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Title: With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia
1916--1917
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: July 19, 2007 [EBook #22103]
Language: English
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WITH A HIGHLAND
REGIMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA
[Illustration: General Sir Stanley Maude And His Staff, Baghdad, 1917.
_Frontispiece._]
WITH A
HIGHLAND REGIMENT
IN MESOPOTAMIA
1916-1917
BY
ONE OF ITS OFFICERS
BOMBAY
THE TIMES PRESS
1918
TO
THE CHILDREN OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE ---- REGIMENT
BRIEFLY DESCRIBING THE DOINGS OF THE
2ND BATTALION IN MESOPOTAMIA
WRITTEN SO THAT THEY MAY NOT FORGET THE
HARDSHIPS ENDURED AND THE SACRIFICES WHICH
HAVE BEEN MADE ON THEIR BEHALF
1916-1917.
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
In writing this short account of the 2nd Battalion in Mesopotamia, my
aim has not been to write a military history of all that was achieved;
that will be the task of some one more competent to judge of merits
and demerits than myself. My object has been to give an account in
simple language of the two years spent by the Battalion in the Iraq,
so that the children of the men of the regiment may know of the brave
deeds and the hardships cheerfully borne on their behalf.
Two articles describing our last two battles are here reprinted with
the permission of Brigadier-General A. G. Wauchope, from whom I have
also received many details of our earlier fights, and I am also
indebted for information to Captains J. Macqueen, W. E. Blair, W. A.
Young, Sergeant-Major W. S. Clark, and other officers of the
Battalion.
MESOPOTAMIA,
_October, 1917._
_Telegram from_
HIS MAJESTY THE KING.
Received by Colonel A. G. WAUCHOPE, D.S.O., Commanding, 2nd
Battalion--January 1917.
I thank you, Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men, for the card
of New Year's greetings.
I have followed the work of the Battalion with great interest. I know
how well all ranks have done, what they have suffered, and that they
will ever maintain the glorious tradition of the Regiment.
GEORGE, R.I.,
_Colonel-in-Chief_.
_Order by G. O. C., ---- Division._
I cannot speak too highly of the splendid gallantry of the
----Highlanders, aided by a party of the ---- Jats, in storming the
Turkish Trenches.
Their noble achievement is one of the highest.
They showed qualities of endurance and courage under circumstances so
adverse, as to be almost phenomenal.
SIR GEORGE YOUNGHUSBAND,
Commanding ---- Division.
After the action fought on the 21st January 1916 on the Tigris the
above was published.
* * * * *
_Letter to O. C. 2nd Battalion ----._
Tell the men of your battalion that they have given, in the advance to
the relief of Kut, brilliant examples of cool courage, and hard and
determined fighting which could not be surpassed.
SIR PERCY LAKE,
Commanding the Army in Mesopotamia.
_July, 1916._
* * * * *
_General Munro, C.-in-C, Indian Army, addressing the ---- Regiment,
Tigris Front--October 1916._
Your reputation is well known, I need say nothing more.
* * * * *
To the ---- Regiment.
_From Sir Stanley Maude, Army Commander--March 1917._
You led the way into Baghdad, and to lead and be first is the proper
place for your Regiment.
WITH A HIGHLAND REGIMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA.
CHAPTER 1.
At the outbreak of war, the 2nd Battalion ---- was stationed at
Bareilly, having been in India since the end of the South African War.
Of the fighting in that campaign, the 2nd Battalion had had its full
share. At first it formed part of General Wauchope's Highland Brigade
and fought with traditional stubbornness at Magersfontein and
Paadeburg, and later on identified its name with many of the captures
and some of the hardest marches of that campaign.
On the mobilisation of the Indian Corps, the 2nd Battalion formed part
of a Brigade of the ----th Division and landed in France early in
October 1914, and were in the trenches holding part of the line near
Festubert before the end of the month. At no time, except in the early
months of 1916 in Mesopotamia, was the Battalion so severely tried as
in these first two months in France. The conditions certainly were
comfortable neither to mind or body. The trenches were knee deep in
mud and water, and were without dug-outs or shelters; the enemy were
in great numbers and combined their aggressive tactics with the use of
trench mortars and grenades, weapons of which we had neither knowledge
nor training; of rest for man or officer there was little, yet no
yard of trench entrusted to the Battalion was ever lost either in
France or Mesopotamia. With the spring came better times, and at Neuve
Chappelle a fine victory was won at small cost, but on the 9th of May
the Battalion suffered heavily in making an attack from the Orchard in
front of the Rue-de-Bois. Often and with pleasure have we in the Iraq
looked back on that summer spent in Picardy. Scouts and snipers,
machine gunners and bombers, we all have different memories of those
stirring days as the battalion moved from month to month along the
trenches from Givenchy Hill to Northward of Laventie; and of the days
of rest in billets behind Bethune, Richebourg and the Rue de Paradis;
memories of close comradeship, of well-loved friends, of most noble
deeds and of lives freely given for King and Country. But the day we
recall now and shall ever recall as the red letter day of the year is
the 21st of September. Five battalions of the Regiment joined that day
in the battle of Loos, and though separated in the line, at one in
spirit, all five battalions swept forward regardless of loss, driving
the enemy from their trenches, captured line after line of the
position and penetrated deep into the German defences.
The 2nd and 4th Battalions had attacked together from Fauguissart and,
in reaching the Moulin de Pictre, an advance of two miles made with
little support on either left flank or right, the losses had been so
severe that the two battalions were afterwards amalgamated into one
under the command of Colonel Wauchope. These two battalions, in
conjunction with another Highland Regiment under Colonel Thompson,
despite several attacks and four mines being blown up within our
first line, held Givenchy Hill throughout October. Then, when the
Germans quieted down in this neighbourhood, we returned to our old
line near the Rue de Bois. There rumour had it that the Indian Corps
was soon to be sent to Mesopotamia. Some welcomed the idea of change,
no one looked forward to another four months of the mud of Flanders.
Almost everyone who did not know imagined that they would be giving up
every discomfort which the winter brought for a pic-nic in the East,
and a quick, successful and enjoyable march to Baghdad, and so when
the rumours were confirmed, the whole battalion was in great spirits.
Some obtained short leave to say 'Good-Bye' to their friends across
the channel before leaving for the East, where there would be no short
visits home, no getting letters and parcels daily, but the Regiment
had gained great honour beneath foreign skies, so probably it was
going to add to them even if it was only establishing marching records
along the Tigris to their goal at Baghdad. Besides, was not Townshend
and his gallant force in danger in Kut? And the idea of forming part
of the relieving column appealed to every man.
So at the end of November the Regiment entrained behind that long
Western Front where they had fought for so many months against such
terrific odds, and where so many gallant comrades lay buried, and
everyone was happy, and no one thought that within a few short weeks
the battalion would practically cease to exist. Before they arrived in
France, many had never left the shores of Great Britain, and now they
were embarking on an Expedition that would reveal to them some of the
wonders of the East. Is it any wonder, under those circumstances, that
no one was downhearted?
The train journey through the heart of France from the mud of the
trenches, leaving the cold and cheerless days behind for the sunny
south was full of interest, and of looking forward to what was in
store. Marseilles, that busy Mediterranean Port which has seen such
wonderful scenes of troops arriving from all parts of the world, and
of all colours, naturally turned out to see the Regiment it had
welcomed to defend its Frontiers a year before, and which was now
en-route to defend and fight for the honour of the Allied cause three
thousand miles away. And so on December the 6th, it was 'Good-Bye' to
the pleasant land of France, and the Regiment embarked on the
Transport nine hundred and fifty strong. Having suffered heavy
casualties on the Western Front, few of the original number left
France, bound for Basrah _via_ the Suez Canal.
Before leaving, in appreciation of the stubborn fighting in the battle
of Loos by the 2nd Battalion, the Cross of the Legion of Honour was
conferred on the Commanding Officer, Colonel A. G. Wauchope, D.S.O.
Never was an honour more richly deserved, never was the conferring of
one more popular. No one who has not served in the Regiment can
possibly be aware of what the Colonel has done to make his Battalion
one of the most efficient in Mesopotamia. I was very interested in
listening to a story told me by a brother officer who was standing
alone in a traverse of a trench. Two Staff Officers were talking in
the next traverse and he heard one remark: "Of course, out here at the
present the Regiment is Wauchope, and Wauchope is the Regiment." It is
a name most closely connected with the fortunes of the ---- Regiment.
[Illustration: At The Base. Scene on a creek below Basrah.]
[Illustration: Colonel A. G. WAUCHOPE, C.M.G., D.S.O., Commanding The
2nd Battalion ----.]
The journey was a pleasant one; the wonderful change from the damp
depressing dug-out to a comfortable cabin was appreciated by the
officers, and a dry and comfortable place to sleep in, instead of
trying to sleep in the mud of a fire trench was welcomed by the men.
The usual stay at Port Said after successfully evading the submarines,
where the wily Arab fleeces the unsuspecting Tommy, was not without
interest. The Padre tells an interesting story about how, when he was
returning from home leave to the Regiment in India in 1913, he had his
fortune told by one of the many fantastic liars that fatten on the
stories they weave in this Eastern cesspool. The Fortune-teller told
him that within a year he would be returning to Europe by the same
canal. In those piping days of peace he never suspected that it would
be with the regiment on Active Service but when almost to the day and
within the year, he passed through Port Said on his way to France,
this one saying at least of the Fortune-teller was forcibly brought
home to his mind.
Egypt in December is delightful, and more than one expressed the wish
that for a time at all events they could be stationed in this most
wonderful country. The Canal displayed enormous activity, there had
been no such activity since the days when it was made. Thousands of
Arabs and others toiled and died in making this great work. To-day the
Canal is guarded by thousands of troops. Enormous camps have been
established at different places, and Posts are in existence all along
the waterway. It being so narrow, 3-worded conversations take place
between the troops on the banks and the men on the Trooper. 'Who are
you?' asked the men on the bank. When the reply is returned, shouts
of 'Good Old Scotland' are raised ashore. Some asked, 'Where are you
going!' 'Mesop' they say. 'Poor Devils', is the encouraging reply.
Then some lonely soul asks if any of his Regiment are on board, and so
it goes on all day. Some swim out from the shore and shout and talk,
but one is chiefly impressed by the great number of men guarding this
important waterway.
[Illustration: Scenes On The Creeks Below Basrah.]
[Illustration: G. J. ANDERSON. H. W. BRUCE, CAPT. A. M. GRIEVE, S. F.
G. ALEXANDER, D. H. ANDERSON.]
[Illustration: C. J. McCONAGHY.]
[Illustration: C. J. McCONAGHY, Capt. A. M. GRIEVE, S. F. G.
ALEXANDER, H. W. BRUCE.]
At Suez a short stay is made. The water is a wonderful opal colour;
the great Desert on our left, the barren rocks, sunburnt and bare on
our right, help to make a fascinating picture. One remembers the first
time one had passed through the Canal, years before in time of peace,
and how one had been filled with admiration for the Medical Officer
who came out to the Mail Boat to give it a clean bill of health to
pass through the Canal, because she was a woman, and standing month
after month of Suez summer weather, which proves too much for many
men, leave alone women. But the stay is short and so as the Sun sets,
making wonderful colouring over the Desert and sea, the journey down
the Red Sea is commenced. The Red Sea in December is shorn of its
terrors and can be quite enjoyable. Aden is passed, two or three days
steaming along the inhospitable coast of Southern Arabia and the
entrance of the Persian Gulf is reached. The Straits of Ormuz have the
reputation of being one of the hottest places on earth. The rocky, and
wild Arabian coast looks very beautiful in the sunshine with its
innumerable islands, and the sea is a dead calm. For some hours the
shores on our left are visible, then we steam, up along the Persian
shore and get a good view of the barren, rocky mountain range
running parallel with the coast. Those who have good glasses make out
villages on the shore. The Captain is pestered with questions about
the date and time of arrival at Basrah. Excitement is being felt
again; one wonders what the news will be, and what has happened to
General Townshend; and so at last anchor is dropped at the mouth of
the Shatt-el-Arab at the head of the Persian Gulf. The two rivers
Tigris and Euphrates join at a place called Kurnah, and from there to
the sea the river is called 'Shatt-el-Arab.' Everyone is disappointed
that there are no signs of land anywhere, and one wonders in which
direction land lies. But what a relief it will be to get off the ship,
how delightful to stretch one's legs ashore, as in spite of the good
food, the sports and the usual joys of a trooper, it is impossible not
to feel cramped and so once again everyone was rejoicing that the sea
voyage was at an end. The shore is so low-lying that nothing could be
seen of it as the transport had to anchor some miles off the mouth of
the river. We had to transship to smaller boats to proceed to Basrah,
about eighty miles inland. Transshipping is a long and tedious
business but at last it is completed and we say farewell with a cheer
to our transport, and the smaller boat steams towards the shore. In
about half an hour we make out some palm trees and everyone is on the
lookout for their first view of Mesopotamia. Slowly we approach the
wide mouth of the river, successfully pass over the bar, and the new
campaign for us has begun, and it is the last day of the year--31st
December 1915.
CHAPTER II.
It takes about seven hours from the mouth of the river to Basrah. The
journey up is of interest as none have been here before, and
everything is new. Both sides of the river the banks are covered with
palm trees, stretching inland for distances varying from 500 yards to
three miles, and after that all is desert. We pass Abadan on our right
where the pipes of the oil fields belonging to the Anglo-Persian Oil
Coy. reach the river from Ahwaz. It has been said that the
Mesopotamian Campaign was started in the first place to protect these
oil-fields. One wonders now if it would have been advisable to protect
them and hold Basrah only, and not push forward further inland. But it
is easy to be wise after the event, and high politics, tactics and
strategy do not form part of an account of the doings of the 2nd
Battalion--so I must not be led astray. The river is very broad and is
navigable for hundreds of miles. Mohammerah, the Persian town at the
junction of the Shatt-el-Arab and Karun rivers, looked an interesting
place. It is; as many months later I was fortunate enough to be able
to spend some time there. The Sheikh of Mohammerah has proved a good
friend to the British, and almost opposite his palace one can see the
remains of the three steamers in the river which the Turks sunk in a
vain endeavour to block the passage as they retreated; as good fortune
or Providence would have it, one boat in sinking swung round and left
the passage open. At Mohammerah is a big Convalescent Hospital
for white as well as Indian troops. We noticed some large barrack
looking houses on our left, one in particular, 'Beit Naama',
attracting attention; but more about that later on as this
establishment has now been turned into an hospital for officers. And
so at last anchor is dropped off Basrah, as 'Ashar' is usually
referred to as 'Basrah' by everyone out of the actual place. Was this
the romantic spot from which Sinbad the Sailor started on his
wonderful voyages?--was this the spot that so many have imagined must
be one of the wonderful places of the East?--when they are thousands
of miles away from it. A famous traveller has said, "that its European
inhabitants only remain alive during the day through a perception of
the humour of their situation, and by night through the agency of the
prayers of their despairing relatives." For Basrah has the most
malarial air, the most choleraic water, and the most infernal climate
of any spot in the world outside 'Tophet.'
[Illustration: The Padre.]
[Illustration: The Quarter-master.]
[Illustration: Everyday Scenes In Ashar.]
[Illustration: Ashar Barracks.]
[Illustration: Street Scenes In Ashar.]
One Company of the Regiment had travelled out on a different
transport--with another Highland unit and arrived a day or so in
advance and were awaiting the arrival of the main body at Basrah. They
were very interested in the place and were full of their adventures
and of rumours. One thing was evident, one thing alone mattered,
troops were needed, urgently needed, at the front; and we were at once
ordered to proceed up river. The Regiment transshipped in midstream,
not even having time to land, and were taken up by two river boats,
with barges attached on either side.
Not a man who made that journey and is still alive will ever forget
the "P-7" or the "Salimi." The time since leaving France had not been
wasted; everything that could possibly be done to keep the men fit and
their minds active was done. Physical drill every morning, sports were
got up, concerts,--the Colonel himself taking a big interest and share
in everything that tended to the comfort of his men. At the best of
times, life on a Troopship is a cramped existence, but in comparison
to the up river voyages, it is a life of luxury. The world has been
scoured for river boats for this campaign; steamers from the Nile, the
Irrawady and the Thames are doing excellent work in carrying troops
and supplies to the fighting line. Part of the river is so narrow that
it is dangerous for paddle boats to attempt the journey without
lighters attached as bumping into the sides of the bank the paddle
boxes would be smashed. The trip up the river in January is by no
means a pleasure one. It is not now! and it was much less so in
January 1916. The nights are cold and in the early morning the river
is lost in mist. At nights it is usually necessary to tie up at the
side of the bank or to anchor in midstream. Only on bright moonlight
nights, and not always then, can progress be made. The flood season on
the Tigris is at its height about May and continues so till about the
end of June. The river gradually falls in July and August and is at
its lowest level during the months of September, October and November.
It rises during the rains in December and January, sometimes as much
as four or five feet, and this keeps the river fairly high during the
following two months. In April the river rises still higher owing to
the melting of the snow on the mountains in the north. These are
the normal changes that come as regularly as winter follows autumn.
There may be slight variations such as more rain one winter season
than another, for instance, January 1916 was far wetter than January
1917. There are occasional high floods owing to the rain, and in
January 1896 the river rose eight feet in one night at Baghdad.
[Illustration: Capt. MACQUEEN, R.A.M.C., On His Way To Europe.]
[Illustration: Entrance To Ashar Barracks.]
[Illustration: Basrah Barracks.]
[Illustration: Arabs Enjoy An Al Fresco Meal Of Dates.]
[Illustration: The Sheik Of Zobeir And His Son.]
[Illustration: Arab Bazaar.]
The men crowded on to the barges attached to the side of the paddle
boats and of course everything was of interest, everything was new in
this, the oldest country in the world. Because Kurnah at the junction
of the Tigris and the Euphrates has the reputation of being the site
of the Garden of Eden, many and various are the jokes which have been
made against this most unfortunate of places by members of the
Expeditionary Force, but all amount to the one thing--that Adam and
Eve had very little to lose in being driven out, if it is unchanged
since those days.
The belt of Palm trees which so attracted our attention along the
banks from the mouth of the Gulf to Basrah still continues, but they
are thinning down very considerably and by the time Kurnah is reached
the belt has no depth at all. There is no question of a halt, no
question of a rest, "Push On" is the order of the day. It may seem
somewhat absurd now, but it brings home to one the eagerness of all to
share in the relief of Kut, that the first thing the Colonel did on
landing at Basra was to wire to the Corps Commander at the front
asking him to arrange for the Battalion to follow up the Relieving
Column if it had passed Ali Garbi before the Regiment arrived.
Regardless of risk, regardless of orders, urged on by the Colonel, the
two steamers bearing the battalion pushed forward by night as by day
for fear of not overtaking the Relieving Column. The winding of the
river seemed interminable to those eager to be at the front, and there
is little to relieve the monotony of the flat plain, save the
colouring at dawn and dusk, and the appearance of a few mahelas
floating down stream with their broad sails outspread to catch the
north-west wind.
At Kurnah the Palm belt ceases and only at odd places and around
villages are trees again to be seen. One cannot fail to be struck with
the enormous possibilities the country offers for cultivation if only
properly irrigated. Thousands and thousands of acres of the best of
soil, and everywhere as flat as Salisbury Plain.
We now begin to see small Arab villages along the banks of the river;
they look dirty and dilapidated. The Arabs look filthy, but some have
very pleasant faces, and both men and women impress one with their
strength. This campaign is of course not only an eye-opener to them
but also a God-send. They beg and steal on every possible occasion and
on going through the narrows a lot of amusement is obtained in
bargaining with them. The troops crowd on to the barges, as they bump
along the sides of the river banks which are only two or three feet
higher than the barge, and buy from the Arab women and children
running along the banks selling eggs and fowls; as the demand has
risen the prices have also advanced, and whereas at the opening of the
campaign one could buy a dozen eggs for fourpence, by January 1917, I
have seen officers pay twopence each or more. It is scarcely safe to
jump ashore, as any moment the boat may launch out again into the
middle of the stream, but when tied up by the bank waiting for
another boat to pass brisk business can be carried on. The boats going
up usually give way to those coming down, as the ones coming down may
have wounded and sick, and all must be done to get them down to
hospital as soon as possible, and so the time passes. At one end of
the Narrows is Ezra's Tomb, a building surmounted by a blue tiled
dome, which is evidently of no very ancient origin. We were informed
that the edifice had been erected in memory of Ezra by a wealthy Jew,
and that the place had become a sort of place of pilgrimage.
