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[Page 3]
Romani, Katia & Bir-el-Abd Actions, from July 23rd to August 13th 1916
After many weary months of walking & waiting for the appearance of the enemy, our boys were at last rewarded for their patience on the 21st July, when an official report came through to the effect that a force of Germans & Turks, numbering at least fifteen thousand, were marching on to Ograhtina, sixteen miles east of our base, which is situated at Romani, twenty seven miles east of the Suez Canal.
From the 23rd July until the 1st August we were trekking to & from Katia by night & frequently came in contact with Turkish outposts, who invariably were either killed or captured by our patrols. On the morning of August 1st one of our monitors bombarded enemy positions with her fifteen inch guns, causing much damage.
It was fully expected that Johnny would attack at the conclusion of the "Feast of Bairam", & we were not dissappointed, for at daylight on the fourth of August his forces threw their weight upon our weakest point, "Kathei-Gannek", two miles south of Romani. It was here that the First L.H. Brigade made their name famous, as from 4 a.m. till 6.30 a.m. they held up the enemy numbering fully