With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia Part 4

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 Ca.n.a.l 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LUNN Has A Quiet Rest And Smoke.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: B. H. LUNN And C. V. HENDRY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 pa.s.sed, 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Different Types Of Boats On The Tigris.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 sh.e.l.l 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 Ca.n.a.l, 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: On Board A Paddle Boat Going Up The Tigris.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Kurnah, Supposed Site Of The Garden Of Eden. 124 in shade when this was taken.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Waiting For Another Boat To Pa.s.s.]

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

CHAPTER VII.

THE BATTLE BEYOND BAGHDAD.

By Brigadier-general A. G. WAUCHOPE, C.M.G., D.S.O.

The following Chapter appeared in _Blackwoods Magazine_ for August 1917:--'On the banks of the Tigris I am lying in the shadow of a palm, looking down the river on the brick walls and mud roofs, on the mosques and minarets of the city of Baghdad, and as I look I am lost in wonder. For although I am now lying in a grove of date-palms, it is fifteen months since I have seen a tree of any kind; it is fifteen months since I have seen a house or lain under a roof; and this girl coming towards me with hesitating steps, clothed in rags and patches, this little date-seller with her pale face and dark eyes, her empty basket resting on her small, well-shaped head--this is the first woman I have seen or spoken to for more than a year.'

Perhaps it is the twilight which gives a feeling of mystery and beauty unknown in the glare and noise of midday, and I hardly know, as the Tigris seems to lose itself in the evening mists, above which the golden minarets of Kazimain still shine and glitter in the setting sun, whether I am truly in the land of reality or if I still linger but half awake in the realm of dreams and fancies, where stand the gates of horn and ivory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Transport Officer.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Captain R. MACFARLANE, M.C. Killed In Action.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Arabs Bargaining On The Tigris Banks With Troops Going Up River. A brisk trade is done in eggs and fowls.]

For to how many during the past two years has not flashed the dream of the capture of this city, Dar-al-Salam, the City of Security? And of those who have seen the vision, how many have wondered from which gate the dream has issued, and how many have been filled with confidence?

For that vision has drawn many thousands from Basrah and Amarah--many who are now here in the hour of victory, many who now lie where they fell on the field of battle, and many who are still prisoners and captives.

A few days ago, as the columns of the Army of Mesopotamia were hurrying past the great Arch of Ctesiphon, it was impossible not to think of the ---- Division arriving there some eighteen months earlier--that gallant ---- Division, war-worn and depleted in numbers but ever victorious, who found at Ctesiphon, in the hour of their last and most glorious victory, the beginning of their undoing and tragic end.

What dream was it of a captured city, of a City of Security, that lured them to their doom, and who was the first dreamer? And who next saw the second dream of fresh battalions and a new organisation that would lead without fail to Baghdad, and had the gift to know that this dream, unlike the other, had pa.s.sed through the gate of horn?

So I mused but a week ago in the palm groves that had been ringing that very morning with rifle-shots, but seemed so quiet and peaceful in the evening light that I felt all the rush of the past pursuit was over, that our efforts had not only been crowned with success, but that a period of rest would now be given to man and beast. For the pursuit had been much more than merely a hot and dusty march of 120 miles from San-i-yat to Baghdad.

All through January and February the Army Commander had been preparing the way by a series of small victories which gradually drove the Turks, holding the right bank of the Tigris, across the Shatt-al-Hai, and a dozen miles above Kut. Then came the combined master-stroke on February 22 and 23. First, on the 22nd, came the successful attack on the San-i-yat trenches--the position that had held us at bay for a twelve month--the position that had finally checked our troops, struggling most bravely, but struggling in vain, for the relief of their comrades in Kut. This success drew several Turkish battalions to the help of the San-i-yat garrison, and so weakened the Turkish line elsewhere. And then at dawn, on the 23rd, came the crossing of the Tigris five miles above the Shatt-al-Hai--a crossing that will remain famous in history--when the bravery of the troops will not make one forget the careful preparation of the Commander and his skill in making success possible, by causing the Turk to ma.s.s his troops both above and below the actual point selected for crossing.

This well-timed and brilliantly executed stroke had sent the Turk flying; but though in the two months' fighting he had lost over 8,000 in prisoners and more than that number in killed and wounded, he was still able to fight a series of stubborn rearguard actions before the road was free to Baghdad. It was dawn on the 11th of March before the Highlanders, who were leading, reached the city, and an order to rest and be thankful had been welcome to troops more used to trench warfare than constant rapid marching in the open.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ezra's Tomb.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: An Arab Village.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fishing By Net On The Tigris.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Arabs Selling Produce On The Banks Of The River.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: On The Banks Of The Tigris.]

But when airmen brought intelligence that the enemy was holding an entrenched position some twenty miles north of the city, it was obvious that some of us must move up-river and drive him back.

It was once remarked by an American officer, who had served throughout the Civil War, that he knew that every soldier in the army was always longing to be in the next battle. He knew this because it was so said by every general and so written by every newspaper editor. And yet, although he had served in several regiments during the war, he had always found that that particular itch was more lively in neighbouring units than in his own.

So when orders arrived on the 13th of March for our Division to advance that night, our friends from other divisions congratulated us with what seemed almost undue heartiness on our good fortune in being selected, and the estimate of the numbers of the opposing Turks rose rapidly from five thousand to fifteen thousand. However, the estimated number finally settled down to about half that, with thirty guns, and these figures were subsequently substantiated by captured prisoners.

These orders put an end to the peaceful enjoyment of the palm grove, and preparations were hurried forward. Blankets and waterproof sheets were all stacked, men and officers all carried their own great coats and rations for the next day, water-bottles were filled that afternoon, and enough water was carried on mules to refill them once the next day, and no more given to man or animal till the morning of the 15th. This should be borne in mind when judging of the difficulties overcome by the troops in this action, for the shade temperature on the 14th was about 80, and there was no shade.

The Turk certainly had judged it impossible for us to advance so far from the river, for we learned later that he had laid out the trace of most of his trenches between the river and the railway; but our main attack was delivered west of the railway, a success there forcing the withdrawal of the whole of his line.

Save for several severe dust-storms the whole pursuit had been blessed with fine weather, and it was on a beautiful starlit night that our Division formed up along the railway for the march towards Mushaidie, a station some twenty miles north of Baghdad on the direct road to Berlin.

Night marches, the text-book says, may be made for several reasons, but it does not suggest that one of these ever could be for pleasure.