neral Colston's 233rd
Infantry Brigade, and the Turk retired to another spot, hoping that
his luck would change. While this fighting was going on about Burkah
the 155th Brigade went ahead up a road which the cavalry said was
strongly held. They got eight miles north of Esdud, and were in
advance of the cavalry, intending to try to secure the two heights
and villages of Katrah and Mughar on the following day. Katrah was a
village on a long mound south of Mughar, native mud huts constituting
its southern part, whilst separated from it on the northern side by
some gardens was a pretty little Jewish settlement whose red-tiled
houses and orderly well-cared-for orchards spoke of the industry of
these settlers in Zion. All over the hill right up to the houses the
cactus flourished, and the hedges were a replica of the terrible
obstacles at Gaza. From Katrah the ground sloped down to the flat on
all four sides, so that the village seemed to stand on an island in
the plain. A mile due west of it was Beshshit, while one mile to the
north across more than one wadi stood El Mughar at the southern end of
an irregular line of hills which separated Yebnah and Akir, which will
be more readily recognised, the former as the Jamnia of the Jews and
the latter as Ekron, one of the famous Philistine cities. While the
75th Division was forcing back the line Turmus-Kustineh-Yasur and
Mesmiyeh athwart the road to Junction Station the 155th Brigade
attacked Katrah. The whole of the artillery of two divisions opened a
bombardment of the line at eight o'clock, but the Turks showed more
willingness to concede ground on the east than at Katrah, where the
machine-gun fire was exceptionally heavy. General Pollak M'Call
decided to assault the village with the bulk of his brigade, and
seizing a rifle and bayonet from a wounded man, led the charge
himself, took the village, and gradually cleared the enemy out of the
cactus-enclosed gardens. The enemy losses at Katrah were very heavy.
In crossing a rectangular field many Turks were caught in a cross fire
from our machine guns, and over 400 dead were counted in this one
field.

CHAPTER XI

TWO YEOMANRY CHARGES

In front of the mud huts of Mughar, so closely packed together on the
southern slope of the hill that the dwellings at the bottom seemed to
keep the upper houses from falling into the plain, there was a long
oval garden with a clump of cypresses in the centre, the whole
surrounded by cact