CHAPTER VI

.

Everything was ready. The Regiment was in excellent form and fettle, highly trained and efficient, and the powers that be knew that it could be depended on to a man. The first rains had fallen and it was cool without being cold. Mesopotamia takes a long time to cool after the great summer heat and does not usually get very cold till January, and on December 13th the British offensive began on the right bank of the Tigris near Kut, and very severe fighting took place. It was not till February 1917 that the last Turkish position on this bank was captured. In the meantime, on the left bank, the position for the moment remained much the same. Limpits could not cling with greater tenacity to their native rock than the Turks stuck to their position at San-i-yat. It would seem as if nothing could drive them out from this, the strongest position in Mesopotamia. 'Xmas Day and New Year's Day were spent out of the trenches, but in the forward area. Events were moving rapidly on the other bank, but the marvellous secrecy with which the Commander-in-Chief kept all his plans inspired the greatest confidence in those under him. No one knew his plans; everything was a dead secret; it was even rumoured that his immediate staff were often kept in ignorance up to the last moment, but all ranks had confidence. On January 21st at 4 p.m. we struck camp at Faliyeh, crossed the river and for 10 days occupied a position along the Narrows from Chahela Mounds to near Beit-a-Essa, a distance of about five miles, establishing picquets along the line. This was a most welcome change. We had been on one side of the river for practically a whole year and new duties and new country broke the monotony. Each Company was divided up. Three Companies holding the line along the Tigris bank and the fourth in reserve. Casualties were very light and Captain Haldane did excellent work sniping and kept the enemy well in hand. The gunners were good enough to remark that a great change was noticeable since the line had been taken over by us; this was probably a little bit of flattery on the part of the Artillery men, but it was quite welcome. During these days the Commanding Officer was an unknown quantity as one never knew where he would next appear on the five-mile line. I think that he must have known every inch of it. We were relieved by another Highland Regiment and a very pleasant ten days came to an end with a march back across the river to the forward area and back to the now muddy trench at San-i-yat. It was now bitterly cold and uncomfortable at night and the mud in the trench almost as bad as the dust in the summer. Bombardments were of daily occurrence and the Turk must have had a most uncomfortable January. About the middle of February the Army Commander determined to make a combined attack with one force at the Shumran bend, and with one of our brigades at San-i-yat. The attack at San-i-yat was delivered by two Indian Battalions of our Brigade under great disadvantages, and though at first successful, the attackers were eventually compelled to withdraw back to our lines. Every officer and every man regretted that the Battalion had not been selected to take part in the attack in the first instance, and were eager to lead the Brigade in another assault. This indeed was the wish of the whole Brigade, and orders in fact were issued to that effect, but two days later, when every arrangement had been completed, it was decided to make the attack with a fresh Brigade and ours was withdrawn and held as a reserve.

[Illustration: Scenes On The River Tigris.]

[Illustration: A Post On The Tigris.]

Before leaving the trenches, however, the Colonel ordered two officer's patrols to go out the last night to examine the enemy's wire and locate, if possible, the position of their machine guns, thinking thus to assist the attack of the coming Brigade. Of these patrols one was led by Lieut. Cowie and met with rather exciting adventures. Cowie and two scouts crawled across "No Man's Land" to within 20 yards of the Turkish trench without mishap. Then creeping along the enemy's wire they spotted a machine gun with the team standing beside it. Right into this group the three threw three grenades, wounding several Turks as we afterwards learned. Inevitably the alarm was given, rifle fire broke out in all directions and, before the patrol could make good their escape, Cowie and one of his men were hit. The Turks saw the two figures lying close to their own wire, jumped the parapet, and made both prisoners, and carried them within their lines. They were well treated, if not well fed, by their captors, and two days later when the retirement began were moved out of the Turkish hospital on to a steamer. This boat was one of two that when trying to escape some days later up the Tigris were captured, after a short but severe engagement, by our gunboats. Cowie, in the confusion of the fight, forced the pilot of his steamer to run her aground and, though most of the Turks effected their escape, Cowie and his orderly instead of continuing their journey to Aleppo, found themselves at General Headquarters attended to by several surgeons and Intelligence Officers, anxious to dress their wounds and hear their story.

On the 22nd the attack was delivered by a battalion of Highlanders and a Punjabi battalion. Under a heavy artillery bombardment they gained the enemy's first line without much loss. Then after severe fighting they captured the enemy's second line and consolidated their position. The Turks made several counter attacks and though nothing could move the Highlanders, the position on the left was not quite secure. Our battalion was therefore ordered back to the trenches, and the Colonel obtained leave to send two platoons under Captain Young across to the Turkish position in order to strengthen the left of our new line. Captain Young was wounded, but the two platoons that night and the following day held the line down to the river where a counter attack was most expected.

