on and capture Es Salt with his infantry then push his cavalry onto Amman to destroy the railway with particular attention of the Viaduct bridge and tunnel with other bridges both north and south were also to be destroyed, some 20,000 men were promised by the Beni Sakhr Arabs to assist the operation nevertheless at no time did any arrive.

The Camel Brigade since the disastrous months of November and December had under gone an urgent period of rest and recovery. The men in preparation for the coming operations had been sent on long route marches into the desert in order to build up their endurance, while the Brigade formed a number of demolition teams under Royal Engineer (RE) officers for the coming offensive. The Brigade also underwent a period of reorganization as a number of companies were reduced from the untenable strength of six officers and 179 men to five officers and 129 men by reducing the number of soldiers within the sections, the Battalion Headquarters still retained a strength of five officers and 22 men while demolition teams were formed from the surplus of one officer and 24 men.

The Brigade at this time consisted of the following troops;

Camel Bde HQ

BrigGen Smith

1^st Anzac Battalion

LtCol Langley

1^st Co

Lt Nicholson

Maj Nobbs (2ic)

2^nd Co

Capt Mills

3^rd Co

Capt Hogue

4^th Co

Capt Denson

2^nd British Battalion

LtCol Buxton

7^th Co

Capt Deas

Maj Day (2ic)

8^th Co

Capt Tredinnick

9^th Co

Capt Newsom

10^th Co

Lt Lyall

4^th Anzac Battalion

LtCol Mills

13^th Co

Capt Howard

Maj Hemphill (2ic)

16^th NZ Co

Capt Yerex

17^th Co

Capt Hampton

18^th Co

Maj Kessels

HKSB

Maj Moore

26 MG Sqn

Maj Millar

Camel FA

LtCol McLaren

On the 10 March the Camel Brigades advance party left Sheial and moved up to Bethlehem with the balance of the Brigade following over the next few days, they’re concentrating on the 18th March, this short stay enabled the men to visit the many Christian sites in the area.

The Turkish Armies since November had been steadily rebuilding their forces along a wide front from Jaffa to Amman, however General Liman Von Sanders had little to stop any British advance directed on Amman whose garrison called the East Jordan Group or to the Turks, the Seria Group of the 48^th Division HQ under Lieutenant Colonel Asim Bey consisted only a few companies of the 3^rd Battalion 150^th Regiment (48^th Division) which also manned a number of guard posts along the Hejaz Railway. These forces were divided into two areas, the Northern group under Lieutenant Colonel Omer Lutfu Bey commanding officer of the 126^th Infantry Regiment (11^th Division) covering Es Salt and Ghoraniye

with only the second battalions from the 150^th (48^th Division) and 159^th Regiments (24^th Division) with a battery of guns and the southern Group under Captain Ahmet Bey covering south of Ghoraniye with some irregular Circassian Cavalry with the 48^th Divisional Cavalry Squadron and a Camel Company covered the area from Amman to the Jordan River.

The largest Turkish Forces in the area were in the south fighting the Arabs, known as the Tafila Force this was a formidable unit strong in machine guns and contained the German 703^rd Battalion of the German Asia Corps which unknown to British was returning to Amman on the 21 March, the Turkish forces arrayed to stop Allenby numbered not more then two thousand fighting men and 10 guns however with the railway working reinforcements could be quickly rushed to any threatened point once its direction was known.

As the time of the raid approached the weather began to turn difficult with heavy falls of rain over the area of operations flooding the Jordan River, this caused delays as the pontoon bridge could not be started by the Engineers and the Light Horse Field Troop Bridging Train till the waters had slowed down enough to lay the pontoons, this transpired late on the 20 March and all was ready on the night of the 21 March.

On that date General Shea concentrate his forces and during the next few days while the 60^th Division battled for a crossing over the Jordan River while the Anzac Mounted Division rested at Tal’at ed Damm in reserve.

The Camel Brigade had begun moving from Bethlehem on the 21 March arriving at Tal’at ed Dumm on the 23 March, where the Brigade rested and prepared of its turn to cross the Jordan River, it had twelve companies all of which were up to strength from the reorganization and reinforcements, most men were in good sprits having visited the birth place of Jesus. The troops were under strict orders to be careful of the Arab tribes, many of who were being won over to the Sheriff of Mecca, this was hard on some of the cameleers as they had been robbed and seen their mates killed and stripped by these “jackals of the desert”. At 7.30 pm the Brigade started to move towards the Jordan River, passing Jericho till they reached the assembly area in the early morning.

By the 24 March all was ready and the Anzac Mounted Division crossed the Jordan River with the Camel Brigade crossing before midday. Once over the river Shea’s Force split into three groups in which to carry out their tasks. The Camel Brigade was concentrated by 5.30 pm at Tel el Muslim and moved off with the Anzac Mounted Division HQ and 2^nd Light Horse Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Brigade towards Amman on the Na’ur and Ain es Sir track while the 1^st Light Horse Brigade and 179^th Brigade of the 60^th Division took up a blocking position in the Jordan Valley while the 180^th and 181^st Brigades of the 60^th Division along with the 10^th, 12^th and 16^th Mountain Batteries of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery moved north to Es Salt.

As the lead units pushed on at 6.15 pm, the track to Na’ur soon disappeared under the hoofs of the Light Horse and Mounted Brigades till it resembled only a goat path, an unfortunate delay occurred. It had been reported that the Na’ur track was fit for wheeled vehicles, however it was soon apparent that the many stores, ammunition limbers and guns could not travel on the track and had to be sent back to the river to be loaded on animals of the Camel Transport Corps of which the Anzac Mounted Division had been supplied with three Companies each of 550 camels. Meanwhile the Mounted troops pushed on to Ain el Hekr south west of Na’ur, while the Camel Brigade waited until eight pm for the stores to be packed before starting up the trail, the rear of the column leaving after 10 pm The rain began to fall as the brigade moved slowly along the narrow path while the Light Horse moved briskly ahead arriving in Ain el Hekr at 4.30 am on the 25 March.

The terrain between Amman and the Jordan Valley was known as the Moab it was made up of a number of deep Valleys cut by centuries of rain with steep hills rising to 4000 feet, a number of small villages dotted the area the largest of which was Es Salt with a pre-war population of around 10,000. This rugged terrain was in March dry however the late rains had filled the waddies and turned the tracks to mud which quickly dissolved with the movement of large numbers of troops and animals.

As the Light Horse and Mounted Brigades arrived in Na’ur the Camel Brigade was still struggling up those terrible mountains with the wind, rain and sleet blowing into their faces which dropped the temperature and made the going difficult for the men and animals. Through this mud and slippery rocks on which the camels had trouble maintaining their footing and where the camels often fell splitting themselves in two and forcing a large number to be put down while others collapsed and fell over the cliffs falling to their death. All this presented the most distressing sight as the Camels could barely move and had to be pushed along by the men who now walked by the side of their tormented mounts in mud up to their knees as they slipped, staggered and floundered up and down the mountains. One Veterinary Sergeant was in tears in seeing the suffering and having to dispatch a crippled camel with a knife as no shooting was allowed. Onwards they went through the night in single file leading and dragging the animals and at 7.30 am the leading companies staggered into Na’ur in an exhausted and dirty state. It had taken more than twenty-four hours to cover the 16 miles from the Jordan River when the head of the column reached the plateau around two am the rear did not catch up till 7.30 pm

At Na”ur the 5^th Light Horse Regiment had arrived short of forage and food, the men having consumed there available rations over the last few days and with their supplies now held up on the track the Camel Brigade kindly gave two days supply of its doura to feed their hungry animals and rations for the men from the limited supplies carried on their camels. The men said this food distribution was levied on them however all were glad to give to their brothers in the Light Horse, this levy would continued through out the campaign leaving the Camel Brigade without rations by the end of the battle and then all went without.

Warrant Officer class 2 George Hughes the Temporary/Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant of 4^th Anzac Battalion and now temporary Quarter Master was over the next few days kept busy trying to move supplies up to the troops and to make sure the men under his charge had enough food, ammunition and stores to continue the fight. This Herculean task by the supply units broke down later in the week with the sad result of leaving few units with food or ammunition.

During the night of the 25 March the forces pushed on to the Ain es Sir cross roads with long columns of cameleers travelling in single file trying not to lose the rider in front while others succumbed to their exhaustion and were asleep, yet the animals continued to saunter onwards taking care not to wake their riders. Arriving by the morning of the 26 March with a heavy rain still falling and the Camel Brigade again drenched and worn out, where an exhausted cameleer said that “1000 acres of this country wasn’t worth a hot glass of Cairo beer” while another mentioned that “he was surprised the Jews wanted it back” another said “it was the most trying time he had ever known” such was the morale of these fine troops that even in this fatigued state they could find time for a joke.

This last movement to Ain es Sir had been made along the high plateau know as the Gilead where the ground had now levelled out and notwithstanding this General Chaytor GOC of the Anzac Mounted Division decided it was impossible to push on to Amman that day as both men and animals were exhausted after three consecutive night marches. The troops, saturated through were allowed to rest on the sodden ground, no fires were allowed and while these men rested the remainder of the Camel Brigade slowly struggled in. One officer from the 2^nd Battalion told how after 72 hours on the move he was one of the lucky few who managed to sleep for 17 hours that day while others were fortunate to get four hours.

On the morning of the 27 March the sun came out as the force set off at 8.30 am. The Camel Brigade had detached the 4^th Anzac Battalion (less the 18^th company) to follow in the path of New Zealand Mounted Brigade along with their demolition party for a strike on Quseir Station which lay three and a half miles south of Amman, while the main body of the Brigade moved past Ain Amman with the 2^nd Battalion arriving outside Amman at 10 am.

The approach march to Amman was made along the old Roman road known as the Ain es Sir - Amman track which follows the Wadi Amman to the Citadel, an old Roman Fort in the middle of the City of Amman, on the right of the advance was Hill 3039, this large feature dominated the area south of Amman and it was separated from the road by the Wadi Amman which continued up to Ain Amman, Hill 3039 was made up of the high point and a number of smaller hills the largest of which was Kh Aishe. While on the left of the road was a long plateau which rose to the height of 2828 feet along which ran the Es Salt - Suweile track to the north, another wadi separated the road from the plateau in which were cut a number of natural caves.

Lieutenant Colonel Robin Buxton dismounted and deployed the 2^nd Battalion up on the level plain near Kusr which was around 2000 yards from Amman, while the 1^st Battalion under the acting command of Captain Herbert Denson OC 4^th Company deployed to its rear with the attached 18^th company in support. Two companies of the 1^st Battalion were still on the track, the 1^st company had been detached as escort for the supply column and as flank guard while the 3^rd company was retained back on the Jordan to protect the column from attack in the direction of Madaba and guard the vehicle park which was unable to climb the hills, while half of the 2^nd company was at Ain Amman with the Camel Field Ambulance and Brigade HQ acting as escort and guard, only the 4^th company and two sections of the 2^nd company were available to support the 2^nd Battalion in its attack.

When Camel Brigade deployed it moved all its animals back into the Wadi Amman for protection as the Turks gave warning with a few rounds of artillery which came as some surprise to the men as they had been briefed that Amman was only lightly occupied by a few Circassian irregulars with no artillery!

The only artillery to arrive to support the Anzac Mounted Division’s attack was six 2.75 inch Mountain guns of the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery of which four pieces moved into position to cover the attack and to give what little support they could with their light guns and limited ammunition supply while the two remaining guns were in reserve to conserve ammunition and act as Anti Aircraft guns. The 2^nd British Battalion formed up on the open ground to assault using the old roman road as a centre line with the 7^th company on the left and the 10^th company on the right under the direct command of Lieutenant Colonel Buxton, the 8^th and 9^th company were in support under Captain Arthur Newsam and the 4^th company was held as Brigade reserve.

