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Diaries of men of the First AIF and the First NZEF. A Digger History Associate site
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Stalky's Forlorn Hope - Addenda |
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Addenda, 15 May 2004, by Walter Savige
1 - Photographs of Sir Stanley Savige 2 – Extracts from an article by Gabriel Kiwarkis, president of the Assyrian Veterans Association.
Extracts from the chapter “World War One”, in “Assyrian Levies R.A.F.”, by Gabriel Kiwarkis, President of the Assyrian Veterans Association. In a private communication to Walter Savige on 12 May 2004, Gabriel stated: “Captain Savige served with Dunsterforce in 1918 and through his actions saved thousands of Assyrian lives.” Shown below are extracts from Gabriel’s website: http://www.gabylevies.freeservers.com/ THE RAF IN URMIA The arrival of RAF Captain Pennington.8th June 1918. With their ammunition rapidly dwindling, the Assyrians dug-in and concentrated their forces on defence only. News of the Assyrian success had reached the British in Baghdad. General Dunsterville [Dunsterforce] desired to protect his left flank as much as possible. The most obvious means of doing that was to make contact with the Assyrians in Urmia. So it was, on the 8th of June The Assyrian defenders spotted a plane circling the city, thinking it was Turkish they fired at it. Luckily it was not damaged, for an Assyrian officer spotted the British flag on the tail fin. Captain Pennington landed close to the city, with cheers and embraces the Assyrians escorted him to General Headquarters. He laid out a plan of campaign. The Assyrians at this time were being attacked from two sides, the North and the South West, it was arranged that the northern front should be held firmly by the Urmia battalion, Assyrian and Armenian, whilst General Putros takes his battalion and attacks the Turks at Saujbulak to the southwest. He should then make contact with the British detachment at Sain Kala. PHOTO- Captain [later Brigadier General, Sir ] Stanley Savige. Born in country Victoria, Australia and served with Dunsterforce during WWI. At first all went well, the northern front held tight, in the southwest Putros's battalion defeated the Turks at Saujbulak, however, this action delayed his battalion. On the 23rd, the appointed date, the British detachment reached Sain Kala. This party, which started from Bijar on July 19th, was under Captain Savige, but was escorted by the Royal 14th Hussars, under colonel Bridges. The party carried 45,600 pounds in Persian silver, twelve Lewis Guns, and 100,000 rounds of ammunition. This detachment was ordered to halt 100 miles south of Urmia at Sain Kala. At Sain Karla there was no word of the Assyrians. Two days later, still no word, Colonel Bridges, complaining that his horses were running low on grain, decided to withdraw. To Captain Savage's party, this decision caused intense disappointment, and it's officer's mostly Australian and New Zealanders, volunteered to the last man to get through to lake Urmia and meet the Assyrians. They suggested that Colonel Bridges need not accompany them. Savige later wrote, "I thought we were not giving them a chance". The proposal was not approved. They were ordered to withdraw. Col Bridges content with leaving the Assyrians to their fate. Captain Savige it seems was of a different caliber, he was determined to reach them. After several attempts he secured permission to halt his unit fifty miles to the rear at Takan Tepe, with the intention of raising a local force and riding to Urmia. General Putros in the meantime arrived to meet the British detachment at Sain Kala only to find they had retired, knowing he could not return to Urmia empty handed he continued to Taken Tepe and arrived there on the 3rd of August. The Assyrians at Urmia, on the northern front, were out of ammunition. The Armenian population began a retreat south. The front began to waver. The Turks, seizing this opportunity attacked in force and the front allotted to the Armenians collapsed. The Assyrians, now overwhelmed, also joined the retreat southwest towards the British lines. They retreated with all their families and livestock. The heat in late summer was unbearable; the procession had barely started when they were attacked from all sides with a combined force of Turks, Persians and Kurds. THE RETREAT General Agha Putros on his return from Sain Kala with Captain Savige and his party met the retreating Assyrians in Takan Tepe, [Oh my Lord, these are my people!] he exclaimed. The once proud highland warriors reduced to a pathetic caravan of starving refugees. General Putros deployed his men to protect the procession. Captain Savige and his party with fifty Assyrians rode fifteen miles to the rear of the sad spectacle and remained there acting as rear guard until the remaining refugees reached Bijar [.There have been many dire retreats in military history, but this must take place as the most tragic...Lt Col R.S.Strafford]. The Assyrians lost over twenty five thousand men women and children on this march alone - over 500 miles of hostile territory, many fell by the side of the road, too ill to continue, only to be slaughtered by the relentless Moslem Hordes. They died of hunger, murder and disease. The trail was marked with the dead; over seventy five thousand started on this trek to safety, and fewer than forty thousand reached British lines at Hamadan. 6000 Assyrian men women and children who were living in the northern end of the city did not manage to join the caravan of refugees, they had taken shelter in the American and French missions The latter was run by a French Bishop. PHOTO- REFUGEE CAMP AT BACCUBA Of all the 6000, only 59 survived the hideous tortures by escaping. Mothers and their infants were not spared the horrendous abuse. The French bishop was also tortured and his body abused in a manner too foul to mention. Between 1850 and 1918 the Assyrians lost two thirds of their number to massacres, an estimated 750,000 souls. The remnant was then gradually transported to Baqubah near Baghdad; here began the recruitment of Assyrians in the British service. A regiment was formed and employed at this time in a mountain campaign, near Amadia, commanded by Brigadier-General H.H. Austin against their old enemy the Kurds. With the memory of the massacre on their minds and revenge in their hearts, their WAR CRY was heard throughout Kurdistan. After the campaign an Assyrian officer wrote, [Now you would not say that there ever had been a house there]. Their British commander reported very highly of them, both as campaigners and as fighting men, declaring that they did fully as well as the Indian regular troops with whom they were brigaded. The legendary Ghurkas admitted that they found an equal in the Assyrian. The gradual enlistment into the Levies began.
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