On the other hand the presumption that the Isonzo sector had a degree of vulnerability was found correct, and along the Isonzo line the real Italian offensive from the beginning continued to be directed. The Isonzo is roughly about three miles into Austria, beyond the political boundary. But it is the true military boundary between Italy and Austria, and it was always regarded by the Austrians as their first line of defense. For almost its entire length, as far south as Salcaro, about four miles north of Gorizia, the Isonzo River runs through a deep gorge and is easily defended. From Salcaro to the sea it issues from the gorge into a more level country—the plateaus of Gorizia and of Carso—although even the southern part of the line is dominated by a series of elevations in supporting distance of each other. Until the line of the Isonzo was forced, Trieste and the entire Istrian Peninsula might be regarded as safe.

Although the line of the Isonzo was, as has been shown, the only feasible line on which Italy could advance, no serious offensive could be attempted until the outlets from the Trentino were thoroughly and effectively stopped up. For Italy to have advanced in the Carso, with her rear open to attack by the Austrians coming through the Tyrolean passes, would have been foolhardy. Italy's first step, therefore, was to start a simultaneous forward movement through every pass from Stelvio on the west to the pass near Pontebba on the north. These movements naturally were of an offensive nature, although they were really for a defensive purpose. No attempt was made to advance any distance through the western passes. The Italians were content to take the fortifications guarding the entrance and to seize heights commanding the approaches.

On the south and east of the Trentino, however, the operations took on a more extended and, for the Austrians, a more serious aspect. On the south the principal efforts were directed against Riva and Rovereto. The operations against Riva, which is situated at the head of Lake Garda, were directed along the valley of the Ledro and thence along the Tonale River, a small stream connecting Lake Ledro and Lake Garda. At the same time the Italians pushed with energy down the Val Sugana, which leads directly to Trent. The advance was pushed to a point where there was no possibility of the Austrians coming through, and there the Italian forces rested.

Well up, toward the north, in the Dolomites there followed considerable fighting, in the Cordevole Valley particularly, for the Col di Lona, the loftiest of the mountain tops in that region. The Cordevole unites with the Val Forsa some twenty miles east of the Adige Valley, the Val Forsa connecting with the Adige at the town of Lavio, six miles north of Trent. To cut in behind the Austrians south of Trent would, of course, have created havoc with the entire Austrian forces in the Trentino, but, as stated, the defensive possibilities of the situation are so formidable that success would appear almost beyond the realms of actuality.

On the Isonzo front the fighting all along continued on a large scale. An idea of the immensity of the struggle is suggested by the Austrian estimate in January, 1916, that Italian casualties had passed the million mark. Exaggerated as this number was regarded in allied circles, it showed Austria-Hungary's opinion of the severity of the fighting in what was considered a subsidiary theatre of the Great War.

The railroad situation on the Isonzo front is, as in practically all modern military situations, of primary strategic importance. The Istrian Peninsula is served by three lines, each of which runs to Austrian bases of supply. One runs up the valley of the Isonzo, through Gorizia and Tolmino and through the Hochein Tunnel to Vienna. At Gorizia a branch leaves this line, running southeast, and connects Gorizia with Trieste across the Carso Plateau. The second line comes from the east from Laibach through San Pietro, where a branch runs south to Fiume, and the third comes north from the Austrian naval base at Pola. Gorizia is served by the northern road from Vienna, from Trieste by the main line, and by the branch just described. Supplies from Vienna would be stopped by cutting the road anywhere north of Gorizia. But to shut off Trieste as a source, both of the southern rail communications must be cut. Early in June, 1915, the Italians forced a passage of the Isonzo at Plava and at Monfalcone, and cut the railroad at these two points. Gorizia then continued to be supplied only by the Trieste branch. Nor was Trieste itself cut off, as the road from Laibach through San Pietro continued open. The only way to isolate Istria was to take the San Pietro junction, and this was the ultimate aim of the operations at that region.

The Italian objective in Istria was, of course, Trieste. In order to advance on Trieste the Italians must be secured from a flank attack, and Gorizia, which is a strongly fortified bridgehead, would be directly on their flank. Therefore, it must be either captured or masked before an advance to the south could be started. Gorizia, too, was important for another reason. It was the point which the Austrians had chosen to be the center of their first main line of defense. If it fell, not only was the way open for an advance on Trieste, but the entire Austrian line to the north and south was jeopardized through the fact that, with the center pierced, both wings were exposed to flank attacks, and would have to retreat or be rolled up and defeated in detail. In other words, the fall of Gorizia would uncover Austria's entire Isonzo line, and, although there might be some subsequent resistance in the mountains to the north, the giving way of the line would be inevitable.

Gorizia, however, as has been shown, stands in the front rank of strong natural defensive positions. The foothills of the Julian Alps descend sharply to a plain near where the Isonzo issued from the gorge which it has cut through the mountains. The line between the plain and the mountains is sharp and clearly marked. There is no gentle tapering off of one into the other. This line between the hills and plain is somewhat irregular in shape and incloses a pocket in which Gorizia is situated. It is not unlike a huge elliptical stadium. At the north end, level with the ground, is Gorizia, with the Julian Alps mounting on all sides. The southern bank is constituted by the plateau of the Carso, in which is situated the town of Doberdo. Thus the plain of Gorizia is surrounded on three sides by elevations which serve as admirable watchmen for the city beneath. Just across the Isonzo from Gorizia are the town and spur of Podgora, which absolutely command the city and prevent an Italian attack from that side. With Podgora completely in Italian hands, it is difficult to see how Gorizia could hold out. From Podgora the depots, barracks, and supply houses of Gorizia are within artillery range of guns of all calibers, and the environs of Podgora have changed hands several times.

To the north of Podgora, at a distance of between two and three miles, is a second series of heights—the heights of Oslavia, which also dominate the bridgehead. These the Italians rushed in December, 1915, so the heights northwest of Gorizia continued in Italian hands. To the south, on the Carso Plateau, the Italians also pushed forward. The heights on the edge of the plateau—San Michele and San Martine di Carso—came into Italian hands. The fortifications of Gorizia—temporary field fortifications—are not at all like the more modern fortifications of Europe, which, previous to the shelling of Liege and Namur, were considered almost impregnable. They are more nearly like the little town of Ossowetz on the Bobr River, which held out against the German 42-centimeter guns for over six months, and was then evacuated only because its defenders were flanked out. There was very little concrete in the Gorizia defenses, which were mostly earthworks formed into terraces on which the guns were mounted. Many of these gun positions have been destroyed, but Gorizia has continued to hold out despite the desperate attacks of the besiegers.

Because of the natural defensive strength of the line less men have been used by Austria on this front than in any other theatre of the war. When war between Italy and Austria broke out the Austrians had already commenced the vast operations which flung Russia from the Carpathians and behind Lemberg. The men were therefore not available in sufficient numbers to defend the line of the Isonzo, otherwise it is likely it would have remained intact from the outset, and the Italian forces would never have been able to force their way through Flava and Monfalcone. That Austria harbored little anxiety regarding her Italian frontier likewise appears from her relinquishment of the Russian offensive to begin operations in the Balkans. Whether a real Italian offensive at any time was among her military plans will remain doubtful till events make the situation clear. Austria would appear to have little to gain from a conquest of Italian provinces in which her former rule brought her the deep and ordained resentment of the Italian people.

During the month of January, 1916, the southern theatre of war was comparatively quiet. The forces under General Cadorna maintained their offensive on the Isonzo without any decisive revolt taking place. There was considerable bombardment of the bridgeheads at Tolmino and Gorizia. In the Gorizia sector the Austrians attacked the Italian positions at Oslavia, capturing 900 men and inflicting severe losses in killed and wounded. Determined attacks by the Italian troops followed, and the positions were again transferred to Italian hands. At the end of this month an official resume covering Italy's entrance into the war and the operations of the Italian army in the intervening months was issued at Rome. In this official communique it was estimated that 30,000 Austrian prisoners, 5 guns, 65 machine guns, and a large quantity of war material had so far been captured by the Italians from the Austrian forces. Twenty-five Austrian divisions, totaling about 425,000 men, were said to have been massed along the Italian frontier at the beginning of the war.



CHAPTER XLIX

MOVE AGAINST GERMANY

A royal decree was issued at Rome on February 11, 1916, prohibiting the importation into Italy or transit through Italy of all German and Austrian merchandise, as well as the exportation of all merchandise of German or Austrian origin through Italian ports. This was the formal recognition of a policy that had been followed out with increasing strictness since hostilities commenced, but which had never been officially declared. The declaration of war by Italy against Austria carried with it the prohibition of trading with Austro-Hungarian subjects, and announcement had been made in the Italian press of prosecution of persons on the charge of trading with the nation's enemy. The coupling of the German Empire with Austria-Hungary in this royal decree was the first formal act on the part of Italy in the way of making it clear that all commercial relations with Germany were suspended. This was in accordance with the general policy of cooperation among the Allies, whose disjointed action had hitherto seriously hampered the conduct of the war.

