Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-04-20
TlCRlS DUST
GAVE ENGLISH
BACDAD VICTORY
Terrific Storm Enabled En-.
gineers to Bridge the
Diala River.

glneeTS to Bridge the
Diala River.
Battle Before City Historic
on Account of Terrific
Fight at Crossing.
Bagdad. Aesopotamia, April 90
The much-maligned dust of the Tigris
valley was an important factor in tho
taking Of Bagdad by the British army.
1t was . dust storm. 90 thick hat one
could not see four feet in front of him.
that enabled the engineers to bridge
the Diala river. where the Turks made
their last stand.
The last battle before Bagdad 10
likely to become historic mainly on
account Of the lighting At the CROSS
ing of the Diala, about eleven miles
from Bagdad. It was necessary to
cross opposite the village Of Diala,
whore tho stream Is about 100 yards
wide. in the lace Of an enemy shell
tered behind thick houses. walls. and
gardens. armed with machine guns
and rifles. There were two days Of
very desperate fighting before the
crossing was effected.
The attack on the night Of March
Z wa checked. but the quality OF
courage shown has eve been sur
passed in var Immediately the first
pontoon was lowered over the ramp,
the whole launching party was shot
down in q few seconds. 1t was bright
moonlight and the Turks had oncen
trated their machine guns in the
on the opposite bank. A Sec
ond pontoon reached the middle Of
the stream when a terrific fusillade
was opened on it. The Grew Of i've
rowers and ten rifiemen was killed.
and the boat hoated Downstream. A
third boat got nearly across the river
but wa bombed and sunk. All the
crew was killed, but there was no
holding back.
The orders still held to secure the
passage. Crew after e pushed of
to an obvious and certain death. The
second and third groups of pontoon
crews were exterminated in the same
way. and their pontoons driftsd out
into the Tigris t float past the Brit
ish camp in the daylight with the
freight Of the dead. The pontoon par
~ "VA0 VOAAAlVO10s oO SIlVO0A I1l6S
all battAlions of the brigade would
share the honors Of the night. The
loss of all the available pontoons nm
ally stopped the efforts to cross the
river.
On the second night the attempt
was resumed with equal gallantry. But
this time the attack was preceded by
a bombardment. Registering by ar
tillery had been impossible on the first
day in the speed of the pursuit. 1t
was the artillery barrage that finally
secured the troops their footing-not
the shells themselves, but the dust
particles of dried Tigris mud, was 30
thick that 1t formed q curtain behind
which ten boats were able to GROSS.
Afterwards, in the clear moonlight,
when the guns yer waiting for am
munition and the dust curtain had
lifted. the conditions Of the preceding
night were re-established. Succeed
Ing crossing parties wer exterminat-
cd. and pontoons drifted away, but
a footing had been secured. The crew
of one pontoqn which lost its way in
bank in time. Directly the air clear
ed. a machine gun was opened on
them. ana tho rowers were shot down
and the pontoon drifted back to the
shore. A sergeant called for volun-
teers to get the wounded out Of the
boat, and a party Of twelve mon went
over the river bank. Every man OF
them. as we'll az the crew of the boat,
was killed.
Sixty men had gained a foothold
on the other bank Of the Diala. They
got together and started bombing
along the bank. They were soon heav-
N1v nVAAaAA hV thA TAv04pa nm h~%H
TANKS. and found themselves between
two dumps Of woods. Here they dis
covered q providential natural posi-
ton. A break in the river levse had
been repaired by q new levee built In
a half moon on the 1andward side.
This formed . perfect lunstte. The
sixty soldiers. surrounded on all sides
but the water. held 1t through the
night, all the next day. ana the next
night against repeated and determined
attacks.
The attacks were delivered in the
dark and at dawn. The Turks only at.
tackled once in the daylight, a. the
British machine guns on the other
bank swept the ground in front OF
the position. Twenty yards west OF
the lunetto there wa q thin grove Of
mulbSrriss and palms. The pontoou
position was most vulnerable on thi,
side and It wa here that the Turkish
attacks were most frequent. British
artillery IRE. intermittent day and
night. on The wood, afforded some pro.
to the British troops on the north
side. who encouraged their comrades
by shouting. Attempts were made u
get q cable across BY means Of
rocket, in order to pess the little band
Of sixty more Ammunition, but the 1t