The 2nd Battalion disembarked at Ali-el-Gharbi, one hundred and eighty
miles from Basrah. The ground was little better than a bog from the
rain of the previous day; with very little rain the whole countryside
seems to become a quagmire. The mud is about the most slippery kind to
be found anywhere, so that walking is made most difficult. The first
work was to unload the barges. All the kit, supplies, and tents had to
be taken ashore as we were leaving the boats for good and were now in
a hostile country. The unloading is a tedious business and one of the
most tiring of fatigues, but when the whole of a regiment is put on to
it the work is soon finished. That night No. 1 Company was on Out-Post
duty and the rest slumbered.
The following morning broke fine and sunny, as so often happens in
this country after wet and miserable evenings. The clouds roll up
during the night and the morning is such that one feels it is good to
be alive. There was a sharpness in the air that made it almost
impossible to think that in a few months' time this country would be
proving itself to be the hottest in the world. The orders were to be
up at dawn and start immediately after breakfast. Part of the Brigade
transport was of camels, but the camels getting out of hand
disappeared into the desert and the start had to be made without them.
It is a fascinating picture to see a long line of camels in single
file starting off on a voyage across the desert. But this
misadventure had delayed matters and the heat after midday was very
trying for marching although in the distance one could see the snow on
the higher summits of the Pusht-i-kuh Mountains which form the
dividing line between Persia and Turkey. From an aeroplane the picture
of the Tigris flowing through this flat country with all its numerous
twists and turns must resemble a huge snake. A short halt was made in
the middle of the day for lunch, and a final halt was not called till
within five miles of Sheikh-Saad, and a distance of twenty-two miles
had been covered, not bad work, considering the Regiment had just
landed after being cooped up for a month on transports and river
boats. But everyone was dead tired and exhausted and No. 1 Company was
pleased that they had provided the Out-Posts the previous night, and
that it was the turn of No. 2 to do duty. General Younghusband with
part of his division had moved out and engaged the enemy, and that
night we could see the flashes of the guns and hear the constant
rattle of musketry. At break of day General Aylmer, the Corps
Commander, rode out past us to the advanced force, but it was not till
after nine o'clock that our Brigade advanced some five miles and lay
down to await orders. The orders were clear and promised success. One
Brigade was to deal with the Turks on the right bank of the Tigris,
one Brigade was to hold his forces near the left bank, while a third,
with ours in immediate support, was to make the decisive attack on the
enemy's left flank. This Brigade and ours therefore manoeuvred to the
right for position. Before we had taken sufficient ground to our
right, fresh orders arrived directing both Brigades to counter-march
back and attack the centre of the enemy's line, against which the
Brigade on our left was already moving. Instant action was demanded
and instantly the 2nd Battalion and a battalion of Jats moved forward
to the attack. No time was given for the issue of orders, no frontage
or direction was given, no signal communication was arranged. To all
enquiries the one answer was given "Advance where the bullets are
thickest" and right there did the 2nd Battalion advance. Magazines
were charged and bayonets fixed on the move; the companies moved with
great rapidity and wonderful exactness considering the exhausting
march of the day before and the little practice they had had in open
warfare. But without covering fire, and there was little artillery
fire available to cover our attack such an attack over bare open plain
cannot succeed unless the enemy be few in numbers or of poor heart.
The Turk was neither weak nor faint-hearted, and poured in so deadly a
fire that before the leading lines were within 200 yards of the enemy,
five hundred of the battalion had been killed or wounded. Other units
suffered with almost equal severity, the attack came to an inevitable
halt, there were no reserves to drive it home, consequently orders
were sent up from the Brigade that the infantry should dig themselves
in where they were. Nineteen officers and two-thirds of the men had
been hit: Colonel Wauchope was severely wounded by a shell and Major
Hamilton Johnstone took over command.
[Illustration: The Pipe Band.]
[Illustration: Corporal McLEOD.]
[Illustration: The Pipe Band.]
[Illustration: Our Left Flank At San-i-yat, The Tigris.]
[Illustration: Capt. HALDANE Inspects The Hannah Trenches.]
[Illustration: At Mohammerah.]