It was also decided by the Italian Government on February 16, 1916, that warmer commercial relations with the allied nations should be cultivated. In pursuance of this policy a program was mapped out covering the following five years, during which period machinery, raw materials, and manufactured articles destined for the development of existing industries or the creation of new ones could be imported free of any duty if their origin was in allied or friendly countries. In this way it was aimed to disintegrate the commercial domination of Germany which had been built up by the efforts of a generation. It was felt that by this method efforts on the part of Germany and Austria-Hungary to recapture lost Italian import trade would be rendered futile. During this same month announcement was made regarding the third Italian war loan. This was declared to have reached on February 6, 1916, 3,000,000,000 lire, which, together with former loans, showed that altogether 5,000,000,000 lire had been contributed. Considerable satisfaction was expressed at this result. It was conceded that in the realm of finance, in which Italy had been considered weakest, the country had done remarkably well. Considering that Italy not long ago was considered one of the poorest nations of Europe, bearing taxes out of all proportion to her wealth, and that even now she had been enjoying but half a century of national independence, the showing was full of promise for the future. In general, it was held that Italy had revealed herself in a character different from that which had been made traditional by the criticisms of foreigners.

Not only on the declaration of war had the traditional "Latin temperament" shown itself to be surprisingly calm and self-possessed, but various other traits were revealed that militated against the conventional view. When hostilities began on the Austro-Italian frontier the stroke of the fateful hour found Italy prepared to the last button and the last man. An organization that was the fruit of years of toil had been built up, ready for action on any frontier. That such action would be first needed on the frontier of a former ally could not have been foreseen. But within a very short time Italy was mobilized, and her prompt efficiency made it possible at once to carry the war on to Austrian territory, where it has since been waged.

On the last day of the month of February, 1916, Italy took still another step which showed her prepared to burn all her boats as far as Germany was concerned. On that date the Italian Government requisitioned thirty-four large German steamers interned in Italian harbors. A total of fifty-seven German and Austrian vessels were in Italian ports at the beginning of the war. The Austrian ships were seized by Italy when war was declared on the Dual Monarchy. No action had, however, been taken in regard to German vessels. Their status in the ports of Italy had been regarded as parallel to that of German vessels which remained in American ports after war began. This led to a certain amount of heartburning among the friends of the Allies, who pointed out that it was in line with the Italian policy of maintaining commercial relations with Germany as far as they could be maintained. Rumors had also been rife regarding alleged secret agreements that had been made with the German Government.

These rumors were gradually dissipated by the successive measures taken by the Italian Government and the requisitioning of the German interned vessels revealed her as in full cooperation with the Allies. There were also other considerations that weighed with Italy. The submarine had revealed itself as a powerful destructive weapon, and the toll taken by it of allied ships was a heavy one. It was seen that the transfer of German vessels to the flag of Italy and their use by the Allies would do much toward relieving the congestion of goods at American docks which were awaiting shipment to the allied countries. The loot of German vessels then in Italian ports and their tonnage formed a formidable total. They were as follows: At Ancona, Lemnos, 24,873 tons; at Bari, Waltraute, 3,818; at Cagliari, Spitzfels, 5,809; at Catania, Lipari, 1,539; at Genoa, Hermesburg, 2,824, Koenig Albert, 10,484, Moltke, 12,325, Prinz-Regent Luitpold, 6,595; at Girgenti, Imbros, 2,380; at Leghorn, Amalfi, 1,756, Termini, 1,523; at Licata, Portfino, 1,745; at Naples, Bayern, 8,000, Marsala, 1,753, Herania, 6,455; at Palermo, Algier, 3,127, Catania, 3,000, Tunis, 1,833; at Savona, Bastia, 1,527; at Syracuse, Albany, 5,882, Ambria, 5,143, Barcelona, 5,465, Katterturm, 6,018, Mudros, 3,137, Sigmaringen, 5,710, Italia, 3,498; at Venice, Samo, 1,922, Volos, 1,903; at Massowah, Aspemfell, 4,361, Borkum, 5,645, Choising, 1,657, Christian X, 4,956, Ostmark, 4,400, Persepolis, 5,446, Segovia, 4,945, and Sturmfels, 5,660. All these were at the end of February, 1916, put into the service of the Allies, compensating in some degree for the losses suffered by each of these nations from mines and the deadly submarine.



CHAPTER L

RENEWED ATTACKS—ITALY'S SITUATION AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH, 1916

During the month of February, 1916, the war on the Italian front continued with bitterness but without decisive result. Early in the month the Austrians attacked the heights of Oslavia northwest of Gorizia, capturing 1,200 men and several trenches. Several days later the Italians achieved some results after weeks of hammering in the Sugana Valley. They captured the mountainous region of Collo and also occupied the towns of Roncegno and Romchi. By this new acquisition of territory the Italians came almost within striking distance of one of their chief objectives in the war—the city of Trent—which lies, protected on the northeast and north by a line of forts, fifteen miles west of the conquered terrain. Meanwhile several aerial attacks, which had been fitfully chronicled since the beginning of the war, brought anxiety to the coast towns of Italy. Venice with its arsenal was visited more than once. In February, 1916, hostile aeroplanes bombarded the town of Setio, fifteen miles from Vicenza, killing six persons, wounding many others, and doing considerable material damage. The aerial attack on Setio was the third reported in one week on Italian cities, following raids on the districts of Ravenna and Milan. Setio is in northeastern Italy, fifteen miles south of the Austrian border, and fifty miles northwest of Venice. On February 14, 1916, Austrian aeroplanes dropped bombs on Rimini, but were chased to the east by the fire of antiaircraft batteries.

In the last week of February, 1916, a report that Durazzo, an Albanian port on the Adriatic Sea, had been evacuated by the Italian troops was confirmed. The Italian brigade stationed there had been withdrawn, it was officially declared. The Italian troops were drawn back in company with Serbians, Montenegrins, and Albanians. Men and horses were gathered together, revictualed, and transported with light losses in the midst of grave difficulties, by the combined action of Italian and allied warships and Italian troops along the Albanian coast. When the evacuation was completed by the departure of the Albanian Government from Durazzo, the Italian brigade assigned to the city began a retreat, which was accomplished according to plan despite serious attacks from the Austrian forces, which advanced as far as the isthmuses to the east and north of Durazzo. The fall of the city of Durazzo resulted from the defeat of the Italian and the Albanian forces under Essad Pasha, the provisional president. A strong line of outer defenses for the city had been constructed and the indications were that a spirited resistance would be offered. The Austrian and German forces attacked at daybreak. The defenders were soon ejected from their positions at Bazar Sjak. Soon afterward the Italians on the southern bank of the lower Arzen were forced to abandon their positions. The Austrians crossed the river and proceeded southward. At noon a decisive action east of Bazar Sjak drove the Italians from strong positions. The same fate was suffered by the defenders of Sassa Bianeo, six miles east of Durazzo. By the evening of February 23, 1916, the entire outer girdle of defenses was taken. The attackers, advancing to the inner line positions, established the fact that the Italians were embarking their troops hurriedly. The final result was that the only position held by Italian troops in the Balkans was Avlona in Albania. The situation was viewed with much concern in Italy, where the ambition was to make the Adriatic an Italian sea. It was an unsatisfactory result of a series of operations in which Italian interests were vital, but in which Italians had taken but a negligible part. The conquest of most of the territory north of Greece had left the Austro-Germans with a large army released for work elsewhere. French and British were intrenching strongly at Saloniki, backed by a powerful fleet. The Italians still held Avlona. Greece remained neutral, but was filled with resentment against the Allies, who were repeatedly violating her territory. Bulgaria, flushed with victory, now held her strong army in leash. Serbia and Montenegro had gone down before the invader. Rumania was resisting every effort whether by threat or force or cajolement to lead her into war. The situation called for the most serious consideration from Italy and her allies.

During February, 1916, M. Briand, the French Premier, was the guest of the Italian Government in Rome, where he had gone with the object—the words are M. Briand's—"of establishing a closer and more fruitful cooperation between the Italians and their allies." Political cooperation was complete, he declared, but military cooperation on their part had been admittedly less so, and that was the supreme want of the moment. Italy rightly hesitated to embark on adventure, but in order to secure her political aims her primary object was identical with that of her allies, namely, to break down the military strength of the Central Powers. For this purpose it was necessary to strike together, and strike at the enemy's heart. The world knew what Italians wanted, and meant to get—the Italian Trentino and Trieste; but frontal attacks were costly, as General Cadorna had discovered, and the Italian strategist had not yet said his last word.

The fate of Trieste might perhaps be more quickly decided on the Danube than on the Isonzo. There was a general agreement that an error had been committed by the Allies in letting the Central Powers cross the Danube into Serbia. Except along the 250-mile gap between the Adriatic and the Serbo-Rumanian frontier, the Central Powers were blockaded either by ships and soldiers or by neutral territory. Opinions differed as to where the Allies should strike to reach the heart of Germany, but there were many who thought that the first offensive should be to close the gateway into the Balkans by reconquering Serbia and cutting the communications between the Central Powers and their allies. Time would show what the allied Governments meant to do, but if this intention was to get back to the Danube half a million men would be required at Saloniki with an equal force in reserve.

It was generally admitted that the territorial ambitions of Italy had been seriously checked by the development of Austrian strength. The war as originally planned on the Austro-Italian frontier was to be one of swift movement in the direction of Trieste and Dalmatia; with the gradual cooperation of the Balkan nations and a general invasion into the interior of Austria. Until, therefore, decided headway could be made on the Isonzo front and Gorizia had fallen, a feeling-out movement would appear the best to be followed. The Italian people were learning to accept the delay with philosophic resignation. The axiom of Napoleon was recalled that it was always the unsuspected that happened in war, and events in the other fighting areas enabled them to grasp the difficulties of the situation on their own border.

