Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-30


an alliance with the foes of his master.
To press on to Bagdad was. Of course.
a great temptation. The failure of the
Gail poll operation was already as
sured. The defeats at Suvla bay had
made deep impression in London. II
IL could be abolished by the announce
ment OF the capture of the City of the
Caliphs, the political profit was obvious
and the loss of prestige in the middle
II not IN the near east incident to the
Dardanelles failure would be made
good.
Henceforth. the Mesopotamian expe.
dition takes on the character of a gam
piers throw-but as such the possible
gain is unmistakable
Suffer Heavy Losses.
From Kut-el-Amara the British
pushed on to Ctesiphon. eighteen miles
from Bagdad and 100 miles further into
Mesopotamia. But here they suddenly
came in contact with superior forces
and were beaten and suffered exceed
ingly heavy losses.
Exactly what occurred during the
battle of Ctesiphon and in the follow
ing days remains obscure But il is
certain that the British expedition fell
BACK in rather GREATNESS haste to Kut-
el-Amara, where ii was pinned down.
surrounded and closely besieged
III was now necessary to organize a
new expedition to go to the rescue of
the nrst army, which was now in
something of the plight of Gordon at
khartoum. 1t was now equally patent
mat the Turks had been heavily rein
forced, had awaited the British mt
Ctesiphon and struck with admirable
force and judgment.
At the moment these lines are writ
ten. Sunday. January %, the relief ex-
miles of kut-el-Amara and as having
at this point won victory over the
Turks. But there is not yet any sug-
sestion that the two forces are in con-
sibflity that the first expedition, or
what survives of it. will be captured
On the other hand. there is small
prospect that. even il the besieged
force is relieved, there will be another
attempt to reach Bagdad. There is a
growing appreciation in Great Britain
of the folly of side shows" while the
main performance is still going on in
the big tent" of Europe. and the loss
of prestige and influence incident to the
failures in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia
Will unquestionably lead the British to
set their faces against a new venture.
to hold the delta and the oil fields. but
Egypt is likely to claim any surplus.
Cause of the Failure.
The failure in Mesopotamia is. Of
course, one of the inevitable incidents
of the war Austrian invasion of Ser
bia in 1914 ended in far more terrible
disaster at the Jedah and in 1915 about
Valievo.
Yet there is no mistaking the fact
that the Mesopotamian, like the CAL
lipoli, failure reveals the total lack of
prior appreciation of the magnitude of
the task undertaken and the relative
paucity of available resources.
In Gallipoli the British began a CAM
paign for which they still lacked SUI
icient troops, because the failure of the
fleet seemed to necessitate immediate
land action. But the fleet attack was
undertaken without regard for land
aid, and failed because there was lack
ing landing force to complete its
work
In Mesopot anna what was at first q
mere campaign to protect oil wells and
cover the mouth of the Euphrates was
expanded by politicians and strategists
on paper until it became an EFFORT to
take an inland city. nearly 500 miles
from the British base and able to draw
upon the great military resources OF
Turkey for reinforcements.
The consequences of these two fall
ures are not considerable in military
way. because both represent daring
and reckless attempts to attain what
might nave Deen OF lneStlmaDle VAluo
if won, but were in the hands OF the
enemy a the outset.
But the moral effect of the failures
all over the east cannot be eXagger-
ated German prestige will profit
nightly. British prestige in India. and
more particularly in Egypt, will cor
fall. II there is any Arab
activity it is likely to be in Egypt and
in Tripoli and against, not on behalf
of. the British.
Parallels Easily Found.
II one is interested in historical par
allels it is easy to find half a dozen
similar failures in each of Britain's
great wars. and several successes which
turned out to be of no account. On the
while such adventures are seldom
worth the cost in men. munitions and
prestige Above all. they seem unwise
when undertaken by nation which
has so far failed to complete the re-
of her armies to meet the
new conditions.
The Mesopotamian expedition appears
to have been better led than the CALI
poll venture but we know relatively
little of the details. There remains
also the grave possibility that the
Turks may yet bag one or both the
Such a success would be
bound to have very serious conse-
uuences and might lead to the eviction
Of the British from the Persian gulf.