With The Judæans In The Palestine Campaign - free ebook by J. H. (John Henry) Patterson

WITH THE JUDÆANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN

By Lieut.-Col. J. H. PATTERSON, D.S.O. Author of: "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo," "In the Grip of The Nyika," "With the Zionists in Gallipoli." WITH A MAP AND 22 ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON: HUTCHINSON &amp; CO. PATERNOSTER ROW...

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PREFACE

The formation of a Battalion of Jews for service in the British Army is an event without precedent in our annals, and the part played by such a unique unit is assured of a niche in history owing to the fact that it fought in Palestine, not only for the British cause, but also for the Restoration of the Jewish people to the Promised Land. In writing the following narrative, my object has been to give a faithful account of the doings of this Jewish Battalion while it was under my command. I am muc

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INTRODUCTION

In the darkest days of the War, the British Cabinet decided that it would be good policy to create a Jewish Regiment, and accordingly, in August, 1917, the first Jewish Battalion was formed. From that day forth, as a matter of duty and loyalty to King and Country, it was clearly incumbent on all those in authority to treat this new unit with justice, and do everything in their power to make it a success. It is to be deplored that this Jewish Battalion—this ewe lamb of Israel—did not receive, whi

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CHAPTER I.

In the early days of 1917 the outlook for the Allied Powers was particularly black and menacing. England, the mainstay in the great struggle, was in deadly peril, for, just about this time, the ruthless Submarine campaign was at its height and our shipping losses were appalling. The Central Powers, with startling rapidity, had crushed and overrun Belgium, Serbia, and Roumania, and a large slice of France was in the grip of the invader. It was a case of stalemate with Italy, while Russia, the Col

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CHAPTER III.

On the 23rd August, 1917, the formation of the "Jewish Regiment" was officially announced in the London Gazette , and I was appointed to the command of a Battalion. At the same time it was officially intimated that a special Jewish name and badge would be given to the Battalions of this Regiment. On hearing of this determination the Sanballats immediately got very busy. Heads were put together, and letters written up and down the land to all and sundry who were likely to serve their purpose, wit

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CHAPTER IV.

I was delighted when, at last, I got away from organization duty at the War Office, with all its worries and vicissitudes, and commenced the real active work of training a fighting Battalion of Jews. Plymouth was the spot chosen as our training centre, and at the Crown Hill Barracks, near this famous and beautiful harbour, we commenced our military career. A recruiting Depôt was at the same time established in London at 22, Chenies Street, where a Staff was installed under the command of Major K

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CHAPTER V.

The only serious trouble we had in Plymouth occurred over Kosher food. As most people probably know, Jewish food has to be killed and cooked in a certain way as laid down in Jewish Law, and it is then known as "kosher," i.e. proper. This was, of course, quite new to the Military authorities, and the Army being a very conservative machine, and, at times, a very stubborn one, they failed to see the necessity of providing special food for the Jewish troops—a curious state of mentality considering t

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CHAPTER VI.

Towards the end of January, 1918, we were notified that the 38th Battalion was to proceed on Active Service to Palestine. This news was received with great joy by all ranks, and every man was granted ten days' leave to go home and bid farewell to his family. Of course, our pessimistic friends took every opportunity of maligning the Jew from Russia, and said that the men would desert and we should never see a tenth of them again. I, however, felt otherwise, and had no anxiety about their return.

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CHAPTER VII.

When we landed at Alexandria on the 1st March the Battalion was invited by the Jewish community, headed by the Grand Rabbi, to commemorate its safe arrival in Egypt by attending a special service in the beautiful Temple in the street of the Prophet Daniel. The men got a splendid reception from the Alexandrians as they marched to the Synagogue, where a most impressive service was held, the Grand Rabbi giving the soldiers a special benediction in the grand old language of the Prophets. After the s

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CHAPTER VIII.

At this time G.H.Q. was situated at a place called Bir Salem (the Well of Peace), ten miles to the east of Jaffa, and as, after my interview, I had the whole day before me, I borrowed a motor-car and paid a flying visit to Jerusalem, some thirty miles away to the eastward. I will not attempt to describe here what I felt as I approached the Holy City, along the winding road which leads up to it through the rocky Judæan mountains. I entered the old walled city through the Jaffa Gate, and was soon

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CHAPTER IX.

By the end of May our training was completed and on the 5th June, 1918, we left Egypt for Palestine, getting a very hearty "send-off" from Col. Margolin and the 39th Battalion. Before we set out I had the gratification of receiving from General Robertson the following letter: Dear Colonel Patterson , On the eve of your departure for the front I desire to wish you and the officers and men of the 38th Royal Fusiliers God-speed, and success in the tasks which you may be called upon to undertake in

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CHAPTER X.