Clustering round it is a small Arab hamlet with the usual sprinkling
of Palm trees, and an abundance of dirt and filth, without which
surely the Arab could not exist.
[Illustration: The Officers Mess, Falahiyah, The Adjutant, Captain N.
M. RITCHIE, D.S.O., Studies Military Law.]
[Illustration: J. M. COWIE, T. HENDERSON, A. A. YOUNG (Killed), G. V.
STEWART, T. GILLESPIE (Killed).]
[Illustration: J. M. COWIE, G. V. STEWART, T. HENDERSON, J. H.
COTTERELL (Killed), H. W. BRUCE (Killed).]
[Illustration: At The Bar.]
[Illustration: River Scenes.]
At the northern end of the Narrows is the village of Qalat Sahib with
its minarets and lovely reflections. Then, Amara is sighted. We are
now one hundred and twenty miles from our base and this place makes a
kind of a half-way house between Basrah and Baghdad, and for the first
time the battalion lands in Mesopotamia. It was about three o'clock in
the afternoon that the order to disembark was received. Wonder was
expressed at the command as everyone knew that this was still a long
way behind the firing line, and was it the intention to march the rest
of the distance, and if so, why? as we were so much needed. All these
queries and doubts however were soon put an end to when it became
known that the Colonel had decided to land and practice an attack. He
knew that at any moment his Regiment might be thrown into action, and
as the long journey was found to have a stiffening effect on one's
limbs he decided on some small practice manoeuvres before the actual
and real thing took place.
What a pleasure to get on shore again! At such a moment a regiment is
almost like a boy's school let out after hours; everyone was in high
fettle and pleased, our long journey was nearing its end, and very
soon we would be relieving General Townshend who had been locked up in
Kut since December 5th.
By three o'clock all were ashore and an attack on an imaginary enemy
was practised, and of course victory achieved; but on returning to the
river, it was found that the boats had moved up a mile or so, and
tired and weary the Regiment had to go in search of them, and to add
to the discomfort the rain started to come down, so that by the time
everyone was on board again at seven-thirty it was dark and the men
were wet, and a very subdued regiment ate their evening meal in
comparison to the high spirits of earlier in the afternoon. However,
very soon it would be good-bye to the boats for good, as it was
expected that the following day we should land at Ali-el-Gharbi.
CHAPTER III.
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.]
CHAPTER IV.
The strategical importance of Kut-el-Amarah lies in the fact that it
is at the junction of the Shatt-el-Hai with the Tigris. The force
which controls Kut has the choice of movement down the Hai or the
Tigris at will, and this advantage was with the Turk.
The summer was rapidly advancing with its awful heat and the enemy,
unable to press his advantage any further, was quite willing to remain
in his trenches and await events. And so for seven months both sides
resorted to trench warfare, and sat down facing each other through the
most trying period of the year.
The Secretary of State made the following announcement: "General Lake
reports on May 20th that the right (South) bank of the Tigris is clear
of the enemy as far as the Shatt-el-Hai, except for small rear-guards
covering the bridge over the Hai some 500 yards below its junction
with the Tigris. Our main force on this bank has reached the line
Magasis-Dujailah. On the left (North) bank the enemy are reported to
be still occupying the San-i-yat position. Weather is intensely hot
and trying, and temperature during the last few days has been over 100
degrees in the shade."
Owing to the melting of the snows in Asia Minor the Tigris is at its
highest in the spring and early summer and the left of our lines
stretched to the water edge. The Suwakie marsh is also very full at
this season and forms a natural protection to the right flank of the
San-i-yat position. Consequently as the front held was under two
miles the lines could be safely held by one Brigade at a time, with
the other two in reserve. The procedure adopted during the summer
months was for one Brigade to hold the trenches, one Brigade in the
forward area rest camp, and the other the rearward area rest camp,
situated at the Bridgehead opposite Arab Village, some six miles
behind the firing line.
Fresh troops were arriving in the country daily, drafts to different
regiments to make up for those killed, wounded and sick. A great
number coming direct from England and Scotland and quite unaccustomed
to the great heat went sick immediately on arrival in the country.
In addition, however, many wounded were now returning, the numbers at
the front increased, and in May, Colonel Thompson was appointed to the
command of a brigade on the right bank, and Colonel Wauchope took over
the Highland Battalion. Throughout the summer our Division held the
San-i-yat position. In spite of numerous drafts the Highland Battalion
remained considerably under strength both in men and officers until
August. By that time the Battalion was about twelve hundred strong,
and it was split up into its two original units, our comrades being
posted to another Brigade.
[Illustration: Guns And Boat Captured From The Turks.]
[Illustration: Types In Mesopotamia.]
These two battalions had served together as the Highland Battalion
during a period of their history that will never be forgotten. Close
friends in India, the two battalions had now fought shoulder to
shoulder in many a hard-fought action, they had captured and defended
trenches together under conditions sometimes so desperate that only
their faith and confidence in each other enabled the two regiments not
only to maintain their glorious traditions but also to enhance their
reputation. No jealousy marred the good feeling between officers and
men; there was nothing but goodwill. We all had absolute trust in
Colonel Thompson, and Colonel Wauchope has often said he always found
the same spirit, the same wholehearted readiness to perform every duty
equally amongst both units. In some ways the Platoon, in some ways the
Division is the tactical unit of the British Army, but by tradition,
custom and wholesome practise the living organism is the Battalion,
and the Commander who ignores that fact loses a source of strength
that no other factor fills. It was only the strength of fellowship and
their confidence in their two commanders that enabled these two famous
regiments to work and fight under every adverse circumstance so
wholeheartedly and with the single-minded devotion which they always
showed during these trying times.
The bond of sentiment holds when other bonds fail. To all to whom
regimental feeling appeals there is no sight like the swing of the
kilt, no sound like the sound of the pipes. Men of both regiments
might often recall how they had charged forward in France, the pipers
leading the way, and no body of men had themselves shewn greater
gallantry or inspired others with their spirit more than the
regimental pipers. Yet even in war the days of battle are few and the
days of trial many, and many a time at reveillé and retreat, on the
march and in camp has the sound of the massed pipers stirred our
memories and stoutened our hearts to face whatever danger or hardship
lay before. The old Crimean reveillé was still heard, but a new
reveillé, "The Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia," arranged by
Pipe-Major Keith, was played more often. During a long march
"Scotland's my Ain Hame," and "Neil Gow's Farewell to Whiskey" were
often call for, and, on reaching camp, before striking up with "The
Blue Bonnets," the pipers always played the Colonel's favourite air,
"After the Battle."
In these days lack of tents, and the excessive heat were minor
troubles compared to the prevalence of sickness and constant flow of
casualties. Whatever the strength of the Battalion, the duties had to
be performed. Again and again men left their turn of sentry duty only
to take part in one of the innumerable but essential working parties.
Over and over again men had to work throughout the cooler hours of the
twenty-four, and pick up what rest they might in the heat and glare,
amid the dust and flies, of midday. But if there was much sickness
there was no grumbling, and the energy and thoroughness with which all
duties were performed will remain for all time a lasting credit to the
men of the Regiment. The average age of the Company Commanders was one
and twenty, yet the C. O. told me that never was a Colonel better
served in this and every respect. The Adjutant was under twenty, but
no more capable or devoted officer was ever Adjutant to the Regiment.
The Sergeant Major was absent sick, and during part of the time there
were but four sergeants remaining with the Battalion; but the young
men specially selected to fill the vacancies, responded to the call,
accepted all their responsibilities, and never was the standard of
discipline or smartness higher in the Battalion. Of the many awards
given to the Battalion I doubt if any were better deserved than the
D.S.O. gained by the Adjutant, and the two Military Crosses awarded in
succession to our two Regimental Sergeant-Majors. To these might well
be added the four D.C.Ms. gained by the four Sergeant-Bombers, two of
whom added a bar to their medals, and unsurpassed by any, the D.C.M.,
with the bar, gained by the Stretcher-Bearer Sergeant.
On August 28th, General Maude took over command and his wonderful
capacity for administration was soon manifested. Also more boats were
arriving for river transport, more supplies, both Medical and
Military, were being sent out. Control of the campaign was taken over
by the War Office. Canteens were established at different points,
enabling both officers and men to buy small luxuries, and the Y.M.C.A.
had branches established at many places. The country will never be
able to thank the Y.M.C.A. enough for what they did for its soldiers
in Mesopotamia.
The Hospitals were being rapidly well established, and excellent work
was being done to provide all necessary accommodation and comfort for
sick men and wounded. Casualty Clearing Stations were in full swing,
and hundreds of men were sent down the line from hospital to hospital,
in many cases to eventually be sent to India in an endeavour to be
restored to health after having endured all sorts of privations and
hardships in Mesopotamia. An excellent Officers' Hospital was
established at Amara, and went under the name of the "Rawal-Pindi
Hospital." It was well run and had a large and capable staff. There
were other hospitals at Amara for officers and men and improvements
were being added daily.
There was a large number of hospitals in Basrah and a very fine one
called the Beit Naama Hospital about six miles below Basrah,
beautifully situated on the banks of the river and surrounded by palm
trees, was opened in June 1916 to try and relieve the pressure of
officers coming down river, which No. 3 British General Hospital could
not easily cope with. This place was fitted up with electric light and
electric fans, hot and cold water baths, lift, ice and soda water
factories, up-to-date "X" Ray installation and an Operating Theatre
for surgical cases.
They took in on an average about 135 officers a month and sent on an
average 28 to India. It had accommodation for 100 officers and had a
staff of three Medical Officers, a Matron and seven Sisters. The work
done by the Nursing Sisters in this country, the untiring devotion to
duty displayed under most trying climatic conditions when the
temperature rose to nearly 130 degrees in the shade, is beyond all
praise, and only those who have seen and suffered in this campaign
should be competent to judge.
[Illustration: The Second In Command.]
[Illustration: The Doctor In The Trenches.]
[Illustration: Amongst The Palm Trees.]
CHAPTER V.
All these improvements, all these reinforcements, all these extra
supplies could have but one meaning and but one end in view, and that
was as soon as the summer heat was over in the words of Nelson's
famous signal to "engage the enemy more closely."
The time spent out of the trenches was no holiday, one talked of going
back to the Rest Camp. But Rest Camp was only a kindly term; it did
not mean, as one might be led to believe, a delightful camp where
comfortable chairs and well-served meals were supplied to tired and
war-worn officers and men. No such thing; in fact so much the opposite
was the case that one often heard it remarked that one got far more
rest in the trenches than in any Rest Camp at the immediate front. The
Colonel of the Regiment was a thruster. He never wasted a moment
himself and would have his regiment the same. On the great Bronze Gong
of one of our Battalions is engraved "I mark the hours, Do you?"
Certainly the Colonel of the 2nd Battalion did. It was too hot for any
drill or outside parades between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., so
everyone gasped for air inside their tents during those awful hours
when the temperature rose to 124° in the shade, and the one thing one
prayed for was the hastening of sunset; but if the officers or men
slept or tried to sleep during those trying hours it was not so with
the Colonel, at almost any time one visited his tent it was to find
him busy; he did not seem to know what it was to suffer from fatigue,
and during all those trying summer months, when with one solitary
exception every officer was off duty ill for some period of time,
however short, the Commanding Officer was only confined to his tent
for half a day. Duties commenced soon after sunrise and very often
before, every opportunity being taken to make as much use of the
coolest and light hours of the 24. A very strict course of intensive
training was gone through and the results were to make themselves
manifest early the next year. Bombing was practiced morning and night.
Bayonet fighting was excelled in, and attacks by bombers and
bayonetmen were practiced with frequency in trenches especially
prepared for the purpose. Officers were trained to march by compass
and stars and some were even given a course of riding lessons, nothing
being left to chance. The long hot trying summer was not wasted; it
was a preparation for what was to come. Long marches were out of the
question, but short night marches were often practiced, sometimes by
the Battalion alone, sometimes by the whole Brigade with an attack at
dawn. These manoeuvres were very popular with everyone; it was
possible to enjoy moving about in the cool of the night and the
quietness and silence with which it was possible for a whole Regiment
to advance on to a supposed enemy position often impressed one. Having
marched to a certain point from which an attack was to be delivered,
the pre-arranged signal having been given, the bagpipes would burst
forth into music and with a wild cheer the whole Regiment would charge
forward in wave after wave and the supposed enemy driven from their
stronghold. A few moments' rest would be given and the C. O. would
call his officers around him and explain, praise or condemn various
things which had struck him and, as the sun rose over the Pusht-i-Kuh
hills, we would march back to camp. A keen rivalry and competition was
established among the various platoons as to which would mount the
best guard, and a very searching examination was conducted each
evening by the Adjutant and Sergeant-Major. This led to great interest
being taken by the whole Battalion in the mounting of the guard, and
the smartness of the guard increased by leaps and bounds. The heat, of
course, found its victims and in spite of all precautions there was a
fair amount of sickness during the summer; it was impossible to avoid
it. Great care was taken to see that all drinking water was properly
chlorinated, and special waterproof tanks were erected on the river
banks. If anyone went sick they were almost immediately sent to the
Field Hospital where they got every possible attention. All through
the summer the Battalion was very much below strength and the work
fell heavily on those remaining.
[Illustration: Views In Zobeir. The site of Ancient Basrah, the home
of Sinbad the Sailor.]
[Illustration: The President, Regimental Institutes.]
[Illustration: Captain T. W. STEWART.]
It was decided to hold "Highland Sports" on Wednesday, August 30th,
and a number of other units, both British and Indian, were asked to
take part. A suitable piece of ground was chosen some five miles
behind the firing line, and on the day a great concourse of people
assembled. The Corps Commander honoured the Regiment and several
Generals from other Brigades were also present, our own Brigadier
being an interested spectator. The events were keenly contested and
the honours were fairly evenly divided. We won the Highland Dancing
with a very fine exhibition. Another Highland unit carried off the
board jump with a record leap. The officers "Donkey Fight", a scrap
"Five aside" between our officers and those of another Highland unit
caused huge delight and amusement and before many moments blood was
flowing freely. The mile race by the Indian Regiments drew a big crowd
and a large number of entries and a great race was won by the
Punjabis. The inter-company cross country run was a keen contest. 13
men were chosen from each company, with one officer in charge and an
N. C. O. They had to run in full kit and packs also carrying rifles
and a severe course of training was gone through. P. P. B. Miller
Stirling commanded one company, the brothers Smythe (South Africans
and both keen sportsmen) each commanded other companies. I forget who
commanded the fourth company. The average time was under ten minutes
over a two-mile course, and the remarkable thing showing the
uniformity of training was that there was scarcely two minutes'
difference in time between any company. But the event of the day was
the 'tug-of-war' between the two Highland Regiments. It was the best
tug-of-war that many of us had ever witnessed. The sides had been
carefully picked and well trained. Officers and men cheered on their
respective regiments, the crowd of onlookers swelled till the whole
Brigade was looking on in feverish suspense, and so even were the
sides that for nearly five minutes not an inch of ground was lost or
gained. The cheering ceased and the silence became intense; one could
see the veins standing out on the competitors' foreheads and
perspiration pouring off their faces, each man pulling to the last
ounce, then our coach shouted "come away" and as if by magic they gave
a convulsive pull and gained a foot, the spell was broken, and the
men of our Regiment looking on gave a wild cheer. In a second everyone
was shouting for their side, but slowly, very slowly, inch by inch
they were winning, they would lose a foot and then gain two, till
after one of the sternest pulls in the history of the Regiment, our
opponents crossed the line and we were victors. Both sides sank
exhausted to the ground as their Regiments cheered them to the echo.
Perhaps some daring Turkish flying man heard that brave cheer from his
observation car far above and thought the mad English were practising
some new game to worry his existence. That evening at a concert given
by the Regiment the General made a speech and congratulated the two
teams on the best tug-of war he had ever seen, congratulating them on
their splendid staying powers and for the tenacity and determination
they had displayed, which he remarked augured ill for the Turk in the
coming months. History records how true was his prophesy. Our
Brigadier was General Charles Norie whose gallantry in the field was
well-known, as in some strange way gallantry ever is known, to every
man who served under him. And well loved was Charles Norie. He had
lost an arm fighting on the Indian frontier. There have been many
depressing optimists since August 1914 who every Autumn swear the war
will end next spring, and every spring know it cannot last beyond next
autumn. An answer given by one of our Sergeants was consonant to the
serene spirit and resolution that filled the regiment and bid defiance
to the future. Glancing at the General waving his one arm in the air,
he answered some faint-hearted hopeful, "I'm thinking the war will not
be over till Norie claps his hands." It is in that spirit that the
armies of England win their way through at whatever cost.
[Illustration: The P. M. C.]
[Illustration: Tigris Salmon.]
[Illustration: The Palm Creeks.]
That evening the Colonel gave a dinner party and the powers of the
Mess President were taxed to the utmost limit. Nearly 40 sat down, the
Mess staff rose to the occasion, and the cook turned out things we had
never seen before. The next day the Commanding Officer remarked at
dinner "Really, P.M.C., I don't at all know why when we have 2 or 3
Generals to dinner you can give us nice white table cloths but at
other times it is only bare boards", "Well Sir," he hesitatingly
replied, "they were two of Stewart's sheets." Sundays were usually
fairly slack days. I sometimes thought that they could have been even
slacker, it being so absolutely necessary to have one day's rest a
week. Church Parade would be held in the early morning, and another
service at 6 in the evening after the sun had set. These evening
services were very impressive; we would form round in a half circle
sitting on the grass, or what formed a substitute for grass, with the
Padre in the middle. The Commanding Officer would sit at one end of
the half circle either amongst his officers or at the other end
amongst the men, and the Padre knowing well the limits of human
endurance and the severe test that the great heat was putting us to,
never preached too long a sermon. We all loved him, and as he had been
with the Regiment for a dozen years he knew everyone and about
everyone, and when he went sick after the great advance on Baghdad,
all felt that they had temporarily lost a friend. We were miles away
from any village and still further from any town, so there was no one
to visit on Sundays and no social life; unlike our comrades in
France we were unable to enjoy the hospitality of a friendly
population or look forward to going home on leave. We were out here
and we knew it meant for months or may be years. Leave in a restricted
form was granted to India during the 1916 summer, but that is going
from one hot country to another and, though appreciated, could not be
compared to going home. We knew two or three days in advance, the day
that we would go up to the trenches for our spell, and we usually went
in at the commencement of the month, so had the advantage, or
disadvantage as it sometimes proved, of having a full moon. The
distance to march was about three miles before we reached the end of
the communication trench and we never started till late in the
afternoon. All that day we were busy preparing our trench kits and
packing up the necessary kit which had to be as little as possible. We
always marched up in kilts and marched out in kilts, but during our
stay there our clothes were the irreducible minimum, shorts and
shirts. I well remember my first spell in the trenches of the famous
Sanniyat position. We usually held the centre of the line with an
Indian Regiment on either side and one in reserve. We left camp soon
after seven, the night was one of those wonderful clear still
moonlight nights for which this country is justly famous. It was
difficult to imagine before one came within sound of rifle fire that a
grim struggle was being enacted a mile or so in front, everything was
still quiet and peaceful, there were no villages to pass through on
our way up, it was simply open flat country with a river on one side
and a marsh on the other, a long dusty road leading from the Rest
Camps to the rear of the trenches. A light was burning in Brigade
Headquarters and a sentry on duty and we silently filed up the long
communication trench which was deep in dust as rain had not fallen for
months. We passed fatigue parties coming down for rations and the dust
was most distressing. The relief of trenches is usually a long and
tedious process--handing over stores, getting receipts, pointing out
anything of exceptional interest and generally getting settled down
for ten or fourteen days. The Regimental Headquarters were about 200
yards behind the front line and connected up by telephone and various
companies and platoons took it in turn to do their round of duty in
the front line. I think in the trenches you come to know men as you
can get to know them in no other place, the reserve of civilization is
often thrown off and you know a man for what he is, not for what he
would have you think he is. I remember sitting one night on the fire
step of the front line trench and having a long and interesting talk
with a Sergeant about Nigeria. He was telling me all about his life
out there before the war, and the part he took in the Cameroon
Campaign. Back in a Rest Camp he would never have got so
communicative, but when one knows that one's lives are dependant on
each other a close comradeship often results between both officers and
men. This gallant fellow some months later was killed as his company
was advancing to attack a Turkish position after the capture of
Baghdad. I always feel glad I had that talk with him.
