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Yet the event had heightened their spirits, already high, and they began to sing a favorite song: "Come, stack arms, men, pile on the rails; Stir up the camp fires bright. No matter if the canteen fails, We'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, There lofty Blue Ridge echoes strong To swell the brigade's rousing song Of Stonewall Jackson's way."
I remember our third and last night in that dug-out, because the air below had got so vitiated that candles would only burn with the feeblest of glimmers. Sept. 6: The expected orders for the Brigade's farther advance arrived at 2 P.M., and by eight o'clock Wilde and myself had selected a new headquarters in a trench south of the wood.
Indeed, they would take up a straw and pick their teeth like a member of Congress. There was as usual a furious "zephyr" blowing the first night of the brigade's return, and about midnight the roof of an adjoining stable blew off, and a corner of it came crashing through the side of our ranch.
On the 14th, an attack was made on the city, when the Martiniere College and another large building were captured. While the brigade's guns were in action, one of them exploding, killed Francis Cassidey, captain of the maintop and severely wounded several other men.
I did not know Major very well, but a habit contracted through frequent visits to the Infantry made me call out "Any news?" "Our Brigade's doing a clearing-up attack at five o'clock," he answered without stopping. "We don't know anything about that," I said, catching him up. "How long is it since orders were issued?" "I've only just left the General," he replied, still walking ahead.
The trenches cut on both sides of this gorge supported Subr as well as Deir Yesin, and the Subr defences were also arranged to be helpful to the Deir Yesin garrison by taking attackers in flank. The 180th Brigade's advance was a direct frontal attack on the hill, the jumping-off place being a narrow width of flat ground thickly planted with olive trees on the banks of the wadi Surar.
After this, the other guns were fetched up in a similar manner, and in less than half-an-hour the whole battery opened fire on the enemy. The naval brigade's practice quickly silenced the enemy's guns, and long before sundown Arabi and his hordes were in full retreat.
A tarpaulin and pit-prop mess had been devised: I had finished the Brigade's official War Diary for August; dinner was on the way; and we awaited the return of Major Veasey from a conference with the Infantry brigadier. The major came out of the darkness saying, "We'll have dinner at once and then move immediately.
The Australian Brigade's defence file was a beautifully arranged, typed document, and a child could have understood the indexing. True, the extent and number of their headquarters staff was astonishing. Against our two clerks they had three clerks, and a skilled draughtsman for map-making; also an N.C.O. whose sole magnum opus was the weekly compiling of Army Form B. 213.
The 4th Light Horse Brigade's captures in the charge were 58 officers, 1090 other ranks, and 10 field guns, and the total 'bag' of the Desert Mounted Corps was 70 officers and 1458 other ranks. The loss of Beersheba was a heavy blow to the Turk. Yet he did not even then realise to the full the significance of our capture of the town.
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