By EDMUND CANDLER.
The last fighting before Baghdad is likely to become historic on
account of the splendid gallantry of our troops in the crossing of
the Diala River. After the action at Lajj the Turkish rearguard fell
back on Diala, destroying the bridge which crosses the stream at its
junction with the Tigris. We pushed on in pursuit on the left bank,
sending cavalry and two columns of infantry to work round on the
right bank, and to enter Baghdad from the west. Speed in following up
was essential, and the column attacking Diala was faced with another
crossing in which the element of surprise was eliminated. The village
lies on both banks of the stream, which is 120 yards wide. The houses,
trees, nullah, and walled gardens made it impossible to build a road
and ramps quickly and to bring up pontoons without betraying the point
of embarkation. Hence the old bridgehead site was chosen. The attack on
the night of the 7th was checked, but the quality of courage shown by
our men has never been surpassed in war. Immediately the first pontoon
was lowered over the ramp the whole launching party was shot down in a
few seconds. It was a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated
their machine guns and rifles in the houses on the opposite bank.
The second pontoon had got into the middle of the stream, when a
terrific fusillade was opened on it. The crew of five rowers and ten
riflemen were killed and the boat floated down the stream. A third got
nearly across, but was bombed and sank. All the crew were killed. But
there was no holding back. The orders still held to secure the passage.
Crew after crew pushed off to an obvious and certain death. The fourth
crossing party was exterminated in the same way, and the pontoons
drifted out to the Tigris to float past our camp in the daylight
with their freight of dead. The drafts who went over were raised by
volunteers from other battalions in the brigade. These and the sappers
on the bank share the honour of the night with the attacking battalion.
Nothing stopped them, save the loss of the pontoons. A Lancashire man
remarked: “It is a bit hot here, but let’s try higher up,” but the
gallant fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another regiment,
which was to cross higher up, were delayed, as the boats had to be
carried nearly a mile across country to the stream. After the failure
of the bridgehead passage the second crossing was cancelled, but the
men were still game.
On the second night the attempt was pursued with equal gallantry. This
time the attack was preceded by a bombardment. Registering by artillery
had been impossible on the first day in the speed of the pursuit. It
was the barrage that secured us the footing--not the shells, but the
dust raised by them. This was so thick that you could not see your hand
in front of your face. It formed a curtain behind which ten boats were
able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, when the curtain of dust
had lifted, the conditions of the night before were re-established.
Succeeding crossing parties were exterminated, and pontoons drifted
away, but a footing was secured. The dust served us well. The crew of
one boat which lost its way during the barrage were untouched, but they
did not make the bank in time. Directly the air cleared a machine-gun
was opened on them, and the rowers were shot down, and the pontoon
drifted back ashore. A sergeant called to volunteers to get the wounded
out of the boat, and a party of twelve men went over the river bank.
Every man of them, as well as the crew of the pontoons, were killed.
Some 60 men had got over, and these joined up and started bombing
along the bank. They were soon heavily pressed by the Turks on both
flanks, and found themselves between two woods. Here they discovered
a providential natural position. A break in the river bund had been
repaired by a new bund built in a half-moon on the landward side. This
formed a perfect lunette. The Lancashire men, surrounded on all sides
but the river, held it through the night, all the next day, and the
next night against repeated and determined attacks. Those attacks were
delivered in the dark or at dawn. The Turks only attacked once in the
daylight, as our machine guns on the other bank swept the ground in
front of the position. Twenty yards west of the lunette there was a
thin grove of mulberries and palms. The pontoon was most vulnerable
on this side, and it was here that the Turkish counter-attacks were
most frequent. Our intense intermittent artillery fire day and night
on the wood afforded some protection. The whole affair was visible to
our troops on the south side, who were able to make themselves heard by
shouting. Attempts to get a cable across with a rocket for the passage
of ammunition failed.
At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks were on top of the parapet,
but were driven back. One more determined rush would have carried
the lunette, but the little garrison, now reduced to 40, kept their
heads and maintained cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen
searching for loose rounds and emptying the bandoliers of the dead.
In the end they were reduced almost to their last clip and one bomb,
but we found over 100 Turkish dead outside the redoubts when they
were relieved at daylight. The crossing on the night of the 9th and
10th was entirely successful. With our cavalry and two columns of
infantry working round on the right bank the Turks were in danger of
being cut off, as at Sanna-i-Yat. Before midnight they had withdrawn
their machine guns, leaving only riflemen to dispute the passage. The
crossing upstream was a surprise. We slipped through the Turkish guard.
He had pickets at both ends of the river salient where we dropped
our pontoons. But he overlooked essential points in it which offered
us dead ground uncovered by posts up and down stream. Consequently
our passage here lost us no lives. The other ferry near the bridge
was also crossed with slight loss, owing to a diversion up-stream.
The Turks, perceiving that their flank was being turned, effected a
general retirement of the greater part of their garrison between the
two ferries. Some 250 in all, finding us bombing down on both flanks,
surrendered. The upper crossing was so unexpected that one Turk was
actually bayonetted as he lay covering the opposite bank with his rifle.
By 9.30 on the morning of the 10th the whole brigade had crossed.
Soon after 11 the brigade was complete and the pursuit continued.
The Turks continued their rearguard action, and in the afternoon
there was fighting in the palm groves of Saida, and the Turks were
cleared with the bayonet, after artillery had combed the wood. The
main body was holding the El Mahomed position, one and a half miles
further north--a trench line running nearly four miles inland from the
Tigris. We attacked this in front, while another column made a wide
turning movement on the flank, and the enemy evacuated it at night.
On the morning of the 12th we entered Baghdad. Our force on the right
bank, after defeating the Turkish rearguard in two actions, reached
the suburb on the opposite side of the Bridge of Boats. A brigade was
ferried across in coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union Jack on
the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry continued the pursuit and occupied
Kazimain after slight resistance. Four damaged aeroplanes and 100
prisoners were taken, in addition to the 300 captured on the left bank.
The gunboats are still in pursuit of the enemy, who are reported to
be entrenching 16 miles north of Baghdad, covering the entrainment of
troops.