At 3 pm the Cameleers began their attack advancing in artillery formation spread at intervals of three lines over the exposed ground, under the supervision of the 2^nd Battalion Intelligence officer Lieutenant Robert Rowan, and led by Captain James Leadbetter of the Brigade Machine gun Squadron who carried out a reconnaissance ahead of the attacking troops and provided fire support with the guns of his Squadron from the flanks during which Private John Pearson was killed.

The companies advanced slowly along the ridge line moving by section rushes as the Turks with held their fire until the last minute when the men had become fully exposed. Drawing near they came under a heavy concentrated enfilade fire from three sides as this bare crest was open to the Turks on Hill 3039 where they had their trenches arrayed in tiers at different heights, from the Amman Citadel in front and from to the caves to the north on the 2828 ridge. The 10^th company was the hardest hit and quickly lost the company commander Lieutenant Joseph Lyall along with Lieutenant Alfred Wallbank and the Company Sergeant Major wounded, while Sergeant George Clarke along with a number of men were killed. The Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery also came under fire from a number of Turkish 77mm guns which soon caused much concern as they struggled to maintain the support of the advance by firing at a slow rate.

Meanwhile the attack was progressing in rushes as the assault endeavoured too cross the open plateau cut by bare fields and small stone fences where the men were constantly falling after being hit. As the fierce firestorm increased, the 7^th and 10^th company were soon shattered as they reached to within 600 yards of the city however the fire was too strong and soon the troops became bogged down and forced to find cover as the men struggled to survive on the exposed slope of the ridge. The attack now died away with Privates Norman Oliver, Arthur Bennett, Philip Evans, Leslie Lyons, Victor Blackwell and Sid Howard among the many fallen.

As the Camel Brigade fought in front of Amman the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade had attacked to the north, yet they to found the Turks well entrenched and supported by machine guns and artillery forcing them to break off the attempt with heavy losses.

The Turkish defenders on this front were elements of the 2^nd Battalion 126^th Turkish Infantry Regiment (11^th Division) with its machine gun company. These soldiers had not long arrived from Damascus and along two companies of the German 703^rd Battalion had dug in along the approaches to Amman. The 703^rd Battalion counted the attacks to the north made by the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade, while the balance of the 126^th Regiment covered the approaches to Amman and Hill 3039 who along with the soldiers of the Seria Group divided between the northern front under Lieutenant Colonel Omer Lutfu detached from the 126^th Regiment and southern defences under Major Sait Bey. Over the last few days the Turks had sent reinforcements to Amman in mixed units these included those mentioned and also included elements of one battalion of the 191^st Infantry Regiment 59^th Division, a Mule Mounted battalion, the 59^th Divisional Cavalry Company and the 46^th Divisional Storm Company, as well as the Divisional Engineers and one field Battery and a mountain Battery of the 48^th Division,

Late in the afternoon the 18^th company was committed under Major Leonard Kessels to assist the advance yet the impetus was not push forward after Kessels was wounded and because of the heavy fire, Lieutenant David Fairweather assumed command and the troops joined the 2^nd Battalion in the dirt. There the men waited trying the escape the intense volume of fire directed on them as men hid behind small rocks till the welcome blanket of darkness closed in.

At the end of the day with the Camel Brigades defeat and the failure of the 2^nd Light Horse Brigades attack to the north made it all to plain to General Chaytor that Amman was strongly defended and would not fall to any quick attack made with the limited forces available to him and a fixed Battle would now have to be fought to have any chance of capturing this important objective. Chaytor also knew he didn’t have the troops or guns for such an attack and sent back to General Shea to send up the required men and guns.

While the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions struggled in front of Amman the 4^th Anzac Battalion with its demolition party had moved down to Quseir around 8 am, the few Turks guarding the Railway ran off on their approach and destroyed between three and five miles of track and succeeded in blowing up a number of culverts without any interference from the Turks. With the objective demolished the 4^th Anzac Battalion came under the command of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade and moved at 5.30 pm to the right of the New Zealand Brigades line near Hill 3039 to support them in taking the key to Amman’s defences while also watching the destroyed brakes in the Hejaz Railway.

As night fell on the 27th the exhausted companies of the 2^nd Battalion began to dig trenches advancing their posts further in the dark to confuse the Turkish gunners. The troops were arranged from left to right with the 9^th, 7^th, 18^th, 10^th and 8^th companies, the Brigade Machine Gun Squadron and 2^nd company were utilized as a reserve line using their Lewis guns while the Brigade Machine Gun Squadron was also used to extend the firing line with their heavy Machine guns. The 7^th company was the closest to the foremost Turkish defences on hill “400" in front of Amman and was kept under continued harassment during the night.

Once darkness had fallen, the soldiers of the medical corps came into their own risking their lives rescuing wounded men trapped in no mans land. Corporal Ernest Eatock of the Camel Field Ambulance attached to the 1^st Battalion went out with his stretcher bearers recovering wounded almost up to the Turkish trenches and under heavy fire, while Captain Reginald Andrews the 2^nd Battalion RMO was wounded during the day from shell fire. The 4^th company was also used as stretcher bearers to help recover the wounded during the night and as many as three officers and 70 men from the 2^nd Battalion and one officer and 11 men of the 18^th company were brought in before morning.

The daybreak of the 28th dawned with the knowledge that Amman would not fall till there was more artillery and troops, General Shea had sent reinforcements of two Battalions of the 181^st Infantry Brigade and elements of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade during the night which arrived around 10.30 am, all had little ammunition or rest during the night and against the advice from their leaders to attack at dusk and allow these new troops to recuperate instead General Chaytor ordered a General attack at 1 pm by all units.

The Camel Brigade planned to advance with the 7^th company under Captain Edwin Deas which was closest to the Turks supported by the 9^th company, they would be helped on the left by the 181^st Infantry Brigade and a squadron from the 5^th Light Horse Regiment who would attack along the 2828 ridge while the New Zealand Brigade was to attack Hill 3039 these attacks would it was hoped secure the Camel Brigades flanks from enfilade fire which had so devastated the 2^nd Battalion on the 27th.

At the appointed time the Cameleers advanced however instead of the expected support on their flanks little could be seen, yet despite this the men pushed on to within 250 yards of the Turkish line on the hill “400" yet could advance no further against heavy machine gun fire and shell salvos, three times Captain Deas lead his men forward only to see them cut down by a heavy barrage directed onto them from three sides and again the rank and file were forced to find what little cover was around and go to ground. The 9^th company bore the bunt of the enemies’ fire and Lieutenant Sydney Gowlett was wounded with Lance Corporal William Temple and Private John Proctor among the dead. At 4 pm Captain Denson led the 4^th company forward to strengthen the right flank of the 7^th company and to draw the Turkish fire. The 4^th company advanced quickly across the open ground and soon a heavy cross fire was directed onto them where they promptly lost a number of casualties in a few seconds, one man Private Harry Trevaskis had two bullets in the stomach. Captain Deas seeing the trouble in moving this company forward ordered them to stop and remain in position as the Turks fire was too strong. Company Sergeant Major Arthur Hermon from the 8^th Company on several occasions under heavy fire greatly assisted in rallying his company and kept it together. Once darkness arrived, the advanced line of the 7^th company was withdrawn with the 4^th and 9^th companies back to the previous positions as its present location was found to be so exposed, the woeful result of the day’s efforts was the further loss of two officers and 30 men killed or wounded within the British companies and with only a few men lost in the 4th company.

During the day the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery again supported the attack and suffered for its bravery as two of the Turkish batteries took them under a sustained bombardment. At this time the battery was still using only four guns because of ammunition shortages and these guns were observed to knock out two of the Turkish guns while receiving a large number of shells for the effort which wounded one officer and three men and damaging the gun shields with shell splinters. During the day the New Zealand Brigade requested assistance and the two reserve guns were moved to support them.

A conference of leaders was held at dusk by Captain Deas and Captain Denson who knew a frontal assault on the Turkish defences in broad daylight was sheer murder instead they proposed to try a bombing raid on the Turkish line that night. This plan was sent to General Smith who approved only he recommended the attack would best be attempted on the following night giving the men time to rest and reorganize. The 2^nd Battalion now held a frontage of more than 1000 yards with only 210 men remaining in the four British companies while only 90 Australians remained of the 18^th and 78 men from the 4^th company, the Turks still held a strong position with enfilade fire from three directions which controlled all the approaches and the garrison was believed to be considerable with many machine guns and a large number of German soldiers.

The reason for the lack of support on the Camel Brigades flanks during the day became clear once it was dark, as strong Turkish counterattacks on both the New Zealand Mounted and the 2^nd Light Horse Brigades had occurred during the day. The 4^th Anzac Battalion had continued with the demolition of the railway when at 11 am the 13^th company under Captain Howard was attacked by a strong force of Turks who reached to within bombing distance of the lines yet were driven off with loss by Corporal William Black and Private Albert Footner, then a counterattack under Lieutenant Robert Tree, Corporal Tom Bantoft was found shot in the head after the Turks were gone. Then in the afternoon the company took part in the counterattack with the New Zealand Mounted holding the exposed right flank of the assault. The 13^th company lost during the day five killed and 21 wounded, among those killed were Lance Corporal’s Fred Ellis, John Dunn, Privates Eric Jarrett and Dave Muir.

At 1.30 pm the New Zealand Brigade had attacked Pt 3039, advancing by rushes to within 800 yards of the Turkish line and suffered heavy casualties from the Turkish defences, not to be deterred the intrepid kiwis quickly reorganized and tried again at 4 pm this attack with some difficulty reached no further than 500 yards from the Turkish line were they could advance no further, yet this excellent position allowed a line to be formed on some low ridges at the foot of Pt 3039 which could be exploited on the morrow.

On the morning of the 29 March it was still raining and General Chaytor decided not to attack till more troops could be made available, he proposed and issued orders for the attack to be resumed at 2 am on the 30 March preferring a night attack to the folly of another daylight assault. The Camel Brigade spent a quiet morning as the Turks had withheld its fire thus allowing General Smith to visit with all officers to discuss the attack that night, he placed Lieutenant Fred Matthews in command of the 4^th company allowing Captain Denson to command the 1^st Battalion as Lieutenant Colonel Langley had been wounded in the face by shell fire.

In the afternoon two companies of the 2/18th (London Irish Rifles) Battalion of the 181^st Brigade under Captain Crossby arrived to reinforce the Brigade for the night foray.

Because of the shortage of ammunition in the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery, Major Moore was forced to send back to Es Salt for some of the reserve ammunition in addition as the Turks continued to shell the battery positions with one man killed and two wounded yet thanks to the British we did secured a little from the two newly arrived batteries of the IXth Mountain Artillery Brigade to continue the battle till more should arrive.

During the night the 179^th Infantry Brigade and the remainder of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade had been ordered by General Shea to Amman and were due from Es Salt during the day and while these new troops rested Turkish reinforcements were seen arriving by train from the north.

These fresh Turkish troops included two battalions of the 23^rd Turkish Infantry Regiment 8^th Division, those units were all weak in strength, about 300 plus men, these quickly replaced the casualties and extended the defences to the north and south. The British reinforcements which had arrived (it was hoped) offset any Turkish build up, this and the intercepted wireless messages which said “that the Turks would evacuate the city” (although it proved to be false), had convinced General Chaytor to continue the contest.

During the night of the 29 March the soldiers continued preparations till 10 pm when the attacking troops worked there way forward from the 7^th companies old position keeping low and moving in line, the men managed to crawl to within 50 yards of the Turkish trench without being discovered. At midnight the sky was suddenly lit by flares and a heavy fusillade was sent at the old trenches however keeping low the exposed troops made no reply to this fire and it presently died down without any casualties. It was a cold and dark night as the rain fell and a slight wind was blowing the rain into the faces of the Turks while the men tried to rest soaked through with the Turks only a short distance away and waited apprehensively for the word to go.