[Illustration: Ashar Creek.]
[Illustration: Ashar Creek.]
[Illustration: Native Bazaar, Ashar.]
[Illustration: Scenes In Basrah.]
The nights in the trenches were the busiest time not only on account
of darkness but also on account of coolness. At 9 o'clock in the
morning an inspection of rifles and kit would be held by the Company
Officers, after which the whole Company would retire to dug-outs in
the reserve front line trenches, 10 yards behind the fire trench and
then endeavour to get through the day as well as possible. The
dug-outs had not the comforts of present day dug-outs on the Western
Front. The only roof we had was sail cloth, so if a shell happened to
strike it the results were fatal. This sail cloth kept the sun off,
but the heat was terrific. Sentries only, and one officer per Company
were kept on duty during the day in the front line, where there was
not a yard of shade, the sun beat down with relentless vigour and
gradually as the day wore on the temperature would rise to 120 degrees
in the shade and 160 degrees in the sun and there was no shade. And
this was not for a day or two days but week after week. After 9
o'clock in the morning a death-like stillness would creep over
everything, both sides suffering too much to be able to add any more
suffering to each other. The stillness would be broken now and again
by the crack of a sniper's rifle and one dare not look over the
parapet. In the early mornings aeroplanes would fly over the lines but
without any great show of activity on either side; the heat kept
everything quiet. The very flies are scarce in the hottest months,
only the sandflies torment one at night, and so the day gradually
passes, and as one goes the round to see everything is in order and
one sees the men stretched out in their dug-outs, reading, trying to
sleep, very few talking and all suffering, one remembers with what
irritation one had read in a famous London daily paper, a query--why
the Mesopotamian Campaign had come to an end during the summer, why no
advance was heard of. One longed to put the writer of that article
over the parapet in the sun where within five minutes or less, he
would have his question answered. At times, on a hot parching day
lying in one's dug-out, one would hear a great flutter of wings as a
flight of cranes or wild geese flew over our lines, immediately
followed by a loud fusillade of rifle fire as the sentries endeavoured
to bring one down; several times a goose was brought down, and I well
remember the annoyance of an officer when a goose he had winged
managed to flutter across into the Turkish lines. The heat was at the
maximum between 2 and 3 when we could almost boil oil in the sun. At 4
o'clock things livened up somewhat and at 5-30 everyone stood ready in
the front line awaiting any possible attack but neither side showed
any intention of attacking. Night duties were arranged, parapets had
to be mended, new trenches dug, barbed wire put out and all the
necessary work in connection with trench warfare continued. Officers
patrols were regularly sent out into "No Man's Land" to examine the
enemy's wire and find out if he were sapping forward. As the summer
advanced the marsh receded on the left of the enemy's line, and this
gave our scouts an opportunity to patrol and harass the Turks by
penetrating in rear of their left flank. Much gallant work was done in
this direction and much credit gained by the Regiment, for the Colonel
considered that a good test of the fighting energy of a Company was
the vigour of its patrol duties, and a good number of the Turkish
sentries, I feel sure, agreed with him. The usual night "Hate" started
about six when both sides opened fire, rifle and machine gun, on the
opposite trenches, this was kept up all night, some nights would be
more lively than others, some nights would be comparatively quiet,
but now and again an artillery bombardment would take place, when we
always seemed to give more than we got. Both we and the Turk were very
free with rifle grenades, but what troubled us most was a special
pattern of trench mortar that threw a heavy bomb over quarter of a
mile. One night I remember one landed in and blew up the whole of the
regimental cookhouse; luckily the cooks were sleeping elsewhere and it
was only the dixies that suffered.
[Illustration: The Tree Of Knowledge, Kurnah. Supposed Site Of The
Garden Of Eden.]
[Illustration: Ashar Creek.]
I have always considered myself a very light sleeper, but one evening
I had cause to come to another conclusion. I had just come off duty
from the front line and was speaking to a brother officer outside my
dug-out about 9 o'clock when suddenly we opened artillery fire on the
Turkish position with considerable vigour, and they replied but in a
milder form. I retired and lay down in my dug-out listening to the
shells whistling above and praying to Providence that none would land
on my sail cloth roof. In about half an hour the bombardment ceased
and one wondered what damage had been done and how many lives lost. I
then slept. At breakfast the next morning remarking on the bombardment
I was asked "which"? "Which?" I replied, "why last night's of course,"
"Yes, but the first or second?" "Well, I only heard one," I said. "Oh!
another took place at midnight," I was informed. I had slept through
it and had not heard a sound. So trench life must tire one out
somewhat to enable one to sleep so soundly as to be unaware of a
bombardment. On still nights when possible the very perfection of the
night made men less inclined to fire rifles at each other's trenches.
I used to hear a Turk singing. He had a deep rich voice and I often
stood in the front line or in a communication trench listening to him
as his voice carried across "No Man's Land" from the Turkish line 120
yards away. It used to fascinate me quite a lot and one felt that
under the eastern sky, in the land of Sinbad the Sailor and Omar
Khayyam that war had not quite killed romance. I wonder what happened
to that singer. I wonder if in the great push to Baghdad and beyond he
was killed or if he is now singing to his fellow-prisoners in
captivity in India, or if he is still cheering on his comrades in the
front line further up the Tigris. I don't suppose one will ever know,
but if he should ever read these lines I would like him to know he not
only cheered his own side but gave pleasure to at least one of his
enemies.
[Illustration: The Ship Of The Desert Plays An Important Part In
Mesopotamia.]
[Illustration: Ruins Of "Old Bassorah."]
We used to have three Officers' Messes when in the trenches. The
Headquarters Mess presided over by the Colonel and two Company Messes,
presided over by their respective Company Commanders. The Headquarters
Mess was a very comfortable affair, a big dug-out, and made in such a
way that ground formed the table in the middle and seats all around,
the sides were well banked up with sand bags and outside a small ante
room where one could sit and smoke in the evening, and the roof was
the sky and a very wonderful sky during those long rainless cloudless
months. Round about the Headquarters, the Colonel, the Adjutant, the
Doctor, the Sergeant-Major, had their dug-outs, and the Mess did for
Orderly Room also. The Company Messes were not so elaborate, and were
situated nearer the front line and close to our own dug-outs. We
endeavoured however to make ourselves as comfortable as possible,
but for some reason or other the flies took a great liking to our
Mess (No. 1 Company), and at any time day or night they were assembled
in their hundreds on our canvas roof. We had a large war map fixed up
on to the mud wall to enable us to follow events and we had occasional
visits from the Padre and the Doctor, but it was not a healthy place,
no part of the second line was; the second line was about a 100 yards
behind the first, and for some reason it seemed to give the Turks much
more pleasure to put their shells nearer to the second line than the
first. I have picked small flowers growing on the front line parapet,
but I have never seen any on the second. During my first spell in the
trenches after being in the front line, I was put in charge of the
reserves in the reserve trenches and spent three awful days and four
awful nights in this position. The heat seemed to be worse here than
anywhere. I had to spend my days in a small 40 lbs. tent lying on the
ground gasping for air as the sun poured down with relentless fury. It
was burning hot from the moment it rose till it set 14 hours after
over the Arabian Desert. The men were slightly more fortunate in that
they had a bigger tent, but they suffered also and it was at these
times that one could not but admire the spirit of the 'British
Soldier.' One seldom heard a complaint, of course they were "fed up"
with the heat, everyone was the Archangel Gabriel would have been, but
there was never any thought given to anything else but to "stick it at
whatever cost." The officer in reserve was attached to the
Headquarters Mess and so one was likely to get any news going. Lying
in my tent reading, I now forget the name of the book, but I came
across the passage which I will always remember "The writing which
Nebuchadnezar saw on the wall." As I read that I felt convinced that
Nebuchadnezar never saw any writing on the wall and when I reached the
Mess that evening, the first one to come in was the Doctor and being a
good Presbyterian I felt sure he would have this knowledge at his
fingers' ends, so I asked him who saw the writing on the wall and he
immediately replied "Nebuchadnezar". "Not at all," I said, and I told
him I had just read the same thing in a book but felt convinced it was
wrong, he felt certain the book was right. "Very well," I said, "I'll
bet you, you are wrong," he accepted the bet. The Adjutant came in
soon after and supported the Doctor. I now saw a veritable gold mine
before me and he too was willing to back his knowledge against mine.
We decided to refer the matter to the Colonel, so when he came in we
asked his opinion. The Colonel was not only a gallant soldier but he
was a cautious Scotchman. "Well," he said, "I think it was
Nebuchadnezar, but I would not be willing to back too much on it." It
is only necessary to turn to the 5th Chapter of Daniel to see who won
the bets. That night sanction came for several N.C.O.'s and men to go
on leave to India for a month. Sanction had been hanging fire for some
time and the lucky ones were beginning to despair. My sergeant was
among the lucky ones and I knew how pleased he would be when I got
back and told him to report to Headquarters at 5 the next morning for
leave to India. It was late when I got back, but little did he mind
being disturbed to receive such news. I vouch for it that he slept
well that night and did not oversleep himself in the morning. To those
in France who get leave every three or four months it is impossible
to understand what leave even to India once in one or two years
means, but when the news comes that we can get leave for England, it
will indeed be a red letter day for us all. I was so exhausted the
next day with the heat that I was unable to appear at Mess. The
Colonel sent up to find out what was wrong and wanted me to return to
the rest camp at once, but I was not sufficiently done up for that,
and I only relate this incident to show the thoughtfulness of the
Commanding Officer for those under him.
[Illustration: Quartermaster-sergeant HOBBS.]
[Illustration: The Regimental Sergeant-major In The Trenches.
Sergeant-major A. SMART, M.C.]
[Illustration: Pipe Major KEITH.]
[Illustration: No. 3 British General Hospital.]
The next evening after the Regiment was relieved the reserves being
the last to come out of the trenches, I found a horse waiting for me,
on the Commanding Officer's instructions, so that I would not have the
exertion of the march back to camp; that and similar incidents made
our affection for our Commanding Officer a very real thing. But being
in reserve had one compensation, in the early morning before the sun
rose and just at dawn to lie and watch the wonderful colourings on the
Pusht-i-Kuh Hills, colours changing every moment, was always
pleasurable, and suddenly a shell would burst near the artillery
position and one would know the daily Hate and Strafe had started, and
shortly after the sun would rise. We spent some uncomfortable evenings
being shelled in these trenches, and watching and waiting for them to
burst was not an enjoyable occupation. There were no safe dug-outs to
seek safety in, one had to stick it out wherever one was situated and
hope for the best. The damage done was seldom great beyond knocking
the trenches about a bit and these were soon repaired. Having been put
in charge of a digging party one morning in the rearward area whose
duty it was to widen and deepen a communication trench, I saw a good
opportunity while the work was going on of looking for souvenirs in
the shape of Turkish shell caps. So getting out of the trench I
commenced a search and continued for some time but without success,
when I was driven to seek shelter in the trench by a shell bursting in
close proximity, they had evidently spotted someone walking about and
opened fire, but it did not last for long. During our period in the
trenches if there was very little doing, as was usually the case
during the hot weeks, we were in turn sent down to the Depot three
miles behind for two days' rest, and it was an absolute and complete
rest. One had nothing whatever to do, get up at any time, go to bed at
any time, complete relaxation, those two days were a great boon to us.
To have absolutely nothing to do was a great luxury and anything out
of the ordinary routine was enjoyable. During my spell of leave at the
Depot one evening sitting round the Mess table which we had outside on
account of the great heat, we were discussing the movements of the
Regiment during the past 20 years and when I remarked that I had
watched the Regiment embarking at Durban for India 15 years before,
the Quartermaster said, "I was there and out of the whole Battalion
that embarked that day, there are only two of us left with the
Regiment, the Sergeant-Major and myself". I little thought as I
watched the 2nd Battalion saying farewell to South Africa that 15
years later I would share in some of its trials on the banks of the
Tigris. Sitting in the Headquarters Mess in the evening, as I
previously stated, one got all the news, about 8 o'clock the
Quartermaster would appear having come up from the Depot in charge of
the rations party and to make his report. The mails would be
brought up by them too and if the English mail was due and had arrived
with letters and papers great was the excitement. Our letters took
about six weeks from England to the firing line, but we were allowed
to send week-end cables at a very reduced rate, something like 6_d._ a
word, and could send them off actually from the trenches on their long
journey half across the world. The food, taking everything into
consideration, was good, although of necessity it had to greatly
consist of tinned and dried varieties and we suffered somewhat from
lack of fresh vegetables. Later an improvement in this respect was
effected.
[Illustration: Scenes In The Trenches At San-i-yat.]
[Illustration: The Filters.]
[Illustration: Captain MACQUEEN, R.A.M.C., And His Aid Post.]
[Illustration: Indian Water Carriers At San-i-yat.]
A flag of truce was always an interesting event. A white flag would be
prominently displayed by one side above the trench and kept there till
the other side responded and also hoisted a flag, and two or three
officers would go out from either side meeting in the middle of "No
Man's Land" where the business was discussed. Sometimes it would be
simply handing over a letter or letters; other times the business
would take longer. A truce of some hours' duration would sometimes be
arranged. The longest I remember was for 24 hours when we exchanged
sick prisoners; but there was no fraternizing; we might sit on the
parapet of our trench and the Turk would do the same; but there was no
attempt made to be friendly; the Turk knew and so did we that within a
few short months we would be at death grips with each other and that
one side or the other would be driven out of the present strong
positions we had taken up; but whichever side won, the losses of both
would be great and so we sat and looked at each other during those
short respites, and both sides adhered strictly to the truce. When it
expired it was not safe to show even a helmet over the parapet. The
Colonel told me that several times the same Turkish officer brought
the flag of truce. He spoke French easily and said he had been
fighting more or less continuously the last eight years--in the Iraq
against Arabs, in Tripoli against the Italians, in Gallipoli, and now
on the Tigris against the British. He had been wounded four times, and
was again wounded and taken prisoner by us during the advance, 1917.
In 1916 we were fighting a foe, elated by his success at Kut, and it
was only after our victories in the spring of 1917, that he showed any
signs of war weariness.
One hot and sunny morning I was speaking to one of our sentries who
had been watching a Turk appear above their parapet and had already
had one shot at him and was waiting to get another and I had scarcely
moved a 100 yards down the trench when the unfortunate sentry having
looked over too far received a bullet clean through his head. Once or
twice during the hot weather bombing parties went over for short raids
but without very much success and very little advantage.
I witnessed no instance of gas being used but precautions were taken
and gas helmets issued with orders that they must always be carried
whilst in the fire zone. Gongs were placed at intervals all along the
front line and had to be sounded at the first alarm, but fortunately
that alarm never came.
[Illustration: The Regiment In The Trenches At San-i-yat.]
[Illustration: In The San-i-yat Trenches.]
[Illustration: Looking Towards The Turkish Lines At San-i-yat.]
One of my duties was to buy stores for the Officers' Mess and the
men's canteen and before Field Force Canteens were opened immediately
behind the firing line it meant a trip down to Sheikh Saad about once
a month, after the arrival of the canteen boat, of which we were
duly notified. Buying was usually brisk but we generally got our fair
share of anything going and the Regimental Canteen retailed to the men
at just above cost price, everything was disposed of in a very short
space of time as the things for sale were looked upon as luxuries and
in great demand. On the morning of the anniversary of Loos the
Commanding Officer addressed the Regiment and proclaimed the day a
holiday stating that night a ration of whisky would be issued to
commemorate the event. I heard afterwards that it was all the
Sergeant-Major could do to keep the men from cheering, weeks and
months had passed since the men had had anything stronger than tea to
drink and this ration was much appreciated. Another very welcome event
was the arrival of parcels from Lady Carmichael's Gift Fund in
Calcutta. A great deal of gratitude is due to Lady Carmichael and her
staff and the ladies of India for the way the fund was organised. They
sent us shirts and shorts and towels and soap, razors, chocolates,
mufflers, cigarettes, tobacco, tinned fruit and _chutney_. Certainly
the best _chutney_ I ever tasted came in a gift, I remember it was
home made and came from Assam and the maker's name written on the jar.
I told the Mess Sergeant to write a special letter thanking the maker,
thinking that by doing so some more might appear. But I am sorry to
have to say, none did. As the summer began to draw to an end
preparations had to be made for the winter. The terrific heat of the
summer had gone and now the biting cold of winter had to be prepared
for. If the coming winter was going to be anything like the previous
one, then we were going to suffer; but preparations for it were in
full swing. The Doctor gave an order for a supply of rubber water
bottles for his aid post, whereupon a very liberal and kind-hearted
officer cabled home for one for each officer. I don't know if anyone
else used them for heat purposes. I know I used mine. Fifteen years in
tropical climates has made the 'cold' one of my worst enemies, but if
they were not used as hot water bottles they certainly were as air
cushions; this same officer never neglected an opportunity of doing
acts of kindness to his brother officers and men immediately under his
command, and when he was eventually invalided to India he still
remembered his friends and sent them delightful and much appreciated
parcels.
[Illustration: Qualat Saleh.]
[Illustration: Rawal Pindi Hospital, Amara.]
[Illustration: On The Banks Of The Tigris.]
[Illustration: A Marching Post.]
[Illustration: The Bridge At Arab Village.]
CHAPTER VI.
Everything was ready. The Regiment was in excellent form and fettle,
highly trained and efficient, and the powers that be knew that it
could be depended on to a man. The first rains had fallen and it was
cool without being cold. Mesopotamia takes a long time to cool after
the great summer heat and does not usually get very cold till January,
and on December 13th the British offensive began on the right bank of
the Tigris near Kut, and very severe fighting took place. It was not
till February 1917 that the last Turkish position on this bank was
captured. In the meantime, on the left bank, the position for the
moment remained much the same. Limpits could not cling with greater
tenacity to their native rock than the Turks stuck to their position
at San-i-yat. It would seem as if nothing could drive them out from
this, the strongest position in Mesopotamia. 'Xmas Day and New Year's
Day were spent out of the trenches, but in the forward area. Events
were moving rapidly on the other bank, but the marvellous secrecy with
which the Commander-in-Chief kept all his plans inspired the greatest
confidence in those under him. No one knew his plans; everything was a
dead secret; it was even rumoured that his immediate staff were often
kept in ignorance up to the last moment, but all ranks had confidence.
On January 21st at 4 p.m. we struck camp at Faliyeh, crossed the river
and for 10 days occupied a position along the Narrows from Chahela
Mounds to near Beit-a-Essa, a distance of about five miles,
establishing picquets along the line. This was a most welcome change.
We had been on one side of the river for practically a whole year and
new duties and new country broke the monotony. Each Company was
divided up. Three Companies holding the line along the Tigris bank and
the fourth in reserve. Casualties were very light and Captain Haldane
did excellent work sniping and kept the enemy well in hand. The
gunners were good enough to remark that a great change was noticeable
since the line had been taken over by us; this was probably a little
bit of flattery on the part of the Artillery men, but it was quite
welcome. During these days the Commanding Officer was an unknown
quantity as one never knew where he would next appear on the five-mile
line. I think that he must have known every inch of it. We were
relieved by another Highland Regiment and a very pleasant ten days
came to an end with a march back across the river to the forward area
and back to the now muddy trench at San-i-yat. It was now bitterly
cold and uncomfortable at night and the mud in the trench almost as
bad as the dust in the summer. Bombardments were of daily occurrence
and the Turk must have had a most uncomfortable January. About the
middle of February the Army Commander determined to make a combined
attack with one force at the Shumran bend, and with one of our
brigades at San-i-yat. The attack at San-i-yat was delivered by two
Indian Battalions of our Brigade under great disadvantages, and though
at first successful, the attackers were eventually compelled to
withdraw back to our lines. Every officer and every man regretted
that the Battalion had not been selected to take part in the attack in
the first instance, and were eager to lead the Brigade in another
assault. This indeed was the wish of the whole Brigade, and orders in
fact were issued to that effect, but two days later, when every
arrangement had been completed, it was decided to make the attack with
a fresh Brigade and ours was withdrawn and held as a reserve.
[Illustration: Scenes On The River Tigris.]
