1st/5th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 8/11/17

[William Bryce]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what this outfit was doing on this date? My uncle, Pte. Charles John Bryce #200696 was KIA and is buried in the Gaza War Cemetary. Also, what does 1st/5th mean?

Thanks for any help,

Bill

[Chris_Baker]

Bill

This page mighty help with understanding what 1/5th means. It is pronounced 'first-fifth', andwas the "first line" unit of the 5th Battalion. Have a read of the link and that might make sense!

8 Nov 17 was the back end of the 3rd Battle of Gaza. No doubt someone will help us with precise details of the battalion on that day.

[William Bryce]

Thanks Chris, that does help! Hopefully some kind soul will be able to tell me what they were doing that day and perhaps even be able to tell me how Charlie Bryce died.

Cheers,

Bill

[Guest Pete Wood]

William

This is one of the most butal and overlooked battles of a forgotten campaign. Your uncle's battalion was part of 157 brigade. On this day they were not even meant to be part of an attack on a piece of desert called Sausage Ridge. If you look at a map of Gaza, you will see it is on the coast. The brigade was north of Gaza and had its back to the sea, almost on the beach, and was facing/attacking due east. Around two miles from the coast is a village called Herbie, then another mile to Sausage Ridge.

The ridge was to be attacked by 155 brigade, but at the VERY last minute, 157 brigade was tasked with assisting. Your uncle's brigade was on the extreme right (south) of the attack. The big problem for 157 brigade was that it was split in half by a wide wadi for most of the three miles it had to attack. I hope this gives you a picture of their predicament. The following is from the official history:

The brigade was to advance as quickly as possible on the right of the 155th Brigade (the attack of which had now been launched) through Herbie, and to capture the southern edge of Sausage Ridge, overlooking the railway to Beit Hanun. The 5/Argyl & Sutherland Highlanders and 5/H.L.I. were to extend along the southem end of the Ras Abu Ameire Ridge and advance frontally on the objective, while the 6/H.L.I.,which was south of the Wadi el Hesi, was to carry out a turning movement, crossing the wadi south-west of Sausage Ridge. It was 4 p.m. before the attack could be launched, and there remained only about another hour of daylight in which to advance three miles.

There was no opposition from the Turkish infantry till the troops had emerged from the gardens of Herbie and covered three-quarters of the distance between the village and their objective. Then, just as dusk began to fall, heavy rifle and machine-gun fire was opened by the Turks, which caused considerable casualties.

The Argylls and 5/H.L.I advanced steadily in deepening darkness, and about 6 p.m. their leading wave reached the foot of the hill, charged straight up the slope, and temporarily established itself on the crest. Here, however, it was met by very heavy machine-gun and minenwerfer fire, while here and there, in darkness now so deep that it was hard to distinguish friend from foe, small bodies of British and Turks came to close quarters and fought furiously with bomb and bayonet.

A few minutes later a Turkish battalion counter-attacked and

drove the Scotsmen off the ridge. Four times the two battalions rallied and attacked the ridge, four times they were driven off it. The Turks fought desperately, as was proved by the fact that a large proportion of the British dead found next morning had been killed with the bayonet.

The enemy was also well supplied with hand grenades and trench mortars, and it was believed that there had been a bombing school east of Sausage Ridge. On the side of the Argylls and H.L.I. courage and pertinacity were as notable. " There were cases," Br.-General Hamilton Moore wrote in his report, " of companies and platoons coming back without officers or N.C.O's., and of privates forming themselves up and going forward to the attack without officers or N.C.O's leading them. All ranks in the leading waves who survived took part in all four attacks."

In this very hard-fought action the losses of the 157th Brigade amounted to over four hundred. Of 18 officers of the 5/H.L.I who took part in the attack only six were

unwounded. Only about a dozen prisoners were taken, but this was partly owing to the fact that the men's blood was roused by seeing wounded comrades bayoneted on the ground by the Turks. The brigade was relieved by the reserve forces and the attacking battalions withdrew.

The result of the fighting was to render it finally impossible for the Turks to establish themselves upon the line of the Wadi el Hesi.

[William Bryce]

Racing Teapots,

Thank you for a fantastic reply! What a bloody business and what brave guys those were! I've forwarded your email off to the rest of my family in Canada and the UK---they'll be thrilled.

I've checked online maps of Gaza but could only find modern ones. Do you know of any that show a map of that period?

Thanks once again to you and to this forum for being so helpful,

Bill

[Guest Pete Wood]

I've coloured the Argyle's start point and advance route in Pink.

The Wadi is in Yellow.

[William Bryce]

Racing Teapots,

Thanks. Very much appreciated.

Bill