PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2759, 1 May 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Regret at the news that Kut-el-Amara has at last'-fallen to tho Turks must be mingled with deep admiration for the manner in which General Toavnshend and the small but tried force under his command have lengthened out the siege-in face of heavy discouragements. After standing siege for nearly five months the garrison laid down its arms only because its stores were exhausted, while the relieving columns were still held 'up, 13. miles down tho Tigris. For months past it has been' a question whether the relieving columns could reach Kut-el-Amara before the supplies of the garrison came to an end.- The circumstances in which the struggle has proceeded are by this time well known. Floods on both banks of the Tigris have heavily handicapped the British troops endeavouring to advance up river. The floods have at once created many obstacles to the raovcI ment of troops, and so narrowed the fronts which the Turks are called upon to defend that their positions for the time are as, nearly as possible impregnable. There is every reason to believe that General Gokringe, who is now in control of the advanced operations on the Tigris, has a strong - and well-appointed force under his'command, but in the reigning conditions of flood it is impossible to bring force effectively to Dear upon the strong positions in which the Turks are entrenched. Within the last- few weeks gallant efforts have been made to clear the river to Kut-el-Amara. From Umm-el-Henna, where the Turkish resistance took serious shape, the relieving columns contrived to advance about six miles, storming line after lino of enemy entrenchments. But at Sannaiyat, about 13 miles below Kut-el-Amara, the British encountered obstacles to progress which they have not yet succeeded in surmounting.

At other periods of the year, when the river is running low and there is some scope for manoeuvring ' on the banks, General Townshend and his garrison could probably at worsthave cut their way out and joined the relieving columns. But evidently the conditions which have so hampered the relieving columns also forbade any attempt by the garrison to break through the investing lines. Nothing is said at time of writing about tne condition of the garrison, hut t.ho numbers eiven—P97o Rvitißh

6COO Indian troops and followersapproximate closely to the known strength of General Townshend's force. He- kept about 10,000 men with him when he elected to stand a siego at Kut-el-Amara, and the numbers stated must include wounded and sick a.-, well as men in fighting trim. It would appear that mortality in the garrison has not been high, for the number of followers would probably not be large. Exhaustion of the garrison's supplies brought tho siege to an end. Geneual TownsHend had munitions, as well as guns, to destroy prior to the surrender, and since Kut-el-Amara is a good defensive position, could no doubt have held the enemy at bay for sorno time to come had food been obtainable. A forlorn-hope attempt to run the gauntlet of the Turks with a supply ship culminated in disaster, the ship ruuning aground.

Though it ha_s ended in the fashion reported at Kut-el-Amara,, the enterprise in which General Townshend has been engaged during the past seven months on the Tigris will De for all time notable in military annals. General Townsiiend 'is the morn entitled to credit for what he accomplished—and he accomplished a great deal—since he is credibly reported to have protested at the outset that the force entrusted to him was inadequate. That he made such a protest before beginning his march on Bagdad was stated some time ago by the London Morning Post, and so far as we know has not been officially or otherwise denied. It may be worth while to briefly recapitulate the leading features of the daring march which brought the British Advanced Division so near to Bagdad. On September 28 General Townshend's troops carried by assault the formidable Turkish'position at Essinn, seven miles below Kut-ei-Araara. Kut-el-Amara was immediately occupied, and thereafter nothing more was heard of tho expedition until November 24, when it was announced that on 'November 22 General' Townshend had reached Ctesiphon, 18 miles below Bagdad. The force under his command at that stage amounted to something over a division. At Ctesiphon the British- attacked and captured a Turkish position, but after meeting heavy counter-attacks on November 23 were withdrawn to the Tigris,(from which Ctesiphon is distant three or four miles) on November 24. Official reports stated that the enemy's strength in the battle at Ctesiphon was four divisions, of which one was believed to have been completely wiped out. On November 30 it was announced that owing to the approach of Turkish reinforcements General Townsiiend had withdrawn his troops to,a position lower clown the river. On December 4 the British casualties ;were reported to be 4507. The India Office announced on December 7 that the British force had reached Kut-el-Amara, In tho four days following the Turks heavily bombarded the place, and on December 11 they launched infantry attacks, which were repulsed with heavy loss. There were some further bombardments at later stages of the siege, but the; Turks seem neverto have been within measurable distance of carrying the position by assault. Kut-el-Amara is so situated in a bend of the Tigris that the only Jand front to defended is very short;. The section of the Mcsopotannan campaign with which General Townshend's name is identified sums up as a heroic struggle against impossiblo odds.

