The Great War

by Rakhshanda Jalil

Vazira Singh’s tears are dripping.

  After a few days, people read in the newspapers: France and Belgium… 68th Dispatch… Grievously wounded in battle… Jamadar Lahna Singh of the 77th Sikh Rifles.

  Translated from Hindi by Insha Waziri

  1 Ekkas were horse-driven carts, a little smaller than tongas.

  2 Sun-dried dumplings made from pound pulses, cooked as a curried dish. Papad or poppadum are similarly sun-dried. The city of Amritsar is famous for its badiyan and papad.

  3 An exclamation to variously denote surprise, dismay, reproof. Here it is a reproof, but in jest.

  4 Used variously as a form of greeting or exclamation; here it is the latter, to convey dismay.

  5 Usually used for Englishwomen, but also for any foreign or Westernised women.

  6 Subedar is a rank below British commissioned officers and above non-commissioned officers. Starting from the entry-level sepoy, the ranks were lance naik, naik, havildar, havildar major, jamadar, subedar, subedar major.

  7 Step-wells

  8 Measure of land in rural Punjab and Haryana.

  9 Nilgai or blue bull is the Asian antelope.

  10 The Sikh greeting meaning, ‘Purity belongs to the Lord’ and ‘Victory belongs to the Lord’, used as a war cry in times of battle.

  11 ‘The army of God has come’; ‘Blessed is he who takes the Lord’s name’.

  12 It cannot be established if this fragment can indeed by ascribed to Banabhatta, the seventh-century Sanskrit writer and poet. Roughly translated, it means the ‘the giver of the teeth-chattering message’.

  13 End of a shawl, sari or dupatta.

  The Great War in Europe and the Role of the Hyderabad Imperial Service Troops1

  Lt-Col Azmatullah Khan

  Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur of Hyderabad State donated a sum of Rs 60 lakh for the 20th Deccan Horse and Hyderabad Imperial Service Troops2 towards the expenses in the war effort. The 20th Deccan Horse was especially singled out for this honour because this regiment has had a long association with the Hyderabad Contingent and His Highness was an Honorary Colonel in this regiment.

  On 14-15 October 1914, the entire regiment gathered at the Deolali Camp. From here, it proceeded towards Bombay to board ship at the Prince Dock. The Women’s Association of Bombay sent boxes of biscuits, sweets and other tinned goods. Colonel Nawab Sir Afsar-ul Mulk came to the ship to give a rousing farewell to the officers and soldiers on 31 October 1914. On the very first night at sea, the men learnt that the Sultanate of Turkey had announced war against Russia. On 20 November 1914, other armies joined the Hyderabad brigade. With three warships acting as escort, the flotilla left the waters of Bombay for Aden. On 5 November 1914, the hills of Arabia were spotted for the first time. By now, ten transport ships had joined our fleet.

  On 10 November 1914, the fleet reached Aden, but we were not given permission to leave ship. The letters we had written with the intention of sending to India were dispatched to the post office through the ship’s captain. Our fleet left Aden in the afternoon of 11 November 1914, and our warships engaged in battle with Shaikh Said3 near the shore. We captured four canons and 120 men, and destroyed the Arabian fort4 on the island of Perim.5

  On the night of 16-17 November, our fleet reached Suez. We remained on our ship all day on the 17th and did not get the opportunity to go ashore. The next day was spent in offloading the horses and luggage, which were then transported via rail to Moascar-Ismailia6. Since it was a military station, the train could not stop for very long and our horses and luggage could not be taken off. We spent the night in a camp. It was very dark; we could not even see the ground beneath our feet, and compared to the weather in Hyderabad, it was very cold at night here.

  Ismailia is neither a historical nor an ancient city. In fact, after the creation of the Suez Canal, Ismail Pasha,7 the Khedive of Egypt, laid its foundation along modern lines. Its roads are wide and cemented. The city is kept neat and clean. A large garden is also constructed with every amenity for leisure as well as large shade-giving trees. An office pertaining to the running of the Suez Canal is managed by the French. This modern-style city is indeed worth a visit, especially since it is located in the desert. By the time we reached Ismailia, many armies from different nations had converged on the Suez, one of them being a brigade of camels from Bikaner.