[Illustration: A Post On The Tigris.]
Before leaving the trenches, however, the Colonel ordered two
officer's patrols to go out the last night to examine the enemy's wire
and locate, if possible, the position of their machine guns, thinking
thus to assist the attack of the coming Brigade. Of these patrols one
was led by Lieut. Cowie and met with rather exciting adventures. Cowie
and two scouts crawled across "No Man's Land" to within 20 yards of
the Turkish trench without mishap. Then creeping along the enemy's
wire they spotted a machine gun with the team standing beside it.
Right into this group the three threw three grenades, wounding several
Turks as we afterwards learned. Inevitably the alarm was given, rifle
fire broke out in all directions and, before the patrol could make
good their escape, Cowie and one of his men were hit. The Turks saw
the two figures lying close to their own wire, jumped the parapet, and
made both prisoners, and carried them within their lines. They were
well treated, if not well fed, by their captors, and two days later
when the retirement began were moved out of the Turkish hospital on to
a steamer. This boat was one of two that when trying to escape some
days later up the Tigris were captured, after a short but severe
engagement, by our gunboats. Cowie, in the confusion of the fight,
forced the pilot of his steamer to run her aground and, though most
of the Turks effected their escape, Cowie and his orderly instead of
continuing their journey to Aleppo, found themselves at General
Headquarters attended to by several surgeons and Intelligence
Officers, anxious to dress their wounds and hear their story.
On the 22nd the attack was delivered by a battalion of Highlanders and
a Punjabi battalion. Under a heavy artillery bombardment they gained
the enemy's first line without much loss. Then after severe fighting
they captured the enemy's second line and consolidated their position.
The Turks made several counter attacks and though nothing could move
the Highlanders, the position on the left was not quite secure. Our
battalion was therefore ordered back to the trenches, and the Colonel
obtained leave to send two platoons under Captain Young across to the
Turkish position in order to strengthen the left of our new line.
Captain Young was wounded, but the two platoons that night and the
following day held the line down to the river where a counter attack
was most expected.
The Colonel asked leave to push forward that day, but it was not till
nightfall that two battalions of our Brigade were ordered to pass
through the other Brigade and take the enemy's 4th line. It was
necessarily a slow business moving up unknown trenches at night, and
the battalion on our left met with considerable resistance. However,
if progress was slow it was sure, our patrols pushed steadily forward,
the enemy's snipers were forced back and before dawn the whole
San-i-yat position was in our hands, and the Turks in full retreat.
Thus fell this position which for ten long months had held us up, and
had claimed such a big toll of lives from both sides. The sky was
clear and without cloud. The same sun shone out on victors as on
vanquished, on pursued and pursuers. One wondered how often, ten
months before, the gallant defenders of Kut had looked towards this
position longing, hoping, praying for its capture which was only now
accomplished. Meanwhile after very hard fighting the Tigris had been
bridged at Shumran above Kut and our infantry was pouring across.
Patrols of the 2nd Battalion were immediately sent forward towards the
Nakhailat position some two miles further east and the two leading
companies followed in attack formation. An Indian battalion conformed
to our movements on the left, while the leading battalions of the
other Brigade began to appear on our right rear. None of our men will
ever forget the scene that morning, nor the feeling of freedom and
elation as our lines passed over trench after trench now deserted by
the Turks, and it was these trenches over which we were now so
casually advancing that we had been anxiously watching from behind our
parapet for nearly a year. It seemed increditable, but we passed by
trenches filled with Turkish dead. We passed several of the heavy
minenwerfers whose shells had been a source of such trouble and loss
the last few months, and before 8 a.m. after some little sniping and
the capture of a few prisoners the Nakhailat position was also ours.
Here a pause was made by order of the General to give time to another
Brigade to secure our right flank, and then in conjunction with the
Indians on our left the Regiment advanced in attack formation with
patrols well ahead against the Suwada position, but the crossing of
the Shumran Bend the day before had rendered resistance impossible
and, after a little firing and the capture of a few more prisoners,
the last of the Turkish trenches fell into our hands before noon.
The Divisional Commander now ordered a halt. An order doubtless
necessary, but that was somewhat reluctantly obeyed, the troops being
anxious to get in touch with their vanishing foe, and it was not till
4 p.m. that an order came to send two patrols some four miles further
north to the Horse Shoe lake. As it was uncertain what they might
encounter the Commanding Officer sent forward four platoons and they
reached the Nwhrwan Ridge without opposition. Our Colonel proposed
that the rest of the Brigade should push forward after the enemy, but
instead of this patrols were brought back about midnight, and it was
not till the next day that the line of the Dahra Canal was taken up by
the Division, the Turks by then being many miles to the north.
On February 24th Kut fell in the hands of the British and the King
cabled to the Army Commander:
"I congratulate you and the troops under your command on the successes
recently obtained, and feel confident that all ranks will spare no
effort to achieve further success. It is gratifying to me to know that
the difficulties of communications which hitherto hampered your
operations have been overcome" George R.I.
[Illustration: LUNN Has A Quiet Rest And Smoke.]
[Illustration: B. H. LUNN And C. V. HENDRY.]
[Illustration: Map: The Operations At Kut-el-amara, Showing The Wide
Turning Movements South Of The River.]
When some five months later I stood on the summit of Kut's famous
minaret, from which Briton and Turk had each in their turn observed
the enemy closing in on them, and from which one could see the
junction of the Hai with the Tigris now very low, the ruins of what
was the Liquorice Factory, and miles away Es Sinn and San-i-yat, it
was impossible not to be impressed and to feel a certain sadness and
yet a great admiration for all those lives which had been so freely
given to uphold the honour of the flag and the dignity of the Empire,
and how when failure after failure had dogged our steps, grit and
perseverance had at last won the day, and success crowned our efforts.
Kut was ours; it must have cheered those lonely prisoners in captivity
in the fastnesses of Asia Minor when the news eventually leaked
through that their defeat was avenged and that the flag which
Townshend had been compelled to haul down once again flew over the
small but famous village to the Banks of the Tigris.
Pursuing is only slightly less arduous than being pursued, and in his
despatches well might the Army Commander have quoted those famous
words used centuries before by another great leader when an equally
strenuous pursuit was in progress. 'Faint yet pursuing'. One has to
remember that these same troops had been cooped up in trenches for
nearly a year, and to suddenly be called upon to take a prominent part
in such a pursuit as was now in progress was no ordinary strain. Not a
man in No. 1. Platoon fell out on the march from San-i-yat to Baghdad,
a record of which the platoon and its officer might well be proud. The
going was bad, there was no road as one understands a road in England,
it was plain flat open country. A stay was made at Dahra and then a
night march carried us to Shumran, where there were signs of a cavalry
fight and prisoners were being brought in.
The Brigade had orders to clear the battlefield and booty of all
kinds, guns and ammunition were collected, rifles which had been
thrown away, as it is easier to run without one than with, and what
little surplus kit the Turk possessed had been discarded, so that his
flight might not be impeded; they were all out for Baghdad and we were
all out after them, but we were out-running our Transport and
Supplies, and the meals during the great pursuit were both scanty and
irregular, but who cared, so long as we had enough to carry us on. All
England was looking on, and day by day following our progress with
feverish interest. "Is Baghdad going to be taken" was on everyone's
lips. Beards were making their appearance even on the youngest
soldiers' chins, numbers of men were being knocked up by the
continuous strain and a four days' halt was called at Sheik Jaad, No.
1 Company being sent forward to Beghailah. Still pressing forward we
reached Azizie, 46 miles from Baghdad, and the total number of
prisoners since the advance now mounted to well over 5,000. Turkish
depots and stores at many points were in flames, 38 guns, many machine
guns, trench mortars, ships, tugs and barges, miscellaneous river
craft and bridging material fell into our hands.
Booty was strewn over 80 miles of country and the Arabs living in the
neighbourhood must have secured sufficient goods of various
description to last them the rest of their lives.
Zeur, Bustan, then Ctesiphon were all passed, there being no time or
opportunity to stay and examine the famous arch. But as we halted for
the night beside the magnificent ruin, one could but reflect on the
ironies of a soldier's fortune. Here it was, long before the arch was
built, that the Emperor Julian, marching from Constantinople, had been
forced to halt his army, and met with disaster and death; and under
the ruins of this great arch Townshend, advancing from Basra, had
engaged in the battle that eventually brought his division to disaster
and captivity. And now Maude, encamped for the night beside the
ancient city walls, was pressing forward with his whole force to the
capture of Baghdad and Samarra.
[Illustration: Different Types Of Boats On The Tigris.]
[Illustration: Sailing Boats On The Tigris.]
The next morning, the 9th of March, we were glad of a short march to
Bawi. The Division crossed the Tigris by a pontoon bridge that night;
our Brigade being in reserve. After a hard march we reached Shawa
Khan, the enemy retiring before us and our Brigade came under shell
fire only. The following day was a very trying one. A gale was blowing
right in our faces, and the dust was so thick that our movements on
that day resembled some horrible night march. We manoeuvred the whole
day, and twice the orders for attack were cancelled owing to the
difficulty of gaining contact with the enemy. Towards evening we
struck the Euphrates-Baghdad Railway and were preparing to attack when
orders came postponing further movements till midnight. Never had any
of us experienced such a dust storm. With great difficulty we brought
up the 2nd Line Transport, filled the men's water bottles, and formed
a Brigade bivouac. Movement was again postponed till 3 a.m. on account
of the storm, though some of us thought it had been better to take
advantage of the darkness and make the attack at once. At 3 a.m. our
patrols were sent forward, the Battalion following in artillery
formation. Right well led, the patrols pushed on meeting with no real
resistance. When about a mile short of the Iron Bridge that crosses
the Kharr Canal, the Colonel received a message that our leading
patrol had gained the railway station in Baghdad before 6 a.m., that
no Turks remained, and that we were driving out the Arabs with little
difficulty. This information was immediately sent back to the Army
Commander, and the Red Haeckle was the first British emblem seen in
Baghdad. The Medical Officer of the Battalion observing a Turkish flag
flying over a building, quickly climbed up and hauled it down. That
flag is now a trophy of the Regiment.
The Turks had fled, but all that morning firing continued both in the
town and neighbouring palm groves, caused chiefly by Arabs and Kurds
shooting and looting in all directions. The Brigade, under General
Thompson, had the well deserved honour of marching through the city,
and order and confidence was soon established. The Regiment took an
outpost position on the north of the City towards Kadhimain, and very
pleasant was the rest under the shade of the palm groves.
The fall of Baghdad was a severe blow not only to the Turks but to the
whole Quadruple Alliance, but how many who read that cheering and
inspiring news on the morning of March 12th thought of the trials
endured and overcome, thought of the sacrifices and losses that had
been endured to make that news possible. How many knew of the advance
in the blinding dust storm, when men gasped for air and water. How
many knew of the fight on the Dialah when the Lancashires covered
themselves with glory; these things are not always published but they
were suffered, and suffered in such a manner that one felt it a
privilege to belong to the same Regiment, Division or Army, and when
the congratulatory message from the King, our Colonel in Chief, was
read to the different regiments: 'It is with the greatest satisfaction
that I have received the good news that you have occupied Baghdad. I
heartily congratulate you and your troops on their success achieved
under so many difficulties,' one knew that the Head of all our race
understood and appreciated all that had been endured suffered, and
accomplished.
[Illustration: On Board A Paddle Boat Going Up The Tigris.]
[Illustration: Kurnah, Supposed Site Of The Garden Of Eden. 124° in
shade when this was taken.]
[Illustration: Waiting For Another Boat To Pass.]
[Illustration: Baghdad As It Exists To-day. Drawn from photographs and
a plan provided by the National Electric Construction Company,
Limited.]
CHAPTER VII.
THE BATTLE BEYOND BAGHDAD.
By Brigadier-general A. G. WAUCHOPE, C.M.G., D.S.O.
The following Chapter appeared in _Blackwoods Magazine_ for August
1917:--'On the banks of the Tigris I am lying in the shadow of a palm,
looking down the river on the brick walls and mud roofs, on the
mosques and minarets of the city of Baghdad, and as I look I am lost
in wonder. For although I am now lying in a grove of date-palms, it is
fifteen months since I have seen a tree of any kind; it is fifteen
months since I have seen a house or lain under a roof; and this girl
coming towards me with hesitating steps, clothed in rags and patches,
this little date-seller with her pale face and dark eyes, her empty
basket resting on her small, well-shaped head--this is the first woman
I have seen or spoken to for more than a year.'
Perhaps it is the twilight which gives a feeling of mystery and beauty
unknown in the glare and noise of midday, and I hardly know, as the
Tigris seems to lose itself in the evening mists, above which the
golden minarets of Kazimain still shine and glitter in the setting
sun, whether I am truly in the land of reality or if I still linger
but half awake in the realm of dreams and fancies, where stand the
gates of horn and ivory.
[Illustration: The Transport Officer.]
[Illustration: Captain R. MACFARLANE, M.C. Killed In Action.]
[Illustration: Arabs Bargaining On The Tigris Banks With Troops Going
Up River. A brisk trade is done in eggs and fowls.]
For to how many during the past two years has not flashed the dream of
the capture of this city, Dar-al-Salam, the City of Security? And of
those who have seen the vision, how many have wondered from which gate
the dream has issued, and how many have been filled with confidence?
For that vision has drawn many thousands from Basrah and Amarah--many
who are now here in the hour of victory, many who now lie where they
fell on the field of battle, and many who are still prisoners and
captives.
A few days ago, as the columns of the Army of Mesopotamia were
hurrying past the great Arch of Ctesiphon, it was impossible not to
think of the ---- Division arriving there some eighteen months
earlier--that gallant ---- Division, war-worn and depleted in numbers
but ever victorious, who found at Ctesiphon, in the hour of their last
and most glorious victory, the beginning of their undoing and tragic
end.
What dream was it of a captured city, of a City of Security, that
lured them to their doom, and who was the first dreamer? And who next
saw the second dream of fresh battalions and a new organisation that
would lead without fail to Baghdad, and had the gift to know that this
dream, unlike the other, had passed through the gate of horn?
So I mused but a week ago in the palm groves that had been ringing
that very morning with rifle-shots, but seemed so quiet and peaceful
in the evening light that I felt all the rush of the past pursuit was
over, that our efforts had not only been crowned with success, but
that a period of rest would now be given to man and beast. For the
pursuit had been much more than merely a hot and dusty march of 120
miles from San-i-yat to Baghdad.
All through January and February the Army Commander had been preparing
the way by a series of small victories which gradually drove the
Turks, holding the right bank of the Tigris, across the Shatt-al-Hai,
and a dozen miles above Kut. Then came the combined master-stroke on
February 22 and 23. First, on the 22nd, came the successful attack on
the San-i-yat trenches--the position that had held us at bay for a
twelve month--the position that had finally checked our troops,
struggling most bravely, but struggling in vain, for the relief of
their comrades in Kut. This success drew several Turkish battalions to
the help of the San-i-yat garrison, and so weakened the Turkish line
elsewhere. And then at dawn, on the 23rd, came the crossing of the
Tigris five miles above the Shatt-al-Hai--a crossing that will remain
famous in history--when the bravery of the troops will not make one
forget the careful preparation of the Commander and his skill in
making success possible, by causing the Turk to mass his troops both
above and below the actual point selected for crossing.
This well-timed and brilliantly executed stroke had sent the Turk
flying; but though in the two months' fighting he had lost over 8,000
in prisoners and more than that number in killed and wounded, he was
still able to fight a series of stubborn rearguard actions before the
road was free to Baghdad. It was dawn on the 11th of March before the
Highlanders, who were leading, reached the city, and an order to rest
and be thankful had been welcome to troops more used to trench warfare
than constant rapid marching in the open.
[Illustration: Ezra's Tomb.]
[Illustration: An Arab Village.]
[Illustration: Fishing By Net On The Tigris.]
[Illustration: Arabs Selling Produce On The Banks Of The River.]
[Illustration: On The Banks Of The Tigris.]
But when airmen brought intelligence that the enemy was holding an
entrenched position some twenty miles north of the city, it was
obvious that some of us must move up-river and drive him back.
It was once remarked by an American officer, who had served throughout
the Civil War, that he knew that every soldier in the army was always
longing to be in the next battle. He knew this because it was so said
by every general and so written by every newspaper editor. And yet,
although he had served in several regiments during the war, he had
always found that that particular itch was more lively in neighbouring
units than in his own.
So when orders arrived on the 13th of March for our Division to
advance that night, our friends from other divisions congratulated us
with what seemed almost undue heartiness on our good fortune in being
selected, and the estimate of the numbers of the opposing Turks rose
rapidly from five thousand to fifteen thousand. However, the estimated
number finally settled down to about half that, with thirty guns, and
these figures were subsequently substantiated by captured prisoners.
These orders put an end to the peaceful enjoyment of the palm grove,
and preparations were hurried forward. Blankets and waterproof sheets
were all stacked, men and officers all carried their own great coats
and rations for the next day, water-bottles were filled that
afternoon, and enough water was carried on mules to refill them once
the next day, and no more given to man or animal till the morning of
the 15th. This should be borne in mind when judging of the
difficulties overcome by the troops in this action, for the shade
temperature on the 14th was about 80°, and there was no shade.
The Turk certainly had judged it impossible for us to advance so far
from the river, for we learned later that he had laid out the trace of
most of his trenches between the river and the railway; but our main
attack was delivered west of the railway, a success there forcing the
withdrawal of the whole of his line.
Save for several severe dust-storms the whole pursuit had been blessed
with fine weather, and it was on a beautiful starlit night that our
Division formed up along the railway for the march towards Mushaidie,
a station some twenty miles north of Baghdad on the direct road to
Berlin.
Night marches, the text-book says, may be made for several reasons,
but it does not suggest that one of these ever could be for pleasure.
Constant and unexpected checks break the swing that counts so much for
comfort on a long march; hurrying on to make up for lost ground,
stumbling in rough places, belated units pushing past to the front,
whispered but heated arguments with staff officers, all threaten the
calm of a peaceful evening and also that of a well-balanced mind. Many
a soldier sadly misses his pipe, which, of course, may not be lit on a
night march; but to me a greater loss is the silence of those other
pipes, for the sound of the bagpipes will stir up a thousand memories
in a Highland regiment, and nothing helps a column of weary
foot-soldiers so well as pipe-music, backed by the beat of drum. This
march was neither better nor worse than its fellows, and we had
covered some fourteen miles before we halted at dawn. Then we lay
down, gnawed a biscuit, tasted the precious water in our bottles, and
waited for what news airmen would bring of the enemy.
[Illustration: The Course Of The Baghdad Railway.]
[Illustration: Different Types In Mesopotamia.]
The day is not wasted on which one has seen the sun rise--perhaps some
of us changed the old saying, and felt the day would be well spent for
him who saw the sun set,--for in war, however sure the victory, so
also is the toll of killed and wounded, and the attack of an enemy
entrenched in this country, as bare and open as the African veld, is
done readily, gladly, but not without losses; and the time one thinks
of these is not in the charge, not in the advance, but in the empty
period of waiting beforehand. The needle pricks before, not during,
the race. "Remember only the happy hours," and if the most glorious
hour in life is the hour of victory in battle, so are the hours
preceding battle among the most depressing. I confess, as we sat there
idle in the chill dawn, my mind was filled not only with the hope of
victory and captured trenches, but with memories of past scenes in
France and Mesopotamia, and of a strip of ground the evening after
Magersfontein, each battlefield dotted with little groups of men lying
rigid, each marked with lines of motionless forms.
Action quickly dispels such thoughts, and we all welcomed the definite
news that was at last brought of the enemy, and our orders for a
farther advance. One brigade was immediately sent forward on the east
side of the railway in order to press back the advanced parties of the
enemy on their main position, some six miles north of our present
halting place. A brave sight it is to see a brigade deploying for
action. Even though the scarlet doublet has given place to the khaki
jacket, though no pipes sound and no colours are unfurled, the spirit
still remains; the spirit that in old days led the British line to
victory still fills these little columns scattered at wide intervals
over the plain, these little columns of Englishmen, Highlanders,
Indians, and Gurkhas. The brigade pushed forward for a mile or two
without opposition, then little puffs of white smoke bursting in the
air showed that the Turk had opened the battle with salvoes of
shrapnel; the little columns quickly spread out into thin lines, and
our batteries trotted forward and were soon themselves engaged in
action. So far the scene had been clear in every detail, but now as
the day advanced, the dust from advancing batteries, the smoke and
mirage, formed a fog of war that telephones and signallers could only
in part dispel.