During this time the fatigued troops 4^th Anzac Battalion, were also moving into positions when a High Explosive shell exploded among the men wounding Lieutenant Leslie Williamson in the wrist and Lieutenant Aubrey Reynolds in the leg and killing Sergeant Harry Robinson.

The morning of the 30 March did not brood well for the Allied cause as rain fell heavily over the battlefield and as preparations continued the Camel brigade had moved into position in the dark. General Smith had ordered the assault to be carried out by a mixed force from the Brigade under command of Major Day, he assembled two sections from each of the 4^th, 7^th, 9^th and 18^th companies in the first wave under Captain Newsam while the remainder of the companies under Captain Deas formed the second wave in all about 200 men. The first lines in both waves were Cameleers while the two companies of the 2/18 London Battalion under Captain Crossby formed the second lines in both 1st and 2nd waves they also had about 200 men, the 8^th and 10^th company under Captain Tredinnick were in support with 120 men and the 2^nd company and the Machine Gun Squadron were held in reserve to provide fire support. On the Brigades left flank the 2/18th London Battalion (less the two companies detached to the Camel Brigade) were to attack along the ridge towards Pt 2828 to pin down Turkish fire while the New Zealand Brigade with the 4^th Anzac Battalion would attack Hill 3039.

Promptly at 2 am the limited artillery fire fell on Amman and the surrounding area, this time the advance would not start till news came that the attacks on both flanks had been successful and were now clear, as the troops waited in their exposed position the limbs of the men cramped as they waited in the cold till the word came at 3.30 am and the signal was given by Captain Newsam with a blast on his whistle.

The troops rose quickly (shaking out their cramps) into the assault and at once gained the first line of Turkish trenches on hill 400 showering the confused and surprised Turks with bombs, the fighting was short and deadly as the Turks fought hand to hand, some stayed to fight, more raised their hands while others ran taking pot shots as they disappeared into the darkness yet thankfully the fighting lasted only a few minutes before taking between 28 and 60 prisoners including two officers of the 126^th Turkish Regiment and killing the remainder. Captain Arthur Newsam was killed shot in the back by a Turkish soldier who it was said had surrendered and a machine gun was captured by a soldier in the 7^th company who having lost his rifle was armed only with two tins of bully beef while Private Archie Searle shot down five Turks with five rapid shots.

The men having secured the first trench now pushed on to capture the second line acquiring it as the Turks broke and ran back into the city, Lieutenant Fred Matthews of the 4^th company rushed after them with a collection of men and entered the city. There in the dark and rain they hid in the outer buildings however the hail of fire from the Citadel stopped any further advance and Privates Carl Pearce in the 4^th and Bill Thornton from the 18^th company was killed during the fighting.

On the left flank the attack by the 2/18th London along the 2828 ridge had at first succeeded yet had broken down under heavy fire and the lack of pressure from this battalion allowed a number of Turkish guns to be turned on the exposed Camel Brigade these inflicting many causalities with their enfilade fire which soon forced the abandonment of the city by Lieutenant Matthews whose men could not be reinforced because of this fire, he ordered the men back to the positions won during the night where the remainder of the troops had consolidated in the enemies trenches and waited until the dawn. While taking a message back to HQ Private Gus Jennison was shot in the head and killed

At 2 am the 4^th Anzac Battalion was to advance with the New Zealand Brigade to attack Pt 3039 which required them to advance over 1500 yards of exposed ground, along the way the troops had to bypass a strong Turkish position on the route before assaulting the first Turkish trench. The men of the Battalion were all fatigued most not having rested for the last few days yet despite the bitterly cold and wet night all were ready for the attack.

The attacking force deployed along the form up point on the Quseir track with the Auckland Mounted Rifles and 4^th Anzac Battalion in the front wave and the Canterbury and Wellington Mounted Rifles in the second wave. The 4^th Battalion had the 16^th New Zealand Company under Captain George Yerex in front for the attack with the 17^th company under Captain John Hampton in support both deployed in two lines while two sections of the 13^th company was held in reserve, with the remainder of the company with the demo party watching the breaks in the Hejaz Railway.

The advance went well from the start General Meldrum had planned his attack skilfully and the wind and rain helped by blowing into the faces of the Turks. Two troops of the Auckland Mounted Rifles secured the strong point in front of Pt 3039 allowing the remainder of the force with the 16^th company to assault the foremost trenches which were captured at the rush with the bayonet taking the Turks by surprise, the garrison (who stayed) were all killed while the others ran away in the dark and 23 prisoners of the 126^th Turkish Regiment and five Machine guns taken. Lieutenant George Sanderson the Battalion Intelligence officer, who had been ill and advised to remain behind, however had insisted on joining in the attack was killed during the assault. Veterinary Sergeant Matthew Kirkpatrick of the 16^th company who in the last days had been busy caring for the many injured animals took part in the assault doing excellent work with the bayonet and clearing a section of trench allowing the objective to be gained by 2.40 am. Private Eric Tapfield of the 13^th company had the misfortune to be accidentally killed during the advance when he progressed too far in front of the line and was mistakenly shot in the dark; he was found dead when the line reached him.

As the men consolidated the captured position shooting came from the second line of Turkish trenches 300 yards ahead and the second wave of the Canterbury and Wellington Mounted Rifles moved up and captured them with 14 prisoners and a machine gun, more machine guns and prisoners were taken as the New Zealand troops concentrated while others moved around the hill to clear it of all the Turks. The 16^th company as per orders was moved up to join the second wave and with troops of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles attacked the third trench, the Turkish fire was heavy yet mostly high and as the troops secured this last trench on top of hill 3039 the Turks fled towards Amman, the casualties thankfully during the assault were light.

The warming rays of dawn showed to General Chaytor that the only success during the night had been limited to Hill 3039, a number of trenches captured by the Camel Corps in front of Amman and 181^st Infantry Brigade to the north of the city and all were in danger of destruction as the Turks quickly organized a number of counterattacks against the ground lost during the night, the first of which came in on both sides of Hill 3039.

The defence of the Hill had placed the 4^th Anzac Battalion on the far right or eastern flank of the NZ Mounted Brigade with the Wellington Mounted Rifles on the Battalions left flank. All the Battalion worked on stone sangers during the night, these were built for protection as the rocky ground allowing the shallowest of holes to be dug as the troops had no entrenching tools and once daylight came it was found that the soldiers were too exposed on the top of hill so most were withdrawn to the rear trenches leaving only one section of 10 men and two Lewis guns of the 16^th company to hold it.

At 5 am the first attack came in supported by shell fire which smashed the stone Sangers the men had built for protection as shell and rock fragments sprayed the area. The shelling lasted an hour at which point the exposed section of Cameleers were withdrawn. By 9 am 500 Turks were seen massing to the north and at 9.30 they attacked yet despite their bravery the attack was beaten off by New Zealand troops with the help of captured machine guns. The Hong Kong and Singapore Battery had attached a section of guns to support the New Zealand Brigade in its attack however counter battery fire had smashed one of the guns sights and ammunition now ran out and the section was forced to retire to the main position.

Despite this setback the Turks tried again and during this attack someone was heard to order a retirement this allowed the front trenches to be abandoned and the New Zealand trenches were lost as the troops fell back to their second line. This order was reported by the New Zealand Mounted to have come from the Camel Brigade however it was more probity a German or Turkish officer who spoke English which fooled the fatigued troops.

This mix up was soon sorted out by the officers and a counterattack by the New Zealanders drove the Turks out of there ill gotten gains and down the hill at the point of the bayonet and the use of the bomb, the Adjutant Captain Alex Watt and the Regimental Sergeant Major Bob MacLean were wounded in the counterattack and Lieutenant’s Charles Thorby and Arthur Crawford of the 16^th company inspired their men in the charge who with Sergeant Harold Jones as they coolly rallied their men and led them back into the Turkish trenches. Captain Stan Howard advanced with elements of the 13^th company as the Turks made a fight of it however the men would not hold back and soon the Turks was driven off and despite the casualties the men stood on top of the hill shooting down at the panicked Turkish survivors as they fled back to Amman, the 16^th company lost Sergeant Colin Campbell and Privates Carl Bailey, Roland Wilkie killed during the fighting. In the 17^th Company Lance Corporal Stan Campbell was manning a Lewis gun when he was shot down, his brother Norm was the No 2 on the gun and quickly took his place only to be killed soon after, the Campbell brothers had enlisted in the 6^th Light Horse Regiment in 1915 from Scone NSW before transferring to the Camel Corps, they died together on the barren heights of hill 3039.

The Turkish troops used in these counter attacks were largely from the 23^rd Regiment 8^th Division and the 46^th Storm Company. Who had not long arrived and took time to sort out where the allied line was and the bravery of these men advancing in the open was acknowledged by the New Zealand troops who fought them. The veteran 23^rd Regiment (8^th Division) had been fighting in the Caucasus against the Russians for some years only with the revolution had moved down to the Syrian Front, to be detached and sent to Amman the day before.

While the New Zealand Brigade fought gallantly for there hard won gains on Hill 3039 the Camel companies under Major Day in front of Amman were subjected to attacks in force as the Turks was only 200 yards away, Major Julian Day was severely wounded in the arm and shoulder as the men sheltered from enfilade fire from artillery and machine guns under which a force of over 100 Turks attempted to recapture their trenches and reached within 30 yards before our fire cut them down and repulsed the attack with substantial loss, this assault was repeated again during the day as attacks continued without respite, the 10^th company lost Sergeant Stuart Craggy (reported MIA) and Lance Corporal Wilfred Lyth killed during this attack.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Leonard Brothers of the 9^th company help organize the defence after Captain Newsam’s death as the Turkish fire increased killing Privates Stan Stanfield and Herb Thoday and under this intense fire Private Bob Robertson carried messages from company HQ to Captain Deas however despite the courage of the men they were ordered to hold the captured trenches as the supporting artillery ran short of shells while some batteries had ran out. The Hong Kong and Singapore battery was now down to only three guns as one had been put out off action with shell splinters and with no ammunition left little could be done to support the men.

At 2 pm General Chaytor had ordered one last attack be made by the Infantry in the north yet it had little hope of success and with its failure the exhausted troops could do no more yet hold on. Lieutenant Herbert Denley was killed and Lieutenant Thomas Smith mortally wounded while attending to the defences, Private Arthur Mills of the 7^th company found him self cut off with a number of wounded men as Turkish counterattacks came in, he held the line encouraging the men around him and providing first aid to the wounded. At 4 pm the troops were ordered to retire back to the original positions abandoning the captured works however because of the danger this was not attempted till dusk. Once it became dark the troops departed under Captain Deas direction back to the lines having buried the dead and carrying back the many wounded. This was accomplished without the enemies knowledge even though they were only a few hundred yards away with Lieutenant Matthews commanding the rear guard with the 4^th company, as the worn out troops moved back in the darkness all the wounded were recovered however a few may have been left behind as some were reported missing later. The total Cameleers casualties in the attack were four officers and 40 men in the 2^nd Battalion killed or wounded with about 20 Australian casualties.

The 2/18th London battalion reported the lost of five men killed and two officers and four men died of wounds with the wounded unknown while supporting the action on the 30 March.

