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KUT AVENGED.

THE TIGRIS DRAMA. I STORY OP LAST YEAR'S SPLENDID FAILURE. The entry of General Maude's forces into Bagdad wipes out the unpleasant impress made upon British arms when, after a ricge of 143 days, General Townshend, with fIOOO men, surrenderc! on April 28 last to the Turks. The garrison had made a gallant defence, but the exhaustion of all his supplies left only one course open to the commander, and for the first time in more than a century a British army hauled down its flag and presented arms to an enemy. While General Townshend was con- ' ducting his parley with the Ottoman commander, General Gorringe, heading a relief army of 40,000 men, was still trying to break his way through the Turkish cordon drawn across the valley of the Tigris Ifi miles away. The emaciated troops in Kut could hear the echo of their comrades' guns. But the relief columns beat in vain against the Turkish positions, which, reinforced by floods, stood firm, and General Townshend. after destroying his artillery and blowing up his remaining ammunition, had to accept the inevitable. . v

GORDON DRAMA HE-EXACTED. "It is 'Chinese Gordon' all over agi\in," was the comment of military men when the surrender of the gallant British force that had fought amid ilesopotaminn sands for more than four months only to succumb at last to the grim spectre of starvation, was announced last year. Sent out in haste, improperly equipped to perform a task the potentialities of which were only guessed at, reinforced by driblets, pushed far ahead of a feeble- line of communication that finally snapped, General Townshend's Tigris expedition is one more mark in the grim score that Great Britain keeps of brave men squandered. Time and time England has bent forth her sons, setting them to impossible tasks, leaving them to work out their own salvation, and at last pushing out relief expeditions that came too late. But if England pays, she exacts full value. General Townsheml's men have not fought in vain, unless his-, tory should fail to repeat itself. 'Marching along the banks of the Tigris, with a fleet of shallow draught gunboats working its way up the river in conjunction, the little force at first, achieved some success. Then the Turks began to .concentrate more and more troops, regulars and hordes of tribesmen, am} a hasty call was sent for reinforcements, Indian units, territorials, Canadians, and Australians were sent in to raise its strength, until it is estimated that General Townshend had with him fully 50,000 men.

The expedition worked its way nearly 300 miles up the river, and finally came almost within sight of Bagdad, tlic romantic city of Haroun-al-Rasehid. Then a great force of Turkish troops Klet it and forced Oncral Townsliend to stand at bay. In the ruins of Ctosiphon the British made their stand, in the middle of November last. Here for several days they beat off a series of desperate attacks with ja-oat loss on both sides. But the Ottoman forces were hourly increasing, and finally,, forced a retreat. The British loss here was 4367 officers and men.

, BEGINNING OF RETREAT. The British gathered up their wounded and fell buck, fighting every step of the way. No one knows the real story of that, awful 90-mile retreat until the exhausted troops reached the shelter of the fortifications of Kut-el-Amara. During tjhe retreat two gunboats were lost. Ivut is a city built on the left bank of the Tigris, almost at the river level. To the north are, gently-rolling sandhills, and on the other side of the river the desert is cut by long rows of nullah', ravines which offered ideal trench positions for defence. The city had been fortified by the Turlts, but was captured by General Townsher.d on the way up the river. A series of field works had been constructed about five miles away from the city. The gaps between were filled with barbed wire entanglements. Into this haven General' Townshend's men dropped, and began the task of defending what was to be their last stand. The Ottoman troops settled dawn in front of the place, while heavy flanking parties swept by on both banks and speedily cut the slender lines of communications. General Townshend's only communication from that time was by wireless and occasional messages dropped by aviators from the relief force that was gathered ; at Basra and sent up the river. When the British military authorities realised the position of General Townshend and could spare tjoons for the relief of the expedition, ilajbr-General Fenton John Aylmer, V.C., an officer of undoubted bravery and lengthy experience, who had been with General Town--liend in the Chitval, set out from Miam, Alligarbi, to work his way to the beleaguered force jit Kiit. General Aylmer's force has been estimated at 50,000, accompanied by gunboats and lightdraft supply boats. With him went"engineering troops and paraphernalia for constructing roads for the line of communications. But this expedition, too, termed the Tigris Corps, was insufficiently provided with stores, medical material in particular being lucking, as was afterwards asserted in 'Parliament. General Sir John Eceles 'Nixon, at that time in command of all the operations in' Mesopotamia, later was removed because of this. It is asserted that General Nixon was made the scapegoat to cover the inefficiencies of others nearer at home.

TURKS INTERPOSE RESISTANCE. Soon after setting out the Tigris Corps met resistance 011 both banks .of the river, General Campbell's column bn the left bank attacked the opposing forces and cleared its way through, with heavy loss. General Avlmer in his reports asserted that, three Turkish divisions' were operating 011 the right bank. On January 14 General Aylmer struck the Turks a heavy blow at Orali. The next day he drove them from that place, only 25 miles from Kut,. On January 17 the British once more attacked; and hope ran high that General Townshend was to he relieved.

