American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-11-23

ennOn Ticking out over their heads.
General Maude also had plenty of ar
tillery. altho none OF his guns we're
larger than a four-inch. because OF
the sand and the difficulty Of trans
J porting heavy pieces through II. We
had gas. just as the Turks did, but
there was a very good feeling between
the opposing sides, and. by a sort of
Ecntieman's agreement, neither side
used IL. Up 20 the Bagdad campaign.
too. the Turks had the ~ascendency In
the air. The British had only BEl2's
and a couple Of Bristol scouts They
never fought In these machines un-
less they had 20. But under General
Maude the air service was improved
and strengthened.
on December 10 General Maude be-
gan a feint attack upon the Sunniyatt
position. the Turks only bar on the
road to Bagdad. II was 50 strong
that il was practically impossible
20 take II by frontal attacks. In the
meantime the British held what was
known as the Sinn-Dujailah position.
out In the desert on the right bank Of
the Tigris. across the river-that Is,
from the Sunniyatt position, and about
midway between the Sunniyat and the
Shatt-el-Hai. a tributary OF the Tigris.
Under cover Of the feint attack on the
Sunnlyatt lines. General Maude threw
a bridge across the Shatt-el-Hai and
ADVANCED his troops from the Sim
Dujailah position almost TO the banks
OF the Tigris above Kut. BY January
10 the British had cleared the Turks
from the ground between the Shatt-el-
Hal and the right bank OF the Tigris.
Above Kut the Turks still held the
right bank OF the Dihra bend, and by
an attack there February 10 the Brit
ish captured the licorice factory,
which General Townshend had held
throughout the first siege of Kut.
From February n to % there was a
general attack IN the Sunniyatt po-
sition TO divert the Turks attention.
On the 18th the Dihra Bend vas
cleared Of Turks. all of whom were
now on the left bank. Most of this
fighting was done In the rain. On the
night OF the 22d came the big attack.
Tho British tented to cross the river
at Kut and az points just above and
below Kut. At the same time they
sent three parties Of the Norfolks TO
force a crossing in the Shumran Bend
In pontOOns. Two companies did get
across an %entrenched. and, under COW
or Of their fire. the engineers built a
pontoOn bridge over the river in nine
hours. altho the river here is $50
yards wide and the current flows at
five miles IN hour.
simultaneously the British attacked
the Sunniyatt position. and during the
night OF the 22d took the first two
lines of the trenches and held them
against six Turkish counter-attacks.
Next morning news that the British
were across the Tigris in their rear
had reached the troops holding Sun
niyatt, and their resistance crum-
bled. The Turks ran away so fast
that few were captured. altho the
British took two-thirds OF their artill-
cry. but
General Maude did not rest with the
recapture OF Kut. He followed up the
Turks by land and water. On March
7 the Turks held the line OF the Diala,
a tributary of the Tigris from the east.
The British tried to throw a bridge
over near the mouth of the Diala. and
repeatedly parties of volunteers under
took TO get the pontoons across, but
every man was killed. On the night of
March s. however. sixty men of the
North I.ancashires got across higher
up the Diala. under cover of n barrage
fire SO intense that Il raised clouds
OF sand which obscured the enemy's
vision. These North Lances entrench-
ed In a nullah and hung on there until
midnight OF the 9th. They lost TWEEN
~ men. when their ammunition ran
out. more was sent them by a cable
which vas shot across with a rocket.
Hut the Turks 500 cut this cable by
machine gun fire. and afterward m
munitiOn vas thrown across by hand.
While this was going on the British
threw q bridge across the Diala still
higher up, and thanked the troops
holding the right bank of the tribu-
tary. The Seventh division. the great
est lighters In the army. who had been
marching up the right bank OF the
Tigris. arrived In the suburb of the
city on that side OF the river in the
early morning OF March IL. The rail
road station OF the Bagdad railway is
on this bank. and Il was the first cap
ture OF the British. Among the troops
In this division were battaliOns of the
Black Watch. Seaforths and Leicesters
The Seventh claim they entered Rag
dad first. but the Lancashire battal-
ions OF the Thirteenth division say that
they entered az The same time or ear
lier from the south.
Tho British casualties in the whole
campaign were about 10000. The
Turkish losses we're much heavier.
They lost over 5000 prisoners alone.
The only flag flying in Bagdad was
the American. and the American on
sui. Oscar Heiser. al about the only
check TO tho lawlessness that pre-
vailed during the evacuation. and We
read
The Kurds came In and looted and
m-aaaarrnd hnfnrn tho british arriVed