Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-03-12

been fighting in France formed the
relief corps that joined the remnants
OF the Townshend expedition and
made desperate effort to rescue the
beleaguered garrison at kut-El-
Amara. s
Eva Compelled to Surrender.
For three months General Sir Percy
Lake, the relief commander, fought
his way up the Tigris and was within
eight miles of his besieged comrade
when on April 49, 1916, General
Townshend, his food supply exhaust
ed was compelled to surrender. In
the meantime additional reinforce
ments had been sent from Egypt, IN
GLIDING the Thirteenth Colonial d.
vision which had taken part in the ill-
fated Gallipoli campaign. But after
the disaster at Kut-El-Amara the
British abandoned the offensive for
several months.
General Townshend's operation
against Bagdad had been seconded by
the Russians who mad advanced from
Pershia and the Mush region and had
reached within seventy miles 81 the
Tigris when the Townshend sur
render occurred. Shortly afterward
the Russians abandoned their CANT
paign and after some desultory fight
ing with drew to the Persian noun
tains.
Maude in Command.
The resumption of British opera
tons on major scale did not occur
until December, 1916, when an adj
vance on Kut FL Amara was made
from the Babylonian plains, while
second force again moved up the
Tigris. General Frederick Stanley
Maude was in command and was Of
ficially reported to have 10000 men
at his disposal. The exact compost
ton and numbers OF the British forces,
however, never been officially made
public.
From the time of the opening of the
new campaign the British progress
was steady and uninterrupted and III
its last phases Of remarkable rapidity.
On February 26, Kut FL Amara was
captured for the second time and sew
eral thousand Turkish prisoners taken.
Within two weeks the British cavalry
tpatrols were within a few miles OF
Bagdad.
The fall OF Kut FL Amara and the
rapid progress OF the British toward
Bagdad was the signal for the re-
newal Of the Russian campaign to
the north. A Russian army advancing
from Pershia captured Hamadan and
pushed swiftly forward in the di-
rection of the Tigris.
On March 9, the Russian troops
were reported within seventy miles OF
the Tigris, while another diversion
was caused by the unherlded advance
OF second British expedition into
Palestine from Egypt. At last re-
ports this force had pushed within
striking distance of Jerusalem, but the
mcager official details have shed little
light on its ultimate purpose and
composition.
Fought in Sudan.
General Stanley Maude, the con-
qucror OF Bagdad is s. years old and
| has had distinguished military car
Ger. He took part in the Sudan CAM
| paign in 1885 and received a medal
with clasp and the Khedive's star.
He served with distinction in the
South African war, where he won the
distinguished service order and the
queens medal with six clasps.
Before taking command in Meso-
potamia he saw service in in France,
where he was wounded was mem
toned in dispatches. Five times and
created commander Of the Bath.
From 1901 to 1904 he was military
secretary to the governor general Of
Canada and later private secretary to
the secretary OF state for war.