'Military Lessons of the Arab Rebellion in Palestine 1936' [‎19v] (43/294)

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sphere beyond the areas of* habitual activity showed ohat their numbers
had increased. On the 20th and 21 st the Loyals^ with aircr if t in ,sup
port, fought actions in the Jenin area which resulted in 44 rebel casual
ties, most of which were inflicted by aircraf ^• et- tne 2 drd und 26 th
further actions ensued causing additional Arab casualties, ^il© only one
British soldier was slightly wounded during the week. On ^ne ^9th,
however, two privates of the York and Lancaster Regiment were billed in
an attack on a convoy near Affula. To strengthen measures already
taken to prevent infiltration of recruits for the armed bands from Syria,
the French authorities completed on the 23rd a strong military cordon
encircling the Syrian frontiers with both Palestine and iruns-Jordan.
This helpful action was to have a most satisfactory effect.
50th August - 2 nd Sentember
The threat of inter-racial strife earlier in the month had led the
Air Officer Commanding to ask for further reinforcements to increase the
garrison to a total of three Brigades, and on the 30th the Iso King s
Own Scottish Borderers from Malta arrived at Haifa. Next day the
Headquarters of the 13th Infantry Brigade came from Egypt, and On the
5th September formed the Nazareth Brigade, talcing over the York and
Lancaster Battalion, the K.O.S.B.; and also the T.J.F.F. detachments
in the former Jordan area. On the last day of August the Air Officer
Commanding telegraphed a short appreciation of the situation to the Air
Ministry in wrhich he prophesied a deterioration of the situation as a
consequence of the Nuri negotiations, re-affirmed his conviction that
martial lav/ remained the only means of restoring order, and asked for a
fourth infantry brigade to be held ready for early despatch to Palestine.
An official casualty list published at this time showed that 261 killed
and 1163 wounded had passed through the hospitals, 19 of the dead belong
ing to the armed forces; while it was known that many more Arab killed
and wounded lay buried or concealed in the villages. The Arabs always
took the greatest care to remove their dead in order to avoid identifi
cation, while few of the wounded ever reached hospitals: it was there
fore difficult to assess rebel losses which usually far exceeded the
casualties accounted for officially.
3rd 7th S eptember
On the 3rd September the manoeuvres of the 1st Division in Sussex
were suddenly ended and the troops returned in haste to Aldershot.
That night information reached Jerusalem that the Cabinet had decided
to send an emergency Force to Palestine, that Lieutenant-General
J. G. Dill, CB. CMG. LSO. had been appointed to the supreme command,
that there was to be no extension of existing authorisation of air bom
bardment, that martial lav/ would be put into force at an opportune time,
and that military measures would be intensified. Martial Law was in
fact never to be applied, but the last clause was put into effect at
once, and punitive measures thereafter became far more effective.
The 3rd September saw the biggest engagement which had yet taken
place and v/hich came to be known as the Battle of Bala. The rebels,
who were in unusually large numbers, were commanded by Fauzi A1 Quwaqji
in person and showed far greater skill and determination than ever
before. The engagement started with attacks on the picquets of the
Lincolns to the Last of Tulkarm about 8.30 a.m. : aircraft were soon on
the scene and assisted in driving the enemy back on the village of Bala
in v/hich they attempted to make a stand. Meanwhile the advances of the
Lincolns striking force from Tulkarm and the R.S. Fus. striking force
from Nablus, both v/ith tanks, armoured cars and a naval pom-oom, were
strenuously opposed. The action continued throughout the day until
Bala was carried at 3.50 p.m., when the rebels dispersed into difficult
hill country pursued by aircraft and headed off by tanks. The aircraft,