The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-11-07
BATTLE OF RAMAD|E.
ENTIRE TURKISH FORCE SIR
RENDERED TO BRITISH
battie was Old Style Fighting With
movements i'm The Opcn-Cavo,rv
Played Leading Part.

LONDON ooct. 31.-(Correspond-
ence Of The Associated Press, Co.
eral Maude's victory az Ramadio ;.
Mesopotamia was the result of . hat
tie of the old picturesque style heforo
the war of inaction" swept tho
spectacular element out of modern
warfare.
The movement which determined
the whole action was the sudden
swinging around of the British right
until it became the left, and the en-
circling movement of the caval.v
which robbed the Turkish garrison
OF its last free line of retreat. The
idea was admirably executed, but even
the staff strategists of the British
army scarcely anticipated the sur
render of the whole Turkish force
without blow by the waiting cavalry.
The British "eye- witness" writing
from Ramadie, says in his account
Of the battle:
I'VE captured Ramadie today, and
with it the whole Turkish garrison,
including its commander, Ahmed Bey
and number of field guns, pom
poms, machine guns and rifles.
"Our force moved in two columns
on the night of September u from
an advanced camp on the Euphrates
west of Feluja, one column on the
right, the other on the left, and al
dawn they attacked Mushaid Ridge, a
low line of dunes running north and
south from the Euphrates to the
Habbaniyah Canal
ITO clear the ridge and cross the
canal was our first objective. The
first knolls were quickly occupied. Al
dawn we bombarded the main cres,
of the ridge, but the Turks hat
evacuated it.
I'VE then changed our line of at.
tack. The right column was with.
drawn, and swinging round west be-
hind the left column became the lef
wing of the force. Our front, three
and a-half miles in breadth, now lay
between the Habbaniyah Canal on the
right and Aziziyah Canal on the left
at a point pine miles from the Euph-
rates.
"Oru cavalry made a wide sweep
ing movement across the desert
round the right flank of the Turks
and occupied a line five miles west OF
Ramadie. By this move the Turka
were cornered. Their only chance
was to drive in determined counter
attacks and to break through before
we drew the ring in closer.
''The expected attack began afte,
three o'clock the next morning when
the Turks tried to break through be-
tween the cavalry and the river. The
action continued for two hours unit
uaWn, when 1t degenerated into cas-.
ual shipping. The nearest Turkish
dead were found within fifty yards OF
the cavalry trenches.
Soon after daybreak the infantr,
column took up the attack again, ant
carried the last outlying defences OF
Turks on our left. An intense bonn
bardment was opened on the Turkish
trenches.
Our line of cavalry, far away
west. soon saw the dark masses of the
enemy approaching, and apparently
prepared for bloody battle. The Turk
ish guns were silent, and white flags
went up all along the line. 1t was
surrender. Ahmed Bey, the Turkish
commander, who has been on tho
Euphrates all through the campaign
from the Battle of Shaiba, in March
1915, and whose troops confronted
us at Nasaravah all last summer and
autumn, came out and surrendered
with his whole force"