With the British Army in The Holy LandLock, H. O. (Henry Osmond)
History
With the British Army in The Holy Land
Lock, H. O. (Henry Osmond)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Palestine
Will our campaign be passed down to history as "The Last Crusade"?
Presumably not. Throughout the campaign there was little or no religious
animosity, except that the Moslem Turk extended no quarter to the
Hindoo. To speak of this as a campaign of The Cross against The Crescent
is untrue. The Turkish high command was controlled by Germans, so-called
Christians. The British soldier fought with no less zest than when
opposed to Turks. At the final battle, the Moslems, serving in our
armies, by far outnumbered the Christians.
The close of the great war forms a fitting point at which to bring our
story also to a close. Its aim has been a blend of history and
reminiscence. Much has been set down here which would have been omitted
from a history; much more has been omitted which a complete history
would have contained. In particular I plead guilty to omitting names of
units deserving of special mention. Generally their names have not been
known to me; in such cases as they were known, I have feared that to
mention them might have caused more jealousy than satisfaction. We each
of us think, and rightly so, that our own unit does better than any
other engaged. So, many a reader may be disappointed at finding no
mention of the unit in which he is particularly interested. I can only
refer him to the congratulatory telegrams which his unit received in the
field, and which are doubtless preserved among the records of the
regiment.
We have now completed our brief review of this campaign. We have seen
its small beginnings in the defence of the Suez Canal, when Turkey,
leaning upon Germany, a broken reed, vaunted herself in an attempt to
conquer Egypt. We have traced the footsteps of the British army as,
pushing back the invading Turk, it crept across the Desert. We have
watched its struggles on the frontier of Asia, culminating in the
victory of Gaza and Beersheba. We have followed its progress in the
onward sweep, which conquered Jerusalem, and watched it through
succeeding months of trial, patience and disappointment. Finally, we
have seen it destroy the remnants of the Turkish armies, and, in one
great rush, conquer the whole of Northern Syria. Proud, indeed, should
those of us feel who have been privileged to play a part in this
campaign.
INDEX
Abd, 15
Abu Aweigila, 16
Abu Hareira, 45
Ain Karim, 83
Ajalon, 71
Akaba, Gulf of, 4, 26
Aleppo, 23, 143
Alexandretta, 143
Ali Muntar, 38
Amman, 114, 141
Anwas, 73
Apex, The, 46, 50, 59
Arara, 131
Armageddon, 33
Asluj, 54
Atawinah, 45, 58, 59
Auja, 5,14
Australia Hill, 39
Baalbek, 143
Baghdad, 22
Baha, 45
Baku, 23
Beersheba, 39, 45, 51, 56
Beihesnia, 75
Beit Dukka, 75
Beit Iksa, 83
Beit Hanun, 45, 58, 63
Beit Jibrin, 67
Belah, 38
Bethel, 109
Beth-horon, 71
Bethshan, 139
Bireh, 72
Bir-el-Abd, 14
Bir-es-Sakaly, 54
Bitter Lakes, 5
Constantinople, 7
Ctesiphon, 22
Damascus, 142
Dardanelles, 6
Dead Sea, 112
Deraa, 142
Dueidar, 13
Egypt, 1
El Arish, 5
El Burj, 80
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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