Already in February, 1916, the conquest of Montenegro and the capture of Mount Lovchen, long the nightmare of Italian statesmen, by the Austrians, began to be less a subject of anxiety. Serious blow as it was to Italian prestige, it did not appear irreparable. Even before, Austria had already a magnificent series of natural harbors in the Adriatic. But it was argued that Austria had not a sufficiently strong fleet to take advantage of the new wonderful natural harbor now entirely in her possession. The chief perils lay in the formidable obstacle to naval activity formed by Mount Lovchen, with 305-mm. guns mounted on its summit and in the facile use of the Bocca di Cattaro as a submarine base from which to harass the Italian fleet. Italy, it was recognized, was contending with geographical disadvantages everywhere, but in the Adriatic more than elsewhere, owing to the peculiarly tame configuration of her coast line. As compared with that on the eastern side of the Adriatic the contrast was great.

Nature had, indeed, been lavish in her gifts to Austria in this direction. Deep water inlets forming natural harbors, which at the present time are invaluable as harbors for warships or as submarine bases, are to be found all along the Dalmatian coast.

Tajer, Zara, Lesina, Lissa, Curzola, Maleda, Sabbioncello, Grayosa, and Sebenico are almost in themselves sufficient to counterbalance any numerical disparity between the Austrian and Italian fleets. Several of these natural harbors have of late years been transformed, at enormous expense, into naval ports and strongly fortified. Millions have been spent on Sebenico, and it has been so fortified as to be absolutely impregnable from the sea, even the rocks facing the harbor having been cased in ferroconcrete and turned into forts. The claim of Venice to be mistress of the Adriatic belongs to a remote age; it has long since been ousted by Pola, which has gradually been developed into one of the strongest naval arsenals and ports in the world. Similarly the whole coast line of Dalmatia is fronted by a chain of islands, round which submarines can receive supplies and lurk in absolute security. In the rear of these islands is a succession of navigable channels through which a war fleet can pass under cover from Pola to Cattaro. The Italian coast line is the very antithesis of the Austrian. Between Venice and Brindisi, the whole length of the Adriatic, there is not a single natural harbor. But, said the Italians:

"What is the good of a fine stable without horses?" Italy had the ships, Austria the harbors: it remained to be seen which would win out.

The bearing of all this on the question of Italy's cooperation with the Allies in the Balkans is apparent. It had been frequently remarked that the Dalmatian coast line was likely one day to bring on a European war, for its possession is of vital interest to Italy. Austria, with twelve naval bases and all the natural advantages of coast line in her favor, is in a far stronger position than Italy. How can Italy hope to occupy the Dalmatian coast? There was and is a considerable diversity of opinion in Italy as to the wisdom of an over-sea expedition in addition to the occupation of Avlona in Albania. At one moment it was suggested that in view of the preponderating call on the military resources of the country in the areas of operations on the Isonzo, in Carnia, Cadore, and the Trentino, it would be wiser to withdraw for the time being from Avlona. But it would seem as though Italy is bound to see the thing through. The place has been put into a state of comparative impregnability. Italy is well aware that her line of communication must remain more or less at the mercy of the Austrian fleet operating from Pola and the naval bases along the coast. She would need very material assistance from the allied fleets, and her part in the Balkan operations would appear therefore to depend on cohesive action among the allied admirals. The loss of Avlona would inflict a blow on the prestige of the Allies paralleling that of the Gallipoli debacle. Yet at the end of February, 1916, the Austrians, advancing along the coast in conjunction with Bulgarians coming from Monastir, would appear to be making Avlona their objective. Austrian success would make the Adriatic a mere clausum to the allied fleets and cripple Italy in one of her chief arms of defense and offense.



PART X—CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA



CHAPTER LI

OPERATIONS AGAINST BAGDAD AND AROUND THE TIGRIS

The British campaign in Mesopotamia during the first year of the war had been generally successful. After the capture of Basra in November, 1914, the Delta country was cleared of the enemy and the safety of the oil fields assured. A period of quiet followed, broken only when the Turks took the offensive, which failed, in April, 1915. Late in May the British won a decisive victory over the Turkish troops at Kurna. In July, 1915, the ill-fated expedition against the enemy forces guarding Bagdad was planned. Later, after the failure in the Dardanelles, it was necessary to attempt something spectacular that would restore British prestige in the Orient, and this could be accomplished by the capture of Bagdad.

The British position in regard to Persia had become difficult. It was known that the German Ambassador at Teheran, Prince Henry XXXI of Reuss, was scheming with Persian tribes and Persian statesmen and politicians, and also trying to win over the armed police and their Swedish officers. Russia and Great Britain had established this police system to protect the highways from brigands, and Swedish officers had been chosen to command them because they might be counted on not to favor Russian or British interests.



The mountain tribes on the Turko-Persian border were in a state of unrest and seemed to be only waiting an opportunity to show their hostility toward the foes of Germany and Turkey. The Swedish-led gendarmerie were also more than suspected by the British of having been won over by German agents. The Russian army in the Caucasus meanwhile was accomplishing little or nothing, while the Turkish forces in part were extending toward the Persian highlands, with the purpose, it was suspected, of joining with the Swedish-led rebels and mountain tribes. The Turks and intriguers in Persia evidently thought the time ripe for a quick conquest of Persia, as the main Russian armies in Poland were not in a position to interfere. It seemed to the Turks and their German advisers that the hour was propitious to send forward an army that would drive the British-Indian Expeditionary Force out of Mesopotamia.

Sir John Nixon had no adequate forces at his command for the proposed task of capturing Bagdad, having only at his disposal one division of Indian and British troops, and a brigade or so in reserve with which to attack the Turkish army that was daily increasing in numbers.

The most implacable foe that the British troops had to contend against was the climate. It was found impossible to march more than eight miles a day and after sundown. The heat in the tents at times varied between 128 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit. With burning sand underfeet, and scorching rays of the sun from above, blood dried up in the body, the brain became inflamed, followed by delirium, coma, death. It was impossible for the white soldiers to perspire unless they were near marshes where they might quench their intolerable thirst in the brackish waters. Owing to the lack of fresh vegetables and improper food, the rations of bully beef and hard-tack, and the assaults of blood-sucking insects, many deaths occurred. Even the Northwest Indian troops, accustomed to the desert and life in a hot climate, suffered intensely in Mesopotamia. It is necessary to consider the climatic conditions the British forces had to contend with in this country to understand why their progress was necessarily slow, and why so many men fell by the way.

The attempt to capture Bagdad was much criticized when projected, and since, as being foolhardy, and likely to fail, and in any case not worth the great loss of men it must entail. But the British-Indian Expeditionary Force was in a position where it must take a gambler's chance and stand to win or lose. To capture the city of the Caliphs would in the first place greatly impress the Mohammedan population and restore British prestige, which had sadly suffered through the Dardanelles failure. And it was necessary that the British troops should act promptly and without counting the possible cost, for every hour's delay permitted the Turks and their allies to grow in strength.

To the British, Bagdad was of importance. It was needed as a base at the head of navigation. It would enable them to prevent Turkish troops from traveling over Persian highways, and, most important of all, it would afford the British opportunities to check Mohammedan organization and subdue attempted risings.

General Townshend, who commanded the division that was sent forward to attempt the capture of Bagdad, had all the odds against him. His small force, consisting of two-thirds Indian and one-third British troops, was hopelessly inadequate for the projected campaign. It was known that the Turks were well equipped with guns of superior power, and that they were directed by German officers, assisted by German engineers; that the very able German officer Marshal von der Goltz was in charge of operations. When it is considered that the Turkish force was three times as strong in numbers as General Townshend's, the British general's advance on Bagdad seemed foredoomed to failure. His only hope lay in delivering a swift defeat to the Turks before their reenforcements could arrive from the Caucasian front, a movement which began about the middle of September, 1915.

Before an advance could be made on Bagdad it was necessary for the British to defeat a large Turkish force at Nasiriyeh and at Kut-el-Amara, where the British captured fourteen guns and about 1,000 prisoners, losing in killed and wounded 500 officers and men. The Turkish trenches were destroyed and within a small area about 900 Turkish dead were counted.

The British troops, having fought in an atmosphere of 130 degrees, were thoroughly exhausted when they encamped in Nasiriyeh. Like most Arab towns, the place was in such a filthy condition that it required weeks to clean it up and make it habitable for Europeans. Meanwhile the British troops lived in tents and enjoyed a much needed rest. It was stated that fully 95 per cent of the men were in such a state of exhaustion as to be quite unfit for active service. If the Turkish commander in chief had known of this, the reenforcements he had dispatched from his base at Kut-el-Amara might easily have compelled the British force to retire. Fortunately for the British, the Turkish reenforcements encountered on the way the routed Turkish army of the Euphrates and evidently heard such tales of the fighting powers of the British and Indian soldiers that they joined the fugitives in their retreat.

At the close of August, 1915, Nasiriyeh had been made habitable by the British engineers and a large part of the force departed for Amara on steamers and barges, most of the soldiers wearing only a waist-clout and still suffering from the intense heat, as they crouched under the grass-mat shelters that had been provided. The garrison left in the town to keep the Arabs in order suffered from swarms of flies, heat, fever, and dysentery, and would have welcomed a Turkish attack if only that it might afford some variety to their monotonous life.

