With our army in Palestine

In Short

Antony Bluett’s account captures the everyday reality of the British and Allied campaign across Egypt, the Sinai, and Palestine during the First World War. Moving from the defense of the Suez Canal to the capture of Beersheba, Gaza, and Jerusalem, and ultimately into Lebanon, the narrative charts the logistical transformations and human toll of desert warfare. Bluett balances the humor of camp life with the grim realities of battle, water scarcity, and medical evacuation. It survives as an authentic, unsentimental portrait of the rank-and-file soldiers whose endurance built the campaign’s success.

The Story

The campaign opens in the western desert at Mersa Matruh against the Senussi, where extreme thirst, sparse forage, and unceasing dust establish the fundamental conditions of the war. After returning to Alexandria to refit, the unit transfers to the Suez Canal zone. At Kantara, a vast logistical engine takes shape, transforming a quiet waterway into an immense supply depot fed by native feluccas, widened channels, and newly laid desert railways.

As the force advances across the Sinai peninsula along the ancient caravan routes, water dictates every operational decision. Bluett depicts the severe physical toll taken on men and animals, detailing how wounded soldiers face the grueling motion of camel-borne cacolets across burning sand. The advance brings the army to the threshold of Palestine at Rafa and the lush oasis of Khan Yunus, where historic ruins meet modern military mobilization.

The campaign reaches a critical juncture at the first and second battles of Gaza. Early assaults fail amidst blinding desert fogs, fierce Turkish resistance along fortified ridges like Ali Muntar, and devastating casualties. The narrative records the bitter disappointment of defeat and the stoic endurance of the infantry, particularly the Lowland and Welsh divisions. Following these setbacks, the army reorganizes along the Wadi Ghuzzee, masking its true intentions through elaborate engineering deceptions—such as building dummy bridges under enemy fire while constructing the actual crossings in hidden reaches of the ravine.

The operational tide turns with the surprise night attack on Beersheba, where securing deep ancient wells becomes a matter of life or death. The narrative details how engineers work without rest to install pumping gear to keep the mounted divisions operational. The subsequent capture of Gaza opens the road to Jerusalem, shifting the conflict from sandy plains to the steep, rocky terrain of the Judæan hills. Soldiers adapt to mountain warfare around Nebi Samwil, enduring mud, broken supply lines, and cold winter rains.

During the final strategic push, detailed visual deception masks the transfer of troops from the Jordan Valley to the coastal plain. Mounted units break through Turkish lines on the Plain of Sharon, sweeping north past Acre and over the Ladder of Tyre into Lebanon. The narrative closes amidst the relief of Syrian and Lebanese cities, reflecting on the devastated landscape, the threat of famine, and the uncertain future of the region under post-war administration.

How It Unfolds

Across the Sinai The troops endure grueling daily marches, endless dust, and strict water rationing while guarding the desert approaches to Egypt. Engineers convert the banks of the Suez Canal into a massive transit hub using native riverboats to move supplies.

The Gates of Gaza Initial attempts to break the Turkish line end in heavy casualties and tactical deadlock amidst dense fogs and fortified hill positions. Wounded men undergo painful evacuations in camel cacolets across miles of open desert to reach field dressing stations.

Deception in the Wadi During months of trench warfare along the Wadi Ghuzzee, working parties construct a dummy bridge to absorb Turkish artillery fire while building the actual railway crossing elsewhere. Mounted units raid enemy outposts to secure vital flank positions.

The Fall of Beersheba A swift strike captures the desert stronghold, initiating a desperate race against time to repair and pump the ancient wells before the cavalry's horses perish of thirst. The victory unhinges the main Turkish defensive line.

Into the Judæan Hills The fighting shifts to rugged mountain peaks where soldiers must act as pack animals to haul supplies up rocky slopes like Nebi Samwil. Torrential winter rains repeatedly wash out vital supply bridges over the wadis in the rear.

The Final Sweep Dummy camps and dust-raising detachments in the Jordan Valley trick enemy reconnaissance while thirty-five thousand troops secret themselves in coastal orange groves. The final breakthrough carries the army past the Ladder of Tyre into the Lebanese coastal towns.

The People

• Antony Bluett: The author and narrator, serving with the Honourable Artillery Company and Egyptian Camel Transport Corps. He seeks to chronicle the daily lived experiences, humor, and hardships of common soldiers rather than grand strategy. He ends the war reflecting on the historical transformation of the Levant.
• The Royal Engineers: The non-combat military specialists tasked with enabling the army's movement. They face hostile climate conditions, hidden well shafts, and structural washouts to lay pipelines, build railways, and pump water, remaining operating past the point of physical exhaustion.
• The Infantrymen: The frontline foot soldiers, largely drawn from Welsh and Scottish Lowland divisions. They bear the brunt of direct assaults against fortified positions like Ali Muntar, enduring heavy casualties, sun exposure, and grueling mountain climbs.
• The Australian Light Horse and Anzacs: Mounted troops who operate along the extreme flanks of the line. Known for aggressive reconnaissance, high mobility, and unorthodox field captures, they prove essential in securing desert tracks and sweeping open plains.

In Its Own Voice

"The mules were the worst; they were insatiable. They ate the head-ropes that fastened them to the horse-lines, and the incensed picket spent half the night chasing them and tying them up again with what was left of the rope."

Bluett describes the persistent, absurd logistical struggles with livestock during long desert marches.

"To a wounded man the motion was the very refinement of torture, especially if the other cacolet were occupied by a heavier man."

The author details the brutal reality of transport for casualty cases carried across the sand on camel-mounted stretchers.

"As one of them said, in the Judæan hills you were mountaineer, pack-mule, and soldier all in one; and it is not for a mere helpless artilleryman to paint the lily."

A reflection on the drastic change in terrain as the campaign moves from flat desert into steep mountain ranges.

What It's Really About

Beneath the operational timeline of the Palestine campaign lies a study of human adaptability under extreme environmental stress. Bluett focuses on the unromantic mechanics of modern warfare: the gallons of water required per animal, the precise construction of desert railways, and the psychological necessity of humor when isolated from home.

The work exposes the stark contrast between official military communiqués and the reality experienced by front-line troops. By detailing how soldiers respond to thirst, heat, dysentery, and heavy casualties, the text argues that logistics and sheer physical endurance—rather than abstract tactical brilliance—dictated the outcome of the campaign. It also captures the immediate post-war encounters between European soldiers and the ancient, neglected landscapes of the late Ottoman Empire.

Why Read It Today

This memoir offers a vivid, grounded perspective on a frequently overlooked theater of the First World War. Bluett writes with dry wit, keen observational clarity, and an absolute lack of self-pity. Readers interested in military history, logistical planning, or the history of the Middle East will appreciate how detailed the author is regarding the practicalities of campaign life—from shaves improvised with leftover tea to complex visual deceptions designed to fool aerial reconnaissance.

The prose is accessible and brisk, though it reflects the period terminology and colonial worldview of a British soldier in 1919. It avoids dense technical jargon in favor of clear narrative description, making the spatial layout of the desert marches easy to grasp. What lingers long after reading is the author's deep respect for his comrades and the draft animals, along with stark visual images: long camel convoys silhouetted against desert sand, engineers laboring in deep wells, and tired soldiers marching past ancient ruins into the historic towns of the Levant.