The lighting in these battle .was savage. General Kemball on. January 13, on the right bank, held the Turks while General Aylmei', on the left bank, stormed (he Wadcli positions, pressing back two divisions-, The gunboats on the river aidcil in the fight' with their guns. General Nixon about this tlme . ; waV re-

moved and Lieutenant-General Sir Percy 'Henry Noel Lake replaced him, taking command on . January 18. The Felahie positions were ..now attacked, and the British succeeded by hand-to-liand fighting of the most murderous sort in penetrating part of, the, Turkish trenches, but equally fierce counter-at-tacks drove them out again, with a loss estimated at iittKi killed, wounded, and captured. To add to General Aylmer's difficulties, the medical service broke down entirely, and lie had on his hands not only the wounded, but also thousands of men brought down by fever from lighting in the river marshes. All through February and March the Tigris Corps raged helplessly against the Turkish barriers, but wer.e unable to pierce them. In the early part of April Major-General Sir George Frederick Gorringe, 0.13., who has taken part in practically every relief expedition that Great Britain has sent out to help her (far-flung expeditions since the time of Gordon, arrived with reinforcements, and superseded General AylnVer, who has the reputation of being one of the most unlucky, officers in the British service. SUCCESS AT UMM-F.L-lIENXA. General Gorringe apparently imbued the Tigris Corps, with new life, for on April 5, at tlmm-el-Henna, the British brought themselves to within 100 yards of the Turkish trenches by saps, then the Thirteenth Division stormed the first and second lines at v dawn. By G p'clock in the morning the third line was won, and then, reinforced by the Fifteenth Division, they took the fourth and fifth lines. The approaches to the other Turkish trenches were in such open country that it was deemed best to wait until nightfall. In the meantime General Kealy, with the Third Division on the right, bank of the river, worked his way opposite the. Felahie positions, repulsing a sorles of counter-attacks. From this point he delivered c enfilading lire across the river at l'-;' i.;ie, and at nightfall General- Gorringe by an assault in force won Felahie.

There still remained the, Sannaiyat positions before Es Sinn, the last bar to Kut, was reached. General. Gorringe threw his men againsb this point, but here the Turks held, and back in Kut General Townshend's men could only tighten their' belts a bit and set their gaunt faces as they heard the roar of battle die away without the sight of the long-expected relief columns winding their way along the Tigris banks.

By means pf tlie wireless General Townsliend was able to tell General Gorringe ofyhis straits. The defenders still had ammunition, but their supplies were running low. The civil population was forced from the town, while British aeroplanes from the Tigris Corps hovered over, dropping small quantities of provisions. General Gorringe tried once more against Snnniyat on April 20 and 21, after his engineers bad delved their way to within roach of the Turkish trenches. His men threw themselves time and time apain against the works, but in vain. Once more Townshcnd's troops felt the bitter sting of liope deferred. Blocked as they were by forces many time's greater than their own, they could not attpfa.pt a sortie. It was all that they could do to hold their own, with their strength dwindling every day from bullets and disease. Outlying positions were abandoned, and they took up their stand in narrow lines, while the besiegers edged their way up just that much further and waited. ATTEMPTS TO SEND FOOD BOAT. Tn response to urgent appeals from Kut. General Gorringe made a desperate attempt. to send provisions into the town. A river steamboat, manned by volunteers and loaded with provisions, was sent at night up the Tigris. Barely moving, the little steamboat crept up to the Turkish lines and past them without •being discovered. Then, with engines pounding, she dashed up the river for Kut. Bnt luck was against the British. British aeroplanes discovered her high and dry the next day. What happened to her gallant crew is not known. It was the last straw. Human endurance could stand no more, and General Townsliend was forced to capitulate after a siege of 143 days, second only to the siege of Przemysl in the present struggle. Trzemysl (in Austrian hands) held out for 182 days against the Russians.

The defence of Kut will rank as one of the bravest exploits in British military history, and General Townshend's name will go dqwn to posterity with Inglis and Haveloek and Outram at Lueknow during the Sepoy mutiny in 1857, the British siege nearest approaching to Kut in importance and gallantry. T' e first siege at Lueknow lasted 87 days, the handtul of British troops and civilians, then under General Inglis, lasting until General Haveloek arrived to relieve them. But General Haveloek, in turn, was besieged, and the British troops were locked up for three months more before they finally were rescued.

The siege of Mafeking during the Boer war is the nearest British action to Kut in point of length. The British were beleaguered there for 132 days. Kimberlev, in the same struggle, held out for 123 days, while Ladysuiith was defended for 118 days.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19170316.2.49

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1917, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,885

KUT AVENGED. Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1917, Page 7

KUT AVENGED. Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1917, Page 7

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