The Capture of Bagdad KUT IS AVENGED AND THE GREAT CITY OF THE CALIPHS IS TAKEN IN another chapter we left the Mesopotamian Army, at the end of 1916, fully equipped for whatever advance its commander-in-chief might determine upon. "Briefly put," wrote General Maude in his official narrative of the fighting, "the enemy's plan appeared to be to contain our main forces on the Tigris, while a vigorous campaign, which would directly threaten India, was being developed in Persia. There were indications, too, of an impending move down the Euphrates towards Nasiriyeh. It seemed clear from the outset that the true solution of the problem was a resolute offensive, with concentrated forces, on the Tigris, thus effectively threatening Bagdad, the centre from which the enemy's columns were operating." HE TURKISH DEFENSES ALONG THE TIGRIS STRENGTHENED. During the autumn the enemy had not been idle but had strengthened his defenses, particularly the Sanna-iyat position, where he judged attack would come. In addition to his six lines there he had drawn a regular network of defenses stretching back fifteen miles to Kut. On the right or south bank of the river he deemed himself impregnable by reason of a bridgehead on the Shatt-el-Hai. Nevertheless, the British Army had the advantage, for if an attack were delivered on Sanna-i-yat its right flank would be protected by the Suwaicha Marsh, and if the attack were made on the line of the Shatt-el-Hai the enemy would be fighting with his "communications parallel," which would imperil his retreat. Maude decided on this latter course, and to mislead the Turk opened with an assault on the position at Sanna-i-yat. Then, when the Turkish troops massed here, the weight of the offensive swung against the defenses covering the Shatt-el-Hai. G ENERAL MAUDE'S PLAN OF ATTACK IN The attacking troops were in two columns: those on the left bank under Lieutenant-General Sir A. S. Cobbe, V.C.; those chosen to make the surprise march on the right under Lieutenant-General Sir W. R. Marshall. Cobbe opened a bombardment of the Sanna-iyat positions December 13, and the following night Marshall's column concentrated before Es-Sinn. The next morning the Hai River was crossed in two places and the column moved north on both sides of the river to within three miles of Kut. Heavy rain fell during the latter part of December, but activities were not suspended; the light railway was extended to the Hai, more pontoon bridges thrown across, and successful raids made upon Turkish communications. Though the bom bardment of the Sanna-i-yat positions continued, the foe was alive to the threat against his right rear and made dispositions to guard against it. Maude's first objective had been attained; his next step was to clear the remaining Turkish trench systems on the right of the Tigris. Kut lies in a T THE RIGHT BANK ARE TAKEN. HE REMAINING TURKISH DEFENSES ON The British attack began January 5 on a narrow front of some 600 yards and lasted for a fortnight. The Turk fought stubbornly and with great courage, his sole communications, the flooded Tigris in the rear, bridged only THE CONQUEROR OF BAGDAD Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, was greatly beloved of the staff and men of the Mesopotamian Force, whose gallantry and endurance ensured success in the campaign so thoroughly organized by their commander. loop of the river which, immediately above and below the city, makes two deep curves known respectively as the Dahra and Khadairi Bends. Across both of these, and especially at the point where the Hai enters the Tigris the Turks were strongly intrenched. General Maude described the Dahra Bend as "bristling with trenches." At Khadairi the enemy had three lines across a 2,400-yard loop so that both by a few pontoons. No attempt was made to rush his positions, for it would have wasted men, but slowly the British artillery pounded out his trenches and threw forward their own, until at last the restricted area became untenable under fierce gunfire and what was left of the defenders slipped across the river on the night of January 8-9. Found upon a prisoner were the picturesque words of the Turkish commander congratulating his troops upon their steadfast valor in the face of bloody losses sustained under bombardment: "The Corps Commander kisses the eyes of all ranks and thanks them." There still remained upon the right bank of the Tigris the Turkish trenches astride the Hai River and those across the Dahra Bend, strongly made and protected on three sides from over the river by artillery and