Meanwhile on Hill 3039 the Battle still went on as the enemy kept throwing attack after attack at the New Zealanders. The next came at 4 pm and fell on the Camel Battalion where the Turks of the 46^th Storm company out flanked the Cameleers line on the right and managed to gained a lodgement, Lieutenant Charles Thorby a butcher from Dannevirke NZ gathered a few men about him and led a counterattack to drive the Turks out yet was killed in the valiant attempt, while Corporal John McMillan carrying a Lewis gun advanced on the Turks firing his gun from the hip however he was soon killed, then Private Dave McConnell who had joined the attack by garbing a sack full of bombs, threw them with deadly effect until shot down, as Private Len Pask went out rescuing the wounded however thanks to the support of New Zealand reserves which in turn out flanked the Turks the attack was driven off. The casualties continued to mount in the battalion and the 17^th company lost Corporal Bert Lincoln (reported MIA), Lance Corporal’s Bill Brown, Eric Cheney (reported MIA), Privates Cliff Jenkins (reported MIA) and Percy Collins killed, while the 13^th company lost Corporal George Haag (reported MIA), Lance Corporal Les Delaney (reported MIA), Private’s Bill Temple and Will Trenaman (reported MIA) killed, the 16^th company lost Sergeant Charles Lovett, Private’s Gilbert Alexander, Tom Bowman, John Craig, Rupert McKenzie, Sid Mills and Doug Walker killed.

During the day communication between Battalion HQ and the forward companies was constantly broken by shell fire which fell regularly over the exposed hill, Sergeant Albert Hooper was kept out continually repairing broken telephone lines at great risk to himself. Communications were accentual to the defence which enabled reinforcements to be switched from one threaten point to the next and under the able command of Lieutenant Reg Jephcott never failed. At 5 p.m. another attack came on with the support of three Turks batteries yet again it was stopped with assistance of the recently arrived Somerset battery using the last of its available ammunition.

As the long day wore on General Shea on hearing of the progress of the Battle asked General Chaytor his chances of success “if he could take the city” which he replied “little to none and only if reinforced with more guns and troops” these were now not available to Shea and he knew the battle was lost. The word was sent out at 5.45pm that the contest was over and all troops were ordered to be prepared to retire back across the Jordan.

In the late afternoon a supply column had arrived bring a little food and ammunition and a soldier was dispatched up the hill with a camel carrying a bag of rations and two fantasies of hot tea, he also carried the battalions withdrawal order which was gladly received as well as the tea.

That night the Army began to move back as the New Zealanders and 4^th Anzac Battalion received their orders around 6 p.m, they began moving down from Hill 3039 at midnight with the many wounded carried in blankets as the rear guard covered the withdrawal however the Turks did not bother them.

The Camel Brigade began its return movement at 4.30 am Lieutenant Bob Love commanded the rear guard and once the troops began to move he was informed that a man was missing, he retraced his steeps in the dark to search for the missing man who in the meanwhile had returned and found instead a four man post over looked in the darkness.

The Brigade reached Ain es Sir by 7.15 am on the 31 March and although the Turks pressed the rear guard causally, the Camel Brigade was ordered to get clear acting as escort to the supply train and the wounded who were suffering terribly. The column moved slowly as there were not enough cachalots for all the wounded and some had to be strapped to the backs of horses until they could be placed in ambulances. At 10 am the troops continued threw rain and mud some men of the 1^st Battalion picked up refugees struggling along the track helping the many local women and children, many Armenian Christians fleeing Turkish oppression, while Lieutenant Colonel Mills told how he carried a four years old girl sleeping in his arms. The Brigade finally crossing the Jordan on the 2 April after eleven days from the commencement of the raid, the camels had not had the saddles off their backs for eight of those days and when they did their flesh came away with them.

The Raid on Amman was tactically a defeat in which the main objectives of the raid were not all achieved although it was claimed as a victory by General Allenby. There were many reasons for the failure of the Amman Raid these included the delayed crossing of the Jordan River, the foul weather and the unexpected strong defence of Amman all had contributed to the result, the men as always fought well yet had suffered from the conditions with the march up to Amman and the battle, all the animals and men had suffered much and were worn out by fatigue and heavy losses. One of the success of the raid was that the enemies reserves had been drawn to Amman, enough troops had been moved north from the Tafila Force to help the Emir Feisal in his campaign against the Maan garrison and attention was drawn east away from Allenby’s future planned offensive.

However the Turkish resistance at Amman had restored their confidence in its troops which had been low following their defeats in November and December 1917 and allowed the Turks to plan a major offensive aimed at the reorganizing British Army in April.

The Casualties for the Camel Brigade were reported in the War Diary as five officers and 56 men killed and 17 officers and 232 men wounded while 11 men were reported missing total 321.

The casualties by Battalion were the Australians of the 1^st Battalion with two other ranks killed and one officer (Lieutenant Colonel Langley) and nine men wounded.

The 2^nd (British) Battalion reported losses as three officers (Captain Newsam, Lieutenant ‘

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

I record him as;

Harvey Cuthbert 50172 Pte 8Co Ex West Kent Yeo (2003) and Hussars and West Kent Regt (270934) DoW 28-3-18

He was shot during the fighting outside Amman during the last days of march 1918, I wrote this articale on the fighting there, hope it helps?

BATTLE OF AMMAN

By Steve Becker

.

With the fall of Jericho on the 12 March 1918 the Jordan Valley was now firmly under British control and this victory along with the success of the Arab Army under the Emir Feisal with the capture of Aqaba had enabled General Allenby to make plans to draw the Turkish Army away from his exposed northern flank by a raid on the Turkish supply and communications base at Amman.

This raid would have many benefits to the Allied cause, first it would unite both British and Arab forces which up too now had been fighting a separate war, secondly it would help Feisal by drawing the present Turkish forces engaged in fighting the Arab Army back to Amman leaving Feisal free to capture Maan and to advance on Amman, thirdly draw Turkish forces away from any planned offensives and lastly it could destroy enough of the Hejaz Railway to put this vital line of transportation out of the war for some time.

General Allenby entrusted this important operation to General J.S. Shea (commander of the 60^th Division) which was christened “Shea’s Force”. It consisted of the Australian and New Zealand (Anzac) Mounted Division under General Chaytor, the 60^th Infantry Division, with the Camel Brigade and the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade. General Shea was instructed by General Allenby to first secure the passage of the Jordan River by the 19th March then to bridge the river and advance on and capture Es Salt with his infantry then push his cavalry onto Amman to destroy the railway with particular attention of the Viaduct bridge and tunnel with other bridges both north and south were also to be destroyed, some 20,000 men were promised by the Beni Sakhr Arabs to assist the operation nevertheless at no time did any arrive.

The Camel Brigade since the disastrous months of November and December had under gone an urgent period of rest and recovery. The men in preparation for the coming operations had been sent on long route marches into the desert in order to build up their endurance, while the Brigade formed a number of demolition teams under Royal Engineer (RE) officers for the coming offensive. The Brigade also underwent a period of reorganization as a number of companies were reduced from the untenable strength of six officers and 179 men to five officers and 129 men by reducing the number of soldiers within the sections, the Battalion Headquarters still retained a strength of five officers and 22 men while demolition teams were formed from the surplus of one officer and 24 men.

The Brigade at this time consisted of the following troops;

Camel Bde HQ

BrigGen Smith

1^st Anzac Battalion

LtCol Langley

1^st Co

Lt Nicholson

Maj Nobbs (2ic)

2^nd Co

Capt Mills

3^rd Co

Capt Hogue

4^th Co

Capt Denson

2^nd British Battalion

LtCol Buxton

7^th Co

Capt Deas

Maj Day (2ic)

8^th Co

Capt Tredinnick

9^th Co

Capt Newsom

10^th Co

Lt Lyall

4^th Anzac Battalion

LtCol Mills

13^th Co

Capt Howard

Maj Hemphill (2ic)

16^th NZ Co

Capt Yerex

17^th Co

Capt Hampton

18^th Co

Maj Kessels

HKSB

Maj Moore

26 MG Sqn

Maj Millar

Camel FA

LtCol McLaren

On the 10 March the Camel Brigades advance party left Sheial and moved up to Bethlehem with the balance of the Brigade following over the next few days, they’re concentrating on the 18th March, this short stay enabled the men to visit the many Christian sites in the area.

The Turkish Armies since November had been steadily rebuilding their forces along a wide front from Jaffa to Amman, however General Liman Von Sanders had little to stop any British advance directed on Amman whose garrison called the East Jordan Group or to the Turks, the Seria Group of the 48^th Division HQ under Lieutenant Colonel Asim Bey consisted only a few companies of the 3^rd Battalion 150^th Regiment (48^th Division) which also manned a number of guard posts along the Hejaz Railway. These forces were divided into two areas, the Northern group under Lieutenant Colonel Omer Lutfu Bey commanding officer of the 126^th Infantry Regiment (11^th Division) covering Es Salt and Ghoraniye

with only the second battalions from the 150^th (48^th Division) and 159^th Regiments (24^th Division) with a battery of guns and the southern Group under Captain Ahmet Bey covering south of Ghoraniye with some irregular Circassian Cavalry with the 48^th Divisional Cavalry Squadron and a Camel Company covered the area from Amman to the Jordan River.

The largest Turkish Forces in the area were in the south fighting the Arabs, known as the Tafila Force this was a formidable unit strong in machine guns and contained the German 703^rd Battalion of the German Asia Corps which unknown to British was returning to Amman on the 21 March, the Turkish forces arrayed to stop Allenby numbered not more then two thousand fighting men and 10 guns however with the railway working reinforcements could be quickly rushed to any threatened point once its direction was known.

As the time of the raid approached the weather began to turn difficult with heavy falls of rain over the area of operations flooding the Jordan River, this caused delays as the pontoon bridge could not be started by the Engineers and the Light Horse Field Troop Bridging Train till the waters had slowed down enough to lay the pontoons, this transpired late on the 20 March and all was ready on the night of the 21 March.

On that date General Shea concentrate his forces and during the next few days while the 60^th Division battled for a crossing over the Jordan River while the Anzac Mounted Division rested at Tal’at ed Damm in reserve.

The Camel Brigade had begun moving from Bethlehem on the 21 March arriving at Tal’at ed Dumm on the 23 March, where the Brigade rested and prepared of its turn to cross the Jordan River, it had twelve companies all of which were up to strength from the reorganization and reinforcements, most men were in good sprits having visited the birth place of Jesus. The troops were under strict orders to be careful of the Arab tribes, many of who were being won over to the Sheriff of Mecca, this was hard on some of the cameleers as they had been robbed and seen their mates killed and stripped by these “jackals of the desert”. At 7.30 pm the Brigade started to move towards the Jordan River, passing Jericho till they reached the assembly area in the early morning.

By the 24 March all was ready and the Anzac Mounted Division crossed the Jordan River with the Camel Brigade crossing before midday. Once over the river Shea’s Force split into three groups in which to carry out their tasks. The Camel Brigade was concentrated by 5.30 pm at Tel el Muslim and moved off with the Anzac Mounted Division HQ and 2^nd Light Horse Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Brigade towards Amman on the Na’ur and Ain es Sir track while the 1^st Light Horse Brigade and 179^th Brigade of the 60^th Division took up a blocking position in the Jordan Valley while the 180^th and 181^st Brigades of the 60^th Division along with the 10^th, 12^th and 16^th Mountain Batteries of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade Royal Garrison Artillery moved north to Es Salt.

As the lead units pushed on at 6.15 pm, the track to Na’ur soon disappeared under the hoofs of the Light Horse and Mounted Brigades till it resembled only a goat path, an unfortunate delay occurred. It had been reported that the Na’ur track was fit for wheeled vehicles, however it was soon apparent that the many stores, ammunition limbers and guns could not travel on the track and had to be sent back to the river to be loaded on animals of the Camel Transport Corps of which the Anzac Mounted Division had been supplied with three Companies each of 550 camels. Meanwhile the Mounted troops pushed on to Ain el Hekr south west of Na’ur, while the Camel Brigade waited until eight pm for the stores to be packed before starting up the trail, the rear of the column leaving after 10 pm The rain began to fall as the brigade moved slowly along the narrow path while the Light Horse moved briskly ahead arriving in Ain el Hekr at 4.30 am on the 25 March.