  With the arrival of all these forces, patrolling had started in the eastern part of Suez. In order to get an exact idea of the approach of the enemy, the patrolling would go on for 15–20 miles daily. One day, local Bedouin tribes captured a patrol, which strengthened our belief that the enemy was close by.8 Thereafter the patrols were given strict instructions to be extra vigilant.

  In Moascar-Ismailia, we began to hear all sorts of rumours. Of these the one that remained in currency for a long time was concerning Shaikh Sanosi and his imminent attack on Suez with a very large force. The Turks too had announced that within ten days they would take control of the Suez from the British. The British force was prepared in every way to ensure that this does not happen. Approximately three months after our arrival, the Turks did indeed attack Ismailia.

  On the first day of the new year, in 1915, a sports day was celebrated, and our brigade won three-fourth of all the prizes. While our soldiers were not as tall and well-built as those from Patiala and Mysore, they nevertheless won at fighting on horseback. Everyone was surprised at their prowess when compared to the tall and muscular soldiers from these other states.

  In the beginning of 1915, General Arthur Watson gave the news that an attack by German and Turkish armies was imminent and our forces should be on high alert. There was also fear that enemy spies might destroy the railway tracks or cause some damage to the sweet water canal that connects Ismailia and Port Said to the city of Suez. And so, day and nightlong patrolling was done to make the General sahab believe that the Imperial Lancers were up to the task in every way.

  On 25 January 1915, we got the news that the enemy was approaching Ber Mewak, which is approximately fifteen miles east of Suez, and had even fired at our aeroplanes. Therefore, a squadron, led by Major Qasim Ali Khan, which was stationed at Al-Kabri Suez, was dispatched for patrolling in that direction. It faced skirmishes with small patrol parties of the enemy.

  On 27 January 1915, at about 4am, the enemy suddenly attacked the post at al-Kabri.9 Everyone at the post was at their watch and the bullets and bombs of the enemy were falling in our camp.

  On 28 January 1915, our squadron was commanded to secure the post. At daybreak, we set out and after about a mile, we engaged in battle with the enemy. After about an hour of constant firing, the enemy retired. One soldier from the enemy’s rank was captured.

  Until 4 February, we continued patrolling with the enemy in our midst. Every day big and small skirmishes took place.

  On 6 February, one squadron from Hyderabad, the Seventh Gurkha Regiment, and one canon-head were given orders to face the enemy. Our squadron was sent in the advance guard formation. We saw some movement among the enemy’s ranks after about five miles. At that time, General Miles commanded Major Qasim Ali Khan to take one troop to the enemy’s left flank to estimate their strength. The enemy had taken positions in very large numbers, and when our troops were approximately 200 yards away, they started firing upon us. Since there was no place to take cover, perforce our troops were told to retire in the face of constant firing. One of our horsemen was hit in the head and died instantly. His death cast a pall over us, for it was the first casualty from our side at a time when our strength was 60,000 men in the Suez area. With immense courage, Wafadar Gulab Singh brought the fallen horseman back from enemy lines in the midst of constant firing. During this time, our canons had kept up constant shelling. General Miles praised the exemplary courage shown by our squadron and expressed sorrow over our fallen horseman.

  Around this time, we got news that an extremely large enemy contingent was moving towards the Suez Canal, past the Sinai Peninsula.

  On the night of 2 Feb
ruary 1915, a 2000-strong force of the enemy attacked six different posts along the Suez Canal10 and 18,000 men sent by Jamal Pasha massed near Jebel Khatyaab al-Khail as a backup force. A bitter battle raged for two days. Our warships, deployed to patrol up and down the Suez for precisely such an eventuality, now got into the fray and the machine guns mounted on these ships caused extensive damage to the enemy.11

  On the night of 3 February 1915, the enemy floated some aluminium boats near Tussum12 (which is about 8 miles from Ismailia) and succeeded in making a pontoon bridge. Some soldiers managed to cross over it, but because they were talking loudly while building this bridge, our sentries were alerted, and they began to fire on the enemy in the middle of the night. As a result, a large part of the enemy’s force could not get off the bridge. Had they worked in silence, the outcome of that night’s labour would have been altogether praiseworthy. Had 1,000 or 2,000 soldiers from the enemy’s troops crossed over to our side, it would have caused us a great deal of trouble and it is possible that along the 25–30 mile distance, where the enemy had attacked our six posts, we would have faced greater action. It is said that given the importance of this night’s attack, the Turkish forces had codenamed it Shab-e Meraj”13

  On 3 February, there was battle all day and all night. With the help of binoculars, I saw the entire scene from the water reservoir at Ismailia, which is at the highest point in the city. I could clearly see the action of the enemy forces for up to 10–12 miles; a 100-strong force moving swiftly in different directions, advancing, then falling back, the firing of machine guns from different positions, and the reply given by the long-barrel guns mounted on ships on the canal. That is a scene I shall always remember.

