When the 62nd Punjabis along with Allied Warships saved the Suez Canal-Word War One-Ottoman Empire-Punjab Regiment-Saddique Satti,Pindi Conspiracy,Baron Friedrich Von Kressentein ,

When the 62nd Punjabis along with Allied Warships saved the Suez Canal

A H AMIN

How many people in today’s Pakistan know that there is one battalion in the Pakistan as well as Indian Army which played a major role in saving the strategic jugular vein of the British Empire i.e “The Suez Canal”. The reasons for this ignorance can be squarely ascribed to lack of interest in military history in Pakistan and to the fact that the British as an habit always downplayed battles in which non-White troops had performed well albeit under White Officers!
It was through the memorable poetry of Ex Brigadier Siddique Satti MC of the Pindi Conspiracy fame that I discovered what the Indian Army had gone through in the First World War.

“My brother was blown to bits in Flanders, my cousins died of Maggots in their wounds at Kutalmara” so ran Siddique’s verses.

Siddique had spent some years of his life incarcerated in the notorious Mach Jail and it was a treat to spend an evening with him! His anecdotes, recollections and yarns were a finer substitute for a chemical substance of another kind! It was through Siddique that I discovered that the Indians had done something at the Suez Canal in the First World War! Initially I thought that this was one of those yarns that is the result of senility that finally overcomes all men at a certain stage in life! Later research, however, proved that Siddique had a point! The 62nd Punjabis a battalion of Punjabi, Jat, Sikhs and Muslims had done something in Egypt! They had saved the Suez Canal from being captured by the Turks in February 1915 !


Background

The Ottoman Army was lucky to have many Germans who were as patriotic as many Turks. These Germans fought for Ottoman Turkey in many theatres in Europe, Asia and Africa. It was an interesting contest! Christian Europeans fighting for the Ottoman Muslim when Indians including a very large number of Muslims fought against the Ottoman Empire as part of the British Indian Army!

The bulk of the Turkish forces were concentrated in Caucasus against the Russians or in Mesopotamia against the British-Indian Army. Turkey had very few troops to spare for the Suez Canal but they possessed one German who had the vision and the courage to plan an operation aimed at threatening the British Empires jugular vein with just 25,000 men! This was Colonel Baron Friedrich Von Kessentein, a blueblooded German from Bavaria.
The reader may note that as early as 1881 out of total of 2,727 vessels which crossed the Suez Canal some 2,250 were British. Thus the British presence in Egypt which at least theoretically was a part of the Ottoman Empire as late as 1911!

Allied Dispositions

The Suez Canal at this time was defended by a relatively stronger British-Indian Land-Naval force comprising eight Allied Warships (Floating Batteries). Major General Wilson was commanding the British Force with the designation “GOC Canal Defences”. He had about 70,000 troops which included a large number of Indians. These included the 10th and 11th Indian Divisions, Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, Bikaner Camel Corps. The Indians, some 25,000 or more were assigned the task of defending the Suez Canal while the 42nd East Lancashire Division, British Yeomans, some Australian and New Zealanders were held in depth as reserve/counterattack force. The artillery supporting this force consisted of three batteries of Indian Mountain Artillery (now illustrious self propelled artillery units of the Pakistan Army), one battery of Egyptian Artillery and some other units. To beef up this lack of artillery eight British and French Warships were positioned in the Suez Canal. These included “HMS Ocean” (armament-Four 12 Inch, Twelve 6 Inch, and 12 Twelve Pounder Guns), “HMS Swiftsure” a former Chilean Navy ship (armament-Four 10 Inch, Fourteen 7.5 Inch, Fourteen 14 Pounders), “HMS Minerva” (Second Class Cruiser), “HMS Clio” (Sloop),” HMS Himalaya (armed merchantman), “Royal Indian Marine Troopship Hardinge”, French Cruiser “D’ Entrecasteaux”, French Coast Guard Ship “ Requin” etc.

The British also had about thirteen aeroplanes for recce and surveillance. These included “Maurice Farmans” and some French Seaplanes. The operating range of these aircraft was short, hence their inability to perform medium or long range recce.

The Suez Canal was 107 Miles long and had a width varying between 65 to 100 Yards in 1915. It was about 34 feet deep. The British had excellent logistics with all the resources of Egypt while the Turkish logistics were non-existent with the waterless Sinai Desert at their back!

Turkish Plan of Attack

Baron Von Kessentein was the German military advisor with the “Turkish Expeditionary Force” tasked to capture the Suez Canal with its base at Beersheeba in Palestine. The total strength of this force was 25,000 men. It was supported by nine batteries of field artillery, one 150 mm (5.9 Inch) Howitzer battery and a sizeable quantity of mines to attack British ships stationed in the Suez Canal.
The main Turk problem was not the Britisher or Indian defending the Suez Canal but “Water” ! Providence was on their side in the sense that winters of 1914 saw very heavy rain in Sinai and there were some waterholes and wells which could support the otherwise arduous march across the 140 Miles Sinai Desert.