On the 17th July we were transferred to the 60th Division and attached to one of its Brigades. We were very sorry to leave the 10th Division, for we had made many good friends all round, and our Divisional and Brigade Commanders had always treated us fairly and justly. On the evil day of our transfer a fatal accident befell Lieutenant B. Wolffe. He was in charge of the transport wagons and was engaged in loading up supplies at the Ordnance Depôt. The drivers were, of course, dismounted and stand

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CHAPTER XI.

Within two days of the receipt of General Allenby's letter cancelling the mixed Brigade formation, we were suddenly ordered to leave the cool and pleasant hill-tops of Ephraim and march down to the sweltering heat and fever-stricken desolation of the Jordan Valley, 1,300 feet below sea level, in the very hottest and most unhealthy month of the year. We, of course, took our orders for the deadly Valley quite cheerfully, feeling that it was "not ours to reason why," but we did feel that it was a b

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CHAPTER XII.

We were now attached to the 12th Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General J. T. Wigan, and on the 16th, 17th, and 18th August we took over D and E sections of the Desert Corps front line, relieving the 19th Indian Lancers and the 6th Indian Cavalry Regiments. We were unfortunately only a few days with the 12th Brigade, which was moved to Ludd soon after we were posted to it. The Jordan Valley, at the place where we were entrenched, is about fifteen miles wide and is over 1,200 feet below

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CHAPTER XIII.

Although the climatic change from the cool hill-tops of Samaria to the inferno of the Jordan Valley differed as does Heaven from Hell, still we had compensations in the fair, just, and kindly treatment meted out to us by General Chaytor and every officer, non-commissioned officer, and man of the Anzac Mounted Division. The battalion stood entirely on its merits, and that it found favour in the sight of these famous fighters is the proudest feather in its cap. Their minds were as broad as the wid

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CHAPTER XIV.

On the 28th August a patrol of six privates, under the command of a sergeant, crept up to the Turkish trenches near the Umm esh Shert Ford. It was a dark and windy night, so they got quite close to the enemy without being seen. When about thirty yards short of the Turks they lay down and then observed a sentry standing a little way off. One of the patrol, Private Sapieshvili, a Jew from the Caucasus, began to crawl forward and cautiously stalk the unwary sentinel. When eventually he succeeded in

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CHAPTER XV.

As the date fixed for the great advance of the Army in Palestine drew near, certain parts of the Jordan Valley began to look very comical. Here and there would be seen a battery of artillery parked, or a cavalry regiment, with its horses tethered in neat and orderly array, in the most approved army style, but on closer inspection both horses and guns were found to be merely dummies! Great camps were pitched, but there was not a soldier in them; fires were lighted all over the place at dusk, as i

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CHAPTER XVI.

Meanwhile I was ordered to clear away the enemy believed to be still holding the ground to the north of our trenches round Red Hill. I detailed Captain H. H. Harris and his Company for this duty, the remainder of the battalion taking up position in the vacated Turkish trenches overlooking the Jordan. Lieutenant Jabotinsky, with his platoon, took possession of Umm esh Shert and put the captured ford in a state of defence, making machine-gun emplacements, etc., to cover the crossing. I myself with

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CHAPTER XVII.

When I took command of the Column I chose Captain Douglas Leadley as my Staff Officer, and a better man it would be almost impossible to find. I never knew Leadley to forget anything, and it was a great relief to feel that when once I had given him any instructions, I need have no further anxiety about them, for he was absolutely reliable and competent in every way. When Leadley came to me, Major Neill selected Captain T. B. Brown to replace him as Adjutant of the 38th Battalion, and an excellen

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CHAPTER XVIII.

The moment things were satisfactorily settled in the neighbourhood of Es Salt I hurried on to Amman. Jumping into a passing motor, I discovered that the name of the officer in the car was Lowe, and on asking him whether he was, by chance, any relation of a man I knew named Harry Lowe, he replied, "I am his brother." On our arrival at Amman I found that General Chaytor's camp was some distance beyond the town and close to the Hedjaz Railway Station. Seeing the divisional flag flying over his tent

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CHAPTER XIX.

When Turkey, unfortunately for herself, ranged her forces on the side of our enemies in the Great War she severed a friendship which had lasted for the greater part of a century. Our policy had for many years been to uphold the integrity of the Ottoman Empire because, with that Power holding Palestine, our Egyptian interests were quite safe. Now that the Turkish Empire has practically ceased to exist, Palestine becomes of cardinal importance to our Eastern interests. Situated as it is at the Gat

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CHAPTER XX.