During this time General Townshend, from his base at Amara on the Tigris, was moving his heterogeneous collection of vessels up the river and had begun friendly negotiations with the powerful tribes of the Beni Lam Arabs, who held most of the land between the Tigris and the northern mountains, and much territory on the southern side of the river. Here stretched out a desert waste between Amara and Kut-el-Amara, occupied by powerful confederations of fighting Bedouins, the Abu Mohammed tribes, known by their black tents, who moved about the British base on the river; the Makusis tribes, who fought as light cavalry on the side of the Turks, and the Abu Dir Diraye Arabs, who were ready to fight on any side that promised the most booty. For religious reasons their priests urged the Arabs to fight against the infidels, but the Britons had enjoyed considerable prestige in Mesopotamia; thousands of Arabs calling themselves English subjects and claiming the help of the British Consul in Bagdad when they were in difficulties.

A fighting league with the great federation of Beni Lam was greatly to be desired by the British, for it would enable them to use freely a considerable stretch of the Tigris, and secure safety from attack from both banks. The Beni Lam by siding with the English, whose recent victories had not failed to impress them, hoped to gain new grazing territory from their rivals who fought with the Turks, so an alliance was formed and ratified by the Sheiks of the confederation, and Sir John Nixon, Commander in Chief; Sir Percy Cox, British Resident in the Persian Gulf, and General Townshend commanding the troops at Amara.

The British were under no illusions regarding the Arab character, having learned from some bitter experiences just how much the wily nomads were to be trusted. As long as the British were victorious they might count on the Arabs' allegiance, but in case of defeat he was more than likely to turn about and fight with the enemy. The alliance between the British and the Beni Lam Arabs was of problematic value, but it was worth while under the circumstances. It was better to secure their friendship even temporarily, for the Arabs had been a constant source of trouble from the time the British Expeditionary Force entered Mesopotamia. Fighting to them was a pastime rather than a serious business, and whenever the struggle became deadly they would very likely disappear. A veritable nuisance to the British force were the Arabs who hung around the skirts of the expeditionary force and amused themselves by reckless sniping.

Conflicts with mounted bands offered no difficulties, for having no artillery they would disappear among the dunes to be located later by British aeroplanes, and could then be hunted down by columns of infantry. When aeroplanes were not available, it was impossible to follow their movements. Having perfect mounts they could afford to laugh at a cavalry charge.

"They would simply melt away into thin air," wrote an officer at the front, who had led a charge against these sons of the desert. "They are a quaint mixture," he adds: "some of them being distinctly gallant fellows, but the greater part are curs and jackals and will never take you on unless they are at least three, or four, to your one. Incidentally, they have the pleasant habit of turning on the Turks (for whom they are nominally fighting) and looting and harassing them as soon as they (the Turks) take the knock from us, and as a consequence the Turk does not much care about having a real scrap with us."

Sometimes the Arabs led the British into desert wastes where they could get water from hidden springs known only to themselves, and where the British soldier, who literally traveled on his water bottle, suffered tortures from thirst under a heat that dried up the blood in his veins. In some of these attempts to round up Bedouin marauders the British lost a number of men because the water supply gave out. These conditions will explain why in so many dispatches sent by General Townshend from the front, it was stated that he had to fall back on the Tigris because his troops lacked water. In such parts of the country where it was possible to employ armed motor cars and even the best Arabian steed could be run down, the Bedouins found their old tactics of little account and were inspired with a wholesome fear of the British soldier. Portable wireless apparatus used by airmen and troops, and scouting aeroplanes, made difficulties for the elusive Bedouins whose methods of desert warfare had not changed in centuries. So it happened that in proportion as British fighting methods and British resources became known and feared by the Arab in Mesopotamia he grew more and more wary of running into danger, unless the odds were altogether in his favor. What the German and Turkish officers endured from their Arab allies will probably never be known, but on more than one occasion when the British won a victory and the Turks were in retreat, the Arabs were active in despoiling the fugitives and then made off with their loot, and with the new rifles and equipment they had been supplied with by the Turks or Germans.

Being accomplished robbers, the Arabs were constantly making raids on British stores under cover of the night and were generally successful. On one occasion a party of eight got by the pickets and crawled into the regimental slaughterhouse. But they had not counted on modern science. There were mines planted outside the door and every Arab who was a robber was killed.



CHAPTER LII

ADVANCE TOWARD BAGDAD—BATTLE OF KUT-EL-AMARA

The advance toward Bagdad was begun in the middle of September, 1915, but owing to the constantly changing conditions in the bed of the Tigris, which hindered the progress of vessels, and the necessity for constant reconnaissances of the river region, it was not until the last of the month that the British force, consisting of only four brigades, reached the vicinity of Kut-el-Amara.

Nuredin Pasha's troops occupied a strong position near the Kut, with carefully constructed intrenchments protected by large areas of barbed-wire entanglements and supported by considerable heavy artillery. The British camp was about ten miles away from the Turkish position. They were weaker in men and in guns than the enemy. The heat was overpowering. The British lost some men on the way to this camp and others continued to drop out from heat exhaustion.

On September 23, 1915, two British brigades advanced to within sight of the Turkish tents, while their principal camp was pitched on the south bank of the Tigris. The British steamers took up a position between the two armies in readiness to shatter a surprise attack. It was discovered when the two brigades made a demonstration against the enemy on September 25, 1915, that the Turks had thoroughly mined all the southern bank of the river, which caused the British commander to alter his plans of attack.

On the night of September 27, 1915, the two brigades, leaving their tents standing to deceive the Turks, crossed the Tigris by a flying bridge. It is said that this dummy camp which a Turkish division was facing was the direct cause that enabled the British to win a victory. If the Turks had concentrated all their forces on the north bank of the river the British attack would undoubtedly have failed. It was the absence of the division facing the empty tents from the real battle field that caused them to lose the day.

In order to understand the magnitude of the British victory it is necessary to describe the seemingly impregnable character of the Turkish defenses. There were twelve miles of defenses across the river at right angles to its general direction at this point—six miles to the right and six miles to the left. The works on the right bank had been strengthened by the existence of an old water cut. The banks at this point were from ten to twenty feet high and afforded excellent facilities for viewing the deployment of troops advancing to attack. A strong redoubt on the extreme right opposed any flank movement that might be attempted in that direction. On the left bank the line of defenses was separated by a heavy marsh about two miles wide, so that from the left bank of the river there were, first, two miles of trenches, then two miles of marsh, and then two miles of defenses. It was evident that much labor had been expended in preparing these defenses, showing the skilled hand of German engineers. Each section of the successive lines of trenches was connected by an intricate network of communication trenches. Along these complete lines of water pipes had been laid.

It was known that the Turkish army holding this strong position had been largely reenforced by the arrival of fresh troops from Nasiriyeh, and the Turkish commander in chief, Nuredin Pasha, may well have believed that victory would crown his arms that day and that the British expeditionary force would be annihilated. There was no lack of confidence in the British camp either, though it was known that the Turks were vastly superior in numbers to their own army. For, despite some hard lessons learned from the enemy, the British soldier considers himself a superior fighter to the Turk, and is always eager for an opportunity to prove it.

If the Turks had made their position almost impregnable on land, they had neglected nothing to prevent the British from gaining any advantage on the Tigris. The river was blocked at different points by lines of sunken dhows, while across the water, and a little above it, was stretched a great wire cable. Special care had been taken to protect the Turkish guns from being destroyed. Each one of them was placed in such position that nothing less than a direct hit by a howitzer shell could damage it.

On September 26, 27, and 28, 1915, a column under General Fry, by ceaseless effort day and night, had managed to work its way up to within four hundred yards of the Turkish barbed-wire entanglements, round what was known from its shape as the Horseshoe Marsh. The troops went forward slowly under continual shell fire and hail of rifle bullets, digging themselves in as they advanced. The British guns in the open could not check the Turkish artillery, which increased in intensity as the British troops continued to advance. The nature of the ground was decidedly to the advantage of the attackers, for at intervals there were deep, firm-bottomed trenches that afforded excellent cover. If the Turks had been provided with good ammunition the British would have lost vastly more men than they did. It is said that the Turkish shrapnel was of such poor quality that the British troops passed unscathed through it, only being wounded when they were hit by cases and fuses. All told, the British suffered ninety casualties in this attack on the enemy round the Horseshoe Marsh. The main object of this operation was to hold the Turkish attention at a point where they hoped to be attacked while more important work was going forward elsewhere.

A second column under General Delamain, which had crossed the Tigris from the south side, marched all night of September 27, 1915, and reached their new attacking position on a neck of dry land between two marshes where the Turks were intrenched at five o'clock in the morning of September 28, 1915. Advancing cautiously for a mile between the two marshes, Delamain's column came in sight of the enemy's intrenchments. Before the fight opened General Townshend directed General Houghton to lead a detachment of Delamain's force around the marsh to the north and make a flank attack on the Turkish intrenchments. That Nuredin Pasha should have left his northern flank exposed to a turning movement appeared to some of the British officers at the time as a piece of incredible stupidity; but it developed afterward that the Turkish commander knew perfectly well what he was about. The open road around the marsh was a skillfully prepared trap. A carefully concealed Turkish brigade that had escaped the observations of the British airmen lay behind the ridges near the most northern marsh. But the Turkish surprise did not come off as they expected, for General Houghton's column moved forward so swiftly through the dark around the marsh that, at 8.20 a. m., he was ready to send a wireless message to his superior officer announcing that he had reached the left rear of the Turkish lines. Everything now being ready for a general attack, General Townshend proceeded to give battle. Since sunrise on September 27, 1915, the fleet on the river, consisting of armed steamers, tugboats, launches, etc., had been firing on the main Turkish position. Attempts made by H. M. S. Comet, leading a flotilla to get in near to the shore at the bend of the river and bombard the Turks at close range, were a failure. For the enemy quickly noted this movement and dropped shells so fast on the British vessels that they were compelled to retire. Some boats had been struck by Turkish shells, but the damages were not serious. Later some armed launches were able to creep near to the Turkish field batteries, and about noon their guns were silenced and the gunners killed or dispersed. The British shore batteries did some effective work, but the Turks succeeded in getting in one shot that killed two gunners and wounded a number of others. It was the only shot, and the last, that caused any British loss of life.

