THE SECRETS OF A KUTTITE
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
AN EMPIRE VIEW OF
THE EMPIRE TANGLE
With an Introduction by the
RT. HON. W. F. MASSEY
THE PLACE OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW
IN JURISPRUDENCE
[Illustration: "CTESIPHON"
(THE FAMOUS ARCH WHERE THE WOUNDED WERE GATHERED AT THE HEIGHT
OF THE BATTLE)]
THE SECRETS OF A KUTTITE
AN AUTHENTIC STORY OF KUT,
ADVENTURES IN CAPTIVITY AND STAMBOUL INTRIGUE
BY
CAPTAIN E. O. MOUSLEY, R.F.A.
LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LIMITED
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMXXII
SECOND EDITION
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLES.
THE TREK
No pause, no rest! Forward the column pushes
Across the stern and unproductive plain--
And Thirst, Satan's archfiend, darts at the brain
And the weight of the great heat their spirit crushes
To deeper silence and the tired feet bleed--
While the ruthless Turk with yells and sometimes blows
Urges them on beside his impatient steed
To a Future where and how no soldier knows
Beyond the dust-cloud on the horizon's rim,
Beyond the range of Hope--to memories grim.
But neither desert thirst nor fiercest sun
Nor dust-storms, nor the unknown miles ahead
Can touch their heart or clog its valves with dread--
These English lads that fought at Ctesiphon.
"SPARKLING MOSELLE."
From _Smoke_, the Kastamuni _Punch_.
TO
MY MOTHER
PREFACE
The following pages were actually written during the
siege of Kut or during captivity. The original manuscript
was concealed in Turkey and recovered months
after the Armistice. I have been persuaded by my friends
that to recast or add to the story would detract from whatever
appeal it may have as a human document. As such,
with all its limitations, it is offered to the public.
The exigencies of a captivity such as mine, even more
than in the field, determine from moment to moment one's
focus and perspective, and what to-day presents itself for
record is to-morrow ignored or forgotten by concentration on
the few things and the few moments that count. Added to
this there is for the prisoner the pressure of existence when,
so far from being allowed a pencil, he is considerably occupied
with selling his last fork.
One moves on from minute to minute between walls that
recede or converge, and one's experience, therefore, is a series
of incidents often unfinished. A diary must reflect one's
experience.
The secrets of every Kuttite would "make many books"
as large as this. And from an experience more varied than
fell to the lot of many prisoners the author hopes that the
following extract, a simple story of incident, adventure and
intrigue, may interest the British reader.
EDWARD O. MOUSLEY.
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE CLUB,
PALL MALL,
_March, 1921_.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE ix
PART I
TO THE FALL OF KUT, APRIL 29TH, 1916
CHAPTER I
_En route_ from Hyderabad to Mesopotamia. Voyage up the Tigris 3
CHAPTER II
With the Sixth Division after Ctesiphon. The retreat and action at
Um-al-Tabul 10
CHAPTER III
We reach Kut. Beginning of the siege. The Christmas assault 22
CHAPTER IV
Relief delayed. Floods. Life during the siege 52
CHAPTER V
General Aylmer's attempt. More floods. Pressure of the siege.
Preparations for relief. Failure. Life in a siege mess 88
CHAPTER VI
The last days of Kut. Sickness. Death. Surrender 120
PART II
THE TREK. KASTAMUNI