WITH THE INDIAN FORCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1915, Page 5

WITH THE INDIAN FORCE.

ENCOUNTERS WITH TURKS. CHARGE IN THE DARK. A detailed account of some of the fighting of the. Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia is given in a letter from Captain R. Clifford, which'has just been received by Mr. Paul A. Clifford, of Waihi (reports the New Zealand Herald). The communication was despatched from Aziziyah, on the Tigris, about fio miles from Bagdad, and is dated 13th October last.

"We are just through with-the biggest fight there has been yet," says the writer. "The Turks—about 10,000 strong—held a position at a place called Ks Sinn, across .(ho Tigris. It was a most appallingly strong one. Yon see, in this country, the advantage is always with the defenders, as the whole place is as flat ns a' billiard table. The enemy held a line of high ground, and had entrenched it in a most marvellous manner. Their forts were really underground cities, and they had barbed wire, bombs, mines, etc., and they were commanded by Numddin Pasha. I think lie commanded at the siego of Adrianople in the last Balkan war, so yon could not teach him much in the way of fortifications. We had about 7000 men all told, but,we had a preponderance in artillery. On 25th September we eamo to a place about four miles from their position, and on the night of the 261h-27th, leaving a force to demonstrate in front, we went with the, majority of the force by night and marched round between marshes, etc., and, getting almost behind their left flank, swept down on them. That made their left flank retire, and we got them and kept them on the run. "The force in front, however, was unable to make any headway, and asked for help, so we started to get right behind the forts they were attacking. It was now 0 p.m. and we had one hour of daylight left. Suddenly a large force of Turks appeared on our right. I think they were reinforcements from the other side of the Tigris, numbering about 4000, with a battery and four machine-guns. We changed our direction and went straight for them, and in an hour and a quarter turned them out of the last position they took up. The charge took place in the dusk, and it was really a very brilliant attack. The men—both 'Thomas Atkins' and 'Jack Sepoy'—were beyond all praise; nothing could slop them. Wo bivouacked in their position for the night, during which the Turks retired. Our casulaties were heavy—l23l—but the extraordinary thing is that the number of killed' was very small, only S5. Of course a number will probably die of wounds, but even so it will be a very low percentage of killed to wounded. This regiment had the heaviest list of casualties. Three British officers were -wounded, including the' commanding officer, seven native officers were wounded, nine killed, and 154 were wounded of the rank and file. •'We got rather badly strafed by shrapnel'at one period, and in the evening attack rather bore the brunt of it in the beginning. The Turks lost in dead, wounded, and prisoners, as far as one can calculate, about 3000, besides six guns, two machine-guns, and seven old smooth-bore guns, which are. not much use. Clearing up the battlefield was a nasty job, and even two days afterwards "we were still bringing in the Turkish wounded, etc. 1 think it is just about as hot a place as I ever want to be in.

''We had no water, except what we started with, from 7 p.m. on the 20th till ft a.m. on the 2!lth. We must have marched quite eighteen miles before we had finished. It gave up Kut-el-Amara, and makes Nasarizali, which we are holding on the Euphrates, safe. We have followed the Turks up here, but their advanced position near here is now unoccupied. It is just beginning to get cool now, but the sun is still unpleasantly strong in the middle of the day.