But if our losses were heavy and the sufferings great, the Turk had
also suffered so heavily at our hands, that he was forced to evacuate
his position on the following day, and we occupied it on the 9th. The
situation was one of extreme difficulty for the new Commanding
officer. If there were few men left there were still fewer officers or
sergeants remaining with much experience. Yet the Turks were close to
our trenches and re-organisation of the depleted platoons imperative.
But his indomitable spirit and the determination within the regiment,
so often shown at times of crisis, made the hardest tasks possible.
The wounded were brought back, the dead buried; rations were got
forward and the trenches securely held. New leaders were appointed,
and on January 10th when the Brigade moved forward from Sheikh-Saad
the Battalion had been reformed under its well-loved commander, ready
as always to do whatever duty lay before.
Progress was made up the river bank slowly, but always in the
direction of Kut, the aim and object of our every march and fight at
this period. The enemy had retreated some miles and, on January 13th,
they were attacked and driven out of their position on the Wadi, the
2nd Battalion playing a small but successful part in this action and
losing 34 men. The Turks then fell back on to a more strongly
entrenched position at Hannah.
The rainy season was now in full swing. It rained day after day and
the whole country became sodden, making it very difficult to move
troops and almost impossible to move artillery. The discomfort the men
suffered is almost indescribable, with no tents and everyone
chronically wet to the skin and unable to have properly cooked food,
made a seemingly hopeless position; but it is wonderful how hardship
and discomforts are forgotten at the thought of beleaguered comrades
in need of help and, as the country dried up and the sun shone forth,
the men's spirits rose. On the eighteenth the 2nd Battalion had
orders again to move forward. They did so and occupied a line of
trenches about two thousand yards off the enemy, who were strongly
entrenched in what is now known as the Hannah position. The whole
country here, it must be understood, is absolutely flat, only in the
distance twenty or thirty miles away one could see the snow-clad
Pusht-i-kuh Mountains. Each night short advances were made and fresh
trenches dug, till the night of the 20th. In this manner an advance
was made up to within two hundred and fifty yards of the enemy's
position. There, under cover of darkness the last line of trenches
were dug and the companies deployed into two lines, and there they
faced the enemy and awaited dawn. The Battalion and our old friends,
the Jats, had been lent to another Brigade detailed to make the
decisive assault on the morning of the 21st. Major Hamilton Johnston
had made every possible arrangement for a successful assault and the
leading lines were well within striking distance of the enemy. But
however brilliantly carried out an assault may be, however gallant and
determined the men, to ensure a lasting success against a determined
foe there must be weight as well as depth in the attack. Now on the
night of the 20th, owing to the movement among the troops, lack of
reconnaissance and the mud, the troops in rear of the two leading
battalions were deployed so far back, that though they moved forward
in the morning simultaneously with the Jats and Highlanders, they
suffered such losses on their way that none were able to reach the
enemy trenches. And dire was our need there for support.
At a given signal our artillery opened a light bombardment of seven
minutes, then the long awaited and thrilling order to assault was
given. The companies made a magnificent response and all rushed
forward, crossed the muddy water-logged No Man's Land with their left
200 or 300 yards from the river, and gained the objective, though not
without losses. No pause had been made for firing for the bayonet was
the weapon our men trusted. More and more it is proved that the
bayonet is the weapon that wins the trench, the rifle the defensive
weapon that holds it. Yet though no pause had been made our losses in
that charge were severe. Major Hamilton Johnston was struck first by
bullet and then, almost at once, killed by shell; only four officers
reached the objective and of these three were wounded. The Turks
fought desperately and it was only after a severe struggle that we
captured some 300 yards of the first line trench. The Jats had
suffered fully as severely as ourselves, but a certain number joined
up with our men and fought right well, but no further assistance was
forthcoming. The Colonel was once asked by the Higher Command if such
and such a trench could be captured. "My Regiment," he replies, "will
capture any trench, but it is a different matter whether it is
possible to hold it." Then for one and a quarter hours, the length of
time which the trench was held, the Regiment added a very glorious
page to its history. Great gallantry was displayed and Lieut. M. M.
