The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-08-02
SAVED BY MIRAGE
How British Army Escaped De.
feat in Mesopotamia.
Turkish Commander Saw What He ee.
lieved Were Re.enforcements Com.
ing to Aid Enemy and Or.
dered Retreat


We went on toward nowhere, intends
ing to make wide detour and come
into old Basra city by the Zobelr gate
in the south WALL Eleanor F. Egan
writes In the Saturday Evening Post.
There was no dust out there; only
hard-packed sand, out of which the
fierce hammering sun struck myriad
glintiDg, eye-searing sparks. But IT,
was beautiful beyond words to de-
scribe. We spun along at fifty miles
IN hour with n cool, clean breeze In
our faces Then just over slight rise
in the sparkling plain | saw my first
mirage. 1t was impossible to believe
it was mirage and not really the
beautiful lake that it seemed--a lake
dotted with wooded Islands and
fringcd in places with deep green for
ests.
have seen mrages in other deserts
in other lands, but l have never seen
anything like the MesOpotaminn mi
rage. We drove straight on and 1t
came so close that I was sure l could
see a ripple on It's surface. Then sud-
denly it went away of, and where 1t
had been our skidproOf tires were hum
ming on the hnrd-packed sand and I
saw 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.
Off on the fur horizon camel car
avnn 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 a string Of diminutlve
| donkcys under pack saddles laden with
bales Of the desert grass roots that the
Arabs use for fuel.
The mirage has played an interest
ing part In the MesopOtamian cam
paigns. In some places 1t Is practi-
cally continuous the year round, and 1t
adds greatly to the difficulties of an
army in action. 1t Is seldom mistaken
for anything but what it Is. of course,
but II does curious things to distance
and TO objects both animate and mani
mate. Incidentally it renders the ac-
curatc adjustment of gun ranges al
most altogether Impossible.
One of the most curious incidents Of
the whole war happened in connection
with mirage and on the very spot
IN the desert.
The battle Of Shaiba was one of the
hnrdest-fought battles in the whole
Mespot campaign and victory for a
while was anybody's. II was going
very badly for the British, their losses
being heavier than they could stand
for long. And though the Turks were
In overwhelmingly superior numbers
1t was going very badly for them as
we'll. This the British officer COM
mandlng did not realize and he was
just on the pointof giving an order for
rctirement---which would have been
fatal to the British In Mesopotamia-
when to his nstonishment he discOv-
cred that the Turks were In full re-
treat! What Il moment!
The desert was full of mirage and
the Turkish COMMUNICATIVE really
ought TO have been more familiar with
local phenomena saw approaching
from the southeast what looked to him
like heavy re-enfOrcements. 1t was
nothing but supply and ambulance
train mngnified and multiplied by the
deceptive desert atmosphere! When
he ordered an immediate retreat his
already unnerved troops stnmpedet
and his demoralized renr guard was
bounded and harassed by great bands
of nomnd Arabs all the way to Kha
misseyeh, nearly ninety miles away
He learned the truth few days htel
and committed suicide!