Battle of Prestonpans

“ At dawn they beheld the lake swarming with canoes, full of Indians, who had anticipated their disaster, and who now saluted them with showers of stones, arrows, and other deadly missiles. Bodies of light troops, hovering in the distance, disquieted the flanks of the army in like manner. The Spaniards had no desire to close with the enemy. They only wished to regain their comfortable quarters in Tezcuco, where they arrived on the same day, more disconsolate and fatigued than after many a long march and hard-fought battle. ”

“ The ambassadors added that the chief had an immense force with him, consisting of five battalions of ten thousand men each. They were the flower of the Tlascalan and Otomi warriors, assembled under the banners of their respective leaders, by command of the senate, who were resolved to try the fortunes of the state in a pitched battle and strike one decisive blow for the extermination of the invaders. [137]
This bold defiance fell heavily on the ears of the Spaniards, not prepared for so pertinacious a spirit in their enemy. They had had ample proof of his courage and formidable prowess. ”

“ A successful army, especially an insurgent army, should never pause in its onward march. If Prince Charles could have followed the flying dragoons over the Border into England he would have found no preparations made to resist him in the Northern counties. Even after the King and Government were alarmed by the news of the battle of Preston, a full month was allowed to pass before an army under General Wade arrived at Newcastle on the 29th of October. ”

“ Though still retaining its cohesion, the enemy force was in a highly nervous state. During its retreat from Maan, which had been made by forced marches, it had been harried without cessation by the Sherifian camelry. Not strong enough to give battle to such a large Turkish force, the Arabs, mounted on fast trotting camels, had contented themselves with carrying out a series of raids, in which they had killed a considerable number of Turks, and captured about 300 prisoners and twenty-five guns. ”

“ The Indians had shown some sagacity in the choice of their position; and, as the weary Spaniards came slowly on, floundering through the morass, the Tabascans set up their hideous battle-cries, and discharged volleys of arrows, stones, and other missiles, which rattled like hail on the shields and helmets of the assailants. Many were severely wounded before they could gain the firm ground, where they soon cleared a space for themselves, and opened a heavy fire of artillery and musketry on the dense columns of the enemy, which presented a fatal mark for the balls. ”

“ None thought of sparing or of spoiling, for hatred, says the chronicler, was stronger than avarice. The main body of the army, in the mean while, pent up in the valley, were compelled to witness the mortal conflict, and listen to the exulting cries of the enemy, which, after the Moorish custom, rose high and shrill above the din of battle, without being able to advance a step in support of their companions, who were again forced to give way before their impetuous adversaries, and fall back on the vanguard under the grand master of St. ”

“ In this charge, as in all others during the campaign, it was noticeable how many more horses were killed than men. Apart from the fact that a horse presents a much bigger target than a man, it is probably that infantry, and especially machine gunners, when suddenly charged by cavalry, have a tendency to fire 'into the brown,' where the target looks thickest, which is about the middle of the horses' bodies, thus dropping many horses but failing to kill their riders. A man whose horse is brought down is, however, by no means done with, as the Turks learnt to their cost. ”

“ As the time passed, and our preparations for the main attack neared completion, the enemy, who must by this time have realised our intention, flung his reserves more and more recklessly against our weak right flank, in a desperate endeavour to drive it in. He completely failed in his effort, and our troops, after three days and nights of incessant fighting, short of food and water, and, at one time, perilously short of ammunition, not only held their own, but drove back the Turks inch by inch, and at last, on the morning of November 6th, the 53rd Division captured the ridge of Tel Khuweilfeh. ”

“ Small wonder that there was little resistance. Many flung themselves on the ground, shutting eyes and ears to the horrid nightmare, and calling on Allah to deliver them. Others threw down their rifles and held up their hands.
Each lot was quickly hustled out of sight, and the squadrons returned to their lairs, to await the coming of the next. Only one battalion, a German one, tried to put up any fight, and succeeded in getting a machine gun into action, but it was ridden down at once. None of the other German troops did any better than the Turks. ”

“ In broad outline, the plan was to concentrate an overwhelming force of infantry and guns in the coastal sector, together with three divisions of cavalry: for the infantry to attack the enemy positions from Jiljulie to the sea, and, having captured them, to wheel to the right, pivoting on Jiljulie, and bend back the enemy's right wing into the hills, exactly like opening a door. Through this open door the cavalry were to dash, and ride up the coast and over the Musmus Pass into the Plain of Esdraelon. ”

“ They outnumbered our men by at least seven to one, and were well supplied with artillery and machine guns, but their morale had sunk so low that it was only surprising that they did not all surrender, or break into helpless flight, when charged. We learnt afterwards that the Turkish Commander in Aleppo had been completely deceived by General MacAndrew, whose boldness in detaching the whole of his cavalry to cut the Alexandretta road led him to believe that we had a much larger force at our disposal than was actually the case. ”

“ At Preston Pans the disgraceful panic flight of the English cavalry left the infantry exposed without support, and with both flanks uncovered, to the sudden rush of the Highlanders. Armed with clumsy muskets which required so long to load that they had no time to deliver a second volley, and with bayonets slow and awkward to fix, they were practically unarmed against the onset of brave men armed in a manner most effective at close quarters. ”

“ The remainder of the poor beasts, more than 2,000 in number, were shot or stabbed and flung into the sea. Only enough were left to draw nine guns, which the general intended to use if he was forced to give battle before the embarkation was finished. The rest of the cannon, over fifty in number, were safely got on board the fleet. The personnel of the cavalry and artillery went on shipboard very little reduced by their casualties in the retreat. ”