It will be remembered that I had been ordered to proceed to Nimrin to intercept any Turks who might attempt to break through from the South. When I reached my camp I found about 1,500 Turkish prisoners already concentrated there; hundreds of them were too feeble and ill to be marched further, but about 1,000 were considered fit enough to go on, and these were escorted by Captain Harris and a small detachment of the 38th to Jericho, and, after a short rest there, on to the prisoners' cage at Ludd

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CHAPTER XXI.

On the 9th October the battered remnant of the battalion moved from Jerusalem to Ludd by rail, where it was taken on the strength of Lines of Communication troops for garrison duties. When we heard that we were to be severed from the Anzacs our feeling was one of regret, for every individual in the battalion had the greatest admiration, respect, and affection for General Chaytor and his Staff, and, in fact, a feeling of real comradeship for every officer and man in the Anzac Mounted Division. My

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CHAPTER XXII.

The Armistice with Turkey was announced on the 31st October, 1918, amid the firing of guns and rockets and joy stunts by the Air Force above our camp at Ludd. On the 6th November the battalion was ordered to proceed to Rafa to recuperate, refit and reorganise, and on the 7th, in the early morning, we arrived at this frontier station bordering on "the desert and the town." Rafa is actually in Egypt, just over the borders of Palestine, on the Palestine-Egyptian Railway line some five miles from th

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CHAPTER XXIII.

About this time the battalion was inspected by the G.O.C. Lines of Communication, and the following is what he wrote of the impression we made on him: I was very glad to inspect your battalion and I was much struck with the soldierly appearance presented by the men. Isolated as we were on the edge of the desert we found life at Rafa somewhat dull and dreary. Sandstorms were the bane of one's life there; a "Khamsin" or hot wind would blow for days at a time, enveloping the place in a cloud of fin

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CHAPTER XXIV.

Soon after the Anzac Division came to Rafa, General Chaytor expressed a wish to inspect the battalion and present decorations to those officers, N.C.O.s, and men who had won them while under his command. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon, and every available man in the battalion was on parade when General Chaytor, accompanied by Colonel Bruxner and Major Anderson, rode on to the review ground and took the "General Salute." The battalion was then formed up on three sides of a square; the office

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CHAPTER XXV.

On the 24th February, 1919, I was appointed to the command of "Rafa Area." The "Area" was rather an extensive one; it included nearly the whole of the Sinai Desert to the south, and Palestine to the north, almost as far as Bir Salem, while to the east it went beyond Beersheba to the Arabian Desert. There were over 150 miles of railway to guard, and the Bedouins had to be constantly watched and checked, or they would have played all sorts of pranks with the line. Constant patrols had to be mainta

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CHAPTER XXVI.

There was a great deal of unrest and unhealthy excitement during demobilization, so to keep the troops interested and amused, competitions were got up throughout the E.E.F. in Boxing, Football, Cricket, and sports of all kinds. Soon after we reached Rafa a programme of coming sporting events was circulated from G.H.Q. Naturally, in a fighting army like the British, the greatest interest of all was taken in the Boxing competition, and the 38th Royal Fusiliers entered with keenness for all events.

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CHAPTER XXVII.

Early in May we were transferred from Rafa to Bir Salem. The advance party moved on the 6th, and on the 10th the Battalion Headquarters followed, and took over duties from the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade, which was then sent to Haifa. We were replaced at Rafa by the 40th (Jewish) Battalion Royal Fusiliers, which was now composed mainly of the Palestinian youths recruited by Major James de Rothschild and Lieutenant Lipsey. For a time they were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel F. D. Samuel D.S.O., but

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

Towards the end of June I took part in the military races at Alexandria, and from the "home town" of Hypatia I took ship and went to Beyrout—a lovely seaport, nestling under the mighty and magnificent Lebanon. Here I was most hospitably entertained by my friends, the Bustroses. From the balcony of her palatial residence Madame Bustros enjoys a view second to none in the world, and every imaginable fruit and flower grows and blooms on her estate. Beyrout is undoubtedly a place of milk and honey,

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CHAPTER XXIX.

When General Hoskin left Bir Salem to take up a command in England he was replaced by Major-General Sir John Shea, under whom we had served for a short time in the line. If this officer had not been called elsewhere, I am quite sure that the regrettable incidents which I shall have to relate would never have taken place; but, unfortunately, General Shea was away practically all the time we were attached to his Division, and a senior Brigadier acted in his place. This Brigadier was apparently wel

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CHAPTER XXX.

