Chapter 48

It was little after midnight when they reached the ford. David removed his saddlebags, binoculars, Luger and rifle, before Zeus was led away. He dropped them all on his bunk. Bert dropped his then they both rushed out to see that the men were settling into their assigned positions. Shortly after two am they heard the rumble of explosions far of across the river and an orange glow appeared.

An hour later the telegraph started chattering and David waited impatiently until it stopped then read the flimsy handed to him. “Three aircraft destroyed. No casualties. All men back. Sultar.” David knew the message would go out to everyone as he told Bert to let the men know but to keep their voices down.

The men stood to as dawn broke. They had heard the sound of movement from the other side of the river but had been unable to see anything. Bert was alongside of him in the trench. “The men know to keep down until they hear the bugle?” David asked.

“They know David.”

The two of them had decided to keep the camouflaged rifle pits and machine gun posts secret until the enemy committed his forces in strength. The four-man outpost dugout would receive all of the enemy’s attention for the moment. As the light grew stronger David, using his binoculars, could make out the six small artillery pieces lined up on top of the bank on the far side of the river. He knew the Havildar who had his old telescope would see them too. He was the spotter for the mortar crews and would be sending them range and position information. One of Lieutenant Norris’s gunners was alongside of him to report for the howitzers with a telegraph key alongside.

Suddenly one of the guns fired with a sharp crack. The shell landed short at the base of the embankment. A few minutes later it fired again, the shell landing near the top of the embankment. Again there was a pause before it fired again, this time the shell landed ten yards beyond the lookout post. Then next all the guns fired at the same time and shells screamed overhead to fall around the post. At the same time fifty Askaris started across the ford. The four Australians who manned the outpost waited until they were in the middle of the ford, before opening fire. Askaris fell screaming as the three rifles and Lewis gun poured bullets into them. They turned and ran back dragging wounded with them, as the guns became silent in the outpost.

“They’ll try to overwhelm them with numbers,” David predicted. The guns still continued firing but now the shells were falling closer to the outpost. The guns suddenly stopped and a silence fell on the ford, which was broken by the dim sound of whistles.

David turned to the young Australian trooper with the bugle, “Get ready,” he murmured. The far side of the ford was suddenly darkened by uniformed forms of Askari’s in columns of ten wide. David calculated there must be two hundred in the column and behind them marched a company of German soldiers with steel helmets. As the first men entered the ford the guns began firing again. The men in the outpost remained silent, conforming to their orders. David could see the smiles on the faces of the Askaris as they thought the outpost had been wiped out.

He let them reach almost to the bank before nodding to the bugle boy. As the first notes rang out, netting was thrown back and two hundred rifles plus Lewis and Vickers machine guns burst into life. At the same time he heard the distinctive “woomf” of the mortars firing and then the distinctive scream of an artillery shell coming overhead.