To keep one British soldier alive for one day in the desert took 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water. To keep a brigade of troops alive, including their support troops (signallers, machine gun company, field ambulance, etc) and animals, took 91,000 litres (20,000 gallons). And this doesn’t begin to include the men and animals needed to get that water, and all of the other supplies that they needed, to them.
Fighting a campaign in the desert took a lot of water, and this need frequently dictated the size, speed and scope of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force’s operations in Egypt and Palestine. Through the winter of 1915-6, work was begun to build a water supply network running from the Sweet Water Canal out to the Suez Canal, and then beyond it to the army’s outposts on the edge of the Sinai Desert. In the spring of 1916 this was expanded to include a pipeline out into the desert (initially to Qatia/Katia, and then on to Romani). A railway (4ft 8½ inch gauge) was built beside it, to be used in supplying the EEF when it began its planned push across the Sinai that summer.
A series of pumping stations were built along the Sweet Water Canal, feeding water out into an extensive filtration system to remove parasites, debris and wildlife, while chlorine was also added. From there the water was pumped along pipes that ran across the bed of the Suez Canal, and into massive, 225,000 litre (50,000 gallon) capacity reservoirs on the eastern bank. It was then piped out to the forward areas. Just linking these together needed over 150 miles of piping.
The pipe into the desert was slower to be built due to problems obtaining enough 12-inch diameter pipes. After the initial supply of 130 miles of pipes which had been brought across from India was used, work had to be halted until more could be acquired. Until that time, only two infantry divisions and the equivalent of two cavalry divisions could be deployed into the Sinai, even with using the local wells around Romani and Qatia to supplement supplies. These (and other) wells were expanded and improved by the Royal Engineers, and new ones also dug. Great amounts of water could drawn from these, but the supply was limited compared to the pipeline. Troops could also dig their smaller wells or use ‘spearpoint pumps’. This was a device commonly used in Australia; it consisted of a long tube that could be thrust deep into the ground, avoiding the need to dig. Once water was found, it was a simple matter to pump water up the tube and into the collapsible wood and canvas troughs that cavalry units carried. Initially the device was introduced by Lieutenant Colonel Wilson of the 5th Australian Light Horse, and met with resistance from the British commissariat authorities. A few weeks’ experience in the Sinai soon convinced them otherwise, and this life-saving tool was issued across the EEF. Such local sources were also popular because troops could sometimes extract and drink water before their Medical Officers could get to them with their chlorine tablets. These may have cleaned the water effectively, but they did little for the taste.
Fighting a campaign in the desert took a lot of water, and this need frequently dictated the size, speed and scope of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force’s operations in Egypt and Palestine. Through the winter of 1915-6, work was begun to build a water supply network running from the Sweet Water Canal out to the Suez Canal, and then beyond it to the army’s outposts on the edge of the Sinai Desert. In the spring of 1916 this was expanded to include a pipeline out into the desert (initially to Qatia/Katia, and then on to Romani). A railway (4ft 8½ inch gauge) was built beside it, to be used in supplying the EEF when it began its planned push across the Sinai that summer.
A series of pumping stations were built along the Sweet Water Canal, feeding water out into an extensive filtration system to remove parasites, debris and wildlife, while chlorine was also added. From there the water was pumped along pipes that ran across the bed of the Suez Canal, and into massive, 225,000 litre (50,000 gallon) capacity reservoirs on the eastern bank. It was then piped out to the forward areas. Just linking these together needed over 150 miles of piping.