During most of the long hot day General Fry's brigade occupied a position in front of the Horseshoe Marsh, subjected to a constant shower of shells from quick-firing guns. It was evident that the enemy artillery was manned by Germans, for the firing showed speed and accuracy. It was an advantage to the British that the enemy had no airmen to scout and spot for them, and consequently there were few casualties as the result of the almost continuous deluge of shells poured forth by the Turkish guns. Early in the morning the Turks discovered that the British camp was a dummy, and a division crossing the Tigris by means of a flying bridge dashed into the fight. A counterattack was made against General Delamain by the greater part of this fresh division.

The British column which was operating between what were known as the Suwada Marsh and Circular Marsh started its assault between eight and nine o'clock in the morning. The British had concentrated all their available artillery between the marshes, and under the protection of the guns and the supporting fire of Maxims and musketry a double company of the 117th Mahrattas made a headlong charge on the Turkish trenches. The daring Indians suffered great losses, not more than half the number who had set out reaching the Turkish trenches, into which they dashed intrepidly and bayoneted their way along them, causing heavy losses to the enemy. A double company of Second Dorsets was now sent against the Turkish trenches, and after meeting with desperate resistance they succeeded in entering the enemy's deeply dug line. The rest of the battalion followed a little later, joining their comrades in the captured position.

General Houghton's leading troops now came into action around the rear of the Circular Marsh. The Turks' northern flank had been stormed, but they still held desperately to their southern flank, from which they poured a devastating stream of shells against the British troops that caused many casualties.

General Houghton's troops had had little rest since the previous day, but they were cheered by the prospect of success, and with the Oxfords leading they entered the fight, and after four hours of continuous struggle surrounded and destroyed or captured the enemy force. The Turkish troops, concealed in deep ditches protected from the scorching rays of the sun by grass matting, fought on with dogged determination and were with difficulty dislodged. The British troops exposed to the pitiless heat, and exhausted from lack of sleep and from having had no water since the previous day, suffered terribly and could not possibly have held out much longer if the Turkish resistance had not collapsed.

General Delamain, commanding the victorious columns, had made a night march from the dummy camp on the Tigris, and his soldiers and horses also suffered from thirst, having been forced into action before it was possible to renew the water supply.

In the afternoon of the same day, September 28, 1915, General Houghton's exhausted troops were furiously attacked by the Turkish division that had crossed the Tigris at nine o'clock in the morning, while a force of Turkish cavalry at the same time attempted an outflanking charge.

The British troops beat off the Turkish horsemen and infantry and endeavored to reach the river, which was over a mile to the rear of the Turkish intrenched forces at Horseshoe Marsh. Exhausted with weariness, consumed by a feverish thirst, the gallant troops were swept by showers of shrapnel from heavy Turkish batteries stationed near the Kut just when they were nearing the longed-for river that promised relief for their sufferings. It was impossible for them to continue in that unprotected position, and reluctantly the troops turned back from the inviting waterway and struggled back to the Suwada Marsh, where General Delamain's force was concentrated. The filthy marsh water was undrinkable, but it could be used to cool the superheated jackets of the guns and thus keep them in a condition for action. After nearly fourteen hours of continuous fighting and marching the troops at last had an opportunity to take a short and much-needed rest.

At 5 p. m. a wireless message was received from General Townshend ordering a combined attack on the Turkish lines around Horseshoe Marsh. General Delamain's column was ordered to move forward to the rear of the enemy's position, while General Fry's column, which had been moving toward the Turkish center, was directed to hold back until Delamain had reached the appointed place.

Behind Nuredin Pasha's main position the two brigades under General Delamain and General Houghton, skirting the Suwada Marsh, struggled once more to gain the river. Suddenly, out of the dust clouds that obscured the view for any distance, appeared a Turkish column about a mile to the west marching almost parallel with the British force, but a little behind it. It is related by one who was present that this sudden appearance of the enemy so close at hand, and marching in the open, had such a stimulating and heartening effect on the exhausted and thirst-stricken British troops that they forgot for a time all about the river toward which they were eagerly pressing, and, dashing forward, charged the Turks with the bayonet and routed them before they had time to recover from their surprise or could fire more than a few wild shots. The British captured all the enemy guns and pursued the enemy fleeing toward the river, shooting them down as they scattered, and only ceasing their destructive work when darkness fell and the few living Turks had escaped over their bridge of boats on the river.

The combat here had not lasted more than an hour, and the British brigades, now that the excitement was over, were too exhausted to proceed any farther and bivouacked on the ground near the scene of their victory.

It was hopeless now to attempt to continue the encircling movement, which was started at five o'clock, owing to the darkness and the condition of the men. Some time during the night Nuredin Pasha, having evacuated his fortified position, moved his troops across the Tigris to the southern bank and, by forced marches, reached Shat-el-Hai. From there he proceeded to Azizie, where, for the defense of Bagdad, extensive fortifications had been constructed. It was evident from the rapidity of his movements that the Turkish commander was afraid of being overtaken by the British forces, for in two days he had marched his men sixty-five miles toward Bagdad.

The Turkish forces made good their retreat, and so General Townshend, who had accomplished some remarkable successes at the beginning of the battle, was deprived of a decisive victory. He had evidently planned the battle on the impulse of the moment and when it was impossible to secure an adequate water supply. His men fought with courage and determination, but tormented by thirst and worn out from loss of sleep it was physically impossible for them to accomplish more than they did. It was a bitter blow to General Townshend that the Turks had been able to retreat in good order. The importance of such a victory could not be overestimated. It meant the conquering of entire Mesopotamia as far as Bagdad, and the moral effect of such a success on the Arabs and tribesmen would have greatly raised British prestige in that region.

An attempt was made to give chase to the fleeing Turks on the river during the night, when Lieutenant Commander Cookson, the senior naval officer, with his ship, the destroyer Comet, and several other smaller vessels set out after them. The Turks fired on the boats from the shore, and the Comet, which had steamed in close to the bank, was assailed with hand grenades by the enemy. A strong, thick wire had been stretched across the river, attached to sunken dhows, and it became necessary to remove these obstructions before an advance could be made. A vivid description of the heroic death of Lieutenant Commander Edgar Christopher Cookson, D. S. O., R. N., who won the Victoria Cross for his bravery at this time, is given in a letter home by one of his crew of the destroyer Comet: "Just as it was getting dark our seaplane dropped on the water alongside of us and told Lieutenant Commander Cookson that the Turks were on the run, but that a little farther up the river they had placed obstructions across, so that we could not pass without clearing it away. This turned out to be the liveliest time that I have had since we began fighting. It was very dark when we started off, the Comet leading, and the Shaitan and Sumana following. When we got around the head of land the Turks opened fire with rifles, but we steamed up steadily to the obstruction. The Turks were then close enough to us to throw hand bombs, but luckily none reached the deck of our ship.

"During all this time we weren't asleep. We fired at them with guns and rifles, and the Shaitan and Sumana were also blazing away. Our troops ashore said it was a lively sight to see all our guns working.

"We found that the obstruction was a big wire across the river, with boats made fast to it. An attempt to sink the center dhow of the obstruction by gunfire having failed, Lieutenant Commander Cookson ordered the Comet to be placed alongside and himself jumped on to the dhow with an ax and tried to cut the wire hawsers connecting it with two other craft forming the obstruction. He was shot in seven places and when we dragged him over his last words were: 'I am done; it is a failure. Return at full speed!' He never spoke afterward. We had six wounded, but none seriously."

The adventure which had cost the British the loss of a brave officer was not a failure, as this writer concludes: "We must have frightened the Turks, because on going up the river again about daybreak (after we had buried our commander) we found the Turks had cleared out and retired farther up the river. So we steamed up after them and when we reached Kut-el-Amara we found the army there." The friendly but keen rivalry that existed between the two services is amusingly shown in the sea-man's final comment, "This is the first place that the army has got ahead of the navy."

A little later the gunboats were ordered to pursue the fleeing Turks. The Shaitan and the Sumana grounded on uncharted mud banks and were unable to proceed, but the Comet continued on its way and forced the Turks to leave several dhows behind them laden with military stores, provisions, and ammunition.

Kut-el-Amara, the Arab town which General Townshend was to make famous in history, was occupied by the British troops on September 11, 1915. It is situated on a bend of the Tigris and is 120 miles from Bagdad by road, and 220 miles by water. The retreating Turkish army made a stand a little to the west of Azizi, which is forty miles to Bagdad by road and about four times that distance by water. The object of the Turks in taking up a position at this place, it was discovered later, was to enable their engineers to prepare near Bagdad the most elaborate and scientifically arranged system of fortifications that had so far been constructed in Mesopotamia.