The Colonel asked leave to push forward that day, but it was not till nightfall that two battalions of our Brigade were ordered to pass through the other Brigade and take the enemy's 4th line. It was necessarily a slow business moving up unknown trenches at night, and the battalion on our left met with considerable resistance. However, if progress was slow it was sure, our patrols pushed steadily forward, the enemy's snipers were forced back and before dawn the whole San-i-yat position was in our hands, and the Turks in full retreat. Thus fell this position which for ten long months had held us up, and had claimed such a big toll of lives from both sides. The sky was clear and without cloud. The same sun shone out on victors as on vanquished, on pursued and pursuers. One wondered how often, ten months before, the gallant defenders of Kut had looked towards this position longing, hoping, praying for its capture which was only now accomplished. Meanwhile after very hard fighting the Tigris had been bridged at Shumran above Kut and our infantry was pouring across. Patrols of the 2nd Battalion were immediately sent forward towards the Nakhailat position some two miles further east and the two leading companies followed in attack formation. An Indian battalion conformed to our movements on the left, while the leading battalions of the other Brigade began to appear on our right rear. None of our men will ever forget the scene that morning, nor the feeling of freedom and elation as our lines passed over trench after trench now deserted by the Turks, and it was these trenches over which we were now so casually advancing that we had been anxiously watching from behind our parapet for nearly a year. It seemed increditable, but we passed by trenches filled with Turkish dead. We passed several of the heavy minenwerfers whose shells had been a source of such trouble and loss the last few months, and before 8 a.m. after some little sniping and the capture of a few prisoners the Nakhailat position was also ours. Here a pause was made by order of the General to give time to another Brigade to secure our right flank, and then in conjunction with the Indians on our left the Regiment advanced in attack formation with patrols well ahead against the Suwada position, but the crossing of the Shumran Bend the day before had rendered resistance impossible and, after a little firing and the capture of a few more prisoners, the last of the Turkish trenches fell into our hands before noon.

The Divisional Commander now ordered a halt. An order doubtless necessary, but that was somewhat reluctantly obeyed, the troops being anxious to get in touch with their vanishing foe, and it was not till 4 p.m. that an order came to send two patrols some four miles further north to the Horse Shoe lake. As it was uncertain what they might encounter the Commanding Officer sent forward four platoons and they reached the Nwhrwan Ridge without opposition. Our Colonel proposed that the rest of the Brigade should push forward after the enemy, but instead of this patrols were brought back about midnight, and it was not till the next day that the line of the Dahra Canal was taken up by the Division, the Turks by then being many miles to the north.

On February 24th Kut fell in the hands of the British and the King cabled to the Army Commander:

"I congratulate you and the troops under your command on the successes recently obtained, and feel confident that all ranks will spare no effort to achieve further success. It is gratifying to me to know that the difficulties of communications which hitherto hampered your operations have been overcome" George R.I.

[Illustration: LUNN Has A Quiet Rest And Smoke.]

[Illustration: B. H. LUNN And C. V. HENDRY.]

[Illustration: Map: The Operations At Kut-el-amara, Showing The Wide Turning Movements South Of The River.]

When some five months later I stood on the summit of Kut's famous minaret, from which Briton and Turk had each in their turn observed the enemy closing in on them, and from which one could see the junction of the Hai with the Tigris now very low, the ruins of what was the Liquorice Factory, and miles away Es Sinn and San-i-yat, it was impossible not to be impressed and to feel a certain sadness and yet a great admiration for all those lives which had been so freely given to uphold the honour of the flag and the dignity of the Empire, and how when failure after failure had dogged our steps, grit and perseverance had at last won the day, and success crowned our efforts. Kut was ours; it must have cheered those lonely prisoners in captivity in the fastnesses of Asia Minor when the news eventually leaked through that their defeat was avenged and that the flag which Townshend had been compelled to haul down once again flew over the small but famous village to the Banks of the Tigris.

Pursuing is only slightly less arduous than being pursued, and in his despatches well might the Army Commander have quoted those famous words used centuries before by another great leader when an equally strenuous pursuit was in progress. 'Faint yet pursuing'. One has to remember that these same troops had been cooped up in trenches for nearly a year, and to suddenly be called upon to take a prominent part in such a pursuit as was now in progress was no ordinary strain. Not a man in No. 1. Platoon fell out on the march from San-i-yat to Baghdad, a record of which the platoon and its officer might well be proud. The going was bad, there was no road as one understands a road in England, it was plain flat open country. A stay was made at Dahra and then a night march carried us to Shumran, where there were signs of a cavalry fight and prisoners were being brought in.

