Profitable
rumours excited the army, which began to trickle off northward soon
after midnight. At dawn we rallied the various contingents in Wadi Miya,
twelve miles south of the town, and advanced on it in order, meeting a
few scattered Turks, of whom one party put up a short resistance. The
Ageyl dismounted, to strip off their cloaks, head-cloths and shirts; and
went on in brown half-nakedness, which they said would ensure clean
wounds if they were hit: also their precious clothes would not be
damaged. Ibn Dakhil in command obtained a quiet regularity of obedience.
They advanced by alternate companies, in open order, at intervals of
four or five yards, with even-numbered companies in support, making good
use of the poor cover which existed.
It was pretty to look at the neat, brown men in the
sunlit sandy valley, with the turquoise pool of salt water in the midst
to set off the crimson banners which two standard bearers carried in the
van. They went along in a steady lope, covering the ground at nearly six
miles an hour, dead silent, and reached and climbed the ridge without a
shot fired. So we knew the work had been finished for us and trotted
forward to find the boy Saleh, son of ibn Shefia, in possession of the
town. He told us that his casualties had been nearly twenty killed; and
later we heard that a British lieutenant of the Air Service had been
mortally wounded in a seaplane reconnaissance, and one British seaman
hurt in the foot.
Vickery, who had directed the battle, was
satisfied, but I could not share his satisfaction. To me an unnecessary
action, or shot, or casualty, was not only waste but sin. I was unable
to take the professional view that all successful actions were gains.
Our rebels were not materials, like soldiers, but friends of ours,
trusting our leadership. We were not in command nationally, but by
invitation; and our men were volunteers, individuals, local men,
relatives, so that a death was a personal sorrow to many in the army.
Even from the purely military point of view the assault seemed to me a
blunder.
The two hundred Turks in Wejh had no transport and
no food, and if left alone a few days must have surrendered. Had they
escaped, it would not
have mattered the value of an Arab life. We wanted Wejh as a base
against the railway and to extend our front; the smashing and killing in
it had been wanton.
The place was inconveniently smashed. Its
townspeople had been warned by Feisal of the coming attack, and advised
either to forestall it by revolt or to clear out; but they were mostly
Egyptians from Kosseir, who preferred the Turks to us, and decided to
wait the issue; so the Shefia men and the Biasha found the houses packed
with fair booty and made a sweep of it. They robbed the shops, broke
open doors, searched every room, smashed chests and cupboards, tore down
all fixed fittings, and slit each mattress and pillow for hidden
treasure; while the fire of the fleet punched large holes in every
prominent wall or building.
Our main difficulty was the landing of stores. The
Fox had sunk the local lighters and rowing boats and there was no
sort of quay; but the resourceful Hardinge thrust herself into
the harbour (which was wide enough but much too short) and landed our
stuff in her own cutters. We raised a tired working party of ibn Shefia
followers, and with their clumsy or languid help got enough food into
the place for the moment's needs. The townspeople had returned hungry,
and furious at the state of what had been their property; and began
their revenge by stealing everything unguarded, even slitting open the
rice-bags on the beach and carrying away quantities in their held-up
skirts. Feisal corrected this by making the pitiless Maulud
Town-governor. He brought in his rough-riders and in one day of
wholesale arrest and summary punishment persuaded everyone to leave
things alone. After that Wejh had the silence of fear.
Even in the few days which elapsed before I left
for Cairo the profits of our spectacular march began to come in. The
Arab movement had now no opponent in Western Arabia, and had passed
beyond danger of collapse. The vexed Rabegh question died: and we had
learnt the first rules of Beduin warfare. When regarded backward from
our benefits of new knowledge the deaths of those regretted twenty men
in the Wejh streets seemed not so terrible. Vickery's impatience was
justified, perhaps, in cold blood.
