The Arvada enterprise., 1918-07-25
Saved BY MIRAGE
How British Army Escaped De-
feat In Mesopotamia.
Turleleh Commander Saw What he d.
ileved Wsre Rs.snforosmsnts Com.
Ing 70 Aid Enemy and Or.
derod Retreat.

We went on toward nowhere, intend
Ing to make a wide detour and come
into old Basra city BY the Zobeir gate
In the south wall. Eleanor F. Egar
writes In the Saturday Evening Post
There was no dust ont there; only
hard.packed sand. out Of which the
fierce hammering sun struck myriad
glinting. eye-searing sparks. But II
was beautiful beyond words to de-
scribe. We spun along at fifty miles
an hour with a cool, clean breeze in
our faces Then just over slight rise
In the sparkling plain saw my first
mirage. It was impossible to believe
It was a mirage and not really the
beautiful lake that 1t seemed-a lake
dotted with wooded islands and
tringed In places with deep green for
ssts.
! have seen mirages In other deserts
In other lands. but have never seen
anything like the Mesopotamian MI
rage. We drove straight ON and It
came 20 close that I was sure I could
zee a ripple ON its surface. Then sud-
denly 1t went away of, and where It
had been our skidproof tires were hum
ming on the hard-packed sand and I
cav that the wooded islands had been
created out Of nothing but patches Of
camel thorn and that the trees of'the
forests were tufts Of dry grass not
more than six inches high.
on ON the far horizon q camel car.
avan was swinging slowly along and
the camels looked like some mammoth
prehistoric beasts. while In another
direction what we took to be camels
turned out to be . string Of diminutive
donkeys under pack saddles laden with
bales Of the desert grass roots that the
Arabs use for fuel.
Tba mirage has played an interest
Ing part IN the Mesopotamian cam
paisns. In some places Il IL practi.
cally continuous the year round. and Il
adds greatly to the dinculties Of IN
army In action. II 10 seldom mistaken
for anything but what It u. Of course.
but It does curious things to distance
and b objects both animate and inani.
mate. Incidentally It renders the &C.
curats adjustment Of gun ranges a.
most altogether impossible.
One Of the most curious incidents q
he whole war happened In connection
With Q mirage and On the very spot
over which I drove that nrst day out
h the desert.
TIE battle Of Shaiba was one Of the
hardest fought battles In the whole
4espot campaign and victory for q
while was anybody's. Il was going
very badly for the British. their losses
hsias heavier than they could stand
tor long. And though the Turks were
h Overwhelmingly superior numbers
Il was going very badly for them q
ven. This the British oflicsr COM
manding did not realize and he was
Just ON the point Of giving an order foF
retirsment-which would have besn
fatal to the British In Mesopotamia+
when to his astonishment he diseov-
sesd that the Turks were In full ~
treat! What . momenti
The desert was full Of mirage and
ths Turkish commandsr-who really
ought to have been moro familiar With
local phenomena Jaw approaching
trom the southeast what looked to him
like heavy re-enforcements. II va
nothing but q supply and ambulance
Train magnifed and multiplied by the
deceptive desert atmOsphersi When
he ordered an immediate retreat hia
already unnervsd troops stampedesi
and his demoralised rear guard was
founded and harassed by great bands
of nomad Arabs all the way to Kha.
misseyeh. nearly ninety miles away.
Hs learned the truth few days latse
AnA committed suicidei