"Friendly" Fire

Friday 17th May 1918

Yesterday we reported the detailed patrol work of 1st/5th Battalion, near Jaffa in Palestine. This has continued, a patrol of one officer and seven other ranks going out at one o'clock yesterday morning. A few minutes out two rifle grenades were fired at the enemy by a neighbouring British unit, bursting just west of the patrol. This very nearly caused casualties amongst the Yellow Devils on patrol. The adjutant mused that he often wondered just how many casualties are caused to soldiers at the front by their own side, usually its own artillery. To get away from any more grenades the patrol moved smartly east where they heard movement in the enemy's front line and they located a picquet position. 

Source: X550/6/8

Musical Turks

Monday 13th May 1918

The 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is currently in the front line near Jaffa in Palestine. Last night about 7.30 a patrol of one officer and seven other ranks went out into no man's land trying to get intelligence on the Turks opposite. What they did not expect was music, but they distinctly heard a band playing about a mile or so to the north of them. Sadly they did not recognise ant of the tunes!

Source: X550/6/8

Propaganda

Friday 10th May 1918

Yesterday 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment went up to the front line near Jaffa. Last evening they sent out a patrol into no man's land. The two officers and six other ranks were, of course, gathering information on the enemy's front line positions. But they were doing more than that. They left propaganda leaflets affixed to the wire. As the officer leading the patrol noted, the enemy may well not pay any attention to the reading material on offer, but the fact that it was left on their front line without their knowledge may give them pause for thought. It may have been a coincidence but an Arab deserter from the Turkish unit opposite came over and gave himself up later that night.

Source: X550/6/8

Spies

Thursday 9th May 1918

Last night the French and the composite battalion formed by 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment and 2nd Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment launched a counter-attack on the enemy which had dislodged them from the front line west of Vierstraat. Sadly they were not strong enough to succeed and the front line remains the original support line. Early this morning the battalion retired to Saint Lawrence Camp west of Dickebusch.

In the last few days the 1st/5th Battalion, near Jaffa in Palestine, has been on the alert for Turkish agents and spies. As the adjutant explained over a crackling telephone line: "The intelligence system of the enemy has improved lately to a considerable degree, and there is no doubt that a number of his agents are passing backwards and forwards through our lines conveying information to the enemy as to our dispositions. This indicates the necessity of being much more strict as regards the movements of inhabitants in areas near the front line".  They have fixed a line east of which "no Natives or Jews except those employed by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force  are to be allowed".It is understood that many of these agents pose as orange sellers.

A sad piece of news has just been received. The army continues to be much under-strength and battalions are being disbanded to make up the numbers of other battalions. Such was the fate of the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment in the early part of this year. The 6th Battalion, we understand, are now to be disbanded and the officers and men transferred to 1st/1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment, which currently forms a composite battalion with 11th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. We believe that, as the majority of men (3 officers and 650 other ranks) will be from the Bedfords, the Hertfordshire men will transfer from 39th Division to 37th Division.

Source: X550/3/wd; X550/6/8; X550/7/1

Salvage Work at Isolated Wood

Monday 6th May 1918

The 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment remains active in Palestine. They are in the front line east of Jaffa and just north of the old German Templar colony of Wilhelma(1). Over the last few days the, the adjutant tells us in a wire, they have been at a position called Isolated Wood. They reconnoitred this place on 3rd May and found an abandoned Turkish ammunition dump. They looked for more the following day and yesterday salvaged twenty-eight rounds of 4.1 inch (105 mm) artillery shells. 

Meanwhile here on the Western Front 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment following its rest, refit and training after its exertions in the March retreat and at Villers-Bretonneux in the middle of last month, is back in the battle zone again. At 9.30 this morning it boarded a fleet of buses at Warlus and ended up in Contay. From there it marched to Warloy-Baillon, mile or two south-west of Bouzincourt and so near enemy-held Albert, and took its place behind the front line in Brigade Reserve. 