The terrain between Amman and the Jordan Valley was known as the Moab it was made up of a number of deep Valleys cut by centuries of rain with steep hills rising to 4000 feet, a number of small villages dotted the area the largest of which was Es Salt with a pre-war population of around 10,000. This rugged terrain was in March dry however the late rains had filled the waddies and turned the tracks to mud which quickly dissolved with the movement of large numbers of troops and animals.

As the Light Horse and Mounted Brigades arrived in Na’ur the Camel Brigade was still struggling up those terrible mountains with the wind, rain and sleet blowing into their faces which dropped the temperature and made the going difficult for the men and animals. Through this mud and slippery rocks on which the camels had trouble maintaining their footing and where the camels often fell splitting themselves in two and forcing a large number to be put down while others collapsed and fell over the cliffs falling to their death. All this presented the most distressing sight as the Camels could barely move and had to be pushed along by the men who now walked by the side of their tormented mounts in mud up to their knees as they slipped, staggered and floundered up and down the mountains. One Veterinary Sergeant was in tears in seeing the suffering and having to dispatch a crippled camel with a knife as no shooting was allowed. Onwards they went through the night in single file leading and dragging the animals and at 7.30 am the leading companies staggered into Na’ur in an exhausted and dirty state. It had taken more than twenty-four hours to cover the 16 miles from the Jordan River when the head of the column reached the plateau around two am the rear did not catch up till 7.30 pm

At Na”ur the 5^th Light Horse Regiment had arrived short of forage and food, the men having consumed there available rations over the last few days and with their supplies now held up on the track the Camel Brigade kindly gave two days supply of its doura to feed their hungry animals and rations for the men from the limited supplies carried on their camels. The men said this food distribution was levied on them however all were glad to give to their brothers in the Light Horse, this levy would continued through out the campaign leaving the Camel Brigade without rations by the end of the battle and then all went without.

Warrant Officer class 2 George Hughes the Temporary/Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant of 4^th Anzac Battalion and now temporary Quarter Master was over the next few days kept busy trying to move supplies up to the troops and to make sure the men under his charge had enough food, ammunition and stores to continue the fight. This Herculean task by the supply units broke down later in the week with the sad result of leaving few units with food or ammunition.

During the night of the 25 March the forces pushed on to the Ain es Sir cross roads with long columns of cameleers travelling in single file trying not to lose the rider in front while others succumbed to their exhaustion and were asleep, yet the animals continued to saunter onwards taking care not to wake their riders. Arriving by the morning of the 26 March with a heavy rain still falling and the Camel Brigade again drenched and worn out, where an exhausted cameleer said that “1000 acres of this country wasn’t worth a hot glass of Cairo beer” while another mentioned that “he was surprised the Jews wanted it back” another said “it was the most trying time he had ever known” such was the morale of these fine troops that even in this fatigued state they could find time for a joke.

This last movement to Ain es Sir had been made along the high plateau know as the Gilead where the ground had now levelled out and notwithstanding this General Chaytor GOC of the Anzac Mounted Division decided it was impossible to push on to Amman that day as both men and animals were exhausted after three consecutive night marches. The troops, saturated through were allowed to rest on the sodden ground, no fires were allowed and while these men rested the remainder of the Camel Brigade slowly struggled in. One officer from the 2^nd Battalion told how after 72 hours on the move he was one of the lucky few who managed to sleep for 17 hours that day while others were fortunate to get four hours.

On the morning of the 27 March the sun came out as the force set off at 8.30 am. The Camel Brigade had detached the 4^th Anzac Battalion (less the 18^th company) to follow in the path of New Zealand Mounted Brigade along with their demolition party for a strike on Quseir Station which lay three and a half miles south of Amman, while the main body of the Brigade moved past Ain Amman with the 2^nd Battalion arriving outside Amman at 10 am.

The approach march to Amman was made along the old Roman road known as the Ain es Sir - Amman track which follows the Wadi Amman to the Citadel, an old Roman Fort in the middle of the City of Amman, on the right of the advance was Hill 3039, this large feature dominated the area south of Amman and it was separated from the road by the Wadi Amman which continued up to Ain Amman, Hill 3039 was made up of the high point and a number of smaller hills the largest of which was Kh Aishe. While on the left of the road was a long plateau which rose to the height of 2828 feet along which ran the Es Salt - Suweile track to the north, another wadi separated the road from the plateau in which were cut a number of natural caves.

Lieutenant Colonel Robin Buxton dismounted and deployed the 2^nd Battalion up on the level plain near Kusr which was around 2000 yards from Amman, while the 1^st Battalion under the acting command of Captain Herbert Denson OC 4^th Company deployed to its rear with the attached 18^th company in support. Two companies of the 1^st Battalion were still on the track, the 1^st company had been detached as escort for the supply column and as flank guard while the 3^rd company was retained back on the Jordan to protect the column from attack in the direction of Madaba and guard the vehicle park which was unable to climb the hills, while half of the 2^nd company was at Ain Amman with the Camel Field Ambulance and Brigade HQ acting as escort and guard, only the 4^th company and two sections of the 2^nd company were available to support the 2^nd Battalion in its attack.

When Camel Brigade deployed it moved all its animals back into the Wadi Amman for protection as the Turks gave warning with a few rounds of artillery which came as some surprise to the men as they had been briefed that Amman was only lightly occupied by a few Circassian irregulars with no artillery!

The only artillery to arrive to support the Anzac Mounted Division’s attack was six 2.75 inch Mountain guns of the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery of which four pieces moved into position to cover the attack and to give what little support they could with their light guns and limited ammunition supply while the two remaining guns were in reserve to conserve ammunition and act as Anti Aircraft guns. The 2^nd British Battalion formed up on the open ground to assault using the old roman road as a centre line with the 7^th company on the left and the 10^th company on the right under the direct command of Lieutenant Colonel Buxton, the 8^th and 9^th company were in support under Captain Arthur Newsam and the 4^th company was held as Brigade reserve.

At 3 pm the Cameleers began their attack advancing in artillery formation spread at intervals of three lines over the exposed ground, under the supervision of the 2^nd Battalion Intelligence officer Lieutenant Robert Rowan, and led by Captain James Leadbetter of the Brigade Machine gun Squadron who carried out a reconnaissance ahead of the attacking troops and provided fire support with the guns of his Squadron from the flanks during which Private John Pearson was killed.

The companies advanced slowly along the ridge line moving by section rushes as the Turks with held their fire until the last minute when the men had become fully exposed. Drawing near they came under a heavy concentrated enfilade fire from three sides as this bare crest was open to the Turks on Hill 3039 where they had their trenches arrayed in tiers at different heights, from the Amman Citadel in front and from to the caves to the north on the 2828 ridge. The 10^th company was the hardest hit and quickly lost the company commander Lieutenant Joseph Lyall along with Lieutenant Alfred Wallbank and the Company Sergeant Major wounded, while Sergeant George Clarke along with a number of men were killed. The Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery also came under fire from a number of Turkish 77mm guns which soon caused much concern as they struggled to maintain the support of the advance by firing at a slow rate.

Meanwhile the attack was progressing in rushes as the assault endeavoured too cross the open plateau cut by bare fields and small stone fences where the men were constantly falling after being hit. As the fierce firestorm increased, the 7^th and 10^th company were soon shattered as they reached to within 600 yards of the city however the fire was too strong and soon the troops became bogged down and forced to find cover as the men struggled to survive on the exposed slope of the ridge. The attack now died away with Privates Norman Oliver, Arthur Bennett, Philip Evans, Leslie Lyons, Victor Blackwell and Sid Howard among the many fallen.

As the Camel Brigade fought in front of Amman the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade had attacked to the north, yet they to found the Turks well entrenched and supported by machine guns and artillery forcing them to break off the attempt with heavy losses.

The Turkish defenders on this front were elements of the 2^nd Battalion 126^th Turkish Infantry Regiment (11^th Division) with its machine gun company. These soldiers had not long arrived from Damascus and along two companies of the German 703^rd Battalion had dug in along the approaches to Amman. The 703^rd Battalion counted the attacks to the north made by the 2^nd Light Horse Brigade, while the balance of the 126^th Regiment covered the approaches to Amman and Hill 3039 who along with the soldiers of the Seria Group divided between the northern front under Lieutenant Colonel Omer Lutfu detached from the 126^th Regiment and southern defences under Major Sait Bey. Over the last few days the Turks had sent reinforcements to Amman in mixed units these included those mentioned and also included elements of one battalion of the 191^st Infantry Regiment 59^th Division, a Mule Mounted battalion, the 59^th Divisional Cavalry Company and the 46^th Divisional Storm Company, as well as the Divisional Engineers and one field Battery and a mountain Battery of the 48^th Division,

Late in the afternoon the 18^th company was committed under Major Leonard Kessels to assist the advance yet the impetus was not push forward after Kessels was wounded and because of the heavy fire, Lieutenant David Fairweather assumed command and the troops joined the 2^nd Battalion in the dirt. There the men waited trying the escape the intense volume of fire directed on them as men hid behind small rocks till the welcome blanket of darkness closed in.

At the end of the day with the Camel Brigades defeat and the failure of the 2^nd Light Horse Brigades attack to the north made it all to plain to General Chaytor that Amman was strongly defended and would not fall to any quick attack made with the limited forces available to him and a fixed Battle would now have to be fought to have any chance of capturing this important objective. Chaytor also knew he didn’t have the troops or guns for such an attack and sent back to General Shea to send up the required men and guns.

While the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions struggled in front of Amman the 4^th Anzac Battalion with its demolition party had moved down to Quseir around 8 am, the few Turks guarding the Railway ran off on their approach and destroyed between three and five miles of track and succeeded in blowing up a number of culverts without any interference from the Turks. With the objective demolished the 4^th Anzac Battalion came under the command of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade and moved at 5.30 pm to the right of the New Zealand Brigades line near Hill 3039 to support them in taking the key to Amman’s defences while also watching the destroyed brakes in the Hejaz Railway.

As night fell on the 27th the exhausted companies of the 2^nd Battalion began to dig trenches advancing their posts further in the dark to confuse the Turkish gunners. The troops were arranged from left to right with the 9^th, 7^th, 18^th, 10^th and 8^th companies, the Brigade Machine Gun Squadron and 2^nd company were utilized as a reserve line using their Lewis guns while the Brigade Machine Gun Squadron was also used to extend the firing line with their heavy Machine guns. The 7^th company was the closest to the foremost Turkish defences on hill “400" in front of Amman and was kept under continued harassment during the night.

Once darkness had fallen, the soldiers of the medical corps came into their own risking their lives rescuing wounded men trapped in no mans land. Corporal Ernest Eatock of the Camel Field Ambulance attached to the 1^st Battalion went out with his stretcher bearers recovering wounded almost up to the Turkish trenches and under heavy fire, while Captain Reginald Andrews the 2^nd Battalion RMO was wounded during the day from shell fire. The 4^th company was also used as stretcher bearers to help recover the wounded during the night and as many as three officers and 70 men from the 2^nd Battalion and one officer and 11 men of the 18^th company were brought in before morning.

The daybreak of the 28th dawned with the knowledge that Amman would not fall till there was more artillery and troops, General Shea had sent reinforcements of two Battalions of the 181^st Infantry Brigade and elements of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade during the night which arrived around 10.30 am, all had little ammunition or rest during the night and against the advice from their leaders to attack at dusk and allow these new troops to recuperate instead General Chaytor ordered a General attack at 1 pm by all units.