nests of machine guns. It took twenty days of obstinately contested fighting to force these lines, for the Turk was battling as one resisting the invasion of his soil. The British and Indian troops were possessed however with the grim determination to wipe out there on that site, beneath the walls of Kut, the memory of their tragic failure to succor the garrison, ten months before. February 15 there was an almost general surrender of two enemy brigades,— 2,200 men, a large amount of artillery, war material and medical equipment. HE MAIN EFFORTS ARE NEXT TO BE flanks rested on the river, and the TMADE guns on the north bank could sweep the assault with enfilading fire. In two months' strenuous fighting the preliminaries had been successfully Tigris and Euphrates unite their waters to form the Shatt-el-Arab and it is at the mouth of this waterway that the troops are seen disembarking. In Mesopotamia as in Egypt football "shorts" were regulation wear, and the soubriquet of "red knees" applied to the new arrival recalls the "red-necks" of the Boer War. tions above Kut, and so to imperil the enemy's retreat that he would be forced to evacuate the town. For the success of this action it was necessary to divert some of the Turkish strength and activity to Sanna i-yat. To make this diversion effective, a feint was not sufficient. No mere knocking at the front door would cause the wide-awake owner of the house to leave his back door open. Accordingly, dispositions for concerted and simultaneous action were made against Sanna-i-yat and upon the Shumran Bend immediately above the Dahra loop, and curving in the opposite direction. feints at crossing the river at Kut and Magasis, and allowed his preparations to be covertly observed by the enemy who duly noted the creaking of carts and splashing of pontoons in the wrong places. By day and night, too, the guns thundered against Sanna-i-yat, then paused significantly as though to allow of infantry advance, while time after time the Turk braced himself to repulse the bayonet charge which never came. Uncertainty then as to direction, a diverting of troops, and a certain lowering of morale were obtained before the actual onslaught was made. This map shows the bends of the river east and west of Kut where the struggle for the position was finally decided. The British pursued the Turks upstream but halted at Aziziyeh for reorganization. After crossing the Diala, Bagdad was entered from two sides. Endeavoring to cut off the Turkish XIII Corps the Russians advanced from Persia and met the British at Kizil Robat but the enemy escaped and fell back on Tekrit. opposite shore were they discovered by a sentinel whose rifle shot across the desert silence gave signal for a fusillade. Soon the watchers on the right bank were drawing in the first returning pontoon with its freight of wounded, while others took their places in the boat and shot out across the current under a hail of bullets which raised spray upon the water. Meanwhile, at No. 2 Ferry, a thousand yards downstream, the 2nd and 9th Ghurkas were having a still hotter crossing. If enough of the crew survived to bring the boat to land they had then to face the Turks who lined the banks and threw grenades as the landing was made. "One could read the impetus of the fall. Beyond were dead Turks who had counter-attacked from inland." So fierce was the artillery fire against the lower ferries that they had to be abandoned. But at the upper ferry by 7:30 A. M. three companies. of the Norfolks and some 150 Ghurkas were intrenched. At 8 o'clock galloping mules brought up the first load of bridging and a long stream of pontoons on carts came up at a swinging canter. By 10 A. M. one could stand out in the stream on the fifteenth pontoon, and in six hours the bridge was open for traffic. Troops and transport poured across, and the infantry advancing to a ridge astride the bend swept the Vehicular transport being impossible in this country, the British forces organized camel convoys modeled upon the caravans which from time immemorial have assured communication in the east. Water transport of course is much easier in Mesopotamia than land, and was chiefly relied upon to supply the armies. British soldiers inspecting material left behind by the Turk when he hastily evacuated in September, 1917. When the enemy retreated from Bagdad part of his force had established itself at Ramadiya upon the Euphrates, whence in the general clearing operations undertaken around the city he was dislodged after the hot months were over. British Official |