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
“Three days after this, the 16th inst., the Regiment received sudden
orders to turn out at 4.30 P.M. on an Arab strafe. It was made
known to us later that these Arabs had literally cut to pieces the
whole of a British survey party, consisting of three British officers
and their orderlies, and some sixteen native soldiers who were their
escort.
“We marched at 4.30 and crossed the river at Baghdad. We bivouacked
that night some ten miles east of it. Marching again at daybreak, we
encountered a terrific sand-storm which made the going very difficult,
nevertheless we succeeded in covering some thirty-nine miles over the
waterless desert before bivouacking for the night.
“Continuing again early the following morning, we trekked another
eighteen miles or so in the direction of Mushada, when a halt was made.
Reconnoitring from here, we located the Arabs some distance from the
village. We rested until dawn the 19th inst., when we attacked them and
inflicted heavy casualties amongst them, at the same time driving them
before us on to General Cobbe’s column, which had marched down from
Samarrah. This column exacted a terrible revenge for those murders,
and literally mowed them down with machine-gun fire. We inflicted some
3000 casualties in all amongst this huge band of Bedouin Arabs. This
incident had a wonderful effect on the Arabs throughout the country,
and no doubt prevented them from committing many similar outrages.
“On the conclusion of this we marched back to our camp at Chaldari.”
_Private C. T. Massey, ‘D’ Squadron--March 24._--“On the 24th we
turned out to graze, and while the horses were grazing Private Cox
came up with the order to ‘turn in and stand to.’ We moved off in a
north-easterly direction about midday, after buying oranges and limes
from Arabs on the square. We rejoined the portion of the Regiment that
moved off earlier in the day, at a camp next morning, the 25th.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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