What influence the fall of Kut-el-Amara is likely to exert upon the further developments of the Mesopotamia campaign cannot be estimated at the moment with any confidence. The moral effect is likely to be considerable. The Turks, who have had little cause for gratification lately at the way their affairs are shaping, will naturally be inspirited, and their success may pxert a certain influence in the Balkans and even further afield. As to the purely military importance of the event, a good deal must dtpend upon whether the Turks are in any condition to follow up the advantage they have gained, Strategically, Kut-el-Amara is a place of importance. It commands not only the Tigris, but the Shatt-el-Hai, a canal which runs south from that river to junction with the Euphrates. The Turks have thus done something to clear the way for an advance into Southern Mesopotamia which would ultimately threaten the communications of the British columns on tho Tigris. There are other British forces to be reckoned with, however, than those which have advanced up the Tigris, and it is somewhat doubtful if the Turks are in a position to undertake operations on the scale indicated without dangerously weakening themselves elsewhere, notably in Armenia.: They would certainly have to reckon on being powerfully opposed long before they got within striking distance of the Tigris communications. This apart, the recapture of Kut-el-Amara gives an improved transport line to the Turks opposing tho British forces, under General Gorringe, which were last reported before Sannaiyat, 13 miles below Kut-el-Amara. Instead of having to transport their supplies overland around Kut-el-Amara, tho Turks will now be able to use tho river all the way. 1

Detailed news of the situation in Ireland leaves no room for doubt as to the formidable character of the Sinn Fein insurrection. The rebels are unofficially reported to number some twelve thousand, but from both official and other reports it is evident that any such estimate' can as yet only be approximate. So far as the military problem of suppressing the insurrection is concerned, tho news in hand is fairly good. : The rebel main body in Dublin is invested by a cordon of troopsj and progress, naturally not rapid, is being made in the work of clearing out isolated bodies of riflemen whp have occuoied houses in different parts of the city. News as yet is somewhat vague and inconclusive in regard to the disturbances which have broken out at a number of places in the south and west of Ireland. but the official reports incline to optimism,, describing these outbreaks as of a local charactci.

Practically the only news in hand from the main Eastern theatre at time of writing is a German coui" muniquc claiming that positions south of Lake 'Narocz have ■ been captured, and that over 5000 Russians have been taken prisoner. At the moment this is neither confirmed nor denied by Russian reports. The locality named is cast of Vilna. Here, and further north, there has been 'a great deal of heavy fighting during the last few weeks for the passages between the lakes and othci positions of strategic importance.

Some further attacks on the Bri-K-V, (U.i

ance is recorded. The ground east and north-east of Loos, which was won hack by a gallant Irish division, is still firmly held. At Verdun no very notable development is recorded, and on top of the recent German announcement that the placc would be taken at all costs, wc nave a French semi-official statement that there is every reason to believe that the Battle of Verdun.has ended.

The battleship Russell, mined and sunk in the Mediterranean, was a fine pre-Dreadnought complete 13 years ago at a cost of just over a million pounds. Armed with four IS-inch guns and a powerful secondary armauiont, the ftussell was a long way belojv the Dreadnought standard of lighting power, but she is, of course, a serious loss, tho more so as 124 of her officers and men are missing. Very probably the Russell fell victim to a, mine laid by an enemy submarine.

On the other side of the account the sinking of another enemy submarine is reported to-day. At the encl of last- week it was reported from Amsterdam that one had been sunk by an armed British trawler. To-day it is officially reported that one was sunk off tho British East Coast. The reports apparently relate to distinct events. A striking indication of the power and cruising range of the later enemy submarines is given in the report that a British steamer was sunk in' the Atlantic J2O miles from land. At the same- timo it is somewhat unlikely that tho submarines would cruise so far out to sea if they were not very sensible of the danger of operating in the near neighbourhood of, the British and Allied coasts. Cruising in the locality indicated does not, of course, involve arty journey that could be called remarkable in the case of" a modem submarine, but even the ,n;ost powerful submarine would, expend a considerable proportion of her fuel in goiag to, and returning from, such a distant cruising ground. And reaching it, she would bo less favourably placed, so far as encountering and attacking ,ships is concerned, than at intermediate stages ol her journey.' » * * *

Somewhat dubious accounts are given of the political situation in Great Britain, but according to one report Mr. Asquith is negotiating with the Labour leaders, and endeavouring to secure their assent to a measure of general compulsion. Definite information on the subject should be afforded in the statement ho is announced to • make in Parliament to-morrow.