  In the Sinai Peninsula, where there is no water and no crops grow, nor can things be made available, nor is movement easy because of the sand dunes, and where the wheels of machine guns get stuck in the sand, it was commendable that the Turkish force had brought 30,000 men along with machine guns and arms to cross 80 miles to face us. It was nothing short of a military marvel.

  On 4 February, our squadron stationed in Ismailia was asked to join the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and face the enemy. After we had travelled approximately five miles, we encountered three Turkish brigades. Once they had established our presence, they began to retire. Since our numbers were far less, it was not deemed wise to engage in battle with them. For a long time, we merely observed the enemy’s movements from a vantage point. When our brigadier, General Watson, was convinced that the Turkish force was indeed retreating constantly, by the late afternoon our force too began to retire.

  Under Major Mirza Qadir Baig’s command, a squadron was dispatched to protect the left flank. It performed its duties in an exemplary fashion.

  From the Turkish prisoners of war, it was established that it was never the Turks’ intention to enter the Sinai Peninsula and after facing all manner of hardships, to attack the Suez Canal. But when the Turkish Sultanate got the impression that England would attack Gallipoli and that even a fraction of the English forces that were currently engaged in protecting the Suez Canal would proceed towards Gallipoli, it decided to take all this trouble to prevent such an eventuality. Also, Germany was exerting pressure on Turkey to attack the Suez Canal so that the movement of arms and resources that were coming from India to oppose Germany in Europe could be stopped.

  Translated from Urdu by Rakhshanda Jalil

  1 Extract from Tareekh-e-Jung-e-Azeem Europe: Aur Iss Mein Hyderabad Imperial Service Troops Ki Shirkat Ke Haalat by Lt-Col Muhammad Azmatullah, Hyderabad, 1922, p. 18.

  2 The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was a brigade-sized formation that served alongside British forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during the First World War. Originally called the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, it was formed from Imperial Service Troops provided by the Indian princely states of Hyderabad, Mysore, Patiala, Alwar and Jodhpur, each of which provided a regiment of lancers. In October 1914, the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade was moved by sea to Egypt to defend the Suez Canal. During the first three years of the war, the soldiers were involved in several small-scale battles connected to the First Suez Offensive, but spent most of their time patrolling in the Sinai Desert and along the west bank of the canal. It was not until November 1917 as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force that the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade was involved in the Third Battle of Gaza. The following year, the brigade joined the 5th Cavalry Division when it became the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade and played an active role in the British victory over Turkish forces in Palestine. In total, eighty-four of its men were killed in action or died of their wounds and 123 were wounded.

  3 A rocky peninsula in Yemen.

  4 A raiding party from the armoured cruiser HMS Duke of Edinburgh did indeed capture and destroy this fort that had served to guard the mouth of the Red Sea during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

  5 At the entrance of the Red Sea.

  6 During the First World War, the Moascar Isolation Camp provided the final preparation for entrainment to Alexandria and the Western Front. The isolation camps screened soldiers arriving in Egypt as reinforcements for two weeks, checking for any illnesses such as measles, which could break out when people are crowded together for long periods. Ismailia is a city in northeast Egypt, situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal. During the war, the Australian YMCA ran soldiers’ clubs, etc., in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere. They also pooled their resources with the US, Canada, England and New Zealand to form the International Hospitality League and provided social services to all Allied troops.

  7 Known as Ismail the Magnificent (31 December 1830–2 March 1895), Ismail Pasha was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, until he was removed at the behest of Great Britain.

  8 The first hostilities occurred on 20 November 1914, when a twenty-man patrol of the Bikaner Camel Corps was attacked at Bir en Nuss, twenty miles east of Qantara, by 200 Bedouin. The Bikaner Camel Corps lost more than half their patrol.

