File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎122r] (241/450)

time typhus tuis i aging everywhere in Syria, especnally in Aleppo. On my way to
ons an mo pe I saw thousands of Armenians being deported south. They were in a
pin u condition, and subjected to cruel treatment by the gendarmes and soldiers
accompanying them. Several thousands were killed and others died from exhaustion,
^tarva ion 01 disease. ^ The highways were strewn with their bodies. A week after
y arriva ng onstantmople I was attached to the Place Commandant as a military
lc ^ l ° 1 ^ a ^d' a lion.^ On the 15th August the battalion was ordered to
join e egiment, J5th Division at Saros. We proceeded by train in twenty'-
our loins to Ozun-Kubri, and irom there we marched in four days to Saros. After a
montns stay at Saros, our battalion was annexed to the 1st Regiment, 2nd Division,
and ordered to proceed to Mesopotamia
Second Lieutenant Ahmed Youssef Shaykha’s Adventures between
October 1914 and September 1915.
At the time Turkey entered the war I was at Damascus, a sergeant in the
1st Battalion, 74th Regiment, 25th Division, all Arabs. The populace of Damascus
made great manifestations, organised by the authorities, who spread the news
ol great German victories, and announced that Egypt would be conquered soon. The
better cla^s people did not join in the demonstrations. The condition of Damascus was
normal at the time, and food supplies were plentiful. The Druses of Hauran and
Lebanon kept aioof and refused to give men for the army. A fortnight after the
outbreak of hostilities I was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, and ordered to Dera’a, where
I was incorporated in the 75th Regiment of the same division. I remained at Dera’a
till the 26th October, when my regiment received orders to proceed to Pales ine in order
to join the expedition against Egypt. The soldiers were cheered up by the assurance
that there would be hardly any fighting in Egypt, and that as soon as they reached the
Suez Canal the Egyptians would rise against the English, and welcome the Turkish
Army with open arms. The troops would be treated royally in Egypt, and live on the
fat of the land. At that time the troops were well fed, well clothed, and paid
regularly, even two or three months in advance. There seemed to be plenty of gold
and silver coins then. We left Dera’a on the 26th October, 1914, and went by train in
twelve hours to Zile. We stayed six days at Zile. From the latter place we marched
in six hours to Nablus. We spent one day at Nablus, the officers being quartered at
the Zawias (meeting places of Moslem clergy)and the soldiers in mosques. We marched
in one day from Nablus to Lubban, another day from Lubban to Eire, and a third day
from Eire to Bethlehem, going through Jerusalem, where the regiment was welcomed
by the population and offered cigarettes and refreshments.
At Bethlehem we were quartered at the French Convent of the Sisters of Charity.
We remained a fortnight at Bethlehem* then we moved on and marched in one day to
Hebron. ’There we were allotted quarters for the night in the Russian building. We
marched the following day to Dahie. Another day’s march brought us to Bir-es-Saba,
where we arrived on the 11th December, 1914. My regiment stayed three days at
Bir-es-Saba and then proceeded to the Canal. I was left behind and assigned the
duty of telegraph operator. At Bir-es Saba there were several German officers with the
Genera] Staff, also several German engineers, gunners, mine-laying experts, and trench
designers. The total number of the Expeditionary Force from Bir-es-Saba was about
13.000 troops, about 3,000 of them being camp followers and Army Service Corps.
They had 15,000 camels for the transport of munitions, food supplies, Ac. Only about
one-half of the troops returned to Bir-es-Saba. The losses in killed, wounded,
prisoners, and missing were very Davy. A large number of troops died from thirst.
Over two-thirds of the camels died. I heard officers aod soldiers say that if the
English had pursued the Turks, not one man would have escaped.
After the return of the expedition, the 25th Division was ordered to Gaza, as
they were afraid of the English landing troops there. At that time i received
instructions to go to Ibn and lay wares between Ibn, Bir-es-Saba, Khan Younes, Kalaat-
el-Nakhl, and Arish. Having completed my work I returned to Ibn. The German
General Staff headquarters vvere at Ibn. They bad vfith them 1,000 infantry troops,
1.000 dromedary riders (Hejin Sawari) and about 1,000 other troops including,
engineers, general service men, &c. I vans tvm days at Ibn and then was ordered to
proceed to the Canal with the battalion of (Hejin Sawari) dromedary riders and
Captain Krest, a German engineer who was going to lay mines in the Canal From