The mirage in Mesopotamia does not so much hide as distort the truth.
The enemy are seldom altogether hidden from view, the trouble is
rather to tell whether one is observing a cavalry patrol or an
infantry regiment, or if the object moving forward is not in reality a
sandhill or a bunch of reeds. The mirage here has certainly a strange
power of apparently raising objects above the ground-level. I remember
well from a camp near Falahiyah the Sinn Banks, which are perhaps
thirty feet above the plain, were quite invisible in the clear morning
air, but about noon they were easy to distinguish as a cloudy wall
swaying to and fro in the distant haze. Nor shall I forget the
instance of an officer who once assured me he had observed five Arab
horsemen within a mile of our column: we rode forward, and soon the
five shadowy horsemen gave place to five black crows hopping about by
the edge of the Suwaicha marsh. But the most curious illusion I have
seen in this way was looking towards the Pusht-i-Kuh hills across the
marsh from San-i-yat. The foothills, some thirty miles distant, had
sometimes the appearance of ending in abrupt white cliffs such as
one sees at Dover. The cause of this was a great number of dead fish
which had been stranded as the marsh receded, and their white bellies,
a mile away, gave the appearance of white cliffs to the base of the
Persian hills, which in reality slope very gradually down to the level
of the Tigris valley.
[Illustration: Arab Girl Labourers.]
[Illustration: The Barber.]
[Illustration: Washing Clothes.]
So in Mesopotamian battles, little can be trusted that is seen, and to
gain information of the enemy commanders are bound to rely on reports
by aeroplane, messengers, and telephones.
The battle now before us was to be fought over ground typical of the
Tigris valley and the desert into which it merges. There are no hills,
trees, or any distinguishing features, but the strip nearest the
river, varying from one to several miles in breadth, is cultivated and
intersected with irrigation channels, some six feet, some six inches,
in width and depth. These are invaluable as cover to troops on the
defensive, and almost impassable to transport carts. It was here the
enemy had expected us, and was holding numerous trenches between the
river and the railway; but our commanders wisely waited till their
information was complete, and then decided to make our main attack on
the enemy's extreme right, some six miles from the river. The ground
in this part is a wide open desert, bare and level except for a few
low sandhills; but in the dips and hollows below the sandhills the
khaki-coloured desert changes into a thick growth of fresh green
grass, dotted with countless daisies and dandelions, and a little
white flower resembling alyssum giving a sweet smell to all the
countryside. Some five miles beyond our halting-place a definite ridge
runs east and west across the railway, and ends in a low sugar-loaf
hill about forty feet high. This ridge was reported to be entrenched
and held by the Turk, and this ridge we were ordered to attack and
capture.
Our first brigade had moved forward on the east side of the railway,
but had been eventually held up mainly by enfilade artillery fire
coming from positions stretching nearer to the river than to the
railway. The whole brigade was now lying stretched out in extended
order some three thousand yards ahead of us, with the left regiment
touching the railway embankment. Our brigade had followed for some
miles in their tracks, but was now ordered to cross to the western
side of the railway by a small culvert and form up for the main attack
some three or four miles south of the enemy's position. This was done
without difficulty, the third brigade of our Division being held in
support on our left rear.
After the orders and dispositions had been explained to every man,
magazines were charged, and the Highland regiment deployed into attack
formation in four lines of half-platoons in file. A battalion of
Gurkhas was deployed on our left, and the third battalion of the
brigade was formed up in rear of the Gurkhas. The main attack was thus
to be delivered on a narrow front of five hundred yards, the
machine-gun company being held in readiness to support the assaulting
battalions as occasion offered. The first-line transport with the
reserve ammunition halted near the culvert through which we had
crossed the railway, but both our reserve ammunition and our Aide Post
were brought forward as the attack developed.
[Illustration: Indian Cavalry Watering At Arab Village.]
[Illustration: Landing Stores At Arab Village.]
[Illustration: The Great Bund Built To Keep Back The Marsh At
Falahiyah.]
[Illustration: The Liquorice Factory, Kut.]
[Illustration: The River At Kut.]
[Illustration: Drawing Water At Kut.]
[Illustration: View From The Kut Minaret Towards The Hai.]
[Illustration: Kut.]
[Illustration: Progress Is Being Made At Kut, It Now Has Its
Municipality.]
[Illustration: Townshend's Trenches, Kut.]
[Illustration: Looking Towards Kut.]
[Illustration: The Kut Minaret.]
At 3-30 p.m. we advanced, and soon had passed the two field batteries
covering our front, and reached, without opposition, the lines of the
first brigade extended on the east side of the railway. About four
o'clock our patrols reported that the enemy was holding not only the
main ridge that joins Sugar Loaf Hill with the railway embankment, but
also a broken line of low sandhills a few hundred yards in front of
the main position. At the same time some shrapnel burst over our
leading platoons, and a party of Turks, directly on our left, opened
long-range rifle fire. The battalion halted under cover of some
sandhills, the final orders were issued, and half a company and two
machine-guns were sent to clear the enemy firing from our left flank.
Happily the latter retired at once when fired on, and the battalion
advanced in perfect order, the small columns extending into line as
the enemy's rifle fire grew more and more severe. The Turkish
batteries now kept up a regular fire of both shrapnel and
high-explosive shell, but these detonated badly, and our losses on
this account were small. A _rafale_ of shrapnel will of course destroy
any infantry moving in the open, but intermittent shelling, although
it appears to be terribly destructive, will not stop resolute troops
determined to press forward. But the farther we advanced the more
evident it became that Sugar Loaf Hill was the key of the position. It
stood seven or eight hundred yards west of the railway, and the
enemy's riflemen from the entrenchments on top brought a deadly
enfilade fire to bear on our advancing lines. The Gurkhas moving in
echelon on our left escaped this, but to meet it and to dominate the
enemy's fire, the Highlanders were compelled to extend to the left,
their supporting platoons being used to fill up the gap. Two
machine-gun sections also pressed gallantly forward, and in spite of
continual and heavy losses from now onwards, did much to help us to
gain superiority of fire over the enemy.
The battle was now divided into two parts. On our left the Turks had
been forced to retire from their advanced positions, but on the right
they still held some trenches among the broken ground near the
railway, two hundred yards in advance of the main position on the
ridge; but on the right our losses had not been so severe, nor was our
line so extended.
On the left the Turk occupied no advanced positions, but he outflanked
our line, and the enfilade fire from his commanding positions was
causing such losses that it seemed impossible for our men to continue
the advance without strong artillery support. Unfortunately this was
not forthcoming at the time, because our covering batteries had found
they were at extreme range, and were now in the act of moving to a
more forward position. If an attacking line wavers and halts within
close range of an enemy entrenched, that attack is _done_ until
supports come up and give it again an impetus forward. But there were
now few supports available, and the moment most critical.
Yet all along our front small sections of Highlanders still continued
to rise up, make a rush forward, and fling themselves down, weaker
perhaps by two or three of their number, but another thirty yards
nearer the enemy. Now the last supports pressed into the firing line,
and as one leader fell, another took his place. One platoon changed
commanders six times in as many minutes, but a lance-corporal led the
remaining men with the same dash and judgment as his seniors.
[Illustration: The Assistant Adjutant.]
[Illustration: Captain W. A. YOUNG, Commanding No. 2 Company.]
[Illustration: The Money Changer]
It was at this time our Lewis gun teams lost so heavily. The weight of
the gun and the extra ammunition carried renders their movements
slower than that of their comrades, and consequently the teams offer a
better target as well as one specially sought for by the enemy. The
officer in charge, Lieut. Gillespie, had brought up two of our guns in
the endeavour to subdue the fire from Sugar Loaf Hill, but at the very
moment of giving the range his left arm was shattered. He had been
light-weight champion of India, and as he now continued fighting, I
could not but compare him to his famous predecessor in the Ring, who
carried on the fight with one arm broken. I know those brave, brown
eyes of his never flinched in pain, nor wavered in doubt, as he made
his way back, not to the Aide Post, but in order to bring forward two
more guns for the same purpose. But, alas! while directing their fire
he was seen by some Turkish riflemen and fell, never again to rise,
his breast pierced by two bullets.
A number of staff and artillery officers witnessed this attack by a
Highland regiment. Some were chiefly impressed by so much individual
gallantry, others at the example of what can be achieved by collective
determination. Was it the result of hard and constant training,
perfect discipline, or _esprit de corps_ that at this moment of trial
made these thin extended lines work as if by clockwork to their own
saving and the victory of our arms?
It was during this advance of five hundred yards that the regiment met
with its heaviest losses. With four officers and half his men killed
or wounded, and an enemy machine-gun pouring a continuous stream of
bullets on to the remainder, the situation is not a happy one for a
company sergeant-major, and this was the situation which the young
Sergeant-Major Ben Houston of our left company had now to face. He
turned round, as so often in battle one does turn round, hoping to see
supports pushing forward, and a bullet seared an ugly line across both
shoulders. Without waiting, he led his men on, and another bullet
struck his bayonet; fragments cut his face and made his eye swell, so
that he could not see out of it. Yet when I met him at midnight after
the last charge, he told me much of the battle and nothing of his
wounds. High praise is due to those who, although weakened by wounds,
continue fighting and undertaking fresh responsibilities.
The company next on the left fared little better, but these two
companies forced the enemy back, and occupied the low sandhills some
two hundred yards in advance of his main position, and there waited,
by order, before making the final assault. The left company lost two
signallers killed, and the next company had four signallers all
wounded in the act of calling for more ammunition. Ammunition was
brought up, but, though many brave men fell and many brave deeds were
done, nothing was carried out with greater bravery, nothing
contributed more to our success, than the maintenance of communication
throughout the battle.
[Illustration: No. 1 Company Prepares For Inter-company Cross-country
Run.]
[Illustration: Highland Games On The Tigris Front.]
[Illustration: The Last Meal In Camp.]
[Illustration: The Men's Field Kitchen.]
[Illustration: Staff Of Officers' Mess At San-i-yat.]
[Illustration: Loading Up The Kits.]
The left half battalion, reduced to less than half of its original
numbers, was in need of help. This help it now gained from the action
of the companies on the right. Undismayed by the enemy shell and rifle
fire, these two companies, gallantly assisted by the Indian battalion
on the east side of the railway, pressed forward, and at five o'clock
charged the enemy, and drove him out of his advanced trenches at the
point of the bayonet. The very quickness of the manoeuvre had
ensured its success, though it was only achieved with considerable
loss to ourselves as well as to the Turk. But the gain was great.
Small parties of Highlanders now crept forward among the sand-dunes,
two Lewis guns were taken to the east side of the railway embankment,
and a hot enfilade fire was brought to bear on the enemy main
position. So effective was this that the Turks were forced to evacuate
the ridge for some 400 yards nearest the railway, and even from Sugar
Loaf Hill his fire weakened, and the relief to our left half battalion
and to the Gurkhas was correspondingly great. Streams of wounded Turks
were also seen passing from the ridge to the rear: it was not only the
British who suffered losses on the 14th of March.
The situation was now greatly in our favour, and it only wanted a
final charge to complete the success. But this assault could not be
made without either artillery support or the arrival of fresh troops
to fill up our depleted and extended ranks. Our Colonel, therefore,
ordered all companies to wait in the positions they had gained, but to
be ready to charge immediately after the batteries had bombarded the
enemy trenches. Consequently, during the next hour both sides remained
on the defensive.
Little ironies pursue us through life; in battle Death sometimes comes
with a touch so swift and so ironical that we are made to fear God
truly.
Englishmen have learned now the meaning of the saying, dear to the
French soldier, "de ne pas s'en faire," and in the lull of battle
before the bombardment, Sergeant Strachan and Cleek Smith talked of
old times. There had been nine Strachans in the regiment when we
landed in France two and a half years ago, one of whom was then my
orderly. "Any news this morning?" I would sometimes ask.--"Nothing
much, sir, only another of the Strachans was killed last night." My
orderly had become a sergeant, but the other eight were no longer with
the battalion. They had all left, "on command." "Yes," said Cleek
Smith, "I wonder why it is so many poor chaps get it the minute they
join the regiment, while fellows like you and me go through one show
after another and never get a scratch." Scarce a bullet was fired
during that half-hour, yet as a full stop to his question came one
that found a way to that gallant heart, which had never failed him in
the most critical fight, nor on the most dangerous duty when out
scouting. Cleek Smith, you know the answer now to an even greater
Riddle than the one you put to the last of the Strachans. No man
liveth unto himself, and whoever dies in battle, dies for his
regiment, his country, and the cause.
The telephone plays an important part in open warfare, as it does in
the trenches, and though the Brigade Signalling Officer and many of
his men were killed, intermittent communication was kept up throughout
the battle between the battalion, the covering batteries, and the
Brigade Commander. The value of this was now extreme. By telephone our
Colonel communicated his intentions to the firing line, and thus
prevented those sporadic attacks by independent platoons, at once so
gallant, so ineffective, and so deadly in losses. By telephone he
explained the situation to the Brigadier, who ordered up half a
battalion of another Highland regiment, old friends of ours, but never
more wanted than now, and by telephone he arranged that the
batteries should bombard as heavily as possible the trenches on the
right of Sugar Loaf Hill, the bombardment to begin at 6.25 and to last
for six minutes.
[Illustration: Sergeant-major I. E. NIVEN.]
[Illustration: Interior Of A Hospital Ward In Mesopotamia.]
During this hour rifle fire grew less and less, artillery firing
ceased. High above the battlefield some crested larks were singing,
even as they sing on a quiet evening over the trenches in France, as
they sing over the fields at home. A few green and bronze bee-eaters
hovered almost like hawks over the sand-dunes, and a cloud of
sandgrouse were swinging and swerving across the open ground that
divided Highlander from Turk. The wind had died quite away, and a
scent of alyssum filled the air. There was no movement among the
troops, there was none even among the slender wild grasses of the
plain. The sun, that had been blazing all through the day, now hung
low in the western sky. The sound of battle was dying, even as the day
was dying. "The world was like a nun, breathless in adoration." And we
soldiers, absorbed in this remote corner of the world war, intent on
the hour immediately before us, lay there breathless in expectancy.
Suddenly our 18-pounders opened gun fire. With rare precision shrapnel
burst all along the enemy trenches, and at 6-30, as the shelling
slackened in intensity, the Highlanders rose as one man, their
bayonets gleaming in the setting sun, and, with the Gurkhas on their
left, rushed across the open. There was little work for the bayonet.
The Turk fled as our men closed, and the position so long and hardly
fought for was won.
The Highlanders had gained their objective, but had lost heavily in
officers and men. The remainder were exhausted by the labours of the
past twenty-four hours and by lack of water; but when orders came to
push forward and capture Mushaidie railway station there was no
feeling of doubt or hesitation. Some time was spent in re-organisation,
in bringing up and distributing reserve ammunition; the two left
companies were amalgamated, and an officer detailed to act with the
right wing of the Gurkhas, since that battalion, though it had not
suffered such heavy losses in men, had only two officers left
unwounded. The two companies of the supporting Highland battalion now
arrived and were detailed as a reserve to our attacking line. The
third regiment of our brigade had been operating far out on the left
flank, and were now occupying Sugar Loaf Hill, from which they had
driven the last remaining Turks, and the Indian regiment on the right
of the railway, which had fought so well with us throughout the
battle, received orders to halt for the night.
And thus we advanced alone; but though hungry, thirsty, weary, worn,
there was full confidence among all ranks, and one resolve united
all--the determination to press forward and complete the rout of the
enemy.
A mile ahead we passed a position, strongly entrenched but luckily
deserted by the Turks, and it was not for another two miles, when our
patrols came close to the station, that the enemy was reported in any
numbers. There the patrols described a scene of considerable
confusion. A train was shunting, and many Turks rushing about and
shouting orders. Our patrols were working half a mile ahead of the
regiment, so in spite of every effort it was half an hour later before
we filed silently past the station, formed up once again for the
attack, and charged with the bayonet. The enemy fired a few shots, one
of our men and a few Turks were killed and a few more made prisoners;
but the rest fled and disappeared into the night, leaving piles of
saddlery, ammunition, and food behind them. But the last train had
left Mushaidie, and with it vanished our hopes of captured guns and
prisoners. However, we had achieved the task allotted to us, and the
moment the necessary pickets had been posted the rest of us forgot
exhaustion, forgot victory, in the most profound sleep.
[Illustration: No. 1 Company Early Morning Parade Outside Samarra.]
[Illustration: Trenches At Samarra.]
[Illustration: Bathing In The Tigris.]
[Illustration: The Pioneers Of The Regiment In Summer Kit.]
[Illustration: Samarra.]
We had achieved our task, and, as the corps commander wrote, we had
made the 14th of March a red-letter day for all time in the history of
the Regiment. I have told the story of these thirty hours of
continuous marching and fighting from the point of view of a
regimental officer. This is in battle, some say always, very limited
in outlook. But certain things are shown clear. Waste of energy brings
waste of life and victory thrown away. A regimental leader has, with
his many other burdens, to endure the intolerable toil of taking
thought, and of transmitting thought without pause into action. And
those who work with him are not mere figures, not only items of a
unit, but are intimate friends whose lives he must devote himself to
preserve, whose lives he must be ready to sacrifice as freely as his
own. It is well that we neither know nor decide the issues of life and
death. There is, I think, a second meaning in the oft-quoted line of
Lucretius, _Nec bene promeritis capitur_, _nec tangitur ira_. Our
prayers are not attended to perhaps because of their very foolishness.
I believe when we congratulate ourselves after a battle that we and
our friends are still in the land of the living, that in some
mysterious way there may be a counterpart on the other side of the
veil--that there may be welcome and rejoicing also on behalf of those
who have passed through the portals of death. Although every mother's
son of us must experience a feeling of dread in stepping alone into
the night that no man knows, must be filled with sorrow and move with
a heavy heart when his comrades and those filled with the glory of
youth and promise depart, still we can, all of us, also feel thankful
for the loan of their help and strength. Two years of war, two years
of living constantly in the presence of death, has brought to me, as
it has brought to many, the assurance that it is well equally with
those who remain here as it surely is with those who pass away. And we
have no other answer to the last question ever asked by Cleek Smith.
"It is only after the sun hath set that the owls of Athenae wing their
flight." The following day the battalion remained at Mushaidie; a dust
storm was blowing and many reports came in of the enemy returning to
make a counter-attack. But his defeat had been too severe and he made
no real resistance again till we encountered him a month or so later
some 30 miles further north near Istabulat. Meanwhile our brigade
received orders to concentrate on the Tigris at the Babi Bend, some
six miles east of Mushaidie. A pleasant week of comparative rest was
spent there and then, there being no signs of the enemy, we were
withdrawn to our old camping ground in the palm groves, that line the
river bank between Kazimain and the City of Baghdad. The
re-organisation of our platoons after the recent losses was completed,
and fresh equipment and clothing issued. Two companies were split up
on outpost duty, but even so time was found for military training and
for some visits to the City, an equal pleasure to officers and men.
The Colonel was sent for to Army Headquarters, and General Maude
was most complimentary to the Regiment for their great fight.
[Illustration: Tent Pitching.]
[Illustration: The Cultivation Of The Date Palm At Basrah.]
In April the division moved forward, and the brigade again marched
past the Babi Bend, northward of Mushaidie to Beled Station, where we
had a few days' halt and some of us shot a number of sandgrouse.
Thence we pressed on till we overtook the Turks entrenched beyond the
Median Wall, holding a strong position about Istabulat. From this it
was necessary to drive them, our objective being the railhead at
Samarrah.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BATTLE THAT WON SAMARRAH.
The following article by Brigadier-General A. G. Wauchope, C.M.G.,
D.S.O., is here republished with permission:
There stretches, some sixty miles north of Baghdad, from the Tigris to
the Euphrates, a famous fortified line known to the Greeks as the
Median Wall. It is skilfully constructed in tiers of mud bricks to a
height fully thirty feet above the level of the plain, the whole has
been covered over by a thick layer of earth protecting the bricks
these many centuries from wind and weather, for the Median Wall is, so
some say, the oldest building in all the world. It formed certainly
the outer line of the defences of the Kingdom of Babylon under
Nebuchadnezzar II, when it ran from Opis on the Tigris to Hit on the
Euphrates and this line in far earlier times marked the boundary
between the two ancient peoples of Akkad and Sumer, and was probably
even then a fortification of first importance.