Sources: X550/6/8; X550/8/1

(1) Today Bnei Atarot on the eastern perimeter of Ben Gurion Airport.

The Capture of Yafa Hill

Sunday 23rd December 1917

We have heard from the 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment about their action yesterday in Palestine. With the fall of Jerusalem earlier in the month, the last task for this year is to finally remove the Turks from the environs of Jaffa. This has not been made easy by rain which has reduced the battlefield to a marsh - a familiar turn of events in this wettest of years.

The attack began on the night of 20th/21st by 52nd (Lowland) Division who surprised the Turkish defences without a shot being fired. Just after midnight yesterday morning B Company of the Bedfords assaulted Yafa Hill without artillery support, the bayonet being the only weapon used. The enemy put up a stiff fight but was soon overcome and the whole garrison bolted. As at Gallipoli, the Yellow Devils earned their nickname by use of the bayonet. Our men having received orders not to advance beyond a certain point did not pursue the fleeing Turks.

By dawn the consolidation of Yafa Hill was sufficiently advanced to render it tenable during day. No shelling took place but heavy enemy machine-gun fire was experienced. This morning the enemy made a general retreat.

Source: X550/6/8

Jaffa and Cambrai

Monday 26th November 1917

On the night of 24th/25th two battalions of 54th (East Anglian) Division, assisted by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade tried to cross the River Yarkon near Jaffa to drive out the Turks. The attack was unsuccessful. The adjutant of the 1st/5th Bedfords has wired and it does not appear that they took part in the attack. He does note, however, that a Turkish officer was captured yesterday as he made a visit to a well which was rather too close to one of the Battalion’s picquets. A line of posts had been made to prevent Palestinians moving backwards and forwards through the Battalion’s line. This was proclaimed in both nearby villages, there was also a proclamation to the effect that if any Turks were hidden by inhabitants of the villages, the villagers would be held responsible and hanged.

The 8th Battalion are bidding a fond farewell to the front line near Cambrai. They are in the process of being relieved and will move back to the support line near Ribecourt which they helped to capture six days ago.

Fighting for Bourlon Wood still goes on, without much real success.

Sources: X550/6/8; X550/9/1

Patrolling in Palestine

Sunday 25th November 1917

The adjutant of 1st/5th Battalion has wired with news. The Battalion continues to advance in far-off Palestine. It is thought an attack against the Turks in the vicinity of Jaffa is impending. The enemy are close to the port, on the north bank of the River Yarkon, and so preventing its use by allied shipping.

The Bedfords sent out scouts yesterday to try to determine the strength of the enmy positions. Apparently they saw around twenty enemy cavalry but no other sign of activity

Source: X550/6/8

Yellow Devils on the Move

Sunday 18th November 1917

We have heard today of the doings of the 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of the expeditionary force in Palestine. Following the victory at Gaza at the beginning of the month, the army has been following the retreating Turks.

The enemy abandoned Gaza on night of 7th/8th November. The Bedfords then had a period of “cleaning and straightening up generally” to quote the adjutant. They moved from the Sheikh Hasan area to a bivouac on cliffs by the sea on 12th.

On 14th they proceeded by route march to Herbieh some miles north-east, on the mediterannean coast. The following day they marched to El-Mejdel just inland from Ashkelon. The next day, permission having been given to visit the village in the morning the Battalion began a march at dusk to Esdud(1), along the railway line to the north east - arriving at 10 pm.

Yesterday the men marched to Yebna, arriving at 4 pm. Today they are due to march to Ayun Kara. They will thus have advanced forty miles. As a postscript we heard this morning that the vital port of Jaffa fell to the army on Friday, though the harbour is not yet safe for ships to unload vital supplies.

The correspondent's very amateurish attempt at a sketch map of Palestine above may give some idea of the Bedfords' route from Gaza to Jaffa.

Source: X550/6/8

(1) These towns are now in Israel and so have Hebrew names - Esdud is Ashdod, Yebna is Yavne, Ayun Kara is Rishon leZion; Jaffa is now part of Tel Aviv.