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With the Judæans in the Palestine Campaign

<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> <div class="center">A Red-Letter Day.</div> 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 officers, N.C.O.s, and men to be decorated stood in the centre, and as each was called out to have the coveted honour pinned to his breast, his deeds were recounted to the assembled troops. Captain T. B. Brown won the Military Cross and bar for having gallantly led many a dangerous reconnaissance into the enemy's lines. Lieutenant Fligelstone was also decorated with the Military Cross for good, gallant, and dangerous work successfully performed while he was acting as machine-gun officer. [186] Lieutenant Cameron and Lieutenant Bullock both won Military Crosses and bars for good and gallant patrol and intelligence work in the Jordan Valley. Corporal Bloom, Lance-Corporal Elfman, and Privates Angel and Robinson were all decorated with the Military Medal for various gallant acts performed in the Mellahah, and during the recent operations. Major Neill had the D.S.O. conferred on him for his able handling of the battalion while it was under his command in "Patterson's Column," Captain Leadley received the Military Cross for his good Staff work, and Company Sergeant-Major Plant won the D.C.M. for special services rendered by him during the whole time we were in the fighting line. At the end of the presentation the General made the following address: <blockquote> Colonel Patterson, Officers, N.C.O.s, and men of the 38th Jewish Battalion Royal Fusiliers, I have specially come here to-day, first of all to present decorations to the officers and men who have won them in the recent operations under my command. Secondly, I want to tell you how sorry I am that I was not able to put you in the Van in the advance on Es Salt. I wished that you had been there, and I wanted you to be there, but the Indian Infantry and other units were in a more favourable position from which to spring off, while you were still entangled miles to the northward in the heavy sandhills of the Jordan Valley. In any case, even [187]had you been in the Van you would have seen but little fighting, for the mounted men got well to the front and were able to effect the capture of Es Salt and Amman before the Infantry could possibly come up. I am pleased to be able to tell you, however, that I was particularly struck with your good work on the Mellahah front, and by your gallant capture of the Umm esh Shert Ford and defeat of the Turkish rearguard when I gave you the order to go, for I was then enabled to push my mounted men over the Jordan at that crossing, and so you contributed materially to the capture of Es Salt and of the guns and other material which fell to our share; to the capture of Amman; the cutting of the Hedjaz Railway, and the destruction of the 4th Turkish Army, which helped considerably towards the great victory won at Damascus. </blockquote> I briefly thanked the General for his praise of the battalion, and a march past the decorated officers and men concluded the pleasant ceremony. It was indeed a Red-Letter Day for the battalion. It will be seen from the above what really good work was done by the Jewish Battalion, and how much it was appreciated by the one man who was in a position to judge of our fighting abilities by actual experience in the field. Yet all mention of Jewish Troops was deliberately suppressed by the Staff at G.H.Q. True, Jewish Troops were mentioned in official despatches all over[188] the world, but the part of these despatches relating to Jewish Troops was never allowed to appear in the Palestinian and Egyptian papers. This naturally upset and humiliated both Jewish troops and the Jewish population generally, for it gave outsiders the impression that we had failed to do our duty, whereas, on the contrary, the Jewish Battalion had done extraordinarily good work for England. It would, therefore, have been only mere justice and fair play if it had received recognition in the local Egyptian and Palestinian Press, but it was rigidly excluded from all mention by what the Times truthfully branded as "the most incompetent, the most inept, and the most savagely ruthless censorship in any country under British control." This omission was especially noted by all when the Commander-in-Chief in his speech at Cairo, in December, 1918, mentioned all nationalities who fought under his command, including Armenians and West Indians, but maintained a stony silence on the doings of Jewish Troops in Palestine. Coming on the top of all our persecution, this was most marked. The following is indeed in his despatch published in England, which must by some fluke or other have dodged the Censor: <blockquote> <div class="right"> General Allenby's Despatch, 31st October, 1918. </div> In operations east of the Jordan. The enemy, however, still held the bridgeheads on the west bank, covering the