When the British Expeditionary Force began to threaten the "City of the Caliphs," it was evident that the Turks had found it possible to extend the Bagdad railway line, by means of which Nuredin Pasha received fresh troops to reenforce his army, brought hurriedly down out of Syria. For when the British force reached Azizi on October 13, 1915, it was known that the Turkish commander had recently received some thousands of fresh troops. Their presence in that part of Mesopotamia, at that time, could only be explained on the ground that with the aid of German engineers the Turks had been enabled to complete railway communications, an important fact that seems to have been unsuspected by the British military authorities, and which might lead to serious consequences for the already outnumbered British force. Until the beginning of November General Townshend's division remained here, part of the Turkish force being intrenched about four miles up the river. While it was expected that at any hour the Turks would attack, they did not attempt the offensive with any strong force, but skirmishes between the opposing troops were of frequent and almost daily occurrence. The British infantry were busy many days digging intrenchments, and every preparation was made by the British general to make his position impregnable. With shore batteries and a number of armed steamers and armored boats on the river, it was hoped that the Turks would make a grand attack. Why they did not when they had four times the number of men as the British was inexplainable. Some such move was necessary if they hoped to restore the confidence of their Arab allies, which was said to be wavering. The recent British victory had, perhaps, made the Turkish commander doubtful of his troops, for no serious offensive against the British position was attempted.

About the middle of October, 1915, General Townshend received some reenforcements who had fought their way along the river, constantly harassed by Bedouins and hostile tribesmen, reaching the British position in a thoroughly exhausted condition. Even with the arrival of the reenforcements General Townshend's force numbered little more than a complete division, and a small reserve. During the stay at Azizi it was rumored that a large contingent of troops was on its way from India to strengthen the force at this place.

As time passed and nothing more was heard of these promised reenforcements the small British army settled down with grim determination to make the best of their situation, but there was a general feeling among them that the Government had not acted fairly by them in not sending help. It was evident that the Indian and British Governments were imperfectly informed as to the strength of the enemy's forces and of the means whereby they could fill up the ranks when depleted by battle. This is the only explanation or excuse that could be made. At no time did General Townshend's force number more than four brigades, which, under the circumstances, was wholly inadequate to accomplish the conquest of Bagdad.

General Townshend being thrown on his own resources proceeded to act with extreme caution, for the whole fate of the British Expeditionary Force hung in the balance. It was not a time to take venturesome risks, for he could not spare a man. The Turks, fortunately, showed no disposition to attack in force, but they resorted to methods of guerrilla warfare.

The Turks had only left one brigade to hold their advanced position, the remainder joining the forces established in the new fortifications near Bagdad.

The rear guard remaining near Azizi did not allow the British to forget their presence. They were well equipped with guns and at frequent intervals sent shells into the British camp without, however, doing much damage. Along the river they were strong enough to hold back the British gunboats. For a time General Townshend pursued the policy of watchful waiting, but one dark night toward the close of October, 1915, the opportunity arrived for an operation which promised success. Two brigades were sent out to make a long detour, with the object of getting behind the Turkish position. This, it was expected, would take most of the night. At sunrise it was proposed that another brigade should make a frontal attack on the enemy. The Turks, however, were not to be caught napping. Their outposts, far flung into the desert, soon gave warning of the attempted British enveloping movement, and they were in full retreat with most of their stores and guns before the British force could reach their main position. The Turkish retreat in the face of superior numbers was the logical thing to do under the circumstances, and from the manner in which the movement was conducted it was evident that it had been prepared for in advance. The brigades of British and Indian troops that had been sent forward to make a frontal attack on the Turkish position now embarked on the miscellaneous flotilla of boats on the river to pursue the retreating foe. The attempt was not successful, for, owing to the condition of the river which abounded in mud banks not down on the chart, the British boats were constantly sticking fast in the mud or grounding on shoals. Such slow progress was made that the pursuit, if such it could be called, was abandoned.

British seaplanes and aeroplanes meanwhile had been scouting around Bagdad and keeping a watchful eye on the Turkish lines of communication that extended up the river toward the Caucasus heights, and across the desert in the direction of Syria. The difficult task set before the small British force was to break its way through to Bagdad, where it was hoped it would be joined by the advanced columns of the Russian army in the Caucasus. Early in November, 1915, General Townshend knew that a Russian advanced column was rapidly forcing its way down the border of Persia by Lake Urumiah. In a more southerly direction a second column was on the march to the city of Hamadan, 250 miles from Bagdad. It was hoped that the small British force would smash the Turks at Bagdad and the Germano-Persian Gendarmes Corps be vanquished at Hamadan, after which it would be no difficult task for the troops of Sir John Nixon to link up with the army of the Grand Duke Nicholas. These far too sanguine hopes were not destined to be fulfilled.



CHAPTER LIII

BATTLE OF CTESIPHON

General Townshend having captured the village of Jeur on November 19, 1915, marched against Nuredin Pasha's main defenses which had been constructed near the ruins of Ctesiphon, eighteen miles from Bagdad. Ctesiphon at the present time is a large village on the Tigris, once a suburb of ancient Seleucia, and the winter capital of the Parthian kings. The vicinity is of great historic interest. About thirteen centuries ago Chosroes, the great Persian emperor, erected a vast and splendid palace, said to be the greatest on earth in that period, and of which the ruins are still standing near the marshy edge of the river. Neither the ravages of time, nor the devastations of the destructive Mongols who swept the country in ages past could obliterate this palatial memorial to the genius of Persian architects. The ruins of the palace at Ctesiphon contain the greatest vaulted room in the world, and its battered walls, grand in decay, stand to-day an enduring monument to the invincible power of Islam in the days of Mohammed. For one of the first of the well-known achievements of the army of the Arabian prophet was the capture of Ctesiphon and the burning and despoiling of the palace of the Persian kings.



Nuredin Pasha was well aware when he selected his defensive position near the ruins of this memorial to the valor of Islam in ancient days, that every Turk, Arab, and tribesman of his troops was familiar with the story, and he doubtless hoped that its memory might inspire the descendants of the Prophet's army to fresh deeds of valor for the honor of Islam.

Around this ruin the Turks had constructed their position, on the right bank of the river and on the left. For miles around the country was perfectly flat and devoid of cover of any description. A network of deep and narrow trenches stretched back to within a short distance of the River Dialah, six miles to the rear, which flows into the Tigris at this point. The earth from the trenches had been carried to the rear, and there were no embankments or parapets of any kind. Along the entire front a thick barbed-wire fence had been set up.

The hard-fought action at Ctesiphon must rank as one of the greatest battles in which the Indo-British army has ever been engaged. The troops were in an emaciated condition through constant fighting, first in excessively hot weather, and afterward suffering intensely from the cold, which made the nights unendurable at this time of the year in Mesopotamia. In such a physically weakened condition did the Indo-British troops engage the vastly stronger forces of Nuredin Pasha at Ctesiphon. An officer who participated in the battle describes in a letter home some of the striking incidents of that important action.

"Morning of the 22d of November, 1915, found the troops in readiness to attack, stretched out on the wide plain facing the Ctesiphon position, the troops detailed for the frontal attack nearest the river. As soon as dawn broke the advance commenced. The left of the columns marching against the enemy's flank were faintly visible on the horizon. The gunboats opened fire against the enemy's trenches close to the left bank. The field artillery drew in and pounded the ground where they imagined the trenches must be, but there was no reply, nor any sound of movement at Ctesiphon until the lines of advancing infantry got within 2,000 yards of the wire entanglements. Then, as by signal, the whole of the Turkish line broke into a roar of fire, and we knew that the struggle had commenced.

"Under the heavy artillery fire the attack pushed in toward the enemy with a steadiness which could not have been beaten on parade until effective rifle range was reached, where a pause was made to build up the strength. The fight for the trenches from now on until the British succeeded in reaching the first line of trenches baffles description. The gallant advance across the open ground, the building up of the firing line, the long pause under murderous rifle fire, while devoted bodies of men went forward to cut the wire, the final rush and the hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches, are stories which have been told before. No description could do justice to the gallantry of the men who carried it out.

"Meanwhile, the flank attack had crushed the enemy's left and driven it back on its second line a mile or so to the rear. Courage and determination carried the day, and by the afternoon the whole of the front Turkish position, and part of the second line was in the hands of the British. The intensity of the fighting, however, did not abate. The Turks pressed in counterattacks at several points from their second position on which they had fallen back. Twelve Turkish guns were captured, taken again by the enemy, recaptured by the British, and retaken finally by the Turks, and so the fighting went on until a merciful darkness fell, and, as if by mutual agreement, the fire of both sides, too weary for more, died away."

Nuredin Pasha's forces were numerically far superior to the British. General Townshend had only four brigades, while the Turkish commander had four divisions, and was much stronger in artillery.

The Turkish commander, who was well informed as to the strength or weakness of the British force, may well have looked forward to an easy victory. But the many successes gained by British arms during the campaign in Mesopotamia had not failed to impress the Turkish troops and the tribesmen, their allies, with a wholesome respect for British valor. If General Townshend had been reenforced by another division that might easily have been spared to him from the army that had been in training in India for ten months previous, he could have smashed the Turks at Ctesiphon and conquered Mesopotamia. As it was, the British victory was all but complete. An entire Turkish division was destroyed. They took 1,600 prisoners and large quantities of arms and ammunition. But these successes had been dearly won. Some of the British battalions lost half their men. According to the best authorities the British casualties totaled 4,567, of whom 643 were killed, 3,330 wounded, and 594 men not accounted for. According to the Turkish accounts of the Battle of Ctesiphon, which emanated from Constantinople, the British had 170,000 men in action, and their losses exceeded 5,000. This estimate of General Townshend's strength was far from the truth. At no time did the British commander's troops number more than 25,000, and 16,000 men would be a liberal estimate of his striking force.