The Camel Brigade planned to advance with the 7^th company under Captain Edwin Deas which was closest to the Turks supported by the 9^th company, they would be helped on the left by the 181^st Infantry Brigade and a squadron from the 5^th Light Horse Regiment who would attack along the 2828 ridge while the New Zealand Brigade was to attack Hill 3039 these attacks would it was hoped secure the Camel Brigades flanks from enfilade fire which had so devastated the 2^nd Battalion on the 27th.

At the appointed time the Cameleers advanced however instead of the expected support on their flanks little could be seen, yet despite this the men pushed on to within 250 yards of the Turkish line on the hill “400" yet could advance no further against heavy machine gun fire and shell salvos, three times Captain Deas lead his men forward only to see them cut down by a heavy barrage directed onto them from three sides and again the rank and file were forced to find what little cover was around and go to ground. The 9^th company bore the bunt of the enemies’ fire and Lieutenant Sydney Gowlett was wounded with Lance Corporal William Temple and Private John Proctor among the dead. At 4 pm Captain Denson led the 4^th company forward to strengthen the right flank of the 7^th company and to draw the Turkish fire. The 4^th company advanced quickly across the open ground and soon a heavy cross fire was directed onto them where they promptly lost a number of casualties in a few seconds, one man Private Harry Trevaskis had two bullets in the stomach. Captain Deas seeing the trouble in moving this company forward ordered them to stop and remain in position as the Turks fire was too strong. Company Sergeant Major Arthur Hermon from the 8^th Company on several occasions under heavy fire greatly assisted in rallying his company and kept it together. Once darkness arrived, the advanced line of the 7^th company was withdrawn with the 4^th and 9^th companies back to the previous positions as its present location was found to be so exposed, the woeful result of the day’s efforts was the further loss of two officers and 30 men killed or wounded within the British companies and with only a few men lost in the 4th company.

During the day the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery again supported the attack and suffered for its bravery as two of the Turkish batteries took them under a sustained bombardment. At this time the battery was still using only four guns because of ammunition shortages and these guns were observed to knock out two of the Turkish guns while receiving a large number of shells for the effort which wounded one officer and three men and damaging the gun shields with shell splinters. During the day the New Zealand Brigade requested assistance and the two reserve guns were moved to support them.

A conference of leaders was held at dusk by Captain Deas and Captain Denson who knew a frontal assault on the Turkish defences in broad daylight was sheer murder instead they proposed to try a bombing raid on the Turkish line that night. This plan was sent to General Smith who approved only he recommended the attack would best be attempted on the following night giving the men time to rest and reorganize. The 2^nd Battalion now held a frontage of more than 1000 yards with only 210 men remaining in the four British companies while only 90 Australians remained of the 18^th and 78 men from the 4^th company, the Turks still held a strong position with enfilade fire from three directions which controlled all the approaches and the garrison was believed to be considerable with many machine guns and a large number of German soldiers.

The reason for the lack of support on the Camel Brigades flanks during the day became clear once it was dark, as strong Turkish counterattacks on both the New Zealand Mounted and the 2^nd Light Horse Brigades had occurred during the day. The 4^th Anzac Battalion had continued with the demolition of the railway when at 11 am the 13^th company under Captain Howard was attacked by a strong force of Turks who reached to within bombing distance of the lines yet were driven off with loss by Corporal William Black and Private Albert Footner, then a counterattack under Lieutenant Robert Tree, Corporal Tom Bantoft was found shot in the head after the Turks were gone. Then in the afternoon the company took part in the counterattack with the New Zealand Mounted holding the exposed right flank of the assault. The 13^th company lost during the day five killed and 21 wounded, among those killed were Lance Corporal’s Fred Ellis, John Dunn, Privates Eric Jarrett and Dave Muir.

At 1.30 pm the New Zealand Brigade had attacked Pt 3039, advancing by rushes to within 800 yards of the Turkish line and suffered heavy casualties from the Turkish defences, not to be deterred the intrepid kiwis quickly reorganized and tried again at 4 pm this attack with some difficulty reached no further than 500 yards from the Turkish line were they could advance no further, yet this excellent position allowed a line to be formed on some low ridges at the foot of Pt 3039 which could be exploited on the morrow.

On the morning of the 29 March it was still raining and General Chaytor decided not to attack till more troops could be made available, he proposed and issued orders for the attack to be resumed at 2 am on the 30 March preferring a night attack to the folly of another daylight assault. The Camel Brigade spent a quiet morning as the Turks had withheld its fire thus allowing General Smith to visit with all officers to discuss the attack that night, he placed Lieutenant Fred Matthews in command of the 4^th company allowing Captain Denson to command the 1^st Battalion as Lieutenant Colonel Langley had been wounded in the face by shell fire.

In the afternoon two companies of the 2/18th (London Irish Rifles) Battalion of the 181^st Brigade under Captain Crossby arrived to reinforce the Brigade for the night foray.

Because of the shortage of ammunition in the Hong Kong and Singapore Mountain Battery, Major Moore was forced to send back to Es Salt for some of the reserve ammunition in addition as the Turks continued to shell the battery positions with one man killed and two wounded yet thanks to the British we did secured a little from the two newly arrived batteries of the IXth Mountain Artillery Brigade to continue the battle till more should arrive.

During the night the 179^th Infantry Brigade and the remainder of the IX Mountain Artillery Brigade had been ordered by General Shea to Amman and were due from Es Salt during the day and while these new troops rested Turkish reinforcements were seen arriving by train from the north.

These fresh Turkish troops included two battalions of the 23^rd Turkish Infantry Regiment 8^th Division, those units were all weak in strength, about 300 plus men, these quickly replaced the casualties and extended the defences to the north and south. The British reinforcements which had arrived (it was hoped) offset any Turkish build up, this and the intercepted wireless messages which said “that the Turks would evacuate the city” (although it proved to be false), had convinced General Chaytor to continue the contest.

During the night of the 29 March the soldiers continued preparations till 10 pm when the attacking troops worked there way forward from the 7^th companies old position keeping low and moving in line, the men managed to crawl to within 50 yards of the Turkish trench without being discovered. At midnight the sky was suddenly lit by flares and a heavy fusillade was sent at the old trenches however keeping low the exposed troops made no reply to this fire and it presently died down without any casualties. It was a cold and dark night as the rain fell and a slight wind was blowing the rain into the faces of the Turks while the men tried to rest soaked through with the Turks only a short distance away and waited apprehensively for the word to go.

During this time the fatigued troops 4^th Anzac Battalion, were also moving into positions when a High Explosive shell exploded among the men wounding Lieutenant Leslie Williamson in the wrist and Lieutenant Aubrey Reynolds in the leg and killing Sergeant Harry Robinson.

The morning of the 30 March did not brood well for the Allied cause as rain fell heavily over the battlefield and as preparations continued the Camel brigade had moved into position in the dark. General Smith had ordered the assault to be carried out by a mixed force from the Brigade under command of Major Day, he assembled two sections from each of the 4^th, 7^th, 9^th and 18^th companies in the first wave under Captain Newsam while the remainder of the companies under Captain Deas formed the second wave in all about 200 men. The first lines in both waves were Cameleers while the two companies of the 2/18 London Battalion under Captain Crossby formed the second lines in both 1st and 2nd waves they also had about 200 men, the 8^th and 10^th company under Captain Tredinnick were in support with 120 men and the 2^nd company and the Machine Gun Squadron were held in reserve to provide fire support. On the Brigades left flank the 2/18th London Battalion (less the two companies detached to the Camel Brigade) were to attack along the ridge towards Pt 2828 to pin down Turkish fire while the New Zealand Brigade with the 4^th Anzac Battalion would attack Hill 3039.

Promptly at 2 am the limited artillery fire fell on Amman and the surrounding area, this time the advance would not start till news came that the attacks on both flanks had been successful and were now clear, as the troops waited in their exposed position the limbs of the men cramped as they waited in the cold till the word came at 3.30 am and the signal was given by Captain Newsam with a blast on his whistle.

The troops rose quickly (shaking out their cramps) into the assault and at once gained the first line of Turkish trenches on hill 400 showering the confused and surprised Turks with bombs, the fighting was short and deadly as the Turks fought hand to hand, some stayed to fight, more raised their hands while others ran taking pot shots as they disappeared into the darkness yet thankfully the fighting lasted only a few minutes before taking between 28 and 60 prisoners including two officers of the 126^th Turkish Regiment and killing the remainder. Captain Arthur Newsam was killed shot in the back by a Turkish soldier who it was said had surrendered and a machine gun was captured by a soldier in the 7^th company who having lost his rifle was armed only with two tins of bully beef while Private Archie Searle shot down five Turks with five rapid shots.

The men having secured the first trench now pushed on to capture the second line acquiring it as the Turks broke and ran back into the city, Lieutenant Fred Matthews of the 4^th company rushed after them with a collection of men and entered the city. There in the dark and rain they hid in the outer buildings however the hail of fire from the Citadel stopped any further advance and Privates Carl Pearce in the 4^th and Bill Thornton from the 18^th company was killed during the fighting.

On the left flank the attack by the 2/18th London along the 2828 ridge had at first succeeded yet had broken down under heavy fire and the lack of pressure from this battalion allowed a number of Turkish guns to be turned on the exposed Camel Brigade these inflicting many causalities with their enfilade fire which soon forced the abandonment of the city by Lieutenant Matthews whose men could not be reinforced because of this fire, he ordered the men back to the positions won during the night where the remainder of the troops had consolidated in the enemies trenches and waited until the dawn. While taking a message back to HQ Private Gus Jennison was shot in the head and killed

At 2 am the 4^th Anzac Battalion was to advance with the New Zealand Brigade to attack Pt 3039 which required them to advance over 1500 yards of exposed ground, along the way the troops had to bypass a strong Turkish position on the route before assaulting the first Turkish trench. The men of the Battalion were all fatigued most not having rested for the last few days yet despite the bitterly cold and wet night all were ready for the attack.

The attacking force deployed along the form up point on the Quseir track with the Auckland Mounted Rifles and 4^th Anzac Battalion in the front wave and the Canterbury and Wellington Mounted Rifles in the second wave. The 4^th Battalion had the 16^th New Zealand Company under Captain George Yerex in front for the attack with the 17^th company under Captain John Hampton in support both deployed in two lines while two sections of the 13^th company was held in reserve, with the remainder of the company with the demo party watching the breaks in the Hejaz Railway.

The advance went well from the start General Meldrum had planned his attack skilfully and the wind and rain helped by blowing into the faces of the Turks. Two troops of the Auckland Mounted Rifles secured the strong point in front of Pt 3039 allowing the remainder of the force with the 16^th company to assault the foremost trenches which were captured at the rush with the bayonet taking the Turks by surprise, the garrison (who stayed) were all killed while the others ran away in the dark and 23 prisoners of the 126^th Turkish Regiment and five Machine guns taken. Lieutenant George Sanderson the Battalion Intelligence officer, who had been ill and advised to remain behind, however had insisted on joining in the attack was killed during the assault. Veterinary Sergeant Matthew Kirkpatrick of the 16^th company who in the last days had been busy caring for the many injured animals took part in the assault doing excellent work with the bayonet and clearing a section of trench allowing the objective to be gained by 2.40 am. Private Eric Tapfield of the 13^th company had the misfortune to be accidentally killed during the advance when he progressed too far in front of the line and was mistakenly shot in the dark; he was found dead when the line reached him.

As the men consolidated the captured position shooting came from the second line of Turkish trenches 300 yards ahead and the second wave of the Canterbury and Wellington Mounted Rifles moved up and captured them with 14 prisoners and a machine gun, more machine guns and prisoners were taken as the New Zealand troops concentrated while others moved around the hill to clear it of all the Turks. The 16^th company as per orders was moved up to join the second wave and with troops of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles attacked the third trench, the Turkish fire was heavy yet mostly high and as the troops secured this last trench on top of hill 3039 the Turks fled towards Amman, the casualties thankfully during the assault were light.

