The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-04-16
VICTORY WAS WON
BY AID OF DUST
British Kicked Up Earth with Shells and
Under Cover of Screen Thus Formed
They Cross DiaIa River and Event
ually Were Able to Capture
Bagdad.

much-hlallgned dust OF the 1lgrls val
ley was an important factor in the tax
ing OF Bagdad by the British army.
was dust storm, so thick that on,
could not see four feet in front of him
that enabled the engineers to bridge tn,
Diala river, where the Turks made theil
last stand.
The last battle before Bagdad is like
ly TO become historic mainly ON account
OF the fighting at the crossing of tbs
Diala, about eleven miles from Bagdad
1t was necessary to cross opposite the
village of Diala, where the stream is
about 100 yards wide, in the face of an
enemy sheltered 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
was checked, but the quality of courage
shown has never been surpassed in war.
Immediately the first pontoon was low
cred over the ramp, the whole launching
party was shot down in few seconds.
1t was bright moonlight, and the Turks
had concentrated their machine guns in
the houses on the opposite bank A sec.
ond pontoon reached the middle of the
stream when a terrific fusilade was
opened on it. The crew of five rowers
and ten riflemen was killed, and the boat
tloated downstream. A third boat got
nearly across the river but was bombed
and sunk. All the crew was killed, but
There was no holding back.
! The orders still held TO secure the pas.
sage. Crew after crew pushed off to
an obvious and certain death. The sec
ond and third groups Of pontoon crews
were exterminated in the same way, and
their pontoons drifted out into the Tigris
to float past the British camp in the
daylight with the freight OF dead The
pontoon parties were volunteers, so
chosen that all battalions of the brigade
would share the honors OF the night The
loss OF all the available pontoons finally
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 bonn
bardment. Registering by artillery had
been impossible on the first day in the
speed OF the pursuit 1t was the ar
tillery barrage that finally secured the
troops their footing-not the shells them
selves, but the dust storm raised by
them. The dust, fine particles OF dried
Tigris mud, was so thick that it formed
curtain behind which ten boats were
able TO cross
Afterwards, in the clear moonlight.
when the guns were waiting for ammuni-
ton and the dust curtain had lifted, the
conditions of the preceding night were
re-estabished. Succeeding crossing par.
ties were exterminated, and pontoons
drfted away, but footing had been Sc.
cured. The crew of one pontoon which |
lost its way in the dust cloud, failed to |
make the bank in time Directly the |
air cleared, a machine gun was opened |
on them, and the rowers were shot down I
and the pontoon drifted back TO the |
shore. A sergeant called for volunteers /
to get the wounded out of the boat, and I
a party OF twelve men went over the /
river bank. Every man OF them, as well
as the crew of the boat, was killed.
Sixty men had gained foothold on
the other bank of the Diala. They got
and started bombing along the
bank. They were soon heavily pressed
by the Turks on both TANKS, and found
themselves between two elumps of
woods. Here they discovered a providen
tial natural position. A break in the
river levee had been repaired by a new
evee built in a half moon ON the land
ward side. This formed perfect lun-
cite. The sixty soldiers, surrounded on
al sides but the water, held it through
he night, all the next day, and the next
light against repeated and determined
attacks.
The attacks were delivered in the dark
md at dawn. The Turks only attacked
,nce in the daylight, as the British ma :
ihine guns on the other bank swept the |
round in front OF the position. Twenty
ards west of the lunette there was I
hin grove oil mulberries and palms. The q
yontoon position was most vulnerable 9
N this side and il was here that the s
Turkish attacks were most frequent. {
British artillery fire, intermittent day
nd night, on the wood, afforded some
The whole affair was visible
o the British troops on the south side,
ub tltt-t Nphii aus SANNh7 Il
ng. Attempts were made TO get ca
lie across by means of a rocket, in order
o pass the little band of sixty more i
but the attempt was un-
uccessful.
Twice during the nights of March Q
nd 10 the Turks were on top of the par
pet, but were driven back. One more 4
etermined rush would have carried the
lnette, but the little garrison, now re-
ueed to forty, kept their heads and &
Maintained cool control of their fire. A
Drporal was seen searching for loose q
FUNDS and emptying the bandoliers OF \
he dead. In the end they were reduced 4
lmost TO their last clip of cartridges, I
nd they had only one bomb left, but y
lere were more than hundred Turkish 4
Fad outside the redoubt-
On the morning OF the 10th, British =
oops upstream had begun to turn the
urkish flank, and a general retirement
,gan. By $3.50 a. m. the whole brigade
ad crossed and the fate OF Bagdad was