Van Lawrence en zijn lijfwacht geeft Liddell Hart (biz. 316)
het volgende levende beeldje
Den 25 Januari 1918 won Lawrence met 600 man den „Slag
bij El Tafila". In zijn werk steekt hij de amateurofficier
den draak met deze overwinning (blz. 475)
Maar toch bleek welk een zuivere kijk Lawrence op het gevecht
had, toen hij de Turken met een zwakke frontgroep vasthield
en door een dubbele omtrekking, gevolgd door een frontaanval hen
wist te vernietigen. Het gevecht kostte den Arabieren 30 dooden
en 90 gewonden de Turken verloren hun aanvoerder generaal
Hamid Fakri met eenige honderden dooden, 200 gevangenen, 2
houwitsers en 27 mitrailleurs. Slechts 50 man ontkwamen een
klein Cannae
1062
„Arrived at Abu Lissan, some five thousand feet up, I found Law
rence, who had just returned from a most successful raid on the
„railway, sitting in his tent oil a beautiful Persian rug looted from
„some unfortunate Turkish train. He was dressed, as usual, in the
„most immaculate white robes with the golden dagger of Mecca in
„his girdle. Outside lolled some of his body-guard cleaning their
„rifles and crooning softly to themselves and undoubtedly enjoying
„the quiet contemplation of some particularly devilish bit of work
„which they had just perpetrated. They were a remarkably interesting
„collection, numbering just under a hundred. Most of them belonged
„to the Ageyl and were hired soldiers by profession. Not one of them
„but was famed for some daring deed, and for hard living, hard
„riding and hard swearing, they were the pick of Arabia. This body-
„guard was a very necessary precaution, for there was a price of
20.000 on Lawrence's head, and Arabs are treacherous folk
„unless they are your sworn and paid men. Any one of his body-guard,
„however, would have cheerfully died for Lawrence".
„The Turks shculd never, by rules of sane generalship, have ven
tured back to Tafileh at all. It was simple greed, a dog-in-the-manger
„attitude unworthy of a serious enemy, just the sort of hopeless thing
„a Turk would do. How could they expect a proper war when they
„gave us no chance to honour them Our morale was continually
„being ruined by their follies, for neither could our men respect their
„courage, nor our officers respect their brains. Also, it was an icy mor-
„ning and I had been up all night and was Teutonic enough to decide
„that they should pay for my changed mind and plan. They must
„be few in number, judging by their speed of advance. We had every
„advantage, of time, of terrain, of number, of weather, and could
„checkmate them easily but to my wrath that was not enough. We
„would play their kind of game on our pigmy scale deliver them a
„pitched battle such as they wanted kill them all. I would rake up
„my memory of the half-forgotten maxims of the orthodox army
„text-book, and parody them in action. This was villainous, for with
„arithmetic and geography for allies we might have spared the suf
fering factor of humanity and to make a conscious joke of victory
„was wanton. We could have won by refusing battle, foxed them by
„manoeuvring our centre as on twenty such occasions before and
„sinceyet bad temper and conceit united for this time to make
„me not content to know my power, but determined to give public
„advertisement of it to the enemy and to everyone".