However that may be, it stands to-day the most prominent landmark in
all this district of the Tigris valley; though broken, tumbledown
mounds represent the great wall towards the Euphrates, for many miles
near the Tigris it stands without a break, with strong projecting
bastions to give flank defence every forty or fifty yards, and at
wider intervals the wall rises so as to form some sort of keep or
watch tower.
[Illustration: Date Palm Scenes Below Basrah.]
[Illustration: T. HENDERSON. M.C. G. V. STEWART. C. RYRIE.]
[Illustration: At Arab Village.]
[Illustration: Undepressed.]
Whoever built the great wall built it for the purposes of war, and no
building, I venture to say, has ever had so many battles fought within
its neighbourhood. Every race through every age, Aryan and Turanian,
Babylonian and Assyrian, Median and Persian, armies from Greece and
armies from Rome, have, during the past thousands of years,
slaughtered each other with extraordinary thoroughness below these mud
bastions; and more recently, but with the same seeming futility, Turk
has murdered Arab and Arab Turk, the destruction of villages, mosques
and canals marking, as of old, the soldiers sacrifice to the God of
War.
Standing this morning on these ancient ramparts, I watch the sun rise
over this land which, once so rich and fertile, now shows hardly a
sign of human habitation, this country where not a tree nor a house
has been allowed for many years to stand, over which the blight of
misrule has lain as a curse for centuries and I see yet one more army
going forth to battle; once again columns of armed men sweep forth to
encounter similar columns, to kill and to capture within sight of the
Median Wall. And watching these columns of Englishmen and Highlanders,
of Hindus, Gurkhas and bearded Sikhs advancing to the coming conflict,
one felt the conviction that this struggle was being fought for the
sake of principles more lofty, for ends more permanent, for aims less
fugitive, for issues of higher service to the cause of humanity, than
those that had animated the innumerable and bloody conflicts of the
past.
The delta of the Tigris ends a few miles below Samarrah. That is to
say, whoever holds the district about Samarrah controls the waters of
the Tigris. For lower down in the Baghdad valaiyet the river in its
annual flood deposits so much mud on its bed as to raise itself in
course of centuries, above the level of the plain. Consequently,
artificial banks about three feet high have been built all along the
river, and were these to be cut during the flood season, the whole
surrounding country would be inundated and the spring crops destroyed.
This renders the districts of Samarrah of great natural importance,
and the fact that the Germans had completed a railway between Baghdad
and Samarrah, made it also desirable for the British to hold it.
The country here differs little from the rest of the Tigris valley,
the same level plain of loam and mud, a strip of two or three miles
nearest the river highly irrigated, and at this season, green with
young corn and barley; further afield the bare, brown, featureless
desert stretching out endlessly in every direction. Dawn and dusk
transform this shadowless wilderness into a land of the most wonderful
colour and atmosphere, but throughout the heat of the day the glare
and dust make it hateful to white men. And even in April, the shade
temperature runs to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and where troops march in
this country without trees there is no shade from the sun, no escape
from the heat.
[Illustration: The Arch Of Ctesiphon.]
[Illustration: The Regiment Passing The Arch Of Ctesiphon En Route For
Baghdad, March 1917.]
[Illustration: Women Drawing Water From The River.]
[Illustration: "Gufas'" Or Circular Boats At Baghdad.]
[Illustration: The Entrance To The Mosque Kadhimain.]
Besides the Median Wall, there remain two outward and visible signs of
the older civilisation that flourished in happier times. There are, at
frequent intervals, low flat mounds composed of old sunbaked bricks
the sites of ancient cities; so numerous are these that they seem to
justify the Chaldean proverb, boasting of the prosperity of the
people, that a cock may spring from house to house without lighting on
the ground from Babylon to the sea. The other are the walls of the
canals that served to irrigate the country between the two rivers.
These canals have for centuries past been dry and useless, but their
walls, twenty or thirty feet high, and many miles in length, remain as
the most conspicuous monument of the fallen greatness of Mesopotamia.
That they will again be put to their original purpose was the
confident assertion of Sir William Willcocks, and with Turkish misrule
finally banished from the land, a few years may see these canals again
filled with water, bringing wealth and plenty to a happier generation.
But to-day they seem to have but the one use of acting as tactical
features on the battlefield, as was indeed the case in this fight near
Istabulat.
For some days before the 31st April, the British had been collecting
behind the Median Wall, facing the Turkish position which lay some
three miles to the north of the Wall, and some twelve miles south of
Samarrah.
A very well selected position it proved, and a very difficult one to
attack. The Turkish left rested securely on a re-entrant bend of the
Tigris. Thence the line ran east and west across the Dujail River, and
continued for a mile along a dry canal, until it met the railway a
little to the north of Istabulat station. Both the Railway and the
Dujail run roughly north-west to south-east, but the Tigris towards
Samarrah bends due west. Consequently the Turks by refusing their
right were able to rest that flank on the ruins of the ancient city of
Istabulat. These ruins consisted of some low mounds and the high walls
of an old canal that had run from the Tigris across the present line
of the Railway four miles to the north of the station. The whole
country was absolutely flat and bare, except for the broken and uneven
walls of the Dujail River and Istabulat Canal.
The so-called Dujail River is a canal that takes off from the right
bank of the Tigris some four miles north of the Median Wall. It has
been dug and re-dug, till it now flows below the level of the
surrounding country, but its walls are fully twenty feet high, and so
form the one dominant tactical feature of the level Tigris plain in
this district. A couple of miles south of Istabulat station, the
Dujail cuts through the Median Wall about a mile to the east of the
Railway, which runs from Baghdad through the Median Wall, past
Istabulat, and so on to Samarrah.
By the 18th April, the British were holding that part of the Median
Wall that runs roughly for a couple of miles eastwards from the Dujail
River to the River Tigris, other troops, also in rear of the Median
Wall, continued our line on the west bank of the Dujail, and a third
body was held in reserve. The open nature of the country, and the
difficulty of distinguishing the enemy's main position from his
advanced trenches, made the problem of attack uncommonly difficult,
and the thorough bombardment of his trenches before assault almost
impossible.
The key to the position was obviously the high double wall of the
Dujail River. These walls are a hundred to a hundred and fifty yards
wide at the top, and being very broken and uneven give some cover to
skirmishers in attack or defence. An attack along this line is also
made somewhat easier by a small ridge of sandhills that had
originally formed the walls of an old canal, which flowed in earlier
centuries between the Tigris and the Dujail. Photographs taken by our
airmen showed that the Turks had strengthened their line where it
crossed the Dujail, by building a strong redoubt on its eastern bank
some 300 yards long by 150 broad; here too were a number of machine
gun emplacements and, a little in rear, six or eight gun pits.
On the 18th a Highland Regiment pushed forward a strong patrol along
the east bank of the Dujail, an Indian Battalion doing the same on the
west bank, the two patrols working together and giving each other
mutual support. Both Regiments encountered the Turkish outposts within
six hundred yards, and after driving them some distance back, the
patrols were withdrawn at night.
As an attack on the enemy position was decided on, the Battalion
Commander suggested that a line of strong points should be constructed
about a mile ahead of our line, that when these had been made good, a
second line of strong points a further eight hundred yards in advance
should be constructed, so that by this means the final assault might
be made from a short distance to the enemy's main position, and also
by this means artillery officers would be able to locate definitely
the enemy's main trenches and the guns could be brought up within
2,000 yards before the Infantry should assault. This idea was adopted.
During the 19th the Highland Regiment, by some fine patrol work, drove
the enemy advanced troops back with little loss, and during the night
three strong points were built a mile in advance, two on the east and
one on the west bank of the Dujail. From these points both the
Highlanders and the Punjabis skirmished further forward on the 20th,
and the enemy's position was becoming seriously threatened with but
little loss to ourselves.
One incident in this patrol fighting must not pass unnoted. An
artillery officer had been sent forward in the morning to observe the
ground and enemy positions from our strong point on the east bank of
the Dujail. It was a task of considerable danger, for already several
of our men had been hit by enemy snipers, and at this moment a wounded
man was being carried back by the stretcher bearers. The artillery
officer had crawled a little ahead of the Strong Point in order to
observe more freely, but his gallantry was ill rewarded by a bullet
striking him and incapacitating him from coming back, or even escaping
from his exposed position. Easton had been Sergeant of the Highlanders
stretcher bearers since his predecessor had been killed when
recovering wounded, and he himself had won the Distinguished Conduct
Medal for a fine piece of work in France. Without hesitation Easton
now ran forward from the strong point and, though the enemy snipers
were dropping bullets all round, roughly bandaged the officer, picked
him up on his back, staggered down to the river and got him across
under the welcome shelter of the other bank, though the stream was
over six feet deep. For this action Sergeant Easton now wears a bar to
his Distinguished Conduct Medal.
[Illustration: Street Scenes In Baghdad.]
[Illustration: British Residency, Baghdad.]
[Illustration: Hotel Maude, Baghdad.]
[Illustration: The Bridge At Baghdad.]
On the 20th it was definitely decided that the situation demanded an
immediate advance, and a direct frontal attack was ordered to take
place at dawn on the following morning. One force were to lead the
attack at 5 a.m. on the east of the Dujail, the Highlanders to
advance along the east bank of that canal, and one Company of the
Punjabis on the west bank. On the right of the Highlanders a battalion
of Gurkhas were to advance from the right strong point with a
battalion of Indian Infantry in echelon on their right near the
Tigris, another battalion being held in reserve. When this attack had
gained ground a second force was to advance over the bare plain on the
west of the Dujail, and their right to gain touch with the left of the
Company of Punjabis on the Dujail bank. The objectives of the main
attack were the redoubt, and the two bridges which crossed the Dujail
immediately above it. A third force was held back in reserve.
The orders were thus very clear, and the plan simple; the main
difficulty was to ensure effective artillery co-operation, since to
come within effective range of the Redoubt our batteries would be
forced to move forward over very open ground, and counter-battery work
would be obviously hard to arrange.
The frontage of broken ground open to the Highlanders was but little
over 150 yards; the Commanding Officer therefore wisely determined to
attack on a narrow frontage of two platoons rather than expose his men
on the bare plain, and with the Dujail giving the direction to his
left, trust to the impetus of eight lines to force the enemy's
position.
Precisely at 5 a.m., the covering batteries opened fire on the enemy
outposts, the leading platoons charged forward and, without pausing to
fire, but advancing by a series of swift rushes drove back the Turkish
advanced troops about a thousand yards from our strong points. A few
Turks were bayonetted, a number more shot by the fire of a
well-placed Lewis gun, but the surprise of the attack and the rapidity
of its execution saved our men from any severe loss during this first
advance. But as our leading platoons drew near to the enemy main
positions, they came under an enfilade fire from the west bank of the
Dujail, and a number of men had to swing round to the left, and, from
the crest of the wall, reply to the enemy not two hundred yards
distant on the opposite bank. The succeeding lines, however, pressed
forward, section after section rushed on to the help of their
comrades, every rise and every knoll along the river was held by
snipers and the battle developed into a fierce contest between
skirmishers. But it was not of long duration. Shortly after 6 o'clock
nearly two miles of country had been cleared of the enemy, our men
were not to be denied, and the leading section of Highlanders made a
gallant charge and rushed the main redoubt, killing a certain number
of its defenders and driving out the remainder. The success of the
attack was greatly due to the rapidity, but its very rapidity had led
to considerable intervals occurring between the eight lines that had
originally advanced to the assault. Some platoons had been forced to
engage the enemy on the opposite bank, others with Lewis guns were
keeping down the fire of the enemy who were holding several small
trenches ahead, and a number of men had fallen, never to rise again;
consequently for the first few minutes there were less than a hundred
men in the redoubt, and these were subject to a heavy fire from their
front, and enfilading fire from their left.
[Illustration: The Quartermaster, Assistant Adjutant, Transport
Officer, 2nd In Command, And The Colonel Watching The Regimental
Sports At The Front.]
[Illustration: Captain T. W. STEWART, Captain W. A. YOUNG And The
PADRE.]
[Illustration: The Mesopotamian Railway.]
Now was the moment when artillery support was most needed. But as
before explained, this, owing to the nature of the ground, had been
most difficult to arrange. The batteries posted under cover of the
Median Wall, soon found themselves, as the enemy retired, at extreme
range, had been obliged in consequence to advance to new positions.
This is a matter which takes longer than the actual bringing up of the
guns; fresh observations must be made by artillery officers, new
telephone wires must be made, new communications established, and
correct ranges ascertained of the new targets before effective support
can be given. This was all being done, but under great difficulties,
because the enemy had established a strong barrage in rear of the
assaulting troops. Many of our gunners were hit, especially among the
telephone operators; consequently, just at this critical time, there
was little or no artillery support to be had.
Now the Turk is a stubborn fighter. His men on the west bank of the
Dujail had not yet been driven so far back as those opposing the
Highlanders, and they now opened a very galling fire from the west
bank at a range of only two to four hundred yards. The Redoubt had
been taken at 6-15 a.m. Within ten minutes the Turks on the east bank
had organised a strong body to make a counter attack, and these headed
by parties of bombers, rushed the Redoubt, drove the few defenders
back, and held its front and side faces. But their triumph was short
lived. It was a proud boast of the Highlanders that of all the miles
of entrenchments that had at one time or another been entrusted to
them not one yard had even been surrendered to the enemy; it was their
stern resolve that no Highlander should lie unavenged, that no man who
wore the Red Haeckle should give his life in vain. The Redoubt had
once been theirs, and in its trenches lay the bodies of their
comrades who had died to hold it. It was the Redoubt they had set
forth to capture; now more than ever they were determined that not a
live Turk should dispute possession. The platoons that had originally
formed the rear waves were now fast coming up, bombs and bombers were
called for, and an immediate counter-attack organised. But the losses
were now very heavy. Within a minute, one Captain and two Subalterns
were killed, two Captains and two Subalterns wounded, and a heavy
proportion among the rank and file also fell. The smallest hesitation,
the slightest wavering, and the Turks had made good their success. But
there was no hesitation and, though only one unwounded officer
remained, there was no wavering. The bombers dashed forward, every
available man followed, and within fifteen minutes of its loss, the
entire Redoubt was recaptured and its forward trenches rapidly
consolidated. The Highlanders' boast still held true, the Red Haeckle
was again victorious.
Many were the dead, many the wounded to testify to the gallant deeds
that led to this success. An Artillery Officer, who witnessed the
assault, wrote:--
"That day the Highlanders without help won a victory that only those
who saw it can realise was among the most gallant fought in this war."
[Illustration: The Colonel.]
[Illustration: The Adjutant.]
[Illustration: The Mosques Of Baghdad.]
What is the secret, whence comes this spirit, of the wave of bravery
that seizes soldiers at these great moments? Many of the very men who
charged forward had, but ten minutes before, been driven back, many of
their comrades lay dead beside them, they had lost their accustomed
leaders, shrapnel and heavy shell were bursting among them, and when
the cry for bombs and bombers was given, it must have seemed to
many to be but the prelude to disaster, the vain cry for further and
useless sacrifice. What is it then that stops the individual from
hanging back, from letting others lead, from justifying himself to
himself by continuing to fire in comparative safety at longer ranges?
Who would detect him? Might he not argue plausibly enough, that his
covering fire would be of more assistance to his comrades than his
rushing uselessly forward at their head? The secret of it lies in
_esprit de corps_, in the willing surrender by the individual of his
freedom of action, by the voluntary sacrifice of the individual for
the good of all. And greater love hath no man than this:--that he
giveth his life for his friend.
The gallantry of those who lie dead, whether British, or Indian, or
Turk cannot be told, but one incident that was witnessed by several is
worthy of record. The Redoubt measured several hundred yards on its
front and side faces, and the attackers were few in number. One of
these, Private Melvin had by some chance so damaged his bayonet that
he could not fix it on his rifle. Throwing that weapon aside, he
rushed forward where his comrades were scarce, and the enemy in
plenty, and encountered a group of Turks single handed. With bayonet
and fist he brought three to the ground, the remaining six, stunned by
the violence of his attack, surrendered, and were brought back by this
brave old soldier in triumph to his Company. For this deed Private
Melvin was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.
[Illustration: Samarra.]
[Illustration: Wireless Station, Baghdad. Destroyed by the Huns.]
[Illustration: Samarra Railway Station.]
[Illustration: Resting After The Battle Of Istabulat.]
[Illustration: No. 4 Company Before Istabulat Under The Median Wall.
P. SMYTH, A. E. BARISTOW, R. WALKER, and G. V. STEWART in Foreground.]
[Illustration: Ground Over Which The Regiment Advanced To Attack The
Turkish Strong Point Beneath The +.]
Battalion Headquarters now moved up close in rear of the Redoubt, the
telephonic communication was established with the Brigade, and
Companies reorganised according to their losses. And fortunate it was
that this was done with no loss of time. For the Turk had intended to
hold this line of entrenchments, of which the Redoubt was the key, and
the main defence of the two bridges, throughout the summer, and he was
not going to surrender the position without further struggle. Two
counter-attacks formed up and advanced against the front face of the
Redoubt, a few Turks got within fifty or a hundred yards of the
Redoubt, but each attack was broken up by steady rifle fire and Lewis
gun fire, and our position made more secure. A little nullah ran from
the Turks' second position to within fifty yards of the Redoubt, and
up this channel from time to time he sent parties of bombers, but
these were easily held in check. A group of machine guns from further
up the Dujail swept the crest of the hard-won parapet, and men less
experienced in war had suffered more than did those who bore the Red
Haeckle. But no experience of war could save men from the high
explosive shell which burst throughout the day among the trenches,
destroying indiscriminately parapet and defenders. These 5.9 shell the
Highlanders had known all too well in France, and the number of bursts
reminded our men rather of a bombardment in the trenches of Flanders
than the shell fire ordinary to Mesopotamia. And to this bombardment
the defenders of the Redoubt were subject from time to time throughout
that long day. It is a constant puzzle, why in this life so many
things that are at first merely disagreeable are allowed to make so
great a noise and to continue for so long a time that they become
almost unbearable. It is a question that often confronts one at a
comic opera, always in the near neighbourhood of a gramophone, but
never with such persistent irritation as when undergoing a bombardment
from high explosive shell. Nothing is more trying to the nerves, for
and from it there is no escape. This war has been defined as a war,
not of infantry, nor of artillery, but of effective co-operation
between the two. The nature of the ground, and the skill with which
the enemy had chosen his positions had prevented this co-operation
from being as effective as is usual in our army, and this in spite of
every effort being made by our Artillery Officers, and in spite of
many casualties among their batteries. In consequence, the enemy's
batteries were never silenced, and kept up a heavy fire throughout the
day, and our losses were heavy. On our right the Gurkhas had advanced
in gallant style at the same time as the Highlanders, and in spite of
a stubborn resistance had pushed the enemy back along the line of the
old canal, and kept up with our advance. Then with the sand dunes
dipped to the level of the plain and the salient bend of the Tigris
narrowed their front, the Gurkhas swung round to their left in a most
soldierly fashion, and, despite, heavy losses, joined the Highlanders
on the Dujail, and for the rest of the day shared the honours and the
dangers of the defence of the Redoubt and the trenches near it. The
Indian Regiment advancing still further on the right had met with
misfortune, for, on reaching a small rise in the ground, their lines
had been suddenly swept with machine gun fire at a range of three
hundred yards. Many men fell within the space of a few minutes, and it
became necessary to bring up the Reserve Battalion to their
assistance. Consequently no further advance was possible on this
flank, nor on the west flank did the situation offer any greater
promise. The Punjabi Regiment on the immediate left of the Highlanders
had fought under great difficulties, but with such determination that
they eventually dug themselves in opposite the Redoubt on the west
bank of the Dujail, though half their men were killed or wounded. On
their left again, another Highland Battalion, old friends of ours,
both in peace and war, had pressed the enemy back, and occupied some
eight hundred yards of an old irrigation channel that ran westward
from the Dujail towards the railway. Further to the west, this dry
channel remained in the hands of the Turks, and bombing attacks were
carried on throughout the day. Another battalion had also suffered
considerably from shell fire, and was posted in echelon on the left
rear.
