No, This Isn't About A Sequel
You're thinking of "Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert", aren't you? I remember one scene from this drag odyssey, where a solo desert runner jogs into and out of scene, towing a lightweight trailer sporting a flashing light on top. Typically, I cannot find a clip on Youtube, nor do these trailers appear to be a thing in real life, so instead here's 'Space Battleship Yamoto'. Art!
It so is relevant!
No, you see HMS 'Pyramus' was a British light cruiser of the 'Pelorus' class, laid down in 1897, one of the Royal Navy's more elderly vessels in use during the First Unpleasantness. Art!
Perhaps a better title would have been "Royal Navy, Queen Of The Desert". Perhaps. You've got the title, mind, and it's not getting changed.
You ought to be aware by now that I am currently plodding my way through "Lawrence In Arabia", which is another biography of T E 'Ned' Lawrence, salted with a Teuton cipher (whom has vanished from the narrative) and the profound and deeply boring complexities of global Zionism, and a South Canadian oilman.
Reading it reminded Your Humble Scribe that I had read Ned's "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom", if only once and that probably twenty years ago. What I took away from it was that, though the Arab Revolt took place in the deserts of The Hejaz (now western Saudi Arabia), the Royal Navy took a surprisingly premier place in the events thereof. Art!
The Senior Service, you see, had easy access to the Red Sea from both the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean, and had free run of the area with absolutely no interference from the Ottomans or Teutons. Above is a map showing you the outlay of the hydrography and geography, and below is the southern end of the Arabian peninsula. Art!
This control played out in three ways, which I can detail (possibly more than you want to know) thanks to downloading a PDF of 7POW last night. The terrific thing about a PDF is that you can search the contents by word or phrase, rather than having to read all 739 pages or rely on an index or synopsis. I may have to bite the bullet and read the whole thing from start to finish, because it's an absolute masterclass in how to wage guerilla warfare.
ANYWAY one of the more mundane yet important services the RN offered was what amounted to a seaborne taxi-service. Art!
HMS Suva
This is one of the 'taxis' that Ned used to travel up and down the Red Sea coastline, destination Jeddah or Yenbo. Travelling this way was far quicker and infinitely less arduous than moving overland by camel. He was able to return to Cairo speedily and safely without having to cross the deserts of Sinai, which were controlled by the Ottomans and a very dicey proposition. HMS 'Hardinge' and 'Northbrook' were both involved in transporting Ned and various Arab potentates. Art!
HMS Espiegle
Then there is the matter of supplies. Since the east bank of the Suez Canal was held by the Ottomans, anything going to the Hejaz needed to go by ship, down the Red Sea and be unloaded at the coastal towns that the Arabs held. Initially this was a long sea journey all the way down the peninsula, which became a lot shorter when the Arabs captured Aqaba, a port at the northern end of the Red Sea. Art!
Even when the Ottomans had been chased out of the Sinai, supplies still went south by ship as it was far and away the most efficient method of transport. Ned also relates how he got sent two Rolls-Royce armoured cars, which the Turks had nothing like in their arsenals. Therein lies the importance of logistics: these cars needed petrol to run, and ammunition for their machine guns. They needed oil for lubrication, spare tyres, other mechanical spare parts and tools for maintenance and repair, all of which had to come from Egypt - by sea.
Ned also relates an anecdote that covered one problem the Arabs and British had: communication. Telegraph and telephone were not an option, so in 1916 a truck mounting an army radio was despatched to be sent ashore in Wejh, one of the ports occupied by the Arabs. The RN commander who delivered it went ashore with crewmen and set up the radio for broadcast, showing how to use it, as it didn't come with manuals or trainers. Once again the Senior Service came through, because this single vehicle made communications so much quicker. Art!
This is Yanbu, which is rendered 'Yenbo' in 7POW. Back in 1916 it was threatened by a Turkish column several thousand strong, which had reached the mountains standing miles from the town itself. Not the ones you can see in the background here, but they give an impression of how far those heights were from the town. The defences were thin at that time, and would not have sustained under an assault.
However - that word again! - the Royal Navy, alerted to the Ottoman advance, had brought five warships up to Yenbo, and had them arrayed around the harbour. From there they used their searchlights to cover the plain between the mountains and Yenbo, illuminating the fact that the ground was dead flat, utterly devoid of cover and would be a killing ground for anyone foolhardy enough to advance across it. Art!
That's HMS M-31, a six-inch monitor, whose shallow draught allowed her to get very close to shore. I know the 'Dufferin' was also present, and because the Royal Indian Marine supplied warships to the Red Sea Patrol, HMS 'Pyramus' from that station may have been there.
Suffice it to say that the Turks did not attack, and fell back, which TEL thought was a critical turning point in the revolt as they might have been able to snuff it out before it got going.
So there you go: transport, supplies and artillery support.
I say, I have rabbited on rather, haven't I? Better get cracking on the rest of today's blog.
Conrad The Cook
I've just been reading about Ned being fed up dining on 'green date and camel sinew', poor bloke. My remedy for this is an Ukrainian cookbook, which arrived today and here's the evidence. Art!
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| DON'T ASK ABOUT THE DATE! |
I've had a quick flick through it, and may need to go down to the Co-Op in Lesser Sodom tomorrow to get a few bits and pieces. They seem to use dill as a flavouring of choice, plus the inevitable sour cream, and also sauerkraut. Oddly enough, there's no date of publication, only the information that it was published by Amazon.
You will definitely hear more about this. I bet you can hardly wait.
More Fruits Of My Labours
I have finally sorted out all the counters for the 'Modern Games' quad I bought at the 'Crisis Point' bring and buy four weeks ago, and put them on sheets of A4, arranged by type and unit. Art!
The far more convoluted process of putting them onto maps and actually playing a game with them might commence at any moment.
In Other News
Conrad has registered for an AI seminar through work as of 19th May, in the afternoon. Not sure how long or detailed it will be, nor where or what the focus will be on. They foolishly asked for questions, and I snuck in the PKD 'Toaster Scenario'. Art!
Lest ye be unaware, this is where Ol' Phil postulated that our robotic overlords' reign will not begin with a ten-storey tall metal behemoth smashing it's way down Main Street. Rather, it will begin with you coming down to breakfast and your toaster then informs you 'Okay - this is how it's going to be.'
Finally -
Better go make a shopping list. Farewell!
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