File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎86r] (169/450)

Aden Defence Secure : Turkish Division’s Vain Attacks.
(From W. T. Massey.)
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at thit er Wri e i bee t’ an t d t0 be > interesting affairs between advanctf parties
aLrorehW P „ e ’, bU Vu ? S ° me time slnce the Turk attempted anything
wav and \\ n ' ^ he h ™, 111688 of the P ort is “ ot interfered with in anf
Thev are aa f ^ and WeSt ““asionally hear the sound of the guns
Gravesend T d (1°“ bre as would be if their vessel was lying off
remote »A K J 6 P™ S P 6ct an 7 chail ge in the condition of the port is so very
stmre^ be not worth consideration. The defence of Aden is well organised, as a
strategic point m the Imperial chain should be, and is in safe hands.
• e . U , r 1 k lias ^ad many troubles with the Arabs in the Yemen, and some are still
inconveniently unfriendly. Doubtless his position in Southern Arabia would have been
ope ess i e a not made a show ot activity, and it may well be his eyes were
directed more to the tribesmen than upon winning the key to the Bed Sea.
■ i- ^ T as ^ year Ali Said Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , with the 39th Turkish Division, descended
1T t t u G - r>^ n "• 1 EL | :ei ^ an h’ and has remained there ever since. His headquarters are
at Bahesj, miles by road from the port and 13 miles from our front line. If you cross
e is mus which connects the rocky promontory of Aden with the mainland, you
presently come to the populous village of Sheykh Othman, a pleasant spot in an arid
country, with a water supply of its own. . Sheykh Othman is well entrenched, has been
made strong by careful forethought and an infinite expenditure of labour, and is
connected with Aden by a railway, over which runs rolling-stock bearing the letters of
a we - nown Indian line. Sheykh Othman is the lock of the gate to Aden, and the
qu i f ^ llke ? J t0 get P ossession of the . key. About 4 miles to the north-east of
ey h Othman is the village of Imad, which we also hold, and which denies to the
urk access to the trade route by the coast east of Aden. There was a serious attack
on Imad six months ago, but it was well beaten off, with 200 enemy casualties. In
this affair a number of Germans from Java who had landed on the Arabian coast a long
way from Aden took an active part.
British and Indian troops are doing hard work, but the climate, which takes a
heavier toll on physical energy than even the blistering sun’s rays m the Egyptian
desert, is the white man s greatest burden. Some of the officers here have seen service in
France, Egypt, and Gallipoli, and there is not one officer in the garrison who would not
be chafing to take a share at the Western front if he did not appreciate how important
it is to guard this rocky station on the Imperial line.
[The “ Times ” 30th October.]