The Washington herald., 1917-03-12
BRITISH TAKE BAGDAD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.


Two centuries ago. one desperate but fu-
tile effort to retake 1t was made oy
Shah Nadir Bagdad represents there
fore, a precious page in Ottoman his
tory The Mohammedans have given 1t
the name Oar es salam" Getty Of Saliva
ton. or Sacred City.'O
Late tonight, word came from London
that Premier Lloyd George, Sir Douglas
Haig, and other statesmen and military
chiefs had sent congratulatory messages
to Gen. Maude and that similar tele-
gram was to be dispatched to the King.
The British commanders victory at Bag
dad is regarded as one of the most brill
liant strategic feats of the war. 1t is a
elimination of a long series Of victories,
Of which the reoccupation Of Kut was
the gladdest news London had received
since Gen. Townshend's fiasco. Nowhere
in all the widely separated war areas,
military critics point out has British
pluck and tenacity been better, or as
well, illustrated.
TeutOns in Gloom.
In Teutonic quarters here, there was
unconcealed gloom tonight.
"Everything's gone dead wrong down
there since Won Der Goltz died." said a
German diplomat.
Further than that he had nothing to
say. Germans we'll versed with military
affairs took the view that Bagdad, like
Kut-el-Amara, was voluntarily evacuated
by the Turks, who were Turing on the
British into regions which will be
swamped when the spring thaw sets in.
They likened the Turkish strategy Of re-
tirement to that of the Germans on the
Somme and Ancre, in the west.
io N of OF CT I
Turkish soldiers. quietly organized and
trained for more than a year" said one
This army will be heard from when the
proper time comes
One of the amazing features of the
British success Is the rapidity with which
they took and swept beyond Ctesiphon,
the high-water mark of their advance
two years ago, when the Turks unex-
pectedly rallied and drove them back to
Kut.
Battled Three Days.
The decisive battle for Bagdad lasted
for three days. The city was occupied
by the British this morning. No details
of the last phase are as yet officially
known, but a lengthy statement received
from Gen. Maude, covering the opera
tions up to yesterday morning, indicates
hard and bitter fighting and stubborn re-
sistance on the part of the Turks. At
that time. the defenders had been thrown
back to within three miles of the city.
The Ottomans, it appears, did make a
stand along the Diala River as had been
expected by Maj. Gen. Maurice. But it
was a futile stand. During the night
from Thursday to Friday the British
thrust the first wedge into the enemy
line Gen. Maude sent a strong force
across the river. In spite of the bright
moonlight, the Ottomans did not notice
this crossing. 1t sealed the doom of Bag
dad
In the meantime other detachments
mere sent across the T1gris farther down.
stream, where adequate bridges had been
constructed during the last few weeks.
On the following night the British crossed
the Diala in force, driving the Turks
back four miles.
simultaneously the Turkish forces, still
fighting rear guard actions on the right
bank of the Tfgris, were driven back
within three miles Of Bagdad In a blind
ing dust storm and with q violent gale
blowing.