"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية. الحملة في بلاد الرافدين ١٩١٤-١٩١٨. المجلد IV". [و‎‎١‎٨‎٣] (٥٤٠/٣٧٠)

COBBE’S ORDERS
309
He considered that such a movement by his tired force, through
the difficult unreconnoitred country in front of him, would be
likely to lead to confusion and he thought that the same end
could be attained by daylight. To General Cobbe, however, it
seemed evident that the enemy’s main effort would be directed
during the night to an attempt to break through General
Cassels’ force, for which the Turks would employ the greater
part of their troops unless the 17th Division followed their rear
closely. General Cobbe realised fully the great exhaustion of
men and animals and the nature of the demands which had
been made on their physical endurance for the past four days.
But he considered that the circumstances justified him in
ordering the 17th Division to close with the enemy at the earliest
possible moment. He was, therefore, unable to accede to
General Leslie’s request to allow his force to rest till daylight.
During the 28th October General Cobbe had been kept well
in touch with the general situation by air-reports. On the other
hand, the cable communications between his headquarters and
the different columns and formations had been frequently
interrupted, owing to the cables having been destroyed by shell
fire or by Arabs, or in one or two cases to report centres having
outrun the cable. General Cobbe had four wireless stations
at his disposal. Of these, two pack stations were with the 7th
and 11th Cavalry Brigades, one motor station with the Light
Armoured Motor Brigade and a wagon station with 1st Corps
Headquarters.
Throughout the night 28th/29th the Turks displayed con
siderable activity along the portions of General Cassels’ front
held by the 11 th Cavalry Brigade and the l/7th Gurkhas,
the brunt of the fighting being borne by the Guides and the
Gurkhas. But the hostile guns ceased firing altogether after
the earlier part of the night; and, although in places the Turks
got within one hundred yards of our line, they made no real
effort to break through. The 13th Lancers of the 7th Cavalry
Brigade held a line which extended, from a point between
Hadraniya and the ford, in a southwesterly direction to the right
of the 11th Cavalry Brigade; and here the only incident of
importance during the night was the surrender of a Turkish
field ambulance with about 100 men.
At 1.45 a.m. on the 29th October General Cassels informed
General Sanders, in answer to a query on the subject, that he
would like another field battery and the 1 /3rd Gurkhas warned
to be ready to join him. About 4.30 a.m. the l/39th Gahrwalis
and 238th Machine Gun Company started to cross the ferry