The Wonderful Adventures of His Majesty's Army in Michmas (my word!)
As promised yesterday, a cool story about Michmas:
Michmas, as we know, was the place where Yehonatan, son of King Shaul, nearly-single-handedly defeated a legion of Plishti soliders (Shmuel 1:13:16-14:15).
Many millennia later, another army found victory there, echoing back to the same tactic victoriously wielded by Yehonatan and his arms-bearer. As recounted by Major Vivian Gilbert in "The Romance of the Last Crusade: with Allenby to Jerusalem", ch. XIII (pg. 180-186):
"The first things we bought after the capture of Jerusalem were Bibles and matches. We had recently received a welcome issue of army cigarettes from the base, but the army service corps forgot to send up matches.
We used the Bibles as guidebooks to Palestine, and remarkably fine ones they turned out to be! It was wonderfully interesting to read the history of all the places we were visiting daily, and men in the ranks were as keen as the officers. It was no uncommon sight to come across cockney soldiers out under the stars when they should have been sleeping, arguing about some incident in the Bible because of a place or event in the day's march that made the Biblical pages live again.
British soldiers on guard paced where the Israelite soldiers paced; we drank from Abraham's wells [...]
I remember an amusing incident that occurred which illustrates the interest some of our men took in those far-off Bible times. It was at the conclusion of a particularly tiring march when I came across a little group of men resting beside the dusty road. Just as I go/t up one of them took a Bible from his pack and commenced turning its pages. I overheard his pal say, "What was that plice we marched by ter-day, Tom; wasn't that where Joshuar went after them there fellers?" And the other, with withering scorn, replied, "Naah; that was where Absalom caught 'is 'ead in the bloomin' trees." [...]
February 13th we took over the Deir Ibu Obeid-Ras es Suffa-Hizmeh line from the 53rd Division, and on the fourteenth of the same monther operation orders were issued for an attack on Jericho with the object of driving the enemy across the River Jordan.
Before the main attack could take place it was necessary to strengthen the line by the capture of a small village, directly to our front, known as Mukhmas or Mickmash.
Mickmash was on a high rocky hill. The brigade outpost line was on a chain of hills, too, and between us and the enemy ran a deep valley.
A frontal attack was decided upon; that is, supported by artillery and machine guns, the brigade was to advance into the valley just before dawn, and take Mickmash from the front.
All the orders were given out and the troops were getting what rest was possible before zero hour.
In his bivouac, by the light of a candle, the brigade major was reading his Bible. When the raid was first discussed the name Mickmash had seemed vaguely familiar, although he could not quite place it. Just as he was about to turn in for the night, however, he recollected and thought he would look it up. He found what he was searching for in Samuel I, Chapters 13 and 14 [...]
And the major read on how Jonathan went through the pass, or passage, of Mickmash, between Bozez and Seneh, and climbed the hill dragging his armour-bearer with him until they came to a place high up, about "a half an acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow"; and the Philistines who were sleeping awoke, thought they were surrounded by the armies of Saul, and fled in disorder, and "the multitude melted away". Saul then attacked with his whole army. It was a great victory for him; his first against the Philistines, and "so the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over unto Beth Aven."
The brigade major thought to himself: "This pass, these two rocky headlands and flat piece of ground are probably still here; very little has changed in Palestine throughout the centuries," and he woke the brigadier. Together they read the story over again. Then the general sent out scouts, who came back and reported finding the pass, thinly held by Turks, with rocky crags on either side, obviously Bozez and Seneh; whilst in the distance, high up in Mickmash the moonlight was shining on a flat piece of ground just about big enough for a team to plough.
The general decided then and there to change the plan of attack, and instead of the whole brigade, one infantry company alone advanced at dead of night along the pass of Mickmash. A few Turks met were silently dealt with. We passed between Bozez and Seneh, climbed the hillside, and just before dawn, found ourselves on the flat piece of ground. The Turks who were sleeping awoke, thoguht they were surrounded by the armies of Allenby and fled in disorcer.
We killed or captured every Turk that night in Mickmash; so that, after thousands of years, the tactics of Saul and Jonathan were repeated with success by a British force."
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