It is now April, and towards the end of the month, the Battle of Katia, which warrants its own Wiki page.
Saturday April 1
Began wearing drill
Sunday April 2
Church in evening. Cpl Unwin now a sergeant so missed his company.
Tuesday April 4
The CO had a forced landing at Serapeum yesterday. The fault was corrected and Capt Dixon Spain brought the machine in. On landing he appeared to fail to straighten out, bumped 10 ft in the air, bumped 15 ft, crashed down with a crumpled undercarriage and broken propellor. Baldwin photographed the machine with her tail in the air.
At 9.15 warned to go to Kantara[aka El-Qantara, north end of canal] by next train i.e., 10.20. Put what stuff I could get in my pack with the lens and instruments and ???ed. It is about an hours' ride, mostly close to the Canal. The country is very flat, sandy and uninteresting. We passed one ship going south just beyond El Ferdan. Ballaf[? writing clear but cannot find such a place] is the next station and then Kantara. Got out and joined one of our men. Had to wait a bit on the Canal. The pontoon bridge was swung aside. Crossed on a dirty ferry pontoon. Walked about 300 yds thro camp to an EFB. Passed that to our shed through a defensive trench and line of entanglements[barbed wire I guess] just in time for dinner.
The captain looks to be this guy, and also gets mentioned later in the final part a couple of times.
Wednesday April 5
Time to look around. It appeared am to superintend the erection of the Black Box here. We have one double shed facing E. A lower building to the S of it facing E and comprises the barracks room, workshop and orderly room. Away to the SE is a shallow lake where you can bath daily. Although only about a quarter of a mile you have to crawl under another line of entanglements. Trenches about on to the water. You swim out and about 70 yds and dodge more entanglements. The water is frightfully salty and very buoyant. You simply cannot sink. Unless you are out here it is impossible to realise the benefits it bestows on us. Lice and fleas are a regular plague here!
Sunday April 9th
No service here. I quite miss it.
Wednesday the 12nd
Quite a little stir just before dinner. Cpl Courtnadge unearthed a scorpion roosting in his bed. Obviously he could not let it go scot free so while we cut off escape he burned it out with a candle. The beggar didn't seem to like it. It would have murdered any fool who got in its way. However, its snaps and tail twisting finally ceased and it was preserved in candle fat. We all attended the funeral after dinner.
Thursday the 13th
Violent sandstorm all day. Strong wind drives sand all over everywhere and makes your skin quite sore. Blew down tents, ripped parts of roof off sheds, made living room an awful mess. So bad it hung up the train service.
Sunday the 16th
Service at YMCA. End of service spoilt by rush for coffee at the bar.
Thursday the 20th
Hostile aircraft alarm. Nothing happened though.
Friday the 21st
Good Friday. No work but another alarm spoilt that.
Saturday the 22nd
Alarm again. Worked till 12.11 on Grome[?] Engine.
Sunday the 23rd
Bad news today. 27 miles NE of us is Katia held by 1 bgde. 14 miles E of it is Bir El Abd. There were 2000 Turks there. Our brigade was to look after them. By some means or other - sea or tunnelling - the Turks got around Katia with superior numbers. A survivor saw they just came out of the ground like rabbits. Anyhow our troops were overwhelmed and only a sergeant and an officer escaped. Apparently our first warning was the cutting of the communications. 700 were made prisoners. Our reconnaissance machines reported its isolation. All night we worked to get every machine flying. On the road the clatter of horses and rumble of vehicles and guns is uncanny
Monday the 24th
Gt bomb raid. Blowing Katia. Killed about 300. 8 machines. Repeated in afternoon but nothing to bomb. Letter no 1[?] home. Newsletter.
Tuesday the 25th
Bombed Bir el Abd. Lt Rowdon wounded slightly in leg After wound went down lower and dropped 4 bombs on the enemy. Then came home. All bottom of machine covered with blood.
At 10.30 second raid on.
Ismailia pilots helped in both these raids.
Wednesday the 26th
Day off.
Thursday the 27th
It appears that at Katia the W Hereford were on outpost duty. When Turks advanced they fled to Katia instead of checking them if only for 10 minutes. Turks and Hereford reached K simultaneously. Of course the regiments there - Gloucester, Worcester and Warwick ??? turned out and fought undressed. But it was hopeless. Many were unable to get to their arms and soon the only thing to do was to surrender. In one case 5 men of the vet. ??? were just out watering the sick horses when the Turks popped up. They were almost surrounded but threw off their coats and fled. Unarmed it was all they could do. Two were shot as it was. The remainder reached our next lines a dozen miles away utterly exhausted.