The German advisers had estimated that 5,000 camels would be required to carry water to support the attack force. 5,000 more camels were required to carry other stores including ammunition, ration etc!

The Turkish Arab Colonial 23rd Homs and 25th Damascus Divisions were to lead the attack while the decisive breakthrough after establishment of bridgehead on the West Bank was to be made by the crack Turk 10th Infantry Division!

Surprise was the key element in Baron Von Kessentein’s plan ! The traditional attack route in the Sinai was along the Mediterranean Coast. Baron Von Kessentein, however, decided to go through the central route Beersheba-Jifjaffa-Tussum-Ismailia. Ismailia was the strategic target since its loss could demobilize all shipping in the Suez Canal. It controlled the Canals’ sluice gates and the sweet water canal that supplied water to the troops along the canal. Kressenstein planned two diversionary attacks to deceive the British at Kanatra in the north and Kubr-Suez in the south.


The Battle for Suez -1915


The Turks crossed the Sinai through the waterless central route in ten days without losing a single man or animal! The Northern and Central Diversionary Forces comprised Bedouin Irregulars and some Turkish units. The Central Main Attack Force consisted of some 20,000 troops. Baron Von Kessentein was in the leading column! The British were already clear in late 1914 that the Turkish would attack Suez Canal. Thus their aerial recce confirmed that the main Turkish attack was coming in the centre. Thus they reinforced the Central Sector where the 62nd Punjabis, later more famous as the First Punjabis was stationed in Tussum Area. The Sector was reinforced with the 2nd Rajputs.
The advance Turkish elements reached the Suez Canal opposite Tussum on the night of 3rd February 1915. This was one of the strongest sectors of the British defences and included some ten infantry companies including the 62nd Punjabis. Three posts containing six companies in all were deployed on the East bank of the Suez Canal. The West Bank was held by six more companies. The Turkish attack commenced at 0400 Hours with Turkish infantry dragging rafts and pontoons into the canal. The Turkish rafts and pontoons were obsolete, extremely heavy and difficult to handle! Nevertheless, the Turks were Turks and they carried them! They were engaged by the 62nd Punjabis, one of whose subalterns was a Britisher named Claude Auchinleck and the 128th Pioneers. The Turks were engaged by extremely heavy fire of machine guns and the Naval Ship Hardinge, but they pressed home the attack, some crossing the canal and reaching the west bank. These indomitable men were bayonet charged by the 62nd Punjabis. Most of the Arabs (and some Turks) from 23rd Homs and 25th Damascus Division were killed while some were taken prisoner. The Turks had their own revenge! Their artillery engaged the Hardinge and forced it to withdraw. Subsequently Requin and D’ Entrecasteaux” came into action and destroyed the Turkish artillery. The ships were too much for the Turks and they withdrew the next day! naval Guns in the final reckoning made the Turks abandon their attack! The main Turkish attack division i.e the purely Turk 10th Division which was supposed to launch the main attack was never launched! The British were too psychologically shattered to pursue and allowed the Turks an uninterrupted withdrawal!

The Turks lost some 192 Killed, 371 Wounded and 727 Missing. The British Indian losses were 32 Killed and 132 Wounded. One of the Turkish killed included a German Staff Officer! The Germans had preserved the tradition of leading from the front!

Analysis

In the strategic sense the Turks were the winners. Their tremendous feat of crossing the Sinai shattered the earlier British belief that the Sinai was impassable for a large force beyond 5,000 troops. The British were forced to give greater importance to the Suez Canal and forced to increase their garrison in Egypt to some 400,000 men! This was a very heavy drain on the resources of the British Empire. The Turks had crossed the Suez Canal without any six year effort like the Egyptians in 1973! They had done so in face of the naval guns without any MIG aircraft supporting them! The 62nd Punjabis also fought well! They did their duty despite the fact that they were mercenaries and had no reason to hate the Turks! Baron Friedrich Von Kressentein later rose to the rank of a general and commanded the Turkish 8th Army in the Caucasus against the Russians in 1917 with great distinction! Great credit goes to the British infantry battalion officers leading the 62nd Punjabis and other Indian units. They had prepared their defences meticulously and played a major role in defeating the Turk infantry assault. The infantry on both sides equally well, the Turkish position was far more arduous than the British in the logistic sense and the final credit goes to the warships who destroyed the Turkish artillery!


Bibliography
1-