The Brigade had orders to clear the battlefield and booty of all kinds, guns and ammunition were collected, rifles which had been thrown away, as it is easier to run without one than with, and what little surplus kit the Turk possessed had been discarded, so that his flight might not be impeded; they were all out for Baghdad and we were all out after them, but we were out-running our Transport and Supplies, and the meals during the great pursuit were both scanty and irregular, but who cared, so long as we had enough to carry us on. All England was looking on, and day by day following our progress with feverish interest. "Is Baghdad going to be taken" was on everyone's lips. Beards were making their appearance even on the youngest soldiers' chins, numbers of men were being knocked up by the continuous strain and a four days' halt was called at Sheik Jaad, No. 1 Company being sent forward to Beghailah. Still pressing forward we reached Azizie, 46 miles from Baghdad, and the total number of prisoners since the advance now mounted to well over 5,000. Turkish depots and stores at many points were in flames, 38 guns, many machine guns, trench mortars, ships, tugs and barges, miscellaneous river craft and bridging material fell into our hands.

Booty was strewn over 80 miles of country and the Arabs living in the neighbourhood must have secured sufficient goods of various description to last them the rest of their lives.

Zeur, Bustan, then Ctesiphon were all passed, there being no time or opportunity to stay and examine the famous arch. But as we halted for the night beside the magnificent ruin, one could but reflect on the ironies of a soldier's fortune. Here it was, long before the arch was built, that the Emperor Julian, marching from Constantinople, had been forced to halt his army, and met with disaster and death; and under the ruins of this great arch Townshend, advancing from Basra, had engaged in the battle that eventually brought his division to disaster and captivity. And now Maude, encamped for the night beside the ancient city walls, was pressing forward with his whole force to the capture of Baghdad and Samarra.

[Illustration: Different Types Of Boats On The Tigris.]

[Illustration: Sailing Boats On The Tigris.]

The next morning, the 9th of March, we were glad of a short march to Bawi. The Division crossed the Tigris by a pontoon bridge that night; our Brigade being in reserve. After a hard march we reached Shawa Khan, the enemy retiring before us and our Brigade came under shell fire only. The following day was a very trying one. A gale was blowing right in our faces, and the dust was so thick that our movements on that day resembled some horrible night march. We manoeuvred the whole day, and twice the orders for attack were cancelled owing to the difficulty of gaining contact with the enemy. Towards evening we struck the Euphrates-Baghdad Railway and were preparing to attack when orders came postponing further movements till midnight. Never had any of us experienced such a dust storm. With great difficulty we brought up the 2nd Line Transport, filled the men's water bottles, and formed a Brigade bivouac. Movement was again postponed till 3 a.m. on account of the storm, though some of us thought it had been better to take advantage of the darkness and make the attack at once. At 3 a.m. our patrols were sent forward, the Battalion following in artillery formation. Right well led, the patrols pushed on meeting with no real resistance. When about a mile short of the Iron Bridge that crosses the Kharr Canal, the Colonel received a message that our leading patrol had gained the railway station in Baghdad before 6 a.m., that no Turks remained, and that we were driving out the Arabs with little difficulty. This information was immediately sent back to the Army Commander, and the Red Haeckle was the first British emblem seen in Baghdad. The Medical Officer of the Battalion observing a Turkish flag flying over a building, quickly climbed up and hauled it down. That flag is now a trophy of the Regiment.

The Turks had fled, but all that morning firing continued both in the town and neighbouring palm groves, caused chiefly by Arabs and Kurds shooting and looting in all directions. The Brigade, under General Thompson, had the well deserved honour of marching through the city, and order and confidence was soon established. The Regiment took an outpost position on the north of the City towards Kadhimain, and very pleasant was the rest under the shade of the palm groves.

The fall of Baghdad was a severe blow not only to the Turks but to the whole Quadruple Alliance, but how many who read that cheering and inspiring news on the morning of March 12th thought of the trials endured and overcome, thought of the sacrifices and losses that had been endured to make that news possible. How many knew of the advance in the blinding dust storm, when men gasped for air and water. How many knew of the fight on the Dialah when the Lancashires covered themselves with glory; these things are not always published but they were suffered, and suffered in such a manner that one felt it a privilege to belong to the same Regiment, Division or Army, and when the congratulatory message from the King, our Colonel in Chief, was read to the different regiments: 'It is with the greatest satisfaction that I have received the good news that you have occupied Baghdad. I heartily congratulate you and your troops on their success achieved under so many difficulties,' one knew that the Head of all our race understood and appreciated all that had been endured suffered, and accomplished.

[Illustration: On Board A Paddle Boat Going Up The Tigris.]

[Illustration: Kurnah, Supposed Site Of The Garden Of Eden. 124° in shade when this was taken.]

[Illustration: Waiting For Another Boat To Pass.]

[Illustration: Baghdad As It Exists To-day. Drawn from photographs and a plan provided by the National Electric Construction Company, Limited.]

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