Really 2600 Turks were at Bir el Abd. 800 marched S to Mageibra and then W to Hod el Bayud. But in the meantime the Turks had got to Dueidar on the line of communication to Katia. Here a force of 125 men fought like heroes but were eventually overwhelms by superior numbers. Thus the lines of communication were cut.
At Katia our troops, chiefly Worcester Yeomanry had to with draw for the same reason. Unfortunately most of the Worchester's horses had been killed hence they were in a hole.
Result Katia lost. reinforcements were sent out. We bombed the Turks everywhere and they withdrew. The Australian Light Horse were of great use. Even yet I believe Katia is not retaken. The affair of course was only a raid bit it was immensely successful. Enemy aeroplanes (Aviatik) dropped bombs on Port Said. No results.
There is a newspaper cutting glued in to the diary that also covers the events.
The fighting in Sinai
Austro-German Troops in Evidence
More bombs dropped on Port Said
Cairo Wednesday
The following is an account of the fighting which occurred in the Katia distinct on Sunday, April 23.
Early in the morning a force, estimated to be 500 Turks, attacked our post at Katia which was held by a company of the Royal Scots Fusiliers under Captain Roberts. A most gallant defence was made, in the course of which two companies of Scots Fusiliers who had been ordered up from Hill 70 had marched 7 miles across desert in two hours, arrived on the scene and without any pause charged the enemy with fixed bayonets. The Turks were completely routed and retreated in a southeasterly direction, leaving 70 dead and 30 prisoners, 80 rifles and a quantity of ammunition in our hands. The enemy was pursued by the Australian Light Horse. Further casualties were inflicted on the and more prisoners taken. The retreating enemy was also attacked by our aeroplanes, who caused him yet further loses with bombs and machine gun fire.
Meanwhile an attack on Katia village by about 2,500 men, including apparently a battalion of Austro-Germans and 4 mountain guns, had developed.
The village was held by two squadrons of the Worcester Yeomanry. On hearing the sound of fighting, General Wiggin, commanding the Mounted Brigade who had just arrived at Hamisah after a successful raid on Mageibra, where he had burnt the enemy's camp and taken some prisoners, advanced one squadron of the Worchester Yeomanry and two squadrons of the Warwick Yeomanry on Katia village
The Yeomanry
Colonel Coventry with one squadron of the Worcester Yeomanry was sent to the village to assist with withdrawing the two squadrons of Worchester Yeomanry already there, whilst General Wiggin operated to the south of the village and Colonel York with the Gloucester Hussars operated to the north. General Wiggin and Colonel York were successful in driving back the enemy two miles, but in face of greatly superior numbers, were gradually forced to withdraw westwards. The Worchester Yeomanry in the village of Katia had meanwhile unfortunately had the bulk of their horses killed by the enemy's shell fire, and being unable to withdraw, repeatedly suffered from heavy losses. The losses of the Gloucester Yeomanry and Warwick were slight.
A force of about 500 of the enemy, bivouacked on the evening of the 23rd near Katia village, was most successfully attacked by our aeroplanes early in the morning of the 24th. Eight machines took part in the attack and dropped 71 bombs on the enemy camp which was completely obliterated. The enemy was apparently taken completely by surprise and suffered about 250 casualties.
By the evening of the 24th, the enemy had been cleared from the Katia district with the exception of a force of about 1000 men near Bir el Abd.
Situation Now Normal
The situation on the eastern fron is now normal. The enemy has retired hurriedly to Bir el Abd and beyond, the Katia district is clear of the enemy and we hold the same position as on Friday last.
Detailed reports of the enemy's losses show that he lost in killed alone a minimum of 300. He left besides in our hands nearly 50 prisoners, many rifles and much ammunition.
A small hostile camp was still tenanted at Had Bayud yesterday morning. It was attacked and destroyed by the Royal Flying Corps. Those of the enemy who escaped returned on Bir el Abd where they were subjected to further bombings.
The enemy's planes are still fairly active and yesterday dropped 4 bombs of 12 lbs each on Port Said.
No casualties were inflicted and no damage was done: one of the bombs failed to explode.
No comments:
Post a Comment