THE RIVER WAR IN MESOPOTAMIA

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 174, 12 April 1918, Page 5

THE RIVER WAR IN MESOPOTAMIA

DIFFICULT LINES OF TRANSPORT WHAT HAD TO BE DONE [Published by authority of the War Office, per favour of the Royal Colonial Institute.] The campaign in Mesopotamia has from the tirst been dependent upon river transport. Tho Tigris and the Euphrates, flowing down from Upper Mesopotamia to near Basra, where they unite and enter '.he Persian Gulf in one stream, knomi as the Shiit-01-Arah, are practically tho only means of communication in this difficult country, and consequently in our advance beyond Bagdad the organisation of transport on these rivers -has boon of paramount importance. Neither the Tigris nor the iMiphrates are easy rivers to navigate. Tho current is rapid, sometimes flowing as fast as five knots an hour, whilst the river courses bond and twist in a manner which makes it difficult to prevent a vessel "going aground in negotiating the corners. The depth of the river varies greatly in the wet and dry seasons; sometimes vessels drawing <.even feot of water can reach Bagdad, but in the dry season a vessel drawing more than. 3ft. 6in. could not be certain of getting so far. Initial Tasks. These natural difficulties have not been reduced by the Turkish methods of river administration. Irrigation canals have been cut info ■both rivers without discrimination, and the natural variety in the depth of tho stream has thus been accentuated. Tho Turks allowed bars to form at several points, and dredging operations were never undertaken; wharves and docking facilities are either of a primitive character or entirely absent. Coiu'equently, when we began operations in the Persian GKilf, one of the first steps taken was to act up proper authurities for port administration and river conservancy: piers and docks had to be built, cranes and dredgers brought from India and elsewhere; in fact, the accumulated neglect of years had to be remedied in a few weeks.

Special' craft are necessary to maintain communications at nil seasons on theso difficult streams. The native craft, Maheilalis, Bellams, and the little coracles known as Quffelis, in which both rivers and Shat-el-Arab abound, are not very suitable for military purposes, though they have been used to a limited extent for carrying stores. These boats are either poled or sailed with a rough sail placed far forward in tho bows. Their progress ie consequently slow, and dependent on wind and tide. Craft'of this character carry cargoes of from ten to a hundred tons, and sometimes as many as sixty passengers; their crows consist of three to eight Arab boatmen, vfhoso ideas of boatmanship resemble cloeely those of the Thames holiday-maker. Before the war there were few steamers or launches running in Mesopotamia. An English -' firm had for many years run a service of small steamers from Basra to Bagdad, and their experience proved invaluablete the military authorities. Several steamers belonging to this firm were used as transports, and at first attempts were also made to use vessels which had been running on the Indian rivers. Some half-dozen Thames steamers were also brought from England, and did goodserviee. The Hospital Service, A striking featuro of the river transport arrangements in Mesopotamia has been the organisation of ihe hospital service for evacuating wounded down the rivers. Advanced dressing stations are established on. the riyor bnnka, quite close to tho i'iont line, from which tho wounded are carried down on stretchers, or in motor aruhular.ces. From these dressing stations they are taken in motor launches to field am'oulanoes lower down ihc river, whence i they aro carried on larger steamers to the casualty clearing stations, and so ultimately back to the base hospitals at .Busri. As. far as possible it is arranged that the wounded shall not have to be taken from their stretchers and placed in cots on the steamers and launches. The deck space is kept as clear as possible, and the men are carried straight en to the ship, where they remain on their stretchers until are carried off again at tho end .of the journey. Motor launches for carrying wounded were first brought to Mesopotamia at the end of 1915, and there are now many in commission. The striking efficiency of their work was well illustrated last February (1917) in the fighting at Sann-ai-Yat, Nearly all U\e wounded from this battle were evacu* atod in tiffs manner, and the fact that most of the work had to be done by night, with the stream running. at five miles per hour, makes this' achievement the more remarkable. By the ond of January, ! 1917, the Bed Cross hunches had carried many cases, and had travelled-, many miles of river, sometimes doing trips wider their own p6wer. A good description of these launches is given by Sir Arthur Lawley, of the Red Cross Society: "Two or three different types of hunch are t« service, according to the work for which they are intended, but the majority are 44-feet launches with a speed of 8-10 knots and one engine of from 2040 li.p. fitted right forward in a cabin just large enough to provide sleeping berths for the two drivers, who as a rule sleep in their boats. The rest of the launch is open. Ordinarily the accommodation Vis for thirty-six sitting cases or eight stretcher and sixteen sitting cases; though as-many as" fifty-six sitting cases have actually been carried in one trip. Substantial double awnings and side curtains protect the patients from the terrific heat of the sun's rays in the summer months."

In addition lo the transports and hospital ships, gunboats have taken part with greaj; success in the Mesopotamia operations. During the advance to Kilt and 'Bagdad in February and March, 1917, we had some 16 gunboats on the Tigris. These boats aro nnned with heavy.and light guns, pompoms ami Maxims, and carry a crew of about four officers and <J(J men. In the fighting at Sanii-ai-Ynt in February, 1917, they joined in the bombardment flt the Turkish positions, and afterwards pushed on up the river, shelling the retreating Turks. On February '24 tlie guuliuat squadron entered Iviit-el-Ainara, and nn the following days advanced in front of the army to Bagdad, which was readied on March 11 after heavy fighting, in wlfich we had the satisfaction, of retaking a gunboat which the Turks had captured from ,us during the retreat from Ctesiphon in 1915, as well as other Turkish steamers. Facilities for keeping all these vessels in repair, as well as erecting shop for reconstructing vessels brought out in sections, have naturally had to be provided on a considerable scale at the base ports. Engineering shops and plant of all kinds have had to he brought out from England and India, a motor-repairing dockyard lias been established, and nn inspector of motor-boats has been appointed to give special advice on the motor-boat services. It is impossible in the compass of this short article to convey any adequate impression of the work which' has been. done on the shores of the Slint-i'l-Arab. Docks and wharves have sprung up with incredible rapidity, first-class machinery and plant have been brought from Europe and have now been working for many months. In fact, when the war is over .a neglected and languishing Eastern harbour will have been converted into a first-class gort judged by European standards.'