Second Edition. Mesopotamia.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 36, 18 January 1916, Page 6

Second Edition. Mesopotamia.

SHORT STORY OF THE ADVANCE. HARD-FOUCHT ACTIONS. (UwiTiin Hmic«» association.l "(Received 1.2 p.m.) London. January IT. An officer, writing on the Mesopotamia operations during the last few months, says: though the outside world has heard little of our doings, they have now become a lull-pledged part of the h'nrin theatre of operations. After the capture of Kut-el-Ainara, the Turks became nervous of the safety of Bagdad and sent strong reinforcements against the Steady British advance from Basra. Our forces for the last three months were in continuous touch with, the enemy-, and fought several minor actions, lastly, the battle of Ctesiphon, where they drove out' four divisions of Turks from a strong position, inflicting heavy losses. This hard-fought action will rank as one of the greatest battles of the Indian Army. The troops were emaciated terribly, but, however wearied with the incessant work of fighting, they boldly faced enomwus'pdds. The Turks' main positions ; 'at Ctesiphon were situated on both sides of the river, and thenrapid retirement mostly prevented the British getting to close quarters. Arabs, hung" about the flanks and sniped 'from a safe distance, but whatever" our losses, the Turks' was more severe. They fought stubbornly to the end, knowing that an attempt to escape over open ground meant instant death. The trenches were full nf their dead, and piles of men showed where a lucky shell had fallen. ■