The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-01-18

MUSSELMANS RETREAT
WITH IMMENSE LOSS
Object Of Campaign Is To Secure
Bagdad In Order More Etfectu-
ally To Protect Suez Canal and
Sound KneIl of constantinople
<Associated Press BIZ Federal wireless.J

EAssociated Press BY Federal Wireless,)
Y 0NDoN, January 1.-THE second
attlmpt of the Br, fish armies to
force open the back door Of the
Turkish empire after the front door
had been barred by the arrival Of
German guns and munitions at the Gal
hpoli trenches, has met with initial sue
cess, according to dispatches from
General Aylmtrs, commanding the Eng
lish expedition in the Tigris valley.
This force, numbering approximately
seventy-five thousand men, is said in
the reports made public by the war
Office last night, to have won a signal
victory over the Turks in the Tigris
valley. The dispatches announce that
the Ottomen armies are in tull fight
down both banks Of the historic river,
with the British in close pursuit.
Retreat Is General
The withdrawing Of the Turks from
their lines along the Tigris, near where
IL joins the Euphrates, began last
Thursday, and when General AylmeT 8
: dispatches were sent they had retreat
ed in southerly direction from the
city Of Kutelamara distance of more,
than twenty-five miles and were still
falling back as rapidly as possible.
Unofficial dispatches to the press an.
nounce that the re.reat Of the 0ttomen
forces has proved to have been costly
one, many prisoners and much of the,
spoils of war having fallen into the.
hands Of the pursuing columns.
z The determination Of the British to.
force the occupation Of Bagdad is
based upon the belief that % only can
she close effectively the door TO her
own most cherished possession, the
Suez Canal, and the country that lies
beyond. The first expedition was a.
gamble, and appeared to have won,
until at the last moment, when the
column was but ten miles from its
Bagdad Key To situation Gt.r=@J
Had Bagdad fallen Islam might have
been divided, and the Arab induced to
attack the Turk. Syria might have
been persuaded into revolt and the
road between CJnstantinople and Suez
locked tight against the attempts Of
the sultan and his Germanic allies.
Victory would have meant that the
German dream of an advance upon
India and along the Bagdad railroad
TO the Gulf of Sinai was to be but a
dream. as -. - t...s S"as'a
But the adventure failed completely
and for time destruction threatened
the British armies in Mesopotamia at
the hands Of the Turkish troops rushed
to the front over the RECENTLY com
pleted links of the Bagdad railroad.
The English campaign in the Persian
Gulf country began over a year ago,
with the occupation of Oman by a
brigade, an English bat alton, and In;
dian troops. This tOIce made, short
work of an insarrection, in the Jebel
Akhdar (GIeen Mountains), which catch
enough of the mOnsoons to grow the
date and the grape on unknown slopes.
and the little sultanate was added to
the British Empire. ...:
Turkey joined the Teutonic cause 0c-
tober "a, 1914. Seventeen days later,
with KoWiet as first base,--the one
port on this shore and the only blue
water terminus tor, the COnstaptinuple-
Aleppo- Bag dad Persian Gulf railroad, ~
Basra was taken. By. December 10,
Kurna, at the confluence of the Tigris
and EuphrRtes, was occupied, The
Yiceroy Of India visited BasIa January
81, held at DuTbar and told the Arab
sheiks that the region was annexed
and to be forever British territory.
Half way TO Bagdad by mid April,
when an attack in force was repulsed,
heat and marshes stayed the British
advance until October. The force had
at least thirty British battalions. The
papers would not be allowed tOprint
list, Int the return of the dead issue !
20 the papers by the British war office
with tleir regimen 5, followed day by
day, show this number, and the Indian
troops are about three 10 one of the
English. In all, there were probably
10000 white aud $4,000 to 10000 Asia
ties In the ENGLISH column. #8t Il
Reverse Is Retrieved 49, q f3
Allowing for Che Basra garrison and
Communications, not much more than
$4,000 men, Of all arms, could have
been in the attempt to seize the
railroad terminus, eighteen miles from
Bagdad s.- s.r.- -, ,..y
Y Il N'ist -, . A-S-----.-A-