The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-06-11

NAL which could be used for food In
kut-ol-AmaTa. unless one chooses to
except General TOwnshcnd's pet ter
rirr, Spot" and two terriers belong
ing to General Mcillsa.
The British and Indian forces held
on. enduring iiiIhtful suffering. UNI
III they were little more thar skclc-
tons. Disease swept their e%nfcehled
bodies. The town wax filled with
sick and wounded soldiers. but de-
spite this. and despite other horrors
and surcrings which cannot be re-
counted here. all the accounts agree
that the morale OF the troops re-
manned excellent until the end. The
men Wed with their officers in cheer
fulncgs and optimism. Thor conduct
was such that II inspired the native
population with a belief In their in
vincibility. which. the correspondents
say. was fanatical in its intensity.
TOwnShcnd i'orcsnw Disaster.
Such questions as Was the de-
Tense of kui-el-Amara another Brit
ish blundcr?" remains perhaps to be
determined. Tho facts leading up to
tho Siege are briefly these:
In 1915 the British Indian mill
tary authorities decided upon an ex-
peditiOn against Bagdad and one un-
der the command OF General Nixon
set out. Turkish forces were rapidly
driven back until General Town
shcnd. commanding the advance Of
tn" expedition, reached n point ten or
fifteen miles from BOgdad itself.
on November 90. 1916, his force
was decisivcly defeated by n heavy
body Of Turks. Tho British Official
White Paper Just Issued says that
Townshcnd had iOresccn what later
happened that On October 3 he had
reported that the occupation of Bag
dad would require two divisions ex-
elusive OF communication troops. and
that on April I he wired the VIceroy
Of India:
1T was certain We were taking Il
grave risk in moving against Bagdad
with my weak division. as the Turks
undoubtedly would send reinforce
mcnts to Mcsopotamia. Having
called NiNon's attention to the risk
my conscience was clear and was
prepared 10 carry out any orders"
II this warning was given II was
lNlbl'h. Nv "fhh NV lhlbu moved
on unsupported by any other. and II
was maulod severely In the battle
near CtcsiphOn. and in its retreat fol
lowing this fight il sustained another
severe defeat through the trcachcry
Of Arabian volunteers. who. turning
traitors, deserted in Il body to the
enemy.
At Bay 1t Eut-cI- Amarn,
Again the retreat was resumed.
Kut-cl-Amara was reached on De
combcr ,. 1915. the English being
closely pursued by four Turkish in
fanrry divisions and some thousands
Of tIibesmcn. Tn" cnemy's advanced
guard was only ten miles north Of tho
town when the British entered It. and
his main body was i've miles back Of
the advanced guard.
Although the British forces were
much exhausted from days OF rear
guard nghtinE and forced marching.
IT Is probable. from the guarded OF
nc.al reports. that dec!alon to hold
the town was reached because OF its
a~trat'g!caI Importance and because u
the belief that a new drive on Bagdad
could be launched soon and carried
successfully through. rather than
from any inability on General Town
shcud> part to continue his retreat
with all his forces.
~ any rate the British determined
20 hold kut. on December {. Cen
'ral T~owushend reported himself on
the point Of being invested. lie in
tr"nched n position on the peninsula
formed by a loop OF the Tlgris. This
position was 2.20O yards from north
to south and 100 yards wide on
the south bank OF the TlEris he for
tined and held a liquorlce factory
and village.
Cavalry Cut Way ont.
with outpost sk!rmishinG constant
Is going on. tho pressure OF tho over
whcIminE Turkish forces ever In
CT.asIng, there was little time loft
IN" British commander for making
his dispositions. On the 9th his po-
7i'luU was almost completely sur
rounded. bu, he determined to rid
himself o: all except n squadron Of
cavalry. ~ dawn OF that day the
British horse dashed u In an effort
10 CUt their way through. And they
succeeded In u brilliant dash which
brought them safely to All Gharbi
after continual lighting. IN which.
however. they suffered few casualties.
Tho following day a Turkish d.
vision moved around the flank OF tho
BRITISH position four miles to the
south land on IN" south bank OF the
TlggisJ. and two 0-hcr Turkish dl-
visions took MP positions on the north
bank west Of Kut. The Investment
was complete.
tn. British spent the eighth dig
g!nE in." while strong parties OF the
Turks r~ncOunOitercd. On the ninth
Nur ed Din. then in command Of the
Ottoman forces. sent a nag OF truce
demanding surrender. General
To~wnsacud promptly refused. His
rrfusa! was marked by day upon day
O.! terrific bomharaments, OF as
-Hults and counter attacks. or sOrties
and A~aUd-to-haHd lighting. This
Kept mp almost necessarily during the
rust OF December.
Il coRr the British 4 casualty list
OF l.Siu and the Turkish losses for
the period were conscrvatively csti-
mated at not less than 1000. The
war ministry In its ofhcial announce
ment of the surrender said The
TO-. 81 A. Fr= ~