A graphic description of what followed the battle is furnished by a letter home, written by an officer who participated in the struggle.

"The cold of the night, want of water, the collecting of the wounded, gave little rest to the men, though many snatched a few hours' sleep in the trenches among the dead. Dawn of November 23, 1915, broke with a tearing wind and a dust storm which obscured the landscape for some hours, and then the air, becoming clearer, allowed us to take in the scene of the fight. Whatever losses we suffered the Turks must have suffered even more severely. They had fought desperately to the end, knowing that to attempt to escape over the open ground was to court instant death. The trenches were full of their dead, and here and there a little pile of men showed where a lucky shell had fallen. Ctesiphon loomed through the dust before us, still intact for all the stream of shell which had passed it, for our gunners had been asked not to hit the ancient monument.

"The early part of the morning was occupied in clearing to the rear the transport which had come up to the first line during the night. At about ten o'clock the air cleared and the enemy's artillery began to boom fitfully. Their guns from across the river began to throw heavy shells over us, and as the light grew better it developed into an artillery duel which lasted throughout the day. General Townshend during the afternoon parked his transport two miles to the rear, and while holding the front line of the Turkish position swung his right back to cover his park. In the late afternoon the artillery fire briskened, and long lines of Turkish infantry could be seen in the half light advancing against the British. The first attack was delivered against our left just after dark with a heavy burst of fire, and from then until four o'clock the next morning the Turkish force, strengthened by fresh troops that had arrived from Bagdad, flung themselves against us and attempted to break the line. On three separate occasions during the night were infantry columns thrown right up against the position at different points, and each effort was heralded by wild storms of artillery and infantry fire. The line held, and before dawn had broken the Turks had withdrawn, subsequently to re-form on their third position on the banks of the Dialah River."

By November 24, 1915, the casualties had been evacuated to the ships eight miles to the rear. The British force remained on the position which they had won for another day and then withdrew toward Kut-el-Amara.

General Townshend's force reached the Kut on or about December 5, 1915, having fought some rear-guard actions on the way, and lost several hundred men. The news had been skillfully spread about the country that the Turks had won a great victory at Ctesiphon, in proof of which it was known that the British were retreating, and that the Turkish forces were in pursuit. These facts had the usual effect on the Arabs, who had been friendly to the British, and who now deserted them to join forces with the Turks. For the wily nomads are ever ready to go over to the side which seems to be winning, for then there is promise of much loot. There is no profit in aiding lost causes or the weaker side.

An officer describing General Townshend's retreat on Kut-el-Amara through a country swarming with hostile Arabs has this to say: "It speaks well for the spirit of the troops under his command that, in the face of overwhelming numbers the retirement was carried out with cheerfulness and steadiness beyond all praise, and not even the prisoners, of whom 1,600 had been captured at Ctesiphon, were allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy. The country around is perfectly flat, covered with short grass or shrub, though here and there old irrigation channels make it difficult for carts or motor cars to negotiate. The operations above the Kut were carried out by land, though ships bore an important part in bringing up supplies and the thousand and one things required by an army in the field. An enemy report was published to the effect that the Turks had captured one of our armored trains. It will not be giving away a military secret when I say that no railway of any sort exists south of Bagdad."

How closely General Townshend was pressed by the enemy in his retreat to Kut-el-Amara is evident from an officer's letter: "We found the Turks in camps sitting all around us. We had to fight a rear-guard action all day and marched twenty-seven miles before we halted. After lying down for two or three hours, we marched on fifteen miles more to within four miles of the Kut. Here we had to stop for a time because the infantry were too tired to move."



CHAPTER LIV

STAND AT KUT-EL-AMARA—ATTEMPTS AT RELIEF

Kut-el-Amara, where General Townshend and his troops were so long besieged, stands on the left bank of the Tigris, almost at the water's level, with sloping sand hills rising to the north. The desert beyond the river is broken here and there by deep nullahs which, when they are filled with water after a rainfall, are valuable defensive features of the country. Five miles from the town, and surrounding it on all sides but the waterside, is a series of field forts of no great value against heavy artillery. Had the Turks been equipped with large guns such as the Germans employed in Europe these fortifications would have been shattered to pieces in a few hours. But the forts proved useful.

The spaces between them were filled with strong barbed-wire entanglements and carefully prepared intrenchments. To the southeast the position was further strengthened by a wide marshy district that lies just outside the fortified line. General Townshend was holding a position that was about fifteen miles in circumference, to adequately protect which it would have been necessary for him to have twice as many men as were at his disposal. For one of the lessons that has been learned in the Great War is that 5,000 men, including reserves, are required to the mile to properly defend a position. General Townshend's occupation of the Kut was therefore precarious, and he could only hope to hold out until the arrival of reenforcements which had been held back by the Turks when they were within sight of the British general's position.

The Turkish success in checking the British advance and in bottling up General Townshend's troops in Kut-el-Amara had inspired them with hope and courage and the town was subjected to almost constant bombardment. Confident of the outcome the Turks fought with considerable bravery.

It was known to the Turks that reenforcements had been sent to the relief of the British commander, and they hoped to capture the Kut before these arrived. On December 8, 1915, they shelled the British position all day; the bombardment was continued on the 9th and they made some desultory attacks on all sides. From the British point of view the attitude of the Arabs at this time was satisfactory. General Townshend received encouraging news that a relieving force was pushing its way rapidly to his aid.

On December 10, 1915, the Kut was again heavily bombarded by the Turks and an attack was developed against the northern front of the position, which however was not pressed. On the day following the bombardment was continued. Two attacks made on the northern front of the British position were repulsed, the enemy losing many men.

December 11, 1915, the bombardment was renewed. The Turks reported the capture of Sheik Saad on the line of retreat, twenty-five miles east of the Kut. They also gave out a statement that the British had lost 700 men in this fight.

Heavy musketry fire marked the Turkish offensive on December 12, 1915. They attacked on the same day a river village on the right bank of the Tigris, but were repulsed with heavy casualties. It was estimated by the British commander that the Turks lost at least 1,000 men during this abortive attack.

British losses at the Kut since their return totaled 1,127, including 200 deaths, 49 from disease. Reenforcements were constantly joining the Turkish besieging army, and it was estimated that in the first weeks of December, 1915, they had been strengthened by 20,000 men. Every day the enemy's ring of steel became stronger, while the British were in such a position that if the Kut became untenable they could not retreat with any hope of success. If forced out into the open, there would be nothing left for them to do but surrender.

A sortie of British and Indian troops was made on December 17, 1915, who surprised the enemy in the advanced trenches, killed 30, and took 11 prisoners and returned without suffering any casualties.

On or about this date, on the Sinai Peninsula, a British reconnoitering party routed a hostile band of Arabs near Matruh, losing 15 men killed and 15 wounded, 3 of whom were officers. The Arabs had 35 killed and 17 taken prisoners.

On December 24, 1915, the Turks having made a breach in the north bastion of one of the Kut forts succeeded in forcing their way in, but were repulsed, leaving 200 dead. On Christmas Day there was fierce fighting again at this point, when the Turks once more entered through the breach and were driven out with heavy losses.

The garrison consisting of the Oxford Light Infantry and the 103d, being reenforced by the Norfolk Regiment and 104th Pioneers, drove the Turks back over their second line of trenches and reoccupied the bastion. The total British losses in the fighting on Christmas Day were 71 killed, of whom three were officers, one missing, and 309 wounded. It was estimated that the enemy lost about 700.

The Turks continued to bombard the Kut almost hourly, but the only serious damage effected by their fire was when on December 30, 1915, shells burst through the roof of the British hospital and wounded a few men.

General Aylmer's leading troops under General Younghusband of the British force sent to relieve the besieged army at the Kut left Ali Gherbi on January 4, 1916. Following up both banks of the Tigris, British cavalry came in contact with the enemy on the following day. These advanced Turkish troops were on the right bank of the river and few in number, but farther on at Sheik Saad, the enemy in considerable strength occupied both sides of the river. On January 6, 1916, the British infantry attacked and then dug itself in in front of the Turkish position on the right bank. In the morning of the following day by adroit maneuvering, the British cavalry succeeded in getting around to the rear of the enemy's trenches on the right bank and destroyed nearly a whole battalion, taking over 550 prisoners.

Among the number of captives were sixteen officers. Several mountain guns were also taken. The British casualties were heavy, especially among the infantry.

The remainder of General Aylmer's force having advanced from Ali Gherbi, January 6, 1916, fought a simultaneous action on the left bank of the river while the action on the right bank just described was in progress.

Early in the afternoon of this day the British forces were subjected to heavy rifle and Maxim fire from the Turkish trenches 1,200 yards away. The hazy, dusty atmosphere made it difficult to see with any accuracy the enemy's defenses. Their numerous trenches were most carefully concealed. Toward evening the Turkish cavalry attempted an enveloping move against the British right, but coming under the fire of the British artillery, that move failed. Finding the resistance of the Turkish infantry too strong, the British troops abandoned any further offensive and intrenched in the positions they had won. Later in the evening the Turks suddenly evacuated their defenses and retired. A heavy rainfall hindered the British commander from pursuing, and a stop was made at Sheik Saad to enable him to get his wounded away. The Turks finding that General Aylmer did not pursue, fell back on Es Sinn, from which they had been ousted by General Townshend in September of the previous year. The Turkish version of the Battle of Sheik Saad estimated the British losses at 3,000.