“ Allah!' Our small force, outnumbered by five to one, and hampered by its horses in the difficult country, was gradually forced back to the east against the hills, fighting desperately every step of the way. The right flank was driven back across the El Damieh-El Salt track, and the enemy entered the foothills north of the track, and began to work round to the rear. At the same time parties of Turks began to push southwards, between the left flank of the 4th Brigade and the remnants of the Red Hill garrison, now clinging grimly to their position south of the hill. ”

“ Many of the crossings in this part of the country consisted of a narrow, stony cleft in the rock sides of the wadi, down which troops could only move in very narrow formation, often only in single file. When, as sometimes happened, a whole brigade of cavalry had to cross by one of these narrow drifts, while the bed of the wadi was being swept by shrapnel and high explosive shell the whole time, tempers were apt to get short. We on our side could rarely spare an aeroplane to observe for one of our own batteries, and so were seldom able to locate the hostile guns. ”

“ His resolution to fight, after placing his army in front of the enemy, was fixed. He believed, "the offensive once assumed, ought to be maintained at all hazards." He trusted that vigor and audacity would enable him to accomplish victory on the first day, before the fresh troops came, and his designs were too profoundly considered, his gallant faith in his soldiers, too earnest, for his [Pg 140] purpose to be shaken. In answer to an anxious inquiry from his aide, Colonel William Preston, he said, quietly, "I would fight them were they a million." ”

“ Two troops, all that could be spared, were sent out to try and check this movement long enough to allow the right flank of the brigade to be withdrawn. The brigade headquarters and every man of 'B' Battery H.A.C. that could be spared from the service of the guns were also thrown into the fight. This little handful of men fought heroically, but hopelessly, against the ever advancing waves of the enemy, and at last was pushed back across our line of retreat to the south. ”

“ The Turks had in position a battery of field and one of mountain guns, with four machine guns on a low hill between the two batteries, and three heavy howitzers behind.
As our cavalry appeared, thundering over the rise, the Turks sprang to their guns and swung them round, firing point-blank into the charging horsemen. The infantry, leaping on the limbers, blazed away with their rifles till they were cut down. There was no thought of surrender; every man stuck to his gun or rifle to the last. The leading troops of the cavalry dashed into the first enemy battery. ”

“ But should the king's soldiers shed one drop of American blood, then it was a quarrel to the death. Never, never would America rest satisfied until she had torn down the royal authority and trampled it in the dust.
"Fire if you dare, villains!" hoarsely shouted the people while the muzzles of the muskets were turned upon them. "You dare not fire!"
[Illustration: THE SOLDIERS FIRED]
They appeared ready to rush upon the leveled bayonets. Captain Preston waved his sword and uttered a command which could not be distinctly heard amid the uproar of shouts that issued from a hundred throats. ”

“ The enraged Australians stormed into the fort, deaf now to all offers of surrender, and bayoneted the defenders almost to a man. About 150 Germans and several hundred Turkish prisoners were taken in the action, and some 200 corpses, mostly those of Germans, were left on the position to be looted by the natives. None of our men would put spade to the ground to bury them.
Two motor boats were lying at the pier when our troops attacked. One of these succeeded in escaping to Tiberias, where it was abandoned by the crew, and burnt. The other was set on fire by Hotchkiss rifle fire, and blew up. ”

“ Constantly bombed by our aircraft, harassed day and night by the Arab Camel Corps and the hostile population of the country through which they passed, denied all food, and often short of water, it is one of the marvels of war that they had struggled so far. The task of getting them out of the city was a horrible one. Many fell by the wayside, and all the efforts of our cavalry failed to get them on their feet again, and they had to be left to die. ”

“ I am twice as good a mark for the enemy as any of you!" He was a very large man; and, throwing off his steel helmet and cuirass, that he might have no advantage over his followers, he remained lightly attired in his cotton doublet, when, swinging his partisan over his head, he sprang boldly forward through blinding volumes of smoke and a tempest of musket-balls, and, supported by the bravest of his troops, overpowered the gunners, and made himself master of their pieces. ”

“ It was high time; for a large body of the enemy were on full march across the valley to attack him.
He did not wait for their approach, but gathering his broken files together, headed his cavalry, and spurred boldly against them. On the level plain the Spaniards were on their own ground. The Indians, unable to sustain the furious onset, broke, and fell back before it. The fight soon became a rout, and the fiery cavaliers, dashing over them at full gallop, or running them through with their lances, took some revenge for their late discomfiture. ”

“ His thorough knowledge of highland habits and modes of warfare enabled him to utilise the fighting power of his forces to the best advantage, and he also inspired them by his prowess with an enthusiastic confidence which was perhaps the chief secret of their victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk. ”

“ The two Turkish divisions, which were to have attacked on each side of the German troops, had waited for daylight to make their assault, with the result that they were easily driven off. The southern force, indeed, only attacked once, and that but half-heartedly, but the division on the enemy's left made three attempts on Musallabeh, only to be driven back each time with heavy loss by a murderous machine-gun fire. The Turks left about 200 dead on the positions. ”

“ And as the gusts speed on, when shrill winds blow, on a day when dust lies thickest on the roads, and the winds raise together a great cloud of dust, even so their battle clashed together, and all were fain of heart to slay each other in the press with the keen bronze. And the battle, the bane of men, bristled with the long spears, the piercing spears they grasped, and the glitter of bronze from gleaming helmets dazzled the eyes, and the sheen of new-burnished corslets, and shining shields, as the men thronged all together. ”