Thorburn who was severely wounded by a bayonet thrust received the
Military Cross as an immediate award. The enemy counter-attacked from
two sides and our few bombs, though replenished from some captured
from the enemy, were soon expended; but many charges up the trenches
were made to bomb them out, two machine guns were captured and put
out of action. Slowly however the Turks drove the remnants of our
platoons towards the river and the killed and wounded greatly
outnumbered the survivors, 2nd Lieutenant Souther was wounded but
refused to retire, and every moment the situation was getting more
desperate. 2nd Lieutenant Henderson assumed command and was gallantly
supported by C.S.M. Proudfoot and Sergeant McDonald. Seeing that the
position was untenable, C.S.M. Proudfoot asked 2nd Lieutenant
Henderson if he did not think it would be wise to fall back as no
assistance was being sent, and men were being uselessly sacrificed.
"How can I order the Regiment to retire?" he replied. C.S.M. Proudfoot
and Sergt. MacDonald were both killed. Two of the finest men in the
regiment they were, and both had been recommended for commissions.
Proudfoot would have made a splendid officer; he had perhaps the
finest physique of any man in the Battalion and for long had been the
best reel dancer. No one who ever knew Sergt. MacDonald will forget
him. His soft voice and gentle manner, his readiness to help whoever
had need endeared him to all, and many a brave deed had he done as
scout leader of the Battalion both in France and Mesopotamia. It now
became impossible to remain unsupported in the enemy's position.
Slowly and in good order some eighty men, one quarter of those who had
started the attack two hours before, retired across No Man's Land and
regained our trenches.
[Illustration: Captured Turkish Officers.]
[Illustration: Turkish Prisoners Arrive At Basrah.]
When muster roll was called ninety-nine men remained of this gallant
Regiment, out of the nine hundred and fifty who had landed in
Mesopotamia less than three weeks before. As many wounded as possible
were brought in. The Padre, Major the Revd. Macfarlane did splendid
service. Darkness was closing in as the Regiment fell back on to the
second line, and the very skies wept at the tragedy being enacted
below them. No tents, no warmth, all soaked to the skin, intense cold,
and defeated. It is possible to be happy even if wet, cold and hungry
if you are victorious, but to be wet, cold and defeated, and yet
undaunted is worthy of the highest traditions of heroes.
The following day what remained of the Battalion was moved across the
river, and 2nd Lieutenant Stewart Smith assumed command, to be
followed shortly by Captain Crake.
The stay on the right bank of the river was short, and the remnants of
the Battalion were again soon on the left bank, but the losses of the
Highland units engaged had been so heavy that it was decided to form
one Battalion of what remained, under Colonel Thompson. This brilliant
officer was shortly afterwards given a Brigade, and during the
Campaign of the winter 1916-17 did such excellent work that he was
rewarded with the command of a Division again proving that age should
not be regarded as a deterrent for promotion if ability is
conspicuous. He was only forty when commanding a Brigade. During
February and March the Battalion suffered great discomfort, not to
speak of hardships. The rainfall was unusually heavy and the country
all mud. Difficulty was experienced in getting up supplies. And every
day and every hour the Turks were tightening their hold on Kut, so
gallantly defended by General Townshend and his brave division. For in
reading the history of the battles of this spring, we must always
remember that the relief of Kut was the object in view, and for
that object our Generals were right in giving battle and in accepting
any odds while one chance remained of final success.
[Illustration: J. F. C. DIXON, M.C.]
[Illustration: S. L. HUNTER.]
[Illustration: A. B. CUMMING (Killed 22-4-16).]
[Illustration: Zobeir Minaret.]
The Regiment was now encamped near the Hannah position, fresh drafts
arrived, re-organisation completed and training continued in bombing,
trench digging and minor manoeuvres. The great effort on the right
bank of March 8th had failed, but within a month another supreme
effort was made on the left bank. Another Division had arrived from
Gallipoli and, on April 5th, under General Maude, their trusted
commander, this Division captured the Hannah position. On the evening
of the same day, they gained the Falahiyah trenches and on the same
night our column, with the Highland Battalion leading, marched through
Falahiyah and advanced up the edge of the Suwakie Marsh with the
intention of attacking the Turkish left. As so often happens, however,
on a night march, some delay occurred, and at dawn the troops had not
reached their objective and were not fully deployed. The Turks opened
a very heavy fire practically destroying our leading platoons and, as
we were still some six hundred yards from their trenches, the order
was given to dig in where we were. This was done, but the weather this
year was beyond all precedent, the marsh kept on rising and before
evening it had flooded our men out of the new trenches. We were
consequently ordered to retire three hundred yards and dig in afresh.