The violent anti-Semitism shown by General Z at last reached such a pitch that on one occasion (the 16th July to be exact), he rode into camp and, without the slightest provocation, abused and insulted the men, threatened one of them, and actually went so far as to strike an unoffending private soldier with his whip, using at the same time language which would make Billingsgate blush. I was not present at this outrage, but I heard a full account of all that happened from various eye-witnesses wh

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CHAPTER XXXI.

In case any readers may think that my account is exaggerated I give some letters of protest which I received from some of the officers in my battalion. From this it will be seen what a difficult position I was placed in, owing to the policy of G.H.Q. towards Jewish aspirations. A few interested parties, for their own ends, sedulously spread the rumour that there was no anti-Semitism shown in Palestine. I will leave the reader to judge whether these people were knaves or fools: Sir , I beg to rep

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CHAPTER XXXII.

I had long looked forward to a visit to the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), and eventually, late in October, my ambition was fulfilled, for, taking advantage of "Damascus week," when leave was easy to get, I slipped off from Ludd one morning at 8.30, and arrived at Samakh, on the southern shores of the sea, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. My first peep of the Lake, as it stretched out before me and melted away in the purple haze to the north, was delightful. The colouring was superb and, as I sat

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

It will be remembered that Lieutenant Jabotinsky was responsible for the idea of forming a Jewish Legion to help England in her great struggle for world freedom. The British Government was impressed with the possibilities he placed before it, and eventually he was summoned to the War Office by Lord Derby, then Secretary of State for War, and to the War Cabinet by General Smuts, to expound his proposals. These high officials did not disdain to meet and confer with Jabotinsky on the Jewish Legion

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CHAPTER XXXIV.

Nothing but a sense of the duty which I owed to my officers and men induced me to continue serving in such a hostile atmosphere after the armistice had been declared. We suffered, but we suffered in silence, and just "carried on." In the midst of our tribulations we, however, scored a decided triumph, for the year-old decision of the War Office was at last announced by the local Staff that we had won a special name, viz., the Judæans, and that H.M. the King had sanctioned the Menorah as a specia

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CHAPTER XXXV.

Shortly after my return to England events occurred in Palestine which prove up to the hilt all that I have written with regard to the anti-Jewish attitude of certain members of the E.E.F. Staff. A veritable "pogrom," such as we have hitherto only associated with Tsarist Russia, took place in the Holy City of Jerusalem in April, 1920, and as this was the climax to the maladministration of the Military Authorities, I consider that the facts of the case should be made public. To the observant onloo

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CHAPTER XXXVI.

While Jerusalem was yet plunged in sorrow and filled with lamentation, the glad tidings arrived from San Remo that the Allied Council had endorsed England's promise of a National Home for the Jews in Palestine, and that Great Britain had been appointed the Mandatory Power. England, to emphasize her determination to deal justly with Israel, wisely decided that the ruler of Palestine should be a Jew, and appointed Sir Herbert Samuel as first High Commissioner of the Holy Land. When the great roll-

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APPENDIX I.

Lieut. B. Wolffe . Sergt. B. Levy . Sergt. C. Levy . Private S. Mildemer . Private S. Grayman . Private R. Marks . Company Sergt.-Major P. Tennens . Lance-Corp. A. Lloyd . Lance-Corp. H. Strong . Private B. Brick . Private C. Serember . Private G. Redlikh . Private S. Hart . Private L. Black . Private I. Goldrich . Private J. Malkin . Private P. Soborinsky . Private S. Abrahamson . Private S. Rosenberg . Private M. Deitz . Private W. Weinberg . Private J. Berman . Private N. Freeman . Private H.

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APPENDIX II.

The Rt. Hon. Lord Rothschild , President. Mr. M. J. Landa , Hon. Sec. Mrs. J. H. Hertz . Mrs. Ch. Weizmann . J. D. Kiley , Esq., M.P. Sir Adolph Tuck , Bart. E. N. Adler , Esq. Joseph Cowen , Esq. Dr. M. D. Eder . J. Ettinger , Esq. Leopold Frank , Esq. L. J. Greenberg , Esq. M. Kaye , Esq. Dr. Goodman Levy . Lionel D. Walford , Esq. Henry Wolff , Esq. Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson , D.S.O. Lieut.-Col. F. D. Samuel , D.S.O Lieut.-Col. E. L. Margolin , D.S.O. Major W. Schonfield . Major Rev. S. Lip

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