THE BRITISH IN BAGHDAD.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 May 1917, Page 7

THE BRITISH IN BAGHDAD.

extry of the troops. ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME. ' The following account of the entry of' the British troops into Bagdad on March 11 was supplied by "Eye-witness": "Our vanguard entered Bagdad soon after nine o'clock in the morning. The city is approached by an unmetnlled road between palm groves and orango gardens. Crowds of Bagdadis came out to meet us, Persians, Arabs, Jews, Armenians, Chaldeans, and Christians of divers sects and races. They lined the streets, balconies, and roofs, cheering and clapping their hands, Groupß of school children danced in front of us, shouting and cheering, and the women of the iity turned out in their holiday dresses. The people of the city have been robbed to supply the Turkish army. For the last two years oppression was becoming unendurable. During last week it degenerated into brigand-age. I am, told that the mere mention of the British had become penal, and tlie people were afuiid to talk freely about tho war. "All hope of saving tho city was abandoned after wo effected: the crossing of the Tigris on February 23. Since that date the Turkish Government has been requisitioning private merchandise wholesale and despatching it iby trai''. to Samarrali. Three or four thousand liras worth of goods is believed to have been officially looted, including live thousand sacks of sugar. The German Consul left two iweeks and the Austrian two days ] ago. The bridge of boats, Turkish Army j clothing factory, and Messrs Lyncli's 4 offices werq blown up or otherwise de- i stroyed last night, and the railway station, civil hospital, and most British property, except tho Presidency, which ~ has been used as a Turkish hospital, | were either gutted or damaged. 1 "As soon as the gendarmerie left at | two o'clock this morning Kurds and I others began looting. As wo entered 9 from the east this morning they were I rifling the bazaar at the other end of the I city, and among the first citizens we l met were merchants who had run out to 8 crave our protection. Regiments were detailed to police the bazaar and houses. Picquets and patrols were allotted! but there was much that it was too late to save. Many shops had been gr.tted, 'and the valuables had all been cleared. The rabble were found busy dismantling interiors, tearing down bits of wood and iron, and carrying oIT bedsteads. They had even looted the seats from the public gardens. "The entry was very easy ami unofficial, and it was clear that the jov of the people was genuine. !N T o functionaries came out to meet us, as there was still fear of reprisals. Our own attitude was characteristic. There was no dis- t play or attempt at impressment. The - troops entered in the order of advance, B 1 ready to deploy against a new posi- I tion, dusty and unshaven after severj J days' bard fighting and bivouacking. It B was not known until we actually entered that the Turks had evacuated the city. The fighting 'between the 7th and the 10th Mad been heavy. Extraordinary gallantry was shown in crossing the Diala river."