On the 7th a demonstration in force was carried out by fresh troops;
little was effected by this demonstration as it was checked mainly by
shell and machine gun fire before advancing very far. Like many
another effort of these heart breaking days, it was fore-doomed to
fail; and the spirits of the troops and their fighting value was only
maintained by the stern resolve that every man would continue
fighting, no matter against what odds, so long as the flag was still
flying over Kut.
On the night of the 8th, another Division took over our trenches, and
on the following evening made a night advance and attacked the
San-i-yat position. Heavy casualties were incurred, but they failed to
reach the enemy's position. We therefore again took over and held the
trenches until April 22nd. A final attack was planned for that day to
be made by two Brigades, but at the last moment the Brigade on our
right found the ground in their front impassable owing to the rising
of the marsh. Consequently in the assault we were exposed to a heavy
fire from our right flank as well as from the front. Nevertheless the
gallant Highlanders swept across the muddy ground, drove the enemy
from his first line and assaulted the second. Lieutenant Forester led
his platoon against the third line, but from that gallant assault none
returned. Major Inglis, the senior officer with the Battalion, and
many another were killed. The enemy trenches were in most places
filled with water, to consolidate our position was impossible and,
fired on from three sides, the survivors of the Brigade were forced
slowly back to their original position. With new drafts the Highland
Battalion had attacked at full strength, but suffered during the day
over 600 casualties.
[Illustration: Views Of Beit Nama Hospital.]
[Illustration: In The Garden Of Beit Nama Hospital.]
[Illustration: The Hospital Launch.]
[Illustration: A Hospital Ship.]
[Illustration: Officers' Tents, Falahiyah.]
[Illustration: The Mess Tents, Falahiyah.]
[Illustration: The Regiment Moves Off.]
[Illustration: Arab Girls.]
The position now in Kut was almost hopeless, and General Townshend
began to destroy his stores and guns. One last but very gallant
attempt was to be made to get supplies in, and the General Officer
Commanding the Expeditionary Force reported as follows:--
"At 8 p.m., on April 24th, 1916, with a crew from the Royal Navy
under Lieutenant Firman, R.N., assisted by Lieut.-Commander Cowley,
R.N.V.R., the 'Julnar,' carrying 270 tons of supplies left Falahiyah
in an attempt to reach Kut. Her departure was covered by all Artillery
and Machine gun fire that could be brought to bear, in the hope of
attracting the enemy's attention. She was, however, discovered and
shelled on her passage up the river. At 1 a.m., on the 25th, General
Townshend reported that she had not yet arrived, and that at midnight
a burst of heavy firing had been heard at Magasis, some 8-1/2 miles
from Kut by river, which had suddenly ceased. There could be little
doubt that the enterprise had failed, and the next day the Air Service
reported the 'Julnar' in the hands of the Turks at Magasis. The
leaders of this brave attempt, Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and
his assistant Lieut.-Commander C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R., the latter of
whom throughout the campaign in Mesopotamia performed magnificent
service in command of the 'Mejidieh,' have been reported by the Turks
to have been killed, the remainder of the gallant crew, including five
wounded, are prisoners of war. Knowing well the chances against them
all the gallant officers and men who manned the 'Julnar' for the
occasion were volunteers. I trust the services in this connection of
Lieut. H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and Lieut-Commander C. H. Cowley,
R.N.V.R., his assistant, both of whom were unfortunately killed, may
be recognized by the posthumous grant of some suitable honour."
ADMIRALTY.
"The King has been graciously pleased to approve of the posthumous
grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned officers in
recognition of their conspicuous gallantry in an attempt to
reprovision the Force besieged in Kut-el-Amarah:--
Lieut. Humphry Osbaldeston Brooke Firman, R.N.
Lieut.-Comdr. Charles Henry Cowley, R.N.V.R."
* * * * *
After a stubborn defence for one hundred and forty-three days, General
Townshend's supplies were exhausted, and he was compelled to surrender
on April 29th, with 9,000 men.
[Illustration: On The Banks Of The Tigris. 125° In The Shade.]
[Illustration: Beit Nama Hospital.]
[Illustration: One Of The Noble Band Of Sisters.]
[Illustration: A Winter Sunrise. Beit Nama Hospital.]