im; and the Turk has a nice eye for position, as we
found on many occasions bitterly to our cost. Nor did he miss any
opportunity of making a surprise attack, as on that black Easter Sunday of
1916, when he crept up and fell upon the Yeomanry at Katia and Oghratina,
two cavalry posts east of Kantara. Under cover of a desert mist the Turks
crawled past the outposts and fell upon the sleeping men in overwhelming
numbers.

Yet even these odds were not too great. Taken completely by surprise as
they were, the Yeomanry fought with everything they could lay their hands
on: sabres, rifles, bayonets, mallets, pegs, even with bare fists, asking
no quarter and with no thought of surrender. They knew that no help could
possibly arrive in time, for the Turks attacked simultaneously at both
places; yet they fought on with desperate courage until the Turks at length
retired, unable to break the gallant little band.

And who now remembers the names of these places, except the relatives of
those who fell there, and the few who, fighting, came safely through? They
were little affairs of outposts, mere skirmishes, perhaps, but they paved
the way for the larger task. And who now speaks of Romani? Yet it was one
of the decisive battles of the war. Here the Turks made a magnificently
organised attempt to break through our defences and reach the Canal. It was
indeed a wonderful feat to bring an army of nearly 30,000 men across a
sparsely watered desert, with their nearest railhead a hundred and fifty
miles away. We found it difficult enough later with the help of the
railway. Not only did they bring an army, but dragged, on sledges, heavy
guns up to 8 inches in calibre with them--a very rude shock to our experts,
who pronounced it impossible until they saw our observation posts on the
summit of Kattigannit literally plastered with heavy shells.

For nearly a fortnight the Turks struggled to get through. First they tried
to break down our defences between Romani and the sea. Foiled in this they
swung across to the other flank and fought for possession of the chain of
hills dominating this region. Mount Royston, Mount Meredith, and the long,
whale-backed Wellington Ridge all changed hands at least once, and the
last-named became the principal Turkish position, around which a terrible
struggle raged for nearly two days.

The infantry and dismounted cavalry advancing to the attack had first to
cross a broad stretch of uneven country as bare as