Primary tabs
Transcription
[page 71]
1918
one of the first moves in the raid about to be made on Es Salt.
The enemy had over 8000 troops in the Amman - Es Salt - Shunet Nimrin area. Of these about 5000 were at Shunet Nimrin, with head-quarters at Es Salt. There were two roads connecting Amman (which was on the Hedjaz railway line) and Shunet Nimrin. One was a metalled road through Es Salt; the other, further south, was a track through Ain es Sir, which had recently been made passable for wheeled traffic by the Turks, and which at the time of the raid was liable to attack by the Beni Sakhr tribe, allies of Emir Feisal. General Chauvel's scheme amounted to this: while the infantry attacked the Shunet Nimrin position from the Jordan valley, the mounted troops would move northwards along the valley from el Ghoraniye, turn east along the tracks leading from Um es Shert and Jisr ed Damieh and seize Es Salt. The Beni Sakhr would cut the road through Ain es Sir. Having taken Es Salt, the Australian Mounted Division was to send thence a mounted force down the road to Shunet Nimrin to take the Turks in rear when they had been forced back by the infantry. There appeared a fair chance, therefore, of capturing the Turkish force at Shunet Nimrin.
Our Regiment re-crossed the Jordan at midnight, April 29/30, and while "B" Squadron under Major O.B. Ryrie moved directly on Um es Short, "C" Squadron under Major Harris, with two machine guns, swept round on the right to prevent the enemy retiring on to Red Hill and to make all possible effort to capture the guns at the rear of Red Hill. Um es Shert was occupied. R.H.Q. moved forward, "B" Squadron occupied Red Hill and "C" was ordered forwards towards the north end of Red Hill. The Turks, without offering resistance, retreated across the river to the right bank where they occupied a good defensive position, with a battery of guns and a number of machine guns, so that direct observation of the neighbouring ford was denied to us.
"A" Squadron under Major Weir was sent to relieve "B" whilst the latter watered their horses. Later, orders came to the Brigade that 1. L.H. was to take part in the raid on Es Salt itself, so "B" Squadron and a section of machine guns was left to hold Red Hill and cover the ford. The remainder of the Regiment moved independently to the foot hills of Jebel um Aawe. We learned at 1630 by helio from "B" Squadron