The pipe into the desert was slower to be built due to problems obtaining enough 12-inch diameter pipes. After the initial supply of 130 miles of pipes which had been brought across from India was used, work had to be halted until more could be acquired. Until that time, only two infantry divisions and the equivalent of two cavalry divisions could be deployed into the Sinai, even with using the local wells around Romani and Qatia to supplement supplies. These (and other) wells were expanded and improved by the Royal Engineers, and new ones also dug. Great amounts of water could drawn from these, but the supply was limited compared to the pipeline. Troops could also dig their smaller wells or use ‘spearpoint pumps’. This was a device commonly used in Australia; it consisted of a long tube that could be thrust deep into the ground, avoiding the need to dig. Once water was found, it was a simple matter to pump water up the tube and into the collapsible wood and canvas troughs that cavalry units carried. Initially the device was introduced by Lieutenant Colonel Wilson of the 5th Australian Light Horse, and met with resistance from the British commissariat authorities. A few weeks’ experience in the Sinai soon convinced them otherwise, and this life-saving tool was issued across the EEF. Such local sources were also popular because troops could sometimes extract and drink water before their Medical Officers could get to them with their chlorine tablets. These may have cleaned the water effectively, but they did little for the taste.
Image: Egyptian labourers laying one of the smaller pipes.
In September 1916, 5,000 tons of pipes arrived from America. The new pipes were unshipped at Kantara, placed on railway trucks and taken out to the end of the pipeline. Here, the trains crept slowly along while the men of the Egyptian Labour Corps tipped each length of pipe (each weighing half a ton) out into its correct place, while further teams followed on foot, bolting the pieces together. This was a fast process, with more than 25 miles (40km) being laid per month. Along the way smaller reservoirs were also constructed for local use, as well as massive storage tanks at Romani, capable of holding over nine million litres (over two million gallons).
Water was a major preoccupation during the operations on the Egyptian-Palestine border at the end of 1916. The actions at Magdhaba and Rafa (El Mugruntein) had almost been cut short due to concerns over the watering of the horses of the cavalry units making the attacks, and had only succeeded by a narrow margin. By May 1917 the pipeline was pumping 2.7m litres (600,000 gallons) of water out of Egypt every day, but just 166,000 litres (36,500 gallons) was reaching the end of the pipeline in Palestine. The rest was being used to keep the rear-areas, including the railway itself, the Egyptian Labour Corps, and support troops, supplied.
The pipeline also became a target for the Ottomans. Soon after dawn on 19 April 1917, during the 2nd Battle of Gaza, a Rumpler C.1 (serial 2631) flown by Oberleutnants Gerhard Felmy and Richard Falke of Flieger Abteilung 300 landed by the railway and pipeline near Bir Selmana. They laid charges on both, and on the telegraph and telephone posts. On detonation, the communications lines came down, but the pipeline was only scratched while the charges on the railway failed to explode. The German pilots retrieved the latter, and placing them on the pipeline tried again. This time, a hole was blown in the pipe. The pilots then escaped back to Ottoman lines, taking a piece of the pipeline as a prize.
Once the line of the EEF solidified in the spring and summer of 1917, running south-east from Gaza towards Beersheba, more local sources were developed. Water could be found by digging in the bottom of the Wadi Ghazze, and from the large wells at Khan Yunis and Shellal. Eventually, 450,000 litres (100,000 gallons) of water would be pumped from the former and over 900,000 litres (200,000 gallons) from the later every single day. More pipes were built to run this precious liquid out to all parts of the front lines and the rear areas. Pumping stations were built not only to draw this water up and then push it out to the troops, but also to fill the ‘fanatis’ on which the army depended - large, metal jerry-can-like containers which could be carried, one on each side, by camels. The station at Shellal could fill 2000 fanatis with over 110,000 litres (25,000 gallons) per hour.
Even as the local sources grew, the original pipeline was expanded. In July 1917 Sir Edmund Allenby (the new commander of the EEF) repeated the requests of his predecessor (Sir Archibald Murray) to have both the pipeline and the railway doubled. He finally received permission, and work began as soon as materials arrived. By 14 October 1917 the second line had reached Bir el Mazar, about half-way along the 140-mile length of the first pipe.