The warming rays of dawn showed to General Chaytor that the only success during the night had been limited to Hill 3039, a number of trenches captured by the Camel Corps in front of Amman and 181^st Infantry Brigade to the north of the city and all were in danger of destruction as the Turks quickly organized a number of counterattacks against the ground lost during the night, the first of which came in on both sides of Hill 3039.

The defence of the Hill had placed the 4^th Anzac Battalion on the far right or eastern flank of the NZ Mounted Brigade with the Wellington Mounted Rifles on the Battalions left flank. All the Battalion worked on stone sangers during the night, these were built for protection as the rocky ground allowing the shallowest of holes to be dug as the troops had no entrenching tools and once daylight came it was found that the soldiers were too exposed on the top of hill so most were withdrawn to the rear trenches leaving only one section of 10 men and two Lewis guns of the 16^th company to hold it.

At 5 am the first attack came in supported by shell fire which smashed the stone Sangers the men had built for protection as shell and rock fragments sprayed the area. The shelling lasted an hour at which point the exposed section of Cameleers were withdrawn. By 9 am 500 Turks were seen massing to the north and at 9.30 they attacked yet despite their bravery the attack was beaten off by New Zealand troops with the help of captured machine guns. The Hong Kong and Singapore Battery had attached a section of guns to support the New Zealand Brigade in its attack however counter battery fire had smashed one of the guns sights and ammunition now ran out and the section was forced to retire to the main position.

Despite this setback the Turks tried again and during this attack someone was heard to order a retirement this allowed the front trenches to be abandoned and the New Zealand trenches were lost as the troops fell back to their second line. This order was reported by the New Zealand Mounted to have come from the Camel Brigade however it was more probity a German or Turkish officer who spoke English which fooled the fatigued troops.

This mix up was soon sorted out by the officers and a counterattack by the New Zealanders drove the Turks out of there ill gotten gains and down the hill at the point of the bayonet and the use of the bomb, the Adjutant Captain Alex Watt and the Regimental Sergeant Major Bob MacLean were wounded in the counterattack and Lieutenant’s Charles Thorby and Arthur Crawford of the 16^th company inspired their men in the charge who with Sergeant Harold Jones as they coolly rallied their men and led them back into the Turkish trenches. Captain Stan Howard advanced with elements of the 13^th company as the Turks made a fight of it however the men would not hold back and soon the Turks was driven off and despite the casualties the men stood on top of the hill shooting down at the panicked Turkish survivors as they fled back to Amman, the 16^th company lost Sergeant Colin Campbell and Privates Carl Bailey, Roland Wilkie killed during the fighting. In the 17^th Company Lance Corporal Stan Campbell was manning a Lewis gun when he was shot down, his brother Norm was the No 2 on the gun and quickly took his place only to be killed soon after, the Campbell brothers had enlisted in the 6^th Light Horse Regiment in 1915 from Scone NSW before transferring to the Camel Corps, they died together on the barren heights of hill 3039.

The Turkish troops used in these counter attacks were largely from the 23^rd Regiment 8^th Division and the 46^th Storm Company. Who had not long arrived and took time to sort out where the allied line was and the bravery of these men advancing in the open was acknowledged by the New Zealand troops who fought them. The veteran 23^rd Regiment (8^th Division) had been fighting in the Caucasus against the Russians for some years only with the revolution had moved down to the Syrian Front, to be detached and sent to Amman the day before.

While the New Zealand Brigade fought gallantly for there hard won gains on Hill 3039 the Camel companies under Major Day in front of Amman were subjected to attacks in force as the Turks was only 200 yards away, Major Julian Day was severely wounded in the arm and shoulder as the men sheltered from enfilade fire from artillery and machine guns under which a force of over 100 Turks attempted to recapture their trenches and reached within 30 yards before our fire cut them down and repulsed the attack with substantial loss, this assault was repeated again during the day as attacks continued without respite, the 10^th company lost Sergeant Stuart Craggy (reported MIA) and Lance Corporal Wilfred Lyth killed during this attack.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Leonard Brothers of the 9^th company help organize the defence after Captain Newsam’s death as the Turkish fire increased killing Privates Stan Stanfield and Herb Thoday and under this intense fire Private Bob Robertson carried messages from company HQ to Captain Deas however despite the courage of the men they were ordered to hold the captured trenches as the supporting artillery ran short of shells while some batteries had ran out. The Hong Kong and Singapore battery was now down to only three guns as one had been put out off action with shell splinters and with no ammunition left little could be done to support the men.

At 2 pm General Chaytor had ordered one last attack be made by the Infantry in the north yet it had little hope of success and with its failure the exhausted troops could do no more yet hold on. Lieutenant Herbert Denley was killed and Lieutenant Thomas Smith mortally wounded while attending to the defences, Private Arthur Mills of the 7^th company found him self cut off with a number of wounded men as Turkish counterattacks came in, he held the line encouraging the men around him and providing first aid to the wounded. At 4 pm the troops were ordered to retire back to the original positions abandoning the captured works however because of the danger this was not attempted till dusk. Once it became dark the troops departed under Captain Deas direction back to the lines having buried the dead and carrying back the many wounded. This was accomplished without the enemies knowledge even though they were only a few hundred yards away with Lieutenant Matthews commanding the rear guard with the 4^th company, as the worn out troops moved back in the darkness all the wounded were recovered however a few may have been left behind as some were reported missing later. The total Cameleers casualties in the attack were four officers and 40 men in the 2^nd Battalion killed or wounded with about 20 Australian casualties.

The 2/18th London battalion reported the lost of five men killed and two officers and four men died of wounds with the wounded unknown while supporting the action on the 30 March.

Meanwhile on Hill 3039 the Battle still went on as the enemy kept throwing attack after attack at the New Zealanders. The next came at 4 pm and fell on the Camel Battalion where the Turks of the 46^th Storm company out flanked the Cameleers line on the right and managed to gained a lodgement, Lieutenant Charles Thorby a butcher from Dannevirke NZ gathered a few men about him and led a counterattack to drive the Turks out yet was killed in the valiant attempt, while Corporal John McMillan carrying a Lewis gun advanced on the Turks firing his gun from the hip however he was soon killed, then Private Dave McConnell who had joined the attack by garbing a sack full of bombs, threw them with deadly effect until shot down, as Private Len Pask went out rescuing the wounded however thanks to the support of New Zealand reserves which in turn out flanked the Turks the attack was driven off. The casualties continued to mount in the battalion and the 17^th company lost Corporal Bert Lincoln (reported MIA), Lance Corporal’s Bill Brown, Eric Cheney (reported MIA), Privates Cliff Jenkins (reported MIA) and Percy Collins killed, while the 13^th company lost Corporal George Haag (reported MIA), Lance Corporal Les Delaney (reported MIA), Private’s Bill Temple and Will Trenaman (reported MIA) killed, the 16^th company lost Sergeant Charles Lovett, Private’s Gilbert Alexander, Tom Bowman, John Craig, Rupert McKenzie, Sid Mills and Doug Walker killed.

During the day communication between Battalion HQ and the forward companies was constantly broken by shell fire which fell regularly over the exposed hill, Sergeant Albert Hooper was kept out continually repairing broken telephone lines at great risk to himself. Communications were accentual to the defence which enabled reinforcements to be switched from one threaten point to the next and under the able command of Lieutenant Reg Jephcott never failed. At 5 p.m. another attack came on with the support of three Turks batteries yet again it was stopped with assistance of the recently arrived Somerset battery using the last of its available ammunition.

As the long day wore on General Shea on hearing of the progress of the Battle asked General Chaytor his chances of success “if he could take the city” which he replied “little to none and only if reinforced with more guns and troops” these were now not available to Shea and he knew the battle was lost. The word was sent out at 5.45pm that the contest was over and all troops were ordered to be prepared to retire back across the Jordan.

In the late afternoon a supply column had arrived bring a little food and ammunition and a soldier was dispatched up the hill with a camel carrying a bag of rations and two fantasies of hot tea, he also carried the battalions withdrawal order which was gladly received as well as the tea.

That night the Army began to move back as the New Zealanders and 4^th Anzac Battalion received their orders around 6 p.m, they began moving down from Hill 3039 at midnight with the many wounded carried in blankets as the rear guard covered the withdrawal however the Turks did not bother them.

The Camel Brigade began its return movement at 4.30 am Lieutenant Bob Love commanded the rear guard and once the troops began to move he was informed that a man was missing, he retraced his steeps in the dark to search for the missing man who in the meanwhile had returned and found instead a four man post over looked in the darkness.

The Brigade reached Ain es Sir by 7.15 am on the 31 March and although the Turks pressed the rear guard causally, the Camel Brigade was ordered to get clear acting as escort to the supply train and the wounded who were suffering terribly. The column moved slowly as there were not enough cachalots for all the wounded and some had to be strapped to the backs of horses until they could be placed in ambulances. At 10 am the troops continued threw rain and mud some men of the 1^st Battalion picked up refugees struggling along the track helping the many local women and children, many Armenian Christians fleeing Turkish oppression, while Lieutenant Colonel Mills told how he carried a four years old girl sleeping in his arms. The Brigade finally crossing the Jordan on the 2 April after eleven days from the commencement of the raid, the camels had not had the saddles off their backs for eight of those days and when they did their flesh came away with them.

The Raid on Amman was tactically a defeat in which the main objectives of the raid were not all achieved although it was claimed as a victory by General Allenby. There were many reasons for the failure of the Amman Raid these included the delayed crossing of the Jordan River, the foul weather and the unexpected strong defence of Amman all had contributed to the result, the men as always fought well yet had suffered from the conditions with the march up to Amman and the battle, all the animals and men had suffered much and were worn out by fatigue and heavy losses. One of the success of the raid was that the enemies reserves had been drawn to Amman, enough troops had been moved north from the Tafila Force to help the Emir Feisal in his campaign against the Maan garrison and attention was drawn east away from Allenby’s future planned offensive.

However the Turkish resistance at Amman had restored their confidence in its troops which had been low following their defeats in November and December 1917 and allowed the Turks to plan a major offensive aimed at the reorganizing British Army in April.

The Casualties for the Camel Brigade were reported in the War Diary as five officers and 56 men killed and 17 officers and 232 men wounded while 11 men were reported missing total 321.

The casualties by Battalion were the Australians of the 1^st Battalion with two other ranks killed and one officer (Lieutenant Colonel Langley) and nine men wounded.

The 2^nd (British) Battalion reported losses as three officers (Captain Newsam, Lieutenant ‘

[Guest CAPHGWW1]

Gentlemen,

This is my first post so please forgive any infringements on protocol.

I am researching the names on my local WW1 memorial which include Harry Batten (1890 - 1917) who served with the Berkshire Yeomanry and then rose to Sergeant 70260 with the ICC. He was killed outside Jerusalem on 29 November 1917.

Any information on the man or the action would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

CAPHG

[AndrewFrench]

Hi CAPHG

I have some info on Harry Batten and photos too. Prior to WW1 he was in C (Newbury) Sqn of the Berkshire YEomanry but on outbreak of war when that sqn was broken to suit the wartime ORBAT he was posted to No.2 Troop of (A Windsor) Sqn.

This is not part of Steve's ICC thread so I will post tonight on my Berkshire Yeomanry page. Go the search, select forums, and type in "Berkshire Yeomanry". You should find a post today or tomorrow. If I knew where the memorial was I might be able to say which troop he originally served in.

You can also contact me direct on andrewgfrench@hotmail.com

Regards

[Guest Ali MacD]

Hi Steve, I am trying to find out more about my wife's great grandfather Henry John Tall who served with the Camel Corps in WW1. He was English and did survive. I have searched various military lists on a genealogy site without success. Would you have any record of him in your databases please?

