The Thirteenth Hussars in the Great WarDurand, H. Mortimer (Henry Mortimer)
History
The Thirteenth Hussars in the Great War
Durand, H. Mortimer (Henry Mortimer)
Great Britain. Army. Hussars, 13th; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
There was nothing particularly exciting about the march. It was a
pleasant change from the life of a stationary camp, and the Regiment
passed some interesting places on the Mesopotamian rivers, among them
the alleged site of the Garden of Eden, near the junction of the Tigris
and Euphrates--a dreary spot now. “No wonder the Twelve Apostles
deserted,” was, according to General MacMunn, a British soldier’s
comment on seeing it. Farther up on the bank of the Tigris was Ezra’s
tomb. “The most beautiful of all vignettes is the hedge-sparrow
dome ... set in a small grove of palms.” Throughout this country,
and Persia, the little blue-tiled domes under a cloudless sky are a
familiar feature. And all along the line of march were points which
had acquired some fame in the recent campaigns, before the Thirteenth
joined the Expeditionary Force. Here and there some enterprising
sportsmen found a little game, which went to swell the camp pot. But
there was no fighting--the Turks being still to the northward and still
inactive, awaiting attack, while the Arab natives of the country gave
no trouble beyond occasionally trying to steal rifles at night, which
made it necessary to keep a careful watch and form specially arranged
night camps.
The following extracts from letters give a more personal touch, and
show the daily course of affairs on the way up.
_Captain W. H. Eve--November 1, 1916._--“We have finally got our
orders.... Each day we march in the morning of course, and we camp on
arrival in a square--what is called a perimeter camp. The plan for
ours is, [Illustration] AH, BH, CH, DH show the Hotchkiss guns of each
squadron. We take over more than 300 remounts to lead up with us as far
as Amara. They come here immediately before we start. The squadron
gets 80 as its share. It will mean pretty hard work for the unfortunate
men. We have got any amount of transport--in fact I hardly know how we
shall fill it.... So we shall travel in tremendous comfort, and cart
along all our luxuries, such as tables, chairs, &c.... The horses do
look well. My own are pictures, and the whole squadron is a pleasure to
go round.”
_November 6._--“I have to write to-day to catch the mail from this
place, Kurna, where we are just settling down, 1.15 P.M., with
a very nice camp in some palm-trees by the river. I am enjoying myself
now, though the first couple of days were uncomfortable.... We had
taken over a batch of remounts before we started, 80 per squadron--all
but half a dozen great cart-horses for gunners. They are very quiet,
most of them, but it means nearly double work for the men, and they
have all to be led with halters only, and lots of the men are leading
two, so you can imagine what it is like. How thankful I shall be when
we drop them at Amara.... Those that are not heavy draught are ponies
for infantry chargers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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