The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-07-21
Combined Artillery and Cav
airy Work Bring Havoc to
Turks Trying to Drive Out
Invaders.
Squadron of Cavalry Charg-
ing With Lances Makes
Short Work of Ottoman
Troops in Trenches.


ceived here a cavalry officer serving
with the British army from Indiana
which is invading Mesopotamia de-
scribes great three-day battle in
April which resulted In the retirement
cf the Turks. He says:
The great Turkish attack has come.
and think, gone. About an army
corps OF them came down upon Shaiba,
and Kurna. They must have lost about
5000 to 5000 in casualties. 1t was
really a three days battle, with a
pitched battle on the third day. On
that day we flung the whole OF our
forces into the attack.
Through our spies we found out
that 10000 Turkish regulars were COM
ing under one SULLIVAN Askeri with II
German state officers and German gun
ners. There were also about 5000
tribesmen. kurds and Arabs-one of
the biggest Arab chiefs being Ajimy Cor
as we call him jimmy They had
also about rs guns with them.
Turks Swarm Down.
"On Saturday, April 10. we began to
see the first sign OF them. A Captain
Slacke and myself were posting our
standing patrols when we bumped into
their patrols. They fired few shots
and pushed Off The next day We
bumped with some 200 or 900 Of them.
All was quiet that evening, but next
day we found the whole army Of them
in every direction. The small hills
round us were black with them
Then had my first experience with
shelling--the whole Of that day they
shelled our camp and we them. 1t
was nearly all shrapnel. have heard
of the demoralizing effect of shrapnel.
Two shells burst high right over me
and sent perfect hail round me and
did no harm (but hit one horse.y We.
In fact, went on grooming as usual
stables as we call it.
Clean Out Trench.
"The--sent out a squadron in
the afternoon and did magnificent
charge. There was a trench from
which we had been sniped all day,
about 1900 yards from our camp, and
we thought there were 80 or 40 men
In it; well. the squadron hid itself until
the last minute and galloped across
the open at them. BY jove! you ought
to have seen that trench empty itself.
u
turned out of that trench and ran for
their lives?
Our guns had been firing over this
trench for some time to make them
keep their heads down and when the
squadron was charging the guns sent
shell after shell alongside them. 1t
was lovely piece of combined cavalry
and gun work.
shslIs XIII Many.
"The squadron struck 40 or so of
them with lances and as the enemy
started to run out of the trenches our
shells fairly got into them and moved
them down. The squadron returned in
10 minutes without the loss of man
or horse!
That night there was a perfect hail
Of bullets from snipers. had crept
into 'funk-hole' with another fellow
and found it was full Of fleas. and so
determined in spite of everything to
go and change. Well. l had a most
uncomfortable journey as the bullets
went 'fut! fut!' all around me- but
clean linen before bullets
The next day the enemy were there
as thick as ever--they had been firing
almost continuously all highland
every now and then boom! boom!' we
would fire a star shell over where we
thought they. were, to show our men
here to shoot. On that day the -
made charge which was second only
to Balaclava. 1t was a magnificent
sight. was galloping for the general
that day, and was about 200 yards
behind them when they were rallying