[Ron Clifton]

To give an idea of how many men were involved, a battalion of the ICC consisted of 31 officers and 762 men (nominal full strength) divided into eight companies.

Ron

[Guest]

Mate,

Thanks to Andrew I can add details of his service in the Yeomanry, but this is what I have on him;

Batten Harry 70260 Sgt family reported ICC but not confirmed Ex CSqn Berkshire Yeomanry (1259) KIA 29-11-17

That means some one has asked about him before but I could find no confirmation as yet?

Maybe Andrew can add if he was one of the many transferred from the Berks yeomanry?

The only Batten I can possibly confirm is this man;

Batten Percy 51094 Pte ICC? Ex Northampton Regt (36801) and Hussars

The Camel Bde was not outside Jerusalem at that time but was fighting at Bald Hill near the coast near Jaffa.

This is what they where doing on that date from an other article I wrote;

On the 29 November while the Turks again remained inactive during the day, other then their artillery which again shelled the posts searching with his guns along the trenches, during which Lieutenant Aubrey Bickford MC, Adjutant 3^rd Battalion was wounded when hit in the right thigh by a piece of shrapnel. At the Camel Brigade HQ General Smith and Lieutenant Colonel Lee planned a raid for that night to bomb Turkish work parties, which were active on the defences of Bald Hill, this in cooperation with a raid by the 6^th Light Horse Regiment, who were to assist with two troops (A and B Troops) from A Squadron under Captain Stuart Tooth and would advance from the north while the cameleers attacked from the south. The 2^nd Battalion was asked to assist and Captain Fleming Gregory Commanding the 7^th Company was ordered to send 2 sections to support the 4^th Anzac Battalion by occupying the vacant posts, Captain Gregory instead decided to bring his whole company to help and was relieved by the 9^th company that morning. During the afternoon the 7^th company was hit by shell fire with one shell falling on a section of trench occupied by Fleming Gregory, a well liked British officer, killing him and wounding Lieutenant James Archibald and forcing Lieutenant John Bell-Irving to assume command of the company.

Lieutenant Black’s reduced 15^th company (about 60 men) was chosen to carry out the raid as it had held Bald Hill and knew the ground, and using the cover of the darkness moved up to the 3^rd Battalion trench near post 4, which were the closest to the Turkish works on Bald Hill. At 10 pm an artillery barrage from B Battery HAC and the Inverness Battery fell on Bald Hill and under cover of this fire the New Zealanders of the 15^th company moved forward at the rush with the bayonet and were met by the Turks with bomb and bayonet as a desperate fight developed when the New Zealand troops drove the Turks up the hill where stores lost on the 27 November by their company were recovered, still once near the top of Bald Hill they found Turkish resistance growing.

It appears at the same time the cameleers and Light Horse had attacked Bald Hill a Turkish force of 300 men were about to commence their own attack and the 6^th Light Horse ran into them forcing both forces to go to ground as they became strongly engaged firing at each other in the dark, two other ranks (Ray Bloodworth and Henry Christie A Troop) were killed and Lieutenant Robert Ronald A Troop with a number men were wounded as the 6^th Light Horse was forced back on their supports exposing the 15^th company which despite its success had been ordered to retire at the completion of its task, the company retired back to their trenches as fighting went on during the night as the Turks shelled the 2^nd Light Horse brigade and Camel Brigade defences and the night sky was lit by the flashes of exploding shells and flares till around midnight when the firing died down. All of the 15^th company where safely back in the 3^rd Battalion trench by 2.20 am having suffered few casualties during the night."

Sorry

S.B

[Guest]

Mate,

Sorry I also can not find Henry John Tall in the MIC or any record in the ICC under that name?

But my records and no where near complete but its likely he either served under another name or was not in the ICC.

Large numbers of British soldiers also served in another Camel Unit, that being the CTC (Camel transport Corps) and the Egyptian CTC.

He may have been in one of these?

So far no luck sorry mate.

S.B

[Guest]

Ron,

The strength of a Camel Bn veried from different dates and the numbers given no way give the full strength?

A Camel Bn had a nominal four company structure, while at times that veried

Most Camel Bns had around 700 men at full strength, but companies veried.

Companies had around 179 men in a HQ sect and four sections (called platoons in the Infantry) but by March 1918 that was reduced to three Sections.

Of cause that was never the fighting strength of a Camel Company, as with all mounted units, one in four men were LOB as Camel holders.

Cheers

S.B

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Steve

The figures I quoted come from the official War Establishments tables issued from time to time, and represent the authorised maximum strength of the battalion. In practice a unit would rarely be at full strength.

I was a bit surprised to see that, according to those tables, there should be eight companies in each battalion. My notes were made some years ago and I may have copied the tables wrongly: four companies would be more plausible. In particular, Australian units often had minor variations in their establishments.

Ron

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

I'm trying to find more info on my great great uncle, LCpl Miller 2nd battalion ICC. I heard he served in the ICC through family and his name is engraved on the memorial in London but I am greatly interested in knowing more. He was born near Bridport, Dorset if that helps. Many thanks!

Jon

[Guest]

Mate,

For some reason I can't post here? (now I can and have a justed my post

Miller David 50315 Pte 7Co Ex Lanark Yeo (1213) and Hussars or 12Bn Royal Scots Fusiliers gsw head WIA 19-4-17
Miller Noel WJ. 130936 SQMS 26 MG Sqn? Ex Scottish Horse (2370) and MGC
Miller William 2/Lt Tos 5Co 4-17 to T/Adjt 2Bn HQ 5-17 Ex CSM Rifle Brigade (7568) PoW 2-11-17 (TBC?)

I have others named Millar;

Millar Gordon Logan Maj 26 MG Sqn? (Not confirmed) Ex Lt Scottish Horse and MGC
Millar John Bernard 2/Lt ICC Ex Lancashire Fusiliers
Millar John Smith Lt ICC to Maj Ex Lt King's Own Scottish Borderers and Scottish Rifles to Royal Flying Corps
Millar Thomas CR 50115 L/Cpl 8Co or 7Co Ex Berkshire Yeo (2070) and Hussars and Dragoons (70095) WIA 27-3-18 DoW 31-3-18
Millar William 50243 Pte 7Co Ex Scottish Horse Yeo (295) and Hussars

​Cheers

S.B

[Grimnar]

Hi Steve,
I know this thread is a bit old but am wondering if you have anything on 2 great uncles of mine that were in the ICC.
The brothers were 842 Charles Frederick Edwards, first with the 21st Battalion AIF and 963 George Edwards, who was with the 8th LH before transferring over to the Camel Corps.

Also, when is your book coming out? From what I have read it sounds like a fantastic piece of reference.

Many thanks

Matt

[Guest]

Matt,

I record your relations as;

EDWARDS Frederick Charles 842 Cpl Miner age 25 Geelong Vic Enl 25-1-15 Emb Cpl DCo/21Bn. To L/Sgt 1-6-15 to Gallipoli 29-8-15. To 1Bn 4Co 31-1-16 to T/Sgt 24-2-16 Awarded MID reason not stated possibly at Bir el Aweidia 7-8-16 to Sgt 11-11-16 revert Cpl 6-12-16 to T/Sgt 20-12-16 to T/CSM 12-1-17 revert to Sgt 26-7-17 WIA 30-3-18 Amman (GSW L/groin) to M Special hosp 9-6-18 (mania) RTA 12-7-18 "Port Darwin" med unfit wounds and mental

EDWARDS George 963 Pte Miner age 29 Beulah Tas Enl 6-1-15 Emb 6R/8 LHR. ToS C Sqn 17-9-15 evac to UK 8-10-15 (hernia) Gallipoli. 3 LHTR 14-4-16 to (3 double Sqn) 23-6-16 to 4 Cml Regt 2-11-16 to 1Bn 1Co 14-2-17 to Cml Bde HQ 15-4-17 rtn 19-6-17 to Sig/Cpl 14 LHR 1-7-18 RTA 5-3-19 "Port Sydney"

I was not aware they were brothers, thanks for the heads up.

Sorry mate I got side tracked with other work and the book has been on hold for some time, maybe I should relook at it as your not the first to mention I should finish it.

​Cheers

​S.B

[Ghazala]

This was in the ICC Newsletter of July 1978:

Imperial Camel Corps

Old Comrades Association

Hon Sec: Laurence Moore MBE

Desert Signals – Letter in Sunday Times

Imperial Camel Corps formed January 1916 in Cairo. Composed of 18 companies, each of 160 men. Four companies from Australian Infantry, 6 from Australian Light Horse 2 from New Zealand Mounted Rifles, 6 from Welsh, Scottish and English Yeomanry’s, with a few South Africans and Rhodesians. Twelve companies at a time (as three battalions) formed Imperial Camel Brigade on Sinai-Palestine front. Brigade Field Ambulance was Australian, Machine Gun Squadron from Scottish Horse and Brigade Artillery was Hong Kong and Singapore Battery of 10 pounders manned by Sikhs – truly “Imperial”! Remaining companies on detached duties – Western Desert, Suez Canal, Hejaz. Anzac companies disbanded May 1918, others in May 1919.

T E Lawrence ‘borrowed’ from Allenby two companies of Imperial Camel Corps for operations against and beyond the Hejaz (Pilgrim) Railway. I only knew him as a Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) and I never saw him in other than Arab dress. He was greatly admired by all we cameleers who served under him for his efficiency, courtesy and consideration. He was never sadistic or cruel – except perhaps to himself. He was the first commander we had who took his troops into his full confidence before every operation, which he always reconnoitred personally. Thus he could brief us accurately. We revere his memory and view with distaste later biographers who represent him as sadist, masochist, poseur, homosexual etc. We remember him only as a very gallant officer and regard it as a great honour to have served with him. We saw numerous instances of the regard in which he was held by the Arabs and the consternation he caused among the Turks. A great man of his time! I never saw him after the war – either as Ross or as Shaw.

Badges. There was no ‘Australian Camel Corps’ as a separate unit; but impatient with the delay in the issue of an official badge, the Aussies had a camel added to the normal Commonwealth Forces badge. A brass firm in Cairo made unofficial shoulder numerals and the small ‘Camel Corps’. The official badge was on the cap, topee or slouch hat. There were two collar badges. The black triangle was the pugaree flash of 2nd Battn, 1st Battn had red, 3rd Battn had green and 4th Battn had blue.

Lawrence Moore

For further information on all points, consult the history – ‘Imperial Camel Corps’ by Major Geoffrey Inchbald (Johnson 1970). Now out of print but is available in some public libraries.

[Ghazala]

A most interesting thread here:

 

 

[Guest]

Mate,

Yes I knew Lawrie, and wrote to him for some time, and I am a former member of the Assoc, it disappeared after Lawrie's death.

Cheers

S.B

[Ghazala]

He sounded a most interesting man Steve, I would love to have met him. I have a newspaper cutting (don't know which one) with a lettter from Rory Moore. Another man I wish I had met:...

6 October 1983

Esprit de Camels

Rory Moore, Hon Sec, Imperial Camel Corps, Old Comrades Association Talbot Avenue, Leeds LS8 1AQ

The Imperial Camel Corps was formed entirely of volunteers from the UK and Commonwealth. Our numbers are down to 50, so were continually on the lookout for old comrades like Harry Smith, whose neighbour wrote to you. Hes now a member.

At 88, Im the youngest survivor in the UK but Bob Jeffrey of Tumbi Umbi, NSW, Australia is a year younger. Before joining us he fought at Gallipoli at 15! Our campaigns included Darfur in the Western Desert, Sinai and Palestine. And in 1918, 300 of us were loaned by Allenby to Lawrence in Arabia.

The Fighting Camels had a VC brigadier, Clement Leslie-Smith, and umpteen other decorations were won.