On January 12, 1916, the Turks advanced from Es Sinn to the Wadi, a stream that flows into the Tigris about twenty-four miles from Kut-el-Amara. Here the British relieving force came in touch with the enemy on January 13, 1916, and a hotly contested struggle ensued that lasted all day long. The British force consisted of three divisions. One of these, occupying a position on the south bank of the Tigris, was being opposed by a column under General Kemball. On the northern bank General Aylmer's troops engaged two divisions in the neighborhood of the Wadi.

On January 14, 1916, the Turkish army began a general retreat and General Aylmer moved his headquarters and transport forward to the mouth of the Wadi. On the day following the whole of the Wadi position was captured by the British relieving force, and the Turkish rear guard again took up a position at Es Sinn. It was reported that German officers were with the Turkish force.

Further military operations against the Turks were delayed by storms of great violence that continued for about ten days. General Aylmer found it impossible to move his troops through the heavy mire, and not until January 21, 1916, could he advance and attack the Turks who after their retreat occupied a position near Felahie, about twenty-three miles from Kut-el-Amara. Here a brisk engagement was fought in the midst of torrents of rain that greatly hindered operations. The struggle was indecisive. Owing to the floods, General Aylmer could not attack on the following day, but took up a position about 1,300 yards from the enemy's trenches.

Mr. Edmund Candler, the well-known English writer, who was with the British troops operating on the Tigris, furnishes some striking details of the engagement. His picturesque description of what took place at this point in General Aylmer's advance to relieve the besieged army at the Kut, shows the desperate character of the Turkish resistance:

"The Turks were holding a strong position between the left bank of the Tigris and the Suweki Marsh, four miles out of our camp. It was a bottle-neck position, with a mile and a half of front: there was no getting around them, and the only way was to push through.

"We intrenched in front of them. On January 20, 1916, we bombarded them with all our guns and again on the morning of the 21st preparatory to a frontal attack.

"At dawn the rifle fire began, and the tap-tap-tap of the Maxims, steady and continuous, with vibrations like two men wrestling in an alternate grip, tightening and relaxing." It was not light enough for the gunners to see the registering marks, but at a quarter before eight in the morning the bombardment began. "The thunderous orchestra of the guns shook the earth and rent the skies. Columns of earth rose over the Turkish lines, and pillars of smoke, green and white and brown and yellow, and columns of water, where a stray shell—Turkish no doubt—plunged into the Tigris.

"The enemy lines must have been poor cover, and I was glad we had the bulk of the guns on our side. All this shell fire should have been a covering roof to our advance, but the Turk it appears was not skulking as he ought.

"The B's came by in support and occupied an empty trench. They were laughing and joking, but it was a husky kind of fun, and there was no gladness in it, for everyone knew that we were in for a bloody day. One of them tripped upon a telegraph wire. 'Not wounded yet!' a pal cried. Just then another stumbled to an invisible stroke and did not rise. A man ahead was singing nervously, 'That's not the girl I saw you with at Brighton.'

"I went on to the next trench where a sergeant showed me his bandolier. A sharp-nosed bullet had gone through three rounds of ammunition and stuck in the fourth, during the last rush forward.

"I could conceive of the impulse that carried one over those last two hundred yards—but as an impulse of a lifetime; to most of my friends this kind of thing was becoming their daily bread. The men I was with were mostly a new draft. I could see they were afraid, but they were brave. Word was passed along to advance to the next bit of cover.

"The bombardment had ceased. The rifle and Maxim fire ahead was continuous, like hail on a corrugated roof of iron. The B's would soon be in it. I listened eagerly for some intermission, but it did not relax or recede, and I knew that the Turks must be holding on. The bullets became thicker—an ironic whistle, a sucking noise, a gluck like a snipe leaving mud, the squeal and rattle of shrapnel.

"I found the brigade headquarters. We had got into the Turkish trenches, the general told me, but by that time we were sadly thin, and we had been bombed out. At noon the rain came down, putting the crown upon depression. All day and all night it poured, and one thought of the wounded, shivering in the cold and mud, waiting for help. At night they were brought in on slow, jolting transport carts."

The writer met a boy, the only officer of his regiment who had come out of the trenches alive and unwounded, and who had a bullet through his pocket and another through his helmet. He was in a dazed state of wonder at finding himself still alive.

"It was a miracle that anyone had lived through that fire in the attack and retreat, but the boy had been in the Turkish trenches and held them for an hour and a quarter. Oddments of other regiments had got through, two British and two Indian. I saw their dead being carried out during the truce of the next day."

The boy officer's regiment had been the first to penetrate the enemy's trenches. As he dropped into the trench a comrade next to him was struck in the back of the head and dropped forward on his shoulder. "I saw eight bayonets and rifles all pointing to me," said the boy officer describing his experiences. "I saw the men's faces, and I was desperately scared. I expected to go down in the next two yards. I felt the lead in my stomach. I thought I was done for. I don't know why they didn't fire. They must have been frightened by my sudden appearance. I let off my revolver at them and it kicked up an awful lot of dust."

The British troops that had charged the Turkish trenches were not supplied with bombs, but the enemy were well equipped with them. Consequently the British were gradually driven down the trench from traverse to traverse, in the direction of the river, where they encountered another bombing party that was coming up a trench at right angles. The British were placed in a desperate position, being jammed in densely between these attacks, and literally squeezed over the parapet. In evacuating the trench they were subjected to a deadly fire in which they lost more men than in the attack.



The uniform flatness of the terrain in this region and entire absence of cover for the attacker, whether the movement be frontal or enveloping, was responsible for the heavy losses the British incurred in this engagement. Here there were no protecting villages, hedges, or banks. A swift, headlong rush that could be measured in seconds was impossible under the circumstances. At 2000 yards the British infantry came under rifle fire, and had no communication trenches to curtail the zone of fire. An armistice was concluded on January 21, 1916, for a few hours, to allow for the removal of the wounded and the burial of the dead. In forty-eight hours the Tigris had risen as high as seven feet in some places and the country around was under water, which effectually prevented all movements of troops by land.

General Townshend meanwhile, besieged at Kut-el-Amara, continued cheerfully to repel attacks and to await the arrival of the relieving force. He was well supplied with stores, and there was no fear of a famine. He described his troops at this time as being in the best of spirits. Evidently he was not in a position to be of any assistance to the relieving force, whose advance had been delayed by the storms. At the close of January, 1916, he reported that the enemy had evacuated their trenches on the land side of the Kut defenses, and had retired to a position about a mile away from the British intrenchments.

The floods of January, 1916, were a distinct benefit to General Townshend, for the Turks, intrenched in a loop of the Tigris, were driven out by the deluge and compelled to seek higher ground.

In the first days of February, 1916, Sir Percy Lake, who had succeeded Sir John Nixon to the chief command of the British forces in Mesopotamia, dispatched General Brooking from Nasariyeh with a column up the River Shatt-el-Har, a branch of the Tigris, to make a reconnaissance. On February 7, 1916, on his way back, General Brooking was attacked by hostile Arabs near Butaniyeh. He was also attacked by tribesmen who had been considered friendly to the British and who issued from villages along the route. There was some sharp fighting in which the losses were heavy on both sides. The British had 373 men killed or wounded, while the Arab dead numbered 636. On the 9th a small punitive expedition was sent against the treacherous tribesmen, and four Arab villages were destroyed. The incident offered another striking proof that no dependence could be placed on the faith of the Arabs.

General Aylmer finding, after his failure at Felahie, that his force was too weakened physically to attempt to break through to relieve the beleaguered division at the Kut, decided to intrench in the position then occupied by his troops and to await the reenforcements which were on the way.

On February 17-19, 1916, hostile aeroplanes dropped bombs on the Kut, without doing any damage, General Townshend reported. For two and a half months the British army had been bottled up in this river town, and the Turks had tried every means to dislodge them.

On February 22, 1916, British columns under General Aylmer advanced up the river on the right bank to Um-el-Arak, occupying a position which commanded the Turkish camp behind their trenches at El Henna, a marsh on the left bank. At daybreak the British guns opened a heavy bombardment on the enemy's camp across the Tigris, which at this point makes a sharp bend to the north. The Turks were evidently taken by surprise, for a lively stampede followed.

On March 6, 1916, General Aylmer marched up the Tigris to the Turkish position at Es Sinn, which is only seven miles from Kut-el-Amara. This is a Turkish stronghold and was carried by General Townshend on his way to the Kut. The position had been greatly strengthened since that time, that General Aylmer could hardly have hoped to succeed in driving the enemy out. But the effort had to be made, and resulted in a failure. The enemy lost heavily according to the British accounts, while their own casualties were unimportant. The Turkish version of the struggle was as follows:

"On the morning of March 8, 1916, the enemy attacked from the right bank of the Tigris with his main force. The fighting lasted until sunset. Assisted by reenforcements hastily brought to his wing by his river fleet, he succeeded in occupying a portion of our trenches, but the latter were completely recaptured by a heroic counterattack by our reserves, the enemy being then driven back to his old positions."

Owing to the lack of water, General Aylmer was forced to fall back on the Tigris. On March 10, 1916, information reached the Tigris corps that the Turks had occupied an advanced position on the river. The following day a British column was sent to turn the enemy out. The British infantry daringly assaulted the position and bayoneted a considerable number of the Turks, after which the column withdrew.