The water that flowed across the desert and up from the local wells was carefully rationed and stockpiled, with massive stores of water being laid in to support the troops taking part in the 3rd Battle of Gaza, due to start on 31 October 1917. Even so, it became vital to capture Beersheba on the first day of the attack, so that the massive wells in the town could feed the entire right flank. In the end, the wells proved less productive than hoped at ‘only’ 1.8m litres (400,000 gallons) per day, but it was still enough to ensure the EEF could continue the attack. To get the water to the advancing units, long trains of camels weighed down with fanatis trudged backwards and forwards, all day and night and often under fire.
In September 1916, 5,000 tons of pipes arrived from America. The new pipes were unshipped at Kantara, placed on railway trucks and taken out to the end of the pipeline. Here, the trains crept slowly along while the men of the Egyptian Labour Corps tipped each length of pipe (each weighing half a ton) out into its correct place, while further teams followed on foot, bolting the pieces together. This was a fast process, with more than 25 miles (40km) being laid per month. Along the way smaller reservoirs were also constructed for local use, as well as massive storage tanks at Romani, capable of holding over nine million litres (over two million gallons).
Water was a major preoccupation during the operations on the Egyptian-Palestine border at the end of 1916. The actions at Magdhaba and Rafa (El Mugruntein) had almost been cut short due to concerns over the watering of the horses of the cavalry units making the attacks, and had only succeeded by a narrow margin. By May 1917 the pipeline was pumping 2.7m litres (600,000 gallons) of water out of Egypt every day, but just 166,000 litres (36,500 gallons) was reaching the end of the pipeline in Palestine. The rest was being used to keep the rear-areas, including the railway itself, the Egyptian Labour Corps, and support troops, supplied.
The pipeline also became a target for the Ottomans. Soon after dawn on 19 April 1917, during the 2nd Battle of Gaza, a Rumpler C.1 (serial 2631) flown by Oberleutnants Gerhard Felmy and Richard Falke of Flieger Abteilung 300 landed by the railway and pipeline near Bir Selmana. They laid charges on both, and on the telegraph and telephone posts. On detonation, the communications lines came down, but the pipeline was only scratched while the charges on the railway failed to explode. The German pilots retrieved the latter, and placing them on the pipeline tried again. This time, a hole was blown in the pipe. The pilots then escaped back to Ottoman lines, taking a piece of the pipeline as a prize.
Once the line of the EEF solidified in the spring and summer of 1917, running south-east from Gaza towards Beersheba, more local sources were developed. Water could be found by digging in the bottom of the Wadi Ghazze, and from the large wells at Khan Yunis and Shellal. Eventually, 450,000 litres (100,000 gallons) of water would be pumped from the former and over 900,000 litres (200,000 gallons) from the later every single day. More pipes were built to run this precious liquid out to all parts of the front lines and the rear areas. Pumping stations were built not only to draw this water up and then push it out to the troops, but also to fill the ‘fanatis’ on which the army depended - large, metal jerry-can-like containers which could be carried, one on each side, by camels. The station at Shellal could fill 2000 fanatis with over 110,000 litres (25,000 gallons) per hour.
Even as the local sources grew, the original pipeline was expanded. In July 1917 Sir Edmund Allenby (the new commander of the EEF) repeated the requests of his predecessor (Sir Archibald Murray) to have both the pipeline and the railway doubled. He finally received permission, and work began as soon as materials arrived. By 14 October 1917 the second line had reached Bir el Mazar, about half-way along the 140-mile length of the first pipe.
The water that flowed across the desert and up from the local wells was carefully rationed and stockpiled, with massive stores of water being laid in to support the troops taking part in the 3rd Battle of Gaza, due to start on 31 October 1917. Even so, it became vital to capture Beersheba on the first day of the attack, so that the massive wells in the town could feed the entire right flank. In the end, the wells proved less productive than hoped at ‘only’ 1.8m litres (400,000 gallons) per day, but it was still enough to ensure the EEF could continue the attack. To get the water to the advancing units, long trains of camels weighed down with fanatis trudged backwards and forwards, all day and night and often under fire.