It was evident that without a renewed bombardment and strong
reinforcements, no further advance was possible on either side. We had
advanced a couple of miles, driven the enemy from his strongest
positions, and gained our immediate objectives. It was evident, that
to the day following must be left the final advance and capture of
Samarrah.
This account of the fighting near Samarrah purports to give no general
view of the whole action. Enough, if something clear is shown of the
part played by one Regiment, and of the fighting by its immediate
neighbours. The Highlanders had had some tough battles during the past
few months, and during this day's fighting had lost over a third of
their total strength in killed and wounded.
On the next morning it was found that the Turks had retired several
miles on to the ruins of the ancient city of Istabulat, but it was
not until the afternoon that the battle was continued. Then it was
fought with the same violence, and with equal stubbornness as on the
day before. Again the Turk was driven out of his positions, and again,
like the gallant fighter he is, he held on till nightfall. Orders were
given to renew the attack at dawn on the third day of the battle, but
as day broke the patrols of Highlanders sent back word that the enemy
had evacuated his forward positions, and we advanced in attack
formation straight on Samarrah. The Highlanders were leading, and
passed through the ancient ruins and the several lines of enemy
trenches; those trenches held so stubbornly by the Turk, empty now,
save for groups of dead bodies and a few of unhappy wounded who had
not been moved during the night. Surely the world offers no scene more
pitiful than that of a battlefield after action. I know, by personal
experience, the suffering entailed in lying day and night untended
with broken limbs, the utter weariness from wounds, and the exhaustion
after conflict, the tragedy of all surroundings, the cries of those
who cry for help that never comes, a passionate longing for death
alternating with a craven fear of foe and wandering marauder, and
above all, the horror of the great vultures swinging round and round
in ever closer circles. Little of the pomp or ceremony of war was seen
by the Highlanders as they marched that morning through the Turkish
entrenchments at the head of the British troops, the first regiment to
enter Samarrah as they had marched some six weeks earlier the first to
enter Baghdad.
Such is the story of the part played by the Highland Regiment in this
hard-fought battle, but though I have told the tale from the point of
view of a Regimental Officer, I am not forgetful of the deeds of
others. My endeavour has been to give a picture of events as one man
meets them in a course of a day's fighting, not to give a narrative of
deeds of which I know little and saw nothing. But of the gallant help
given by the Gurkhas I have spoken and, after some experience of war
both in France and in Mesopotamia, I add my testimony to the value of
the loyal services rendered by so many of our Indian Regiments; it
will stand to their honour for all time that they have fought
throughout these years so bravely and so faithfully. War is a noble
comradeship, and the ties that now bind the Indian and British troops
will not easily be severed.
The relationship between British and Indian officers is invariably
happy; difficulties of language, however, sometimes give a little
humour to a long campaign. When I was first given command of a Brigade
formed of both British and Indian Battalions I made a point of
speaking to each Indian officer, and saying something in appreciation
of his services. To this the senior Indian officer replied with the
usual Eastern compliments, and then added:--
"Many Generals have come to see us, but each usually spares us but a
couple of minutes; you, in your kindness, have spoken to each of us
for half an hour and we shall indeed fight bravely for you, for of all
Generals, you, O Brigadier, are the most long minded."
[Illustration: At The Front. The Regiment In The San-i-yat Trenches.
Sergeant BISSET and Sergeant MURDOCH both killed in action.]
[Illustration: That Able Administrator General Sir PERCY L. COX And An
Influential Arab Sheikh.]
CHAPTER IX.
On April 20th, Colonel J. Stewart took over the command of the
Regiment, and Colonel A. G. Wauchope became a Brigadier.
It was a great blow to the Regiment to lose their Colonel, and very
difficult for any other man coming after him; but the new Colonel
proved a worthy successor to the old and the Regiment was fortunate in
having two such men in succession to guard its interests and its
honour. Months later when I congratulated the General on the successes
of his old Regiment and on his promotion, he said, "Yes, yes, B., the
Regiment was splendid, but I am not too sure that the other matter is
altogether a matter for congratulation." I felt certain that had it
been left to his own choice he would have preferred to remain with his
Highlanders than accept any higher command.
With the capture of Samarrah it can be said that the winter campaign
of 1916-1917 came to an end. We held the rail head of the Baghdad
railway and had captured sixteen locomotives, 224 trucks and two
barges of ammunition. Already at the end of April, the heat of the
coming summer which was to prove the hottest on record could be felt,
and the thermometer in that month reached 114° in the shade.
The actual fighting was for the time being practically over, and it
was decided that Samarrah should be our advanced position on the
Tigris. Preparations were at once commenced to make the position a
strong one, and sufficient to hold up any attack which the enemy might
have in view; but the summer coming on the Turks were not anxious to
be aggressive and took up their most advanced positions some five or
six miles further up the Tigris.
The summer was consequently passed under much more pleasant conditions
than in 1916. The Turks being far distant a number of officers and men
were granted a month's leave to India; tents, rations and comforts
were plentiful. The Regiment was at full strength and, despite the
heat, the men maintained their health throughout the summer. The main
task was the digging of several lines of trenches in front of the old
city of Samarrah, but training was carried on continuously so that the
Regiment might be ready as always for whatever operations were to take
place in the coming cold weather. The Battalion had now spent nearly
two years in Mesopotamia, and of the thousand who landed not two
hundred remained, and of these many had been wounded. What contrasts
the two years offer. In the first period one effort succeeded another,
but neither training nor valour were sufficient to redress the balance
of the scales, and despite every sacrifice Kut fell. Then came the
months when we held San-i-yat, when there were few men and arduous
duties, intolerable heat and no comfort.
The spring of the second year was marked by a succession of victories,
and achievements for all time memorable; the forcing of San-i-yat, the
entry to Baghdad, the battles of Mushaidie and Istabulat; and finally
the last few months of comparative peace and plenty.
Throughout the two years the indomitable spirit of the Battalion
showed itself true to the finest traditions of the Regiment, and it is
open to question whether memory of the hundred survivors fighting
their way back from the Turkish trenches on the 21st of January, does
not extort as much admiration as the memory of the three companies,
after 30 hours of continuous marching and successful fighting,
charging at midnight into the station at Mushaidie.
SUMMARY OF OFFICER CASUALTIES suffered by the 2nd Bn. during its
service in Mesopotamia,
July 1916 to May 1917.
Killed in Action | 16 | Includes Captain Duncan, R.A.M.C.,
| | and 2/Lieut. A. E. Sinclair
Died from wounds | 8 | ...
Died from disease | 1 | ...
Missing | 2 | Captain D. C. Hamilton Johnstone
| | and 2/Lieut. H. F. Forrester.
| | Both wounded
Prisoners of War | 1 | 2/Lieut. A. H. Quine.
Wounded in Action | 42 | Includes officers wounded more
| | than once, each occasion being
| | counted separately. Does not
| | include cases where officers have
| | subsequently died from wounds.
Invalided to India | 50 | As above, includes instances of
| | invaliding more than one as
| | separate items. Also includes all
| | cases of officers wounded who
| | were in consequence thereof invalided.
DETAILS OF OFFICER CASUALTIES in important battles.
Killed Died
in from
action. wounds. Wounded. Missing P. of W.
7th January, 1916 3 .. 16 .. ..
21st January, 1916 2 .. 3 1 ..
22nd April, 1916 5 .. 2 1 ..
14th March, 1917 1 4 5 .. ..
21st April, 1917 2 3 4 .. 1
----------------------------------------------
TOTAL 13 7 30 2 1
LIST OF OFFICERS who served with the 2nd Battalion
in Mesopotamia, 1916-17.
BRIG.-GENERAL A. G. WAUCHOPE, C.M.G., D.S.O.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 9th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 18th May, 1916.
To be Bt.-Lt.-Colonel, 2nd June, 1916.
Promotion to rank of Major ante-dated to 15th September 1914.
(_London Gaz._, dated 14th September, 1916).
To be Bt.-Colonel, 23rd December, 1916.
Assumed Command, Brigade. 20th April, 1917.
To be Bde. Commander, 11th May, 1917.
COLONEL J. STEWART.
Embarked, Devonport, 26th December, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st March, 1917.
To be A.-Lt.-Col. whilst Commanding a Battn. 5th May, 1917.
MAJOR T. G. F. COCHRANE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 27th August, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd September, 1916.
To be A/Major whilst 2nd in Command, 14th September, 1916.
Relinquishes above, 15th April, 1917.
To be A/Major on H. Q. of a Battn., 15th May, 1917.
MAJOR D. C. HAMILTON-JOHNSTONE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
To be Tempy. Major, 7th January, 1916.
Wounded and Missing, 21st-22nd January, 1916.
MAJOR C. R. B. HENDERSON.
Embarked, Marseilles, 26th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th January, 1916.
Promoted Major, 8th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 14th April, 1916.
Tenure of Adjt. expired, 4th January, 1917.
MAJOR THE REV. ANDREW MACFARLANE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
MAJOR THE HON. R. T. C. MURRAY.
Embarked, Devonport, 10th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 14th March, 1916.
To India for duty with A. H. Q., 3rd April, 1916.
CAPTAIN J. ANDERSON.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
To be Hony. Captain, 3rd June, 1916.
CAPTAIN J. A. BARSTOW, M.C.
Embarked, Devonport, 11th July, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 10th August, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 21st April, 1917.
CAPTAIN A. E. BLAIR.
Embarked, Devonport, 10th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 14th March, 1916.
CAPTAIN H. JOHN BLAMPIED.
Embarked, Devonport, 7th June, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th July, 1916.
To be Asst. Censor, 28th January, 1917.
To be Censor, I.E.F. "D", 1st April, 1917.
CAPTAIN R. H. CRAKE (ATTACHED).
Held command of Btn. during latter portion of January, 1916.
CAPTAIN P. G. EGERTON.
Posted to the Battalion, 30th June, 1917.
CAPTAIN C. D. GILMOUR, M.C.
Embarked, Devonport, 20th January, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st February, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 2nd May, 1916.
To England, 11th June, 1916.
Awarded the Military Cross, 22nd December, 1916.
CAPTAIN A. M. GRIEVE.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Invalided to India, 5th July, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 27th May, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th June, 1917.
CAPTAIN J. B. S. HALDANE.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 22nd February, 1917.
Invalided to India, 19th March, 1917.
CAPTAIN J. N. INGLIS.
Embarked, Devonport, 20th January, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st February, 1916.
Killed in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
CAPTAIN R. MACFARLANE, M.C.
Embarked, Bombay, 11th April, 1916.
Disembarked Basrah, 17th April, 1916.
(Date of Embarkation in U. K. is not known).
Wounded in Action, 10th June, 1916.
Camp Area Comdt., Ma'gil, 14th July, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 14th March, 1917.
Awarded the Military Cross, 31st March, 1917.
Killed in Action, 21st April, 1917.
CAPTAIN M. E. PARK, D.S.O.
Embarked, Marseilles, 25th November, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 10th April, 1916.
Awarded the Silver Medal for Valour by H. M. the King of Italy.
CAPTAIN R. M. PURVIS.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 17th March, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 24th March, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 10th April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 27th April, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 20th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th January, 1917.
Died from wounds, 14th March, 1917.
Promoted Captain, from 8th March, 1916.
(_London Gaz._, dated 23rd August, 1916.)
CAPTAIN R. D. ROBERTSON.
Posted, December, 1917.
CAPTAIN N. M. RITCHIE, D.S.O.
Embarked, Devonport, 20th January, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st February, 1916.
To be Adjutant, _vice_ Major C. R. B. Henderson, 5th January, 1917.
Invalided to India, 12th June, 1917.
Awarded the D.S.O., 1917.
CAPTAIN K. W. L. SIMONET (ATTACHED).
Posted for temporary duty, 16th January, 1916.
Killed in Action, 21st January, 1916.
CAPTAIN J. TODD.
Embarked, Marseilles, 10th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th January, 1916.
Apptd. Transport Officer, 22nd July, 1916.
CAPTAIN L. H. WILLETT.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 21st April, 1917.
Invalided to India, 8th May, 1917.
CAPTAIN W. A. YOUNG, M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 17th March, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 24th March, 1916.
To be T/Lieut., Supmy., 8th July, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 22nd February, 1917.
Awarded the Military Cross.
CAPTAIN THE REV. A. SILVER.
Posted to the Regiment, 30th April, 1917.
CAPTAIN A. W. DUNCAN, R.A.M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Was killed in Action whilst M. O. with another Regiment,
9th March, 1916.
CAPTAIN G. F. GUNLETTE, R.A.M.C.
For duty as M. O., 24th March, 1917.
Relieved, 28th March, 1917.
CAPTAIN J. MACQUEEN, R.A.M.C.
Joined Bn. as M. O., 18th July, 1916.
Struck off, tour expired, 25th March, 1917.
CAPTAIN W. MOORE CAMERON, R.A.M.C.
Posted as M. O., 28th March, 1917.
CAPTAIN T. W. STEWART.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Invalided to India, 31st January, 1917.
_Lieutenants._
H. BOWIE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
Relinquishes Tempy. rank of Lieutenant, 7th January, 1916.
W. COUTTS HUNTER.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January, 1916.
To England from Egypt, 19th March, 1916.
C. V. S. COOKS.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
Invalided to England, 7th April, 1916.
G. CURDIE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 21st January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 4th February, 1916.
Promoted T/Capt., 23rd November, 1915.
Relinquishes Tempy. rank, 19th January, 1916.
Invalided to England, from Egypt, 7th April, 1916.
A. B. CUMMING.
Embarked, Marseilles, 25th November, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 25th March, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 1st April, 1916.
Killed in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
J. F. C. DIXON, M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 21st January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 30th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 9th June, 1916.
Disembarked Basrah, 16th June, 1916.
To be Lieutenant, 18th July, 1916.
Invalided to India, 23rd November, 1916.
Awarded the Military Cross, 22nd December 1916.
R. H. DUNDAS.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 21st January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 7th March, 1916.
F. J. FELL.
Posted to Battalion, 9th December, 1917.
J. O. HUTCHINSON.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Killed in Action, 7th January, 1916.
R. W. MACFARLANE GRIEVE.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 6th April, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 26th November, 1916.
C. J. McCONAGHEY.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Killed in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
W. W. McEWAN, M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 12th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st January, 1916.
To Regiment, 1st March, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 2nd May, 1916.
Re-embarked, Karachi, 14th August, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 20th August, 1916.
Invalided to India, 30th October, 1916.
Awarded the Military Cross, 22nd December, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 17th May, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd May, 1917.
H. A. T. PLUNKETT.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Killed in Action, 7th January, 1916.
G. G. B. MILLER STIRLING.
Embarked, Suez, 21st June, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th July, 1916.
Died from Wounds, 14th March, 1917.
D. C. STEWART SMITH.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Apptd. Transport Officer, 10th January, 1916.
Commanding Battn., 22nd to 23rd January, 1916.
Acting Adjutant, 24th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 29th March, 1916.
Re-embarked, Karachi, 13th July, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 16th July, 1916.
Invalided to India, 26th August, 1916.
Invalided to U. K., 4th October, 1916.
M. M. THORBURN, M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 21st January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 4th February, 1916.
Awarded the Military Cross, January 1916.
Invalided to England from Egypt, 25th April, 1916.
WITHEY, R. W.
Posted to the Battalion, 6th December, 1917.
_2nd Lieutenants._
D. H. ANDERSON.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Killed in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
G. J. ANDERSON.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1910.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Killed in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
C. ST. G. ALEXANDER.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Invalided to India, 4th May, 1916.
(Wounded in Action, 22nd April, 1916).
To England from Egypt.
D. S. GORDON BROWN.
Embarked, Bombay, 11th April, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 17th April, 1916.
Accidentally wounded, 28th June, 1916.
Invalided to India, 5th August, 1916.
H. W. BRUCE.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Invalided to India, 30th May, 1916.
Embarked, Karachi, 27th August, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd September, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 6th November, 1916.
Killed in Action, 17th February, 1917.
E. BRUCE.
Embarked, Devonport, 16th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd March, 1916.
Invalided to India, 11th May, 1916.
Embarked, Karachi, 14th August, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 20th August, 1916.
Died from Disease (Paratyphoid-A), 17th November, 1916.
A. E. BAIRSTOW.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
J. C. W. BROAD.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 22nd May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 30th May, 1916.
Invalided to India, 15th June, 1916.
K. BUCHANAN.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 20th January, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 8th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 16th May, 1916.
Invalided to India, 26th August, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 25th February, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th March, 1917.
P. A. to Dir. of Port Admin. and Conservancy, 6th May, 1917.
J. C. R. BUCHANAN.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th February, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd May, 1917.
C. J. R. BROWN.
Embarked, Karachi, 19th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th March, 1917.
Wounded in Action, 21st April, 1917.
Died from Wounds, 21st May, 1917.
J. A. BYRON.
Embarked, Karachi, 19th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th March, 1917.
T. M. COWIE.
Embarked, Devonport, 15th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st November, 1916.
Unofficially reported Pris. of War, 17th February, 1917.
Recaptured, 1st March, 1917.
(Wounded 17th February 1917).
Invalided to India, 15th March, 1917.
A. CROMBIE.
Embarked, Devonport, 26th April, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st May, 1916.
J. H. COTTERELL.
Embarked, Devonport, 10th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 14th March, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 22nd April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 27th April, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 27th November, 1916.
Died from wounds, 15th March, 1917.
A. T. DOWNIE.
Embarked, Bombay, 17th April, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd May, 1917.
J. DAWSON.
Embarked, Devonport, 7th June, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th July, 1916.
Invalided to India, 6th November, 1916.
Returned to England and died.
A. DOUGLAS.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 13th January, 1916.
Reported dangerously ill, 18th January, 1916.
Died from Wounds, 9th February, 1916.
H. F. FORRESTER.
Embarked, Devonport, 10th February, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 14th March, 1916.
Wounded and Missing, 22nd April, 1916.
T. GANT.
Promoted from C. S. M., 6th February, 1917.
Wounded in Action, 14th March, 1917.
To be A. Qr. Master., 12th May, 1917.
T. GILLESPIE.
Embarked, Devonport, 21st October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st November, 1916.
Killed in Action, 14th March, 1917.
J. F. GILLIES.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Invalided to India, 28th June, 1916.
To England, from Egypt, 30th September, 1916.
A. GILROY.
Embarked, Devonport, 10th September, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 10th October, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 21st April, 1917.
To be Lieutenant, 1st January, 1917.
Invalided to India, 18th May, 1917.
J. T. GRASSIE, D.S.O.
Embarked, Devonport, 20th January, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st February, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 6th April, 1916.
Invalided to India, 10th April, 1916.
Invalided to U. K. from Egypt, 7th May, 1916.
Awarded the D.S.O., 22nd December, 1916.
K. GRAHAM SCOTT.
Embarked, Devonport, 25th December, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 9th March, 1917.
W. G. GRIERSON.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
C. E. GERRARD.
Embarked, Karachi, 19th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th March, 1917.
T. A. HENDERSON, M.C.
Embarked, Marseilles, 25th November, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Awarded the Military Cross, 22nd December, 1916.
Awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Col., with Swords,
(_London Gaz._, 5th July, 1917).
Invalided to India, 23rd May, 1917.
S. L. HUNTER.
Embarked, Bombay, 27th July, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 1st August, 1916.
Joined 3rd Echelon, as Record Officer, 22nd March, 1917.
B. S. HOUSTON, M.C.
Promoted from C.S.M., 16th February, 1917.
Awarded the Military Cross, 31st March, 1917.
C. V. HENDRY.
Embarked, Devonport, 7th June, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th July, 1916.
Invalided to India, 6th November, 1916.
P. J. HAYE.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
D. HAIG.
Embarked, Devonport, 15th January, 1917,
Disembarked, Basrah, 21st March, 1917.
Invalided to India, 16th June, 1917.
M. JAMIESON.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
A. L. JACKSON.
Posted to the Battalion, 28th August, 1917.
J. JEFF.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
A. S. JOHNSTON.
Embarked, Bombay, 24th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th March, 1917.
T. KINNEAR.
Promoted from C.S.M., 6th February, 1917.
Wounded in Action, 22nd February, 1917.
Apptd. Transport Officer, 3rd May, 1917.
B. H. LUNN.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Invalided to India, 8th December, 1916.
Has since been invalided to England.
T. LOUDON.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
J. MACGREGOR.
Posted to the Battalion, 13th September, 1917.
