Sand, sand and more sand

ANZACs in the Desert

We continue our series of articles as we mark the centenary of the ANZAC Palestine campaign in 1917:  In the first two parts of this series we explained how ANZAC troops came to be deployed to fight the Turks in the Sinai Palestine area.  In the third part, we gave you a taste of what food was like on the NZ campaign.

Following the Turk’s unsuccessful charge on the Suez in 1916, the Allied forces began their defence of the Suez Canal and the clearance of the Sinai Peninsula. This was to take them the rest of 1916 and into 1917 yet the distance covered was less than 200km.

It’s 180km from Port Said to Rafah, the border town between Sinai and Israel today. This distance is equivalent to driving from Auckland to the outskirts of Tauranga or from Christchurch to just south of Timaru.

In effect there were three enemies, the Turks supported by superior German aircraft, the 35,000 Bedouins who resided in Sinai and the desert conditions, the latter described by the men as the Chief Enemy.

Any one of them was capable of destroying life in a short span of time. Once the Suez Canal was behind them our troops encountered a horizon dominated by sand, sand and more sand. The conditions were vastly different to Gallipoli or anything else they had seen in their lives beforehand.

Coupled with limited appreciation of how long they would spend in the desert, it must have been a dismal sight. For the horses, it would be a baptism of sand and extreme hardship.

British Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Murray chose the trans Sinai route known as the King’s Highway (Dar El Sultani) a track not far in from the Mediterranean Sea identified by a telegraph cable, the only real marker.

Its coastal proximity meant soft sand that precluded conventional shipping of supplies requiring reliance on camels with lesser carrying capacity. It was slow going for the troops trudging through the soft sand.

However, the real reason for the slow progress was the building and defence of a train track and a water pipeline – the necessities of life.

The enemy knew they could defeat the Allies simply by denying them water and blowing up the wells. In order to survive some troops had to be based at camps near water as a protective measure, so their first destination was the Katia oasis 40 km east of the Canal and later the Romani and Etmaler wells. These desert oases comprised small patches of date palms and shrubs.

However, being near to the coast, the water was often salty and bitter, so not very potable. The engineers offered a vital service in verifying tracked down water sources, repairing wells, testing and designating water quality. Water brought in from outside was often treated Canal water.

Meanwhile the troops had to remain invisible from the air and hidden from Turkish scouts or Bedouin, who could give them away. They would divide up to be better concealed, but had to always remain within signal range for safety sake.

Consequently, much driving progress was made at night. As the horses were their only means of transport, they remained top priority and required many hours of daily care (feeding, watering and grooming) to maintain battle-ready condition. Digging trenches and patrolling were the top two occupations.

The ANZACs were met with a grim reality when they discovered the toll the Easter Katia Turkish raid had taken on their Yeomanry British counterparts. As the summer wore on the conditions in the daytime became unbearable and some of the men suffered from sunstroke and were hospitalised.

Getting them out of the desert would not have been easy. Survival hinged on managing the desert conditions both to live and to fight. At times, this included fogs, mirages, freezing conditions, of course the proverbial sandstorms and the famous Kamsin winds that dried everything.

Sometimes the water would arrive in drums too hot to drink, adding to the misery. As time went on the troops became very familiar with the desert and were able to navigate at night using only a compass.

Moonlight provided some terrain guidance, but could also work to their enemy’s advantage. The Turks were pushed back and Sinai was finally conquered in early January as the troops moved on into Gaza.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Joanna Moss is a Wellington-based researcher and writer. See the food exhibition at National Army Museum Waiouru until Nov 1917 & at Hamilton’s Waikato Museum “Sand in the Apricot Jam” 4 March -11 June.