Image: Loading up a camel water convoy
When studying logistics, it is easy for get distracted by the details of volumes, tonnages and other technicalities. It should never be forgotten that all of this effort went towards keeping men alive and effective during some of the most difficult and trying experiences of their lives. The system was not perfect, and most units went short and some went without any supply at all for a day or two at a time. One Welsh officer fighting in the mountains north of Beersheba recalled:
“Hard days these. Very little water, never enough for a wash; bully beef and biscuits unvaried, no mails... We wore ‘tin hats,’ and the intense heat of the sun on them made our heads feel like poached eggs... We had about three pints [of water] for forty-eight hours, which included a long march up the stifling, winding ravines of the Judean foothills, followed by incessant fighting, the temperature, thanks to the Khamsin, which prevailed, being that of August. It was real hell. A lot of men went nearly mad with thirst.” [Dudley Ward 53rd Division p. 128]
The water convoys were the difference between life and death, victory and failure. Last word should be left to Private C. R. Verner of the 2/21st London Regiment:
“We were somewhat cheered during the afternoon by the announcement of the fall of Gaza, but the great sensation was caused by the appearance of camels on the crest of the hill behind… and we knew that water was coming. The Turks saw them too and tried to stop them with a barrage, but after the NCO in charge had stopped panic amongst the camel drivers with his fists we saw them (the camels) winding their way down to the railway cutting to a point where water could be issued in safety.
We restrained ourselves with difficulty from charging down on the camels and helping ourselves, and presently an order arrived that one man from the Lewis Gun team should bring the water-bottles of the rest. This man was me. I started off with a good load, and my pace was accelerated by a machine gun while crossing the open ground.
I found a sergeant Major having great difficulty in keeping order among the crowds of thirst-maddened men around the Fantassies… [Back at my position] I handed around the bottles… and as long as I live I shall never forget that drink.” [Verner, IWM 12581]
Written by Stuart Hadaway, this article first appeared in Great War Magazine
When studying logistics, it is easy for get distracted by the details of volumes, tonnages and other technicalities. It should never be forgotten that all of this effort went towards keeping men alive and effective during some of the most difficult and trying experiences of their lives. The system was not perfect, and most units went short and some went without any supply at all for a day or two at a time. One Welsh officer fighting in the mountains north of Beersheba recalled:
“Hard days these. Very little water, never enough for a wash; bully beef and biscuits unvaried, no mails... We wore ‘tin hats,’ and the intense heat of the sun on them made our heads feel like poached eggs... We had about three pints [of water] for forty-eight hours, which included a long march up the stifling, winding ravines of the Judean foothills, followed by incessant fighting, the temperature, thanks to the Khamsin, which prevailed, being that of August. It was real hell. A lot of men went nearly mad with thirst.” [Dudley Ward 53rd Division p. 128]
The water convoys were the difference between life and death, victory and failure. Last word should be left to Private C. R. Verner of the 2/21st London Regiment:
“We were somewhat cheered during the afternoon by the announcement of the fall of Gaza, but the great sensation was caused by the appearance of camels on the crest of the hill behind… and we knew that water was coming. The Turks saw them too and tried to stop them with a barrage, but after the NCO in charge had stopped panic amongst the camel drivers with his fists we saw them (the camels) winding their way down to the railway cutting to a point where water could be issued in safety.
We restrained ourselves with difficulty from charging down on the camels and helping ourselves, and presently an order arrived that one man from the Lewis Gun team should bring the water-bottles of the rest. This man was me. I started off with a good load, and my pace was accelerated by a machine gun while crossing the open ground.
I found a sergeant Major having great difficulty in keeping order among the crowds of thirst-maddened men around the Fantassies… [Back at my position] I handed around the bottles… and as long as I live I shall never forget that drink.” [Verner, IWM 12581]
Written by Stuart Hadaway, this article first appeared in Great War Magazine
Image: Water cistern built by the British at Bir Asluj