G. M. MACKENZIE.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Transferred to M. Gun Corps, 26th October, 1916.
MANN, J. A.
Posted to the Battalion, 6th December, 1917.
D. MURRAY STEWART.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
R. S. MORRISON.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Killed in Action, 7th January, 1916.
W. D. MONTGOMERIE.
Embarked, Bombay, 17th May, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 23rd May, 1917.
A. MUIR.
Promoted from C.S.M., 29th May, 1917.
D. McARTHUR.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
Died from Wounds, 21st April, 1917.
T. PEEL.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
Died from Wounds, 21st April, 1917.
J. C. PATERSON.
Embarked, Marseilles, 5th December, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st December, 1915.
Wounded in Action, 7th January, 1916.
Invalided to India, 16th January, 1916.
To England, from Egypt, 19th March, 1916.
W. PORTER.
Posted to the Battalion, 21st November, 1917.
B. H. QUINE.
Embarked, Devonport, 7th June, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th July, 1916.
To be F. T. C. O., Dvn., 1st August, 1916.
Relieved from above, 26th August, 1916.
Invalided to India, 3rd September, 1916.
A. H. QUINE.
Embarked, Karachi, 19th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th March, 1917.
Reported Missing, 21st April, 1917.
Reported Pris. of War, 21st April, 1917.
G. RYRIE.
Embarked, Devonport, 11th July, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 10th August, 1916.
Invalided to India, 28th November, 1916.
Re-embarked, Bombay, 27th May, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 4th June, 1917.
J. C. RITCHIE, M. C.
Embarked, Devonport, 5th January, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 22nd March, 1917.
Awarded the Military Cross, 22nd May, 1917.
Apptd. A. Adjt., 27th May, 1917.
A. SCOBIE.
Posted to the Battalion, 13th September, 1917.
A. E. SINCLAIR.
Embarked Devonport, 24th May, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Transferred to M. Gun Corps, 26th October, 1916.
Killed in Action, 5th December, 1916.
P. J. SCOTLAND.
Posted to the Battalion, 9th December, 1917.
G. V. STEWART.
Embarked, Bombay, 11th April, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 17th April, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 14th March, 1917.
G. B. SMART.
Embarked, Suez, 16th September, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th September, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 14th March, 1917.
F. H. SOUTAR
Embarked, Marseilles, 25th November, 1915.
Disembarked, Basrah, 28th December, 1915.
Killed in Action, 21st January, 1916.
T. L. SMITH.
Posted to the Battalion, 13th September, 1917.
P. E. SYMTHE.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 2nd December, 1916.
Confirmed in rank of 2nd Lieutenant, 18th October 1916.
Wounded in Action, 21st April, 1917.
Invalided to India, 12th June, 1917.
R. M. SMYTHE.
Embarked, Devonport, 9th October, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 14th December, 1916.
Wounded in Action, 14th March, 1917.
Confirmed in rank of 2nd Lieut., 18th October, 1916.
A. G. WOYKA.
Embarked, Devonport, 26th April, 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 31st May, 1916.
Invalided to India, 15th January, 1917.
R. WALKER.
Embarked, Karachi, 19th March, 1917.
Disembarked, Basrah, 26th March, 1917.
Killed in Action, 21st April, 1917.
A. A. YOUNG.
Embarked, Devonport, 24th May 1916.
Disembarked, Basrah, 13th June, 1916.
Cypher Officer, G. H. Q. Base, 28th June, 1916.
Joined Bn. in the Fd., 25th November, 1916.
Died from Wounds, 14th March, 1917.
_Nominal roll of W.Os., N.C.Os., and men, 2nd Bn., numerically
arranged, who have been killed in action, died of wounds, disease,
etc., during service in Mesopotamia, from 1st January 1916 to 15th
June 1917._
-------+----------------------+-------------+-----------+-------------------------
Regtl. | Rank and Name. | Cause of Date of Place of
No. | | Death. Death. Death.
| +-------------+-----------+-------------------------
| | Place of burial, if known.
-------+----------------------+---------------------------------------------------
72|Sergt. T. Archer | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
AR/116|A/Cpl. D. Dakers | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
133|Sergt. T. Murray | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
578|A/Cpl. J. Gibb | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
598|Pte. J. Hogg | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
622|Pte. J. Lynch | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
672|Corpl. R. Pratt | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
773|L/Cpl. R. Whyte | K. in A. 6-11-16 The Field.
| |Cemetery near Jullundur St. Sann-i-yat.
781|Corpl. U. Hutchison | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7,
| | 7th Divn., Sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
797|Pte. A. Milne | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7,
| | 7th Divn., Sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
814|Pte. G. McAulay | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
896|Sergt. G. Johnston | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
981|Pte. G. Hazeldean | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
1020|L/Sgt. J. Mulholland | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1038|Pte. T. McFarlane | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1060|L/Sgt. J. Inglis | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1207|L/Cpl. A. Brown | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1335|L/Cpl. A. Cowie | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97 Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
1346|Pte. A. Whannel | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1418|L/Cpl. W. Mack | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
1426|Pte. A. Reoch | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1449|Piper J. Davis | K. in A. 25-9-15 France.
| | ...
1452|Pte. J. Smith | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
1472|Sergt. R. Madill | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1591|Sergt. D. Hamilton | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1619|L/Cpl. W. Noble | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
1642|A/Sgt. D. Neill | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
1701|Sergt. T. Henderson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1714|L/Cpl. D. Duke | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
1780|Sergt. D. Finlay, V.C.| K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
1791|Pte. G. Burness | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
1856|A/Cpl. D. Hughes | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
1859|A/C. S.M.T. Bissett | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
1884|Corpl. R. Speed | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22 T.C. 97 Sq. G-7 Istabulat.
1899|Pte. Craig, R. | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
2003|Pte. T. Teirney | K. in A. 23-6-16 The Field.
| | ...
2029|A/Sgt. A. Kiddle | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
2084|Sergt. J. Barrie | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
3/2160|Corpl. W. Gow | K. in A. 20-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
2185|Dmr. G. Bullion | K. in A. 6-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
2277|L/Cpl. W. Grimmond | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
2316|A/Sergt. T. Marshall | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
2451|L/Cpl. N. Campbell | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
3/2496|Pte. H. Duffy | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2508|Pte. S. Mowat | K. in A. 22-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
2511|A/Cpl. D. Simpson | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
3/2519|Pte. J Downie | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2520|L/Cpl. C. Low | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
2545|Corpl. T. Brown | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2564|L/Cpl. G. Mitchell | K. in A. 13-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
3/2569|Pte. B. Cunningham | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2585|Pte. R. McQuarrie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2584|Pte. J. O'Donnell | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22 T.C. 97, Sq. G-7. Istabulat (G.R.C.).
3/2614|Pte. J. Black | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2621|Pte. J. Cook | K. in A. 6-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/2632|Pte. E. Clark | K. in A. 13-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
3/2674|Pte. G. Stevenson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
2701|Pte. F. Gibo | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
2745|Pte. L. Phee | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/3012|Pte. A. Hay | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
3/3074|Pte. P. Glancy | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/3100|Pte. T. Burke | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/3342|Sergt. J. Lees | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
3/3360|Pte. J. Campbell | K. in A. 9-5-15 France.
| | ...
3380|Pte. J. Strachan | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/3471|Pte. J. Harman | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/3590|Pte. G. Forbes | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3874|Pte. R. Wilson | K. in A. 6-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
3/3917|Pte. F. Robertson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/4144|Pte. A. Mailer | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/4151|Pte. E. Harkness | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/4221|Pte. E. Graham | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22 T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
3/4222|Pte. D. Cuthbert | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/4484|L/Cpl. J. Shirra | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7,
| | Istabulat (G.R.C).
S/5142|Pte. J. Bennett | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/6113|Pte. J. Stuart | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/6259|Pte. F. Stafford | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/6405|L/Cpl. T. Weir | K. in A. 13-3-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/6415|Pte. A. Rogerson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/6652|Pte. P. Hughes | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/6711|Pte. G. Jones | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/6757|L/Cpl. W. Taylor | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
6818|Pte. T. Caddow | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/6958|Pte. E. McLure | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7009|L/Cpl. J. Gibson | K. in A. 9-8-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7019|Pte. J. Hay | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabul.
S/7088|A/Sgt. R. McLauchan | K. in A. 13-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map. L-2, Rev. Irwin.
S/7094|Pte. J. Coulter | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7097|L/Cpl. C. McRae | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
7100|L/Cpl. F. Wilkins | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7283|Pte. D. Bell | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7346|Pte. A. Dickson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7507|Pte. W. McKennie | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7508|Pte. T. Lamb | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7548|Pte. A. McKay | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/7560|Pte. J. Tarberts | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7580|Pte. J. Baillie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7592|Pte. R. Bowman | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7595|Pte. G. Drysdale | K. in A. 6-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7616|L/Cpl. J. McLaughlan | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7738|Pte. A. Moncur | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7743|Pte. A. Mann | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/7748|Pte. T. McPherson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7757|Pte. W. Gillispie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7771|C.-S.-M. D. Palmer | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
7912|C.-S.-M. R. Proudfoot | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7926|Pte. J. McCormack | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7943|Pte. W. Beatte | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7957|Pte. J. Whyte | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7967|Pte. E. Brown | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7994|Corpl. A. Critchton | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/7996|Pte. W. Graham | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8057|Pte. J. Thomson | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8062|Pte. D. Hardley | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8082|Pte. J. Ramsay | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
8169|Pte. E. Rooke | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8192|Pte. M. McMahon | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8202|Pte. D. Winter | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22 T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
8235|Pte. R. Lindsay | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8252|Pte. D. Kilgour | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8316|Pte. S. McKillop | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8329|Pte. J. Suttie | K. in A. 6-3-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8330|Pte. G. Smith | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8349|L/Cpl. A. Cochrane | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/8389|Pte. J. Clark | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8390|Corpl. P. Robertson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8428|Pte. J. Wilson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8444|Sergt. A. McDonald | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
8458|A/Cpl. J. Hughes | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8500|Pte. W. McNee | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8534|Pte. R. McDonald | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8551|Pte. A. Gibson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat (G.K.C.).
S/8571|L/Cpl. D. McPhee | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8696|Pte. J. Bell | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8705|Pte. F. Fraser | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8765|Pte. J. Stewart | K. in A. 18-6-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8785|Pte. J. Liddle | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/8867|Pte. J. Smith | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/8890|Pte. T. Cranston | K. in A. 13-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
S/8918|Pte. J. Lamb | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9194|A/Cpl. J. Dougal | K. in A. 21-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9207|Pte. J. Orr | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad Battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9231|Pte. T. Reid | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9339|Pte. T. Williamson | K. in A. 20-4-17 The Field.
| | ...
9383|Sergt. D. Murdoch | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, point 40-22 T.C. 97.
| | Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
9437|C.-S.-M. G. Davidson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
9451|Pte. P. Davie | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/9504|Pte. C. Low | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9544|Segt. T. McCutcheon | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9563|Pte. C. Thomson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9643|Pte. H. Fraser | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/9952|Pte. C. Turner | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/10006|Pte. J. Ross | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/10028|Pte. J. Barnes | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
SRA/10113|Pte. T. Belcher | K. in A. 13-2-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
S/10170|Pte. E. Holmes | K. in A. 21-1-18 The Field.
| |Probably Hannah battlefield (G.R.C.).
10240|L/C. A. Gibson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
SRA/10278|Pte. B. Wilson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
SRA/10299|Pte. E. Kenny | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/10340|Pte. J. Dick | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/10374|Pte. P. Paul | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
SRA/10429|L-Cpl. A. Robertson | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/10469|Pte. R. Barrie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10477|Pte. A. Graham | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/10480|Pte. W. Ballingall | K. in A. 13-1-16 The Field.
| |Orah battlefield, Map L-2, Rev. Irwin.
S/10482|Pte. D. McFarlane | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
10489|Pte. J. Sims | K. in A. 7-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/10537|L/Cpl. W. Malcolm | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10539|L/Cpl. P. Hardie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10545|Pte. T. Baillie | K. in A. 5-12-16 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery, Sann-i-yat (G.R.C.).
S/10564|Pte. J. Dalton | K. in A. 21-1-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/10566|Pte. D. McLean | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/10567|Pte. J. Dawson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10574|Pte. K. O'Donnell | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10586|Pte. M. Paul | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10592|Pte. E. Smith | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10598|L/Cpl. J. McKay | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10621|Pte. W. Lang | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10633|Pte. W. Watson | K. in A. 5-11-16 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery, Sann-i-yat (G.R.C.).
S/10634|L/Cpl. P. Reilly | K. in A. 17-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/10638|Pte. F. Inglis | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10648|Pte. J. Wylie | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10651|L/Cpl. D. Small | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/10656|Pte. P. Barnes | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11147|A/Cpl. J. Harkins | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11175|L/Cpl. J. Little | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11193|Pte. J. Clark | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/11305|Pte. J. McLean | K. in A. 13-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11333|Pte. J. Galbraith | K. in A. 14-10-16 The Field.
| |Cemetery at 28 B.F.A., Faliheyah Bend.
S/11369|Pte. R. Niven | K. in A. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/11532|Pte. A. Huitton | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/11533|Pte. B. Bogan | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11570|Pte. J. Smith | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11572|Pte. J. Stewart | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11613|Pte. H. Greenwood | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/11631|L/Cpl. J. Wallace | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/11669|Pte. G. Law | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/11673|Pte. G. Hayes | K. in A. 16-6-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/11726|Pte. A. Carmichael | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11371|Pte. C. Wilson | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11866|Pte. T. Galloway | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/11869|Pte. J. Studholme | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/11891|Pte. D. Mathers | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/11958|Pte. R. McNaughten | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7,
| | 7th Division, sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
S/12096|Pte. W. Cross | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, 7th
| | Division, sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
S/12202|L/Cpl. E. Doggett | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/12238|Pte. D. McCraw | K. in A. 11-12-16 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery. Sann-i-yat.
S/12395|Pte. A. Johnstone | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/12435|Pte. W. Jamieson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, Sq. G-7, T.C. 97, Istabulat.
S/12475|Pte. J. Keir | K. in A. 22-4-16 The Field.
| Probably Sann-i-yat battlefield (G.R.C.).
S/12494|Pte. A. Tuckerman | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/13111|Pte. A. Smith | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
13170|Pte. A. Lawson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
13177|L/Cpl. H. Plain | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
SRA/13207|L/Cpl. J. Robson | K. in A. 20-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/13267|L/Cpl. M. Brown | K. in A. 10-10-16 The Field.
| |Old Cemetery behind Meerut Trench, Sann-i-yat.
S/13458|Pte. A. Brember | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/13956|Pte. G. Cross | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/14517|Pte. C. Winters | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/14994|Pte. J. McCallum | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/15066|Pte. D. Stewart | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/15068|Pte. J. Lawson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/15069|Pte. J. McLeod | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/15127|Pte. W. Coyne | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, G-7,
| | 7th Division, sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
S/15537|Pte. J. Gemmell | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, G-7,
| | 7th Division, sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
S/15632|Pte. J. Adam | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Dujail battlefield, T.C. 97, G-7,
| | 7th Division, sketch No. 5, Istabulat.
S/15700|Pte. G. Crick | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/15853|Pte. J. Wiseman | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/15866|Pte. W. McKay | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/16233|Pte. P. Dair | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
16303|L/Cpl. P. McSkimming | K. in A. 11-2-17 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery, Sann-i-yat.
S/16353|Pte. H. McKay | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
17481|Corpl. H. Bowman | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
17483|Pte. J. Eglin | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/19311|Pte. G. Neilson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
S/19316|Pte. J. Sanderson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| | ...
19426|Pte. J. Clark | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
19435|Pte. D. Aitken | K. in A. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
19436|Pte. J. Crawford | K. in A. 17-2-17 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery, Sann-i-yat.
19450|Corpl. L. Wiseman | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
19456|Pte. J. Wilkinson | K. in A. 21-4-17 The Field.
| |Point 40-22, T.C. 97, Sq. G-7, Istabulat.
69|L/Cpl. A. McBurnie |Died fr. Wds. 9-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
79|Pte. E. Miller |Died fr. Wds. 20-4-17 19 Cas. C1. Stn.
| |Sindiyeh Cemetery, T.C. 87, Sq. 1-H.
3/471|Pte. W. Taggart |Died fr. Wds. 16-1-16 No. 5 Fd. Amb.
| | ...
828|Sergt. A. Downie |Died fr. Wds. 5-5-16 3 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
941|A/Cpl. R. McNee |Died fr. Wds. 22-1-16 3a B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
1305|Pte. J. Macrae |Died fr. Wds. 30-1-16 3a B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
1381|Pte. G. Hendric |Died fr. Wds. 30-1-16 3a B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
3/1755|Pte. P. McPhee |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
1831|Pte. A. Mauby |Died fr. Wds. 17-1-16 No. 2 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
1947|Pte. T. Morrison |Died fr. Wds. 6-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
3/2112|Pte. J. Welsh |Died fr. Wds. 11-4-17 32 B.G.H., Amara.
| |Amara Cemetery, Row No. II, A, Grave No. 13.
2117|L/Cpl. R. McBean |Died fr. Wds. 8-2-16 3a B.G.H., Basra.
| |Basra.
2145|Sergt. G. McGregor |Died fr. Wds. 7-12-16 20 B.F.A.
| |Br. Cemetery at 20 B.F.A., Falaheyeh, Row. No. 4
3/2312|Pte. H. Dand |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 3a B.G.H., Basra
| | ...
2355|L/Cpl. J. Cunningham |Died fr. Wds. 16-3-17 The Field.
| |Hassiawah, (15 mls. N. of Baghdad).
2381|Pte. W. Gibb |Died fr. Wds. 22-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
3/2647|Pte. A. Robertson |Died fr. Wds. 15-1-16 3a B.G.H., Amara
| | ...
2675|Pte. F. Morrison |Died fr. Wds. 15-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
3/2742|Pte. H. McMillan |Died fr. Wds. 19-12-16 20 B.F.A.
| |Cemetery at 20 B.F.A.
S/2876|Pte. R. Brown |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-17 130 I.F.A.
| | ...
S/2903|Pte. W. Marshall |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/2920|Pte. J. Anderson |Died fr. Wds. 24-1-17 The Field.
| |Chabela Mound Cemetery, T.C. 61, 16c, 48, 19,
| | Grave No. 2.
S/3198|Pte. J. Forbes |Died fr. Wds. 12-4-16 R-P. B.G.H., Amara
| | ...
S/3358|L/Cpl. D. Richardson |Died fr. Wds. 25-4-16 S.S. Mejidieh.
| | ...
3/3362|Pte. T. Welsh |Died fr. Wds. 3-5-16 3 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
S/3755|Pte. A. Ettrick |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 S.S. Mejidieh.
| | ...
S/3934|Pte. A. Fleming |Died fr. Wds. 25-4-16 3a B.G.H., Amara
| | ...
S/4004|Pte. B. Evans |Died fr. Wds. 27-4-16 3a B.G.H., Amara.
| |Amara.
S/4093|Corpl. J. Gillies |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/4218|Pte. W. Mackie |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/5230|Pte. J. McDougall |Died fr. Wds. 17-2-17 The Field.
| |Jullundur St. Cemetery, Sann-i-yat.
S/5658|Pte. T. S. |Died fr. Wds. 26-4-16 S.S. Mejedeih.
| | ...
S/6436|Pte. F. Bewley |Died fr. Wds. 24-3-17 3a B.S.H. S-Sd.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Row 6, Gr. No. 364.
S/6689|Pte. W. Dewar |Died fr. Wds. 18-2-16 3a B.G.H. Basra.
| | ...
S/6964|A/Cpl. G. Combe |Died fr. Wds. 6-3-17 23 B.S.H. Amara.
| |Amara Cemetery, Grave No. VII, 6, 7.
S/6972|H. Rodgers |Died fr. Wds. 6-9-16 The Field.
| |Cemetery at 20 B.F.A.
S/7122|Pte. A. Lamont |Died fr. Wds. 25-1-16 3a B.G.H. Amara.
| | ...
S/7207|L/Cpl. J. Young |Died fr. Wds. 5-3-16 3 B.G.H. Amara.
| | ...
S/7399|Pte. D. Urquhart |Died fr. Wds. 20-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7427|Pte. A. Rae |Died