WW1 in Palestine and further afield

Ottoman Troops defending Gaza-  Picture by American Colony restored by  Durova

Over the last fortnight I've been reading memoirs set on either side of the the time frame for the 'Land of Broken Promises' trilogy.  On the left hand side of the frame, as I visualize it, are memoirs describing events in Palestine during WW1 (and yes, despite all the arguments one hears to the contrary, the area  that became the British Mandate of Palestine, post WW1, was referred to as Palestine in Victorian, Edwardian and WW1 literature.)  On the right hand side are books describing events in that area since the 1948 partition. Today I want to talk about a book from the left hand pile. There is another on the right hand pile I want to discuss in a later post.

THE FIFTH BATTALION HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY IN THE War 1914-1918 by COLONEL F.L. MORRISON, C.B., D.S.O., V.D. is an invaluable book for anyone who wants to to take a wider view of WW1 .  The good news is that it is free for download in several formats from Gutenberg.

In this detailed account of daily life with the battalion we travel with  it from Scotland to Egypt and on to trench warfare in  Gallipoli in 1915 then back to Egypt and tents in 1916. There the battalion becomes part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF)for the invasion of Palestine, 

The EEF re-occupies the Sinai desert and marches through the Negev, building a railway behind it and laying down a chicken wire road in front for the convenience of marching infantry.A convoy of thousands of camels carry water and rations to the troops from wherever the railway has reached,   The EEF's progress is halted outside Gaza  where  it digs into hillsides on the fringes of the wilderness and the troops gaze in frustration at the fertile land in front of them.  For  Gaza at that time is very different from the town that exists today. It is an important depot for cereals with a German steam mill.  Barley, wheat, olives, vineyards, orange groves, and wood for fuel are grown as well as many goats grazed.   Maize, millet, beans, and water melon, all harvested in early autumn, are cultivated nearby.  The produce isn't just for local use and trade isn't all one way. Before WW1. barley was exported to England for brewing into English beer. In 1912 the 40,000 inhabitants of Gaza imported £10,000 of yarn from Manchester.

After two defeats the EEF captures Gaza and the battalion moves on to help defeat the Ottoman army throughout Palestine.  

From a conquered Palestine the Battalion sails, in the spring of 1918, on to Southern France and from there travels by train to take  part in the final stages of trench warfare in the North.  This is the point at which I would usually close the book and take up the next in my ever-increasing list of book-to-read. However, curiosity overcame my self-inflicted timetable and I carried on reading.

It was in the French portion of the story that  I received my biggest shock. For some reason  I have always assumed that only Germans used poison gas as a weapon during WW1  so on reading the following paragraph:

“When at La Lacque we received our gas training. It took the form of a route march to a place six miles away, where the whole Division being assembled as at sports, various demonstrations were made, including the firing of projectors—tabloid gas training.”

I assumed the training was designed so the battalion could set up defences against gas attacks.

It was only when I read the following paragraph later in the chapter that my illusions were shattered.

About this time a number of gas beam attacks were made from our line. These were from the infantry point of view a great advance on the old system, which meant man-handling innumerable heavy gas cylinders up the trench system to the firing-line. By the new system a light railway was run forward to the front line and all the infantry had to do was to push the bogeys forward. When all were in position the gas expert turned a handle and a poisonous mixture hissed off towards the enemy. What casualties, if any, were inflicted we never heard; we certainly had a number as the result of enemy retaliation by shell fire.

I am glad I  continued reading that memoir after  the battalion had moved from Palestine,  even if it does leave me wondering how many more comforting assumptions I make  about the actions of my own country.