The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1916-05-05
10000 MEN LAY DOWN ARMS
AFTER SIEGE OF 143
DAYS.
ALL SUPPLIES RAN OUT
The British General Destroys His
Guns and Munitions Before
Surrendering.

Townshend and his garrison at Kut-
El-Amara, on the Tigris river, about
y, 80 niles below Bagdad. Some TO-
900 men in all laid down their arms
to the Turks after destroying all guns
ard munitions.
The British Mesopotamian CAM
paign, waged along the Tigris from
the Persian gulf northward almost
to the gates of Bagdad, had for the
chief aim the capture of that ancient
city. and to divert the Turkish forces
from Gallipoli as another object.
When almost at the point of sue
cess the effort broke down at Ctesi-
phon, eighteen miles from Bagdad,
when the Turks forced a retreat
down the Tigris to Kut-El-Amara.
where the English soon were secure
ly bottled up. General Townshend
held out 143 days with supplies stead
lily dwindling, while he awaited sue
cessful efforts to relieve him.
The following official announce
ment was made:
after a resistance protracted for
143 days and conducted with gall
lantry and fortitude that will be for
ever memorable, General Townshend
has been compelled, by final exhaus-
ton Of his supplies, to surrender.
Before doing so he destroyed his
guns and munitions.
1.-The force under him consists of
1870 British troops of all ranks and
services and some 5000 Indian
troops and their followers"
Faced Starvation.
Gen. Townshend probably was
driven to surrender to avoid starva-
ton of his force. A recent official
Turkish communication said that the
position of the British at Kut-El-
Amara was critical and that they
were expecting to receive small sup
plies of food by aeroplane. An official
statement received yesterday from
London showed that lost effort to
send supplies to the garrison had
failed. 1t was announced that ships
laden with supplies had been sent up
the Tigris, and that it had been
grounded about four miles east of the
city.
Less than a score of miles away,
on the banks of the Tigris, below the
city, is a relief army which for
months had been attempting to reach
the besieged forces of Cen. Town
shend. A few weeks ago several vic
tories were announced and hope ran
high in England that the mission
would succeed. OF late, however, the
Turks resistance has increased, and
aided by the floods they have been
able to hold the British in check.
No official figures have been given
out as to the number of troops which
set forth from the Persian gulf in
November of 1914 on the expedition
which has now ended in surrender.
Unoffcially the number has been es-
timated as high as $4,000, but it was
probably considerably smaller than
this. This force has suffered heavy
losses in severe battles with the
Turks.
Cut OF Since December.
1t was early in December of last
year that General Townshend's army
beaten in battle at Ctesiphin, eigh-
teen miles below Bagdad, retreated
to Kut-El-Amara. Since that time it
has been besieged by large army of
Turks, cut off from all communica-
ton from the outside world except
by wireless. During the long siege the
British beat off many attacks by the
Turks. They defended themselves so
successfully in encounters about the
city that the Turks at length desist-
ed from their efforts to take the
place by storm and decided to starve
out the British. From time to time
all was we'll, but it had been known
of late that the situation was becom-
ing a desperate one for the British.
For some time after the Townshend
expedition started out from the Per-
sian gulf it was steadily successful.
1t pushed up the Tigris and Euphra-
ties until, in September, 1915, it de-
feated the Turks decisively at Kut-
El-Amara, which later was to be the
scene of the British surrender Then
the invaders pushed on to within a
few miles of Bagdad, their goal. They
defeated Turks at Ctesiphon. but lat
er the Turks, reinforced, compelled
them to retire hastily to Kul-El-
Amara.
The battle at Ctesiphon was one
of the fiereiest Of the hard struggles
in which the expeditionary force was