The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-03-12

Long after the Babylonian dynasty
had ceased to be more than a memory,
Bagdad rose to splendor as the ar
tistic, literary. scientific and religious
capital Of the world.
In 500 B. C. Bagdad was credited
with a population OF 100000 souls
and was easily the first city In the
world in wealth and commerce. With
the fall Of the Caliphs before the Turk
ish sultans the decline of Bagdad COM
menced. 1t was successfully the prey
Of Turks, Mongols, Tartars and Per-
SLAMS, but 1t was not until 1888 that
the city became definitely q part of
the Turkish empire.
Its ancient importance was largely
due to the fact that 1t stood at the
center Of the lines OF communication
between India and Persia, and the
west. but the opening Of new routes by
way OF TrebiZond and through Ar
menia diverted its trade and was
vital factor In its decline.
British Campaign.
The British campaign against Bag
dad was opened early in 1915 when an
Anglo Indian force under Major Cen
eral Charles We're Ferrers Townshend
was landed at the head OF the Persian
gulf and moved rapidly up the Tigris.
The primary object Of the expedition
was to secure the valuable oil wells in
the region at the mouth Of the Tigris,
but the ultimate and far greater OBJ
ject was the SCATTERING Of the great
German dream Of dominion in the
Near East. The realization of this
dream was based on the construction
Of the Berlin ConstantinopIe-B agdad
railway. and by the seizure of Bagdad
the British hoped to prevent tho COM
pletion Of this road at least by Ger
man hands. and strike a shattering
blow at German prestige in that Sec
ton Of the world.
General Townshend commanded a
force Of about 10000 men and at first
he pushed forward with amazing
speed. Early in June, 1915, he captured
Kut -El-Amara. about $50 miles from
the mouth Of the Tigris, and about 100
miles from Bagdad. On the 22nd of
the following November he reached
Ctesiphon, twenty miles from his goal,
where he was attacked by an over
whelming force Of Ottoman troops. His
water supply gave out and he was
forced to retreat.
Fighting a continuous rear guard
action. the British expedition regain
ed EI-Amara on Dec. s.
Here General Townshend determin-
ed to make a stand with a portion of
his forces and entrenched with about
10000 men while the remainder of his
troops continued to fall back along the
Tigris in order to join hands with the
relief army that was hurriedly des-
patched from France and India after
the defeat at Ctesiphon.
Thirty thousand Indian troops and
two Anglo-Indian divisions, which had
been fighting in France, formed the
relief that Joined the remnants Of the
Townshend expedition and made a
desperate effort to rescue the be-
leaguered garrison at Kut-El-Amara.
For three months General Sir Percy
Lake, the relief commander, fought his
way up the Tigris and was within
eight miles of his besieged comrades
when on April 13. 1915. General
Townshend, his food supply exhausted,
was compelled to surrender. In the
meantime additional reinforcements
had been sent from Egypt, including
the 18th Colonial division, which had
taken part in the Inflated Gallipoli
campaign. But after the disaster at
Kut- El-An1ara the British abandoned
the offensive for several months.
The resumption of British opera
tions on a major scale did not occur
until December. 1916. when an advance
on Kut-El-Amara was made from the
Babylon plains, while a second force
moved up the Tigris. General Freder-
lex Stanley Maude, was in command
Of the new campaign and was unoff1-
cially reported To nave 10000 men at
his disposal.
From the time Of the opening of the
campaign the progress was steady and
uninterrupted. On Feb. 26 Kut-El-
Amara was captured for the second
time and several thousand Turkish
prisoners taken.
The fall of Kut-El-Amara and the
rapid progress Of the British toward
Bagdad was the signal for the renew
al of a Russian campaign to the north.
A Russian army advancing from Per-
STA captured Hamadan and pushed
swiftly forward in the direction OF the
Tigris.
On March 9, the Russian troops were
reported within 20 miles Of the Tigris
while another diversion was caused by
the unheralded advance Of a second
British expedition into Palestine from
Egypt. At last reports this force had
pushed within striking distance of
Jerusalem, but the meagre official de-