crossings of the Jordan at Umm es Shert, etc. [189] Early in the morning of the 22nd September, the 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers captured the bridgehead at Umm es Shert. Of the fighting troops, all have taken their share and have carried out what was required of them. I will bring to notice the good fighting qualities shown by the newer units. These include ... the 38th and 39th (Jewish) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. <div class="right"> (Signed) E. H. H. Allenby, General, Commander-in-Chief, E.E.F. </div> </blockquote> The Commander-in-Chief also wrote in reply to a letter of congratulation which he received from the Secretary of the Zionist Organization of America: <blockquote> <div class="right">22d November, 1918. </div> Dear Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge your letter.... You will be glad to hear that the Jewish Regiment did consistently good work.... </blockquote> I received letters of congratulations from many prominent people, but the most valued of all was from that wonderful and truly great man, Theodore Roosevelt. I only received this letter, written three weeks before his lamented death, towards the end of March—over two months after he had passed away. It had been sent to France in error, and wandered in and out[190] amongst the different armies there until somebody noticed that it had "E.E.F." on the address, and sent it on to Palestine: <blockquote> <div class="right">11th December, 1918.</div> My dear Colonel Patterson, I most heartily congratulate you on leading in what was not only one of the most important, but one of the most dramatic incidents in the whole War. To have the sons of Israel smite Ammon "hip and thigh" under your leadership is something worth while. As for my own loss, the death of my son Quentin was very bitter, but it would have been far more bitter if he had been a hand's breadth behind his friends in entering the war. Two of my other sons have been wounded, one of them crippled. The other wounded one has recovered, and as Lieutenant-Colonel is now commanding his regiment on the march towards the Rhine. Kermit is Captain of Artillery, having first served in Mesopotamia, and then under Pershing in the Argonne fight. <div class="right"> With hearty congratulations, Faithfully yours, T. Roosevelt. </div> </blockquote> Although the Staff denied us any local credit, our Zionist friends in the country knew what good work the battalion had done, and we were glad to receive the following official letter from the Zionist Commission: [191] <blockquote> <div class="right">Zionist Commission to Palestine, c/o Chief Political Officer, G.H.Q., Tel-Aviv, Jaffa, Palestine, 15th October, 1918. </div> Colonel J. H. Patterson, D.S.O., 38th R.F. Dear Colonel Patterson, It gives us great pleasure to express to you and to the men under your command of the 38th and 39th Royal Fusiliers, on behalf of the Zionist Commission, our warmest congratulations on the successful part taken by the Royal Fusiliers in the last battle that brought about the liberation of the rest of Palestine. We have always followed with the keenest interest the doings of the Regiment, and we are proud to know that it has done bravely and well. At a meeting of the Zionist Commission held yesterday, Lieutenant Jabotinsky informed us of the distinctions conferred upon four of the men of your battalion. It was resolved at this meeting to congratulate you thereon and ask you to be good enough to convey the congratulations of the Commission to the men who had earned these distinctions. With our best wishes for your welfare and that of the officers and men under your command, <div class="right"> I am, dear Colonel Patterson, Yours faithfully, (Signed) Jack Mosseri, Secretary. </div> </blockquote> [192] Soon after my return to England I received the following letter from General Chaytor, which will, I know, fill the hearts of the old boys of the 38th with pride: <blockquote> <div class="right"> Wellington, New Zealand, 9th March, 1920. </div> My dear Patterson, I hope the history of the 38th Battalion is out by now. So few people have heard of the battalion's good work, or of the very remarkable fact that in the operations that we hope have finally reopened Palestine to the Jews a Jewish force was fighting on the Jordan, within a short distance of where their forefathers, under Joshua, first crossed into Palestine, and all who hear about it are anxious to hear more. I shall always be grateful to you and your battalion for your good work while with me in the Jordan Valley. The way you smashed up the Turkish rearguard when it tried to counter-attack across the Jordan made our subsequent advance up the hills of Moab an easy matter. <div class="right"> With best wishes, yours sincerely, (Signed) E. W. C. Chaytor. </div> </blockquote> <hr class="chap" /> [193] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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