  9 The enemy force had moved towards the Suez Canal in three echelons; the main group along the central route, with smaller forces on the northern and southern routes. The northern group of about 3,000 men moved via Magdhaba to Al-Arish and thence along the northern route towards Port Said. The central group of about 6,000 or 7,000 men moved via the water cisterns at Moiya Harab and the wells at Wadi Um Muksheib and Jifjafa towards Ismailia. This was at the midpoint of the Suez Canal near the vital British railway and water pumping equipment. The main force marched from Beersheba through El Auja and Ibni, between the Maghara and Yelleg hills to Jifjafa and Ismailia. The third group of about 3,000 moved via Nekl southwards towards the town of Suez at the southern end of the Suez Canal. The main force was attacked by aircraft dropping twenty-pound bombs. Two smaller flanking columns of this Ottoman force made secondary attacks on 26 and 27 January 1915 near Qantara in the northern sector of the Suez Canal and near the town of Suez in the south.

  10 By 2 February, slight forward movements of the attacking force made it clear the main attack would be on the central sector, to the north or south of Lake Timsah. An armoured train with four platoons of New Zealand infantry and two platoons reinforced the 5th Gurkhas’ post on the east bank. The 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade (the 62nd and 92nd Punjabis and the 2/10th Gurkha Rifles) from Sector II, the 2nd Queen Victoria’s Own Rajput Light Infantry, two platoons of the 128th Pioneers from general reserve at Moascar, the 19th Lancashire Battery RFA (four fifteen-pounders), 5th Battery Egyptian Artillery (four mountain guns and two Maxim guns), two sections of the 1st Field Company East Lancashire Royal Engineers and the 137th Indian Field Ambulance were in position between the Great Bitter Lake and Lake Timsah.

  11 The Hardinge and Requin opened fire on groups of infantry in the desert and an Ottoman trench 200 yards south of Tussum Post was caught by enfilade fire from machine guns.

  12 Squads of men were seen by the light of the moon at about 4.20 am on 3 February moving pont
oons and rafts towards the Suez Canal. They were fired on by an Egyptian battery, and the 62nd Punjabis along with the 128th Pioneers at Post No. 5 stopped most attempts to get their craft into the water. A further attempt along a stretch of one-and-a-half miles to get pontoons and rafts to the canal was made slightly to the north of the first attempt. Three pontoons loaded with troops crossed the canal under cover of machine gun and rifle fire from the sand dunes on the eastern bank. As they landed on the western bank of the canal, all three boatloads of soldiers were attacked and killed, wounded or captured. As dawn lit the area, the failure of the attempt to cross the canal was complete.

  13 The Night of Ascension is the night Prophet Mohammad is said to have travelled through the skies up to heaven.

  Unfettered1

  Kazi Nazrul Islam

  Nurul Huda’s letter to Monu (Monuwar)2

  Karachi Cantonment

  21 January (Dawn)

  Monu,

  How can I describe how unbelievably beautiful Karachi is looking today? Do you know what happened?

  After struggling all night with rain and storm, naked nature became calm and peaceful as soon as the sun rose. It is as if nature, like a good little girl, had washed her hair and spread it out on her back to dry in the sun. It is hard to believe that this same girl was a little while ago the goddess of destruction, turning the world upside down. Now, she is looking at the pink and blue sky with her solemn blue eyes. From her wet hair, a few drops continue to drip, sparkling in the light of the morning sun like the tears on a girl’s cheeks. But, no matter how beautiful she appears, her sombre innocence and effortless indifference are so inconsistent and queer that I cannot help smiling. You can understand the situation — clouds piled upon clouds and a bone-chilling wind.

  Old Karachi trembled on the treeless shore all night, and the now calm and peaceful girl unremittingly poured volumes of rain upon her trembling forehead. She terrified her with the roar of thunder. She dazzled her with flashes and lightning and laughed with her companion, the mad, swirling wind. Then, this morning she is as peaceful and serene as if she knows nothing. Tell me, brother, who would not be amused by this? Isn’t it strange and inconsistent? I remember one or two girls just like this. Specially a young woman whose tantrums would set the village on its head. Suddenly, she became as absent-minded as a philosopher and,with one jump, added twenty to twenty-five years to her age to become a sombre matron. And that is why it has become a matter of discourse for an outspoken, garrulous person like me. I do not have the courage to criticise wayward girls like that. Why? I have not yet seen a bride’s face. In future, who knows? The Sanskrit poet says: