WAR IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2612, 6 November 1915, Page 12

WAR IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

CAMPAIGNING TRIALS IN

MESOPOTAMIA

THE FICKLE ARAB

Mesopotamia, Septembor. (Vliaterer the feelings of tho troops s in Europe about tho iipproaching willtor may be, writes the "Times" corres- i pondent under date, Mesopotamia, September 24, those who have tpeut the ( last six months in Mesopotamia and , tho Persian Gulf cannot but feel that r the end of the long and trying heat f will spell a new lease of life to them. „ In England and elsewhere, where inter- 1 est- has naturally been centred on the European conflicts, it is not realised * under what conditions of hardship the „ Mesopotamia!! campaign has been con- ' ducted. The climate, admittedly one r of the worst in the world, has taken a ' heavy toll of Britisli and Indian troops ' alike, ami it speaks well for the spirit j. or the t-roops and the enterprise of " their leaders that the operations have been consistently successful since tho c Expeditionary I'orco landed j\ Novem- i ber last. The fruits of nine months' campaign include the defeat of tho enemy on three lines—the Tigris, the i Euphrates, and on the Ahwaz line— ; and the occupation of an enormous area r valuable country. * The troopis who have opposed the British advance are in the main Turkish regulars/ and in these are included T several .of the Constantinople regiments s who were dispatched to the Southern E campaign before Constantinople was \ threatened by fcbe Allies. The Turkish 1 regulars were loyally and ably assisted J by Arab and Kurd levies; for Turkey, even in her most distant provinces, en- ( forced ■ universal military service. As ' might bo expected among an Eastern nation, this law was openly manipulated to the advantage of local Governors. I The fee for avoiding military service J was as high as £5 Turkish, just before . tho British occupation, levied indiscrim- f inately on Mahomednns, Jews, Christians, and Chaldeans. In practice this c systeni le'tl to a not unsuccessful result, ensuring to the local Governors a goodly flow of cash and to tho colours s sturdy country youths who could not v afford to pay so high a price. ,rl The third class who resisted the Brit- 1 ish occupation aro tho warlike Arab ® tribesmen of the country. It is probable that tho- Turkish Government ( made their biggest mistake in counting | too highly on tlie support to be expect ' ed from these. Throughout the cam- j paign the tribesmen, who seem to spring ' in their thousands from nowhere or anywhere, have played a three-cornered : game, watching for their opportunity 1 as the fortunes of the fight swung in ' the balance and devoting their energies ' to harassing and plundering whichever ' side should waver. Altho'ugh the Turks have had a primary claim on the : services of tbe tribes, ifc lias happened ' more than once that a Turkish defeat ( has been changed to a disastrous rout ! by the attentions of their treacherous • allies. ] "Temptation Square." Never has a "campaign been fought . under such diverse conditions as here ! in this land of the oldest civilisation in tho _ world. Students of divinity may be interested to hear that in this pre- . sent year two important actions have been fought on the supposed site of the .Garden- of Eden. Nothing will shake • the local conviction that in Kurna, at the junction of tho Tigris and the Eu- '' phrates, Mesopotamia possesses the original Garden of Eden, though units of the garrison who occupied its defences during tho torrid months of May and, Juno express doubts on its authenticity, pandering only so far to local opinion as to apply names such as ''Serpent's Corner," "Temptation Square," etc., to its more important thoroughfares. Tho first of these actions was a land fight, such a ono as takes place daily in Flanders. Tho second, over identically the same ground, after tho Hoods had risen, a naval action in which the ships of tho Royal Navy were able to participate. Mesopotamia hoasts a record variation of temperature during -Eho year. Bitter cold and damp in winter and intense and malarious heat in summer have added enormously to the difficulties of the operations. In comparison to Mesopotamia, India, even in hot weathor, is a health resort, and indeed has been used as such by a greater number of sick than we care to think about. Trade in this country of infinite possibilities has faltered for many jiears under the oppressive rule of the Turk. Revenue to the Government was often assessed at half the produce of tho land, and the only saving clause was that some of the more powerful landowners were accustomed to refuse to pay revenue at all. Still, the Turkish Government had their own methods of jogging the memories of the recalcitrant, and there 'aro few Sheikhs or Jarge landowners who have not served terms of imprisonment in Constantinople, varying in length from two to 20 years, for arrears of rovenue, often by their predecessors. Tho production of grain, whore every essen-. tial/for its successful production exists, was discouraged >by strangling taxation, _ and the frequent action of the Turkish Government in placing an embargo on export did not tend to encourage trade in grain or in any other •commodity. The export of dates to Europe and America is the chief source of wealth on the lower stretches of the river. Picking and packing the dates occupies two or three months of the year, and' the season is in full swing during September. Profits aro large, and as tt'o dates need little caro or cultivation, and a. sufficient livelihood is easilv come by. a more than ordinary dislike of work characterises the inhabitants of tuis part of the country, and an independence which is rarely to be met with iu other highly-populated countries of tho East. Amphibious Warfare. During tho first half of the year excessive floods inundated all tho country in which operations were taking place. An amphibious sort of warfaro was tho result, where soldiers of xhe British and: Indian Armies and sailors of the Royal Navy met one another halfway in a form of fighting which at least had this merit—that no official text-book has ever been published on the subject. Tlie floods have subsided now, and north and west of tho marshes which surround Kurna- the country opens out into a valley of luxuriant pasture land, , wliore herds of cattle and horses and I flocks of fiheep meet the eye wherever it turns. To the east, faintly outlined in blue, the Perso-Bakhtiari Hills are visible. Canals intersect the great Tigris valley in all directions, while every now and then rtmisj of an ancient work bear record of some long past civilisation. Encampments of wandering Bedouin are dotted about hero and 1 there, and hordes of naked children play along tlie hanks of the canals. Before the war the Arabs used to vary the monotony of their peaceful lives by firing on trading steamers as they passed up and down the great waterways. Thoy'hnve learnt to treat with nioro.'respcct. the armed boats which ply there now, but among the Expeditionary Force it is still an axiom of tho art of preserving life that an Arab shall never be allowed to approach too close. "Wo have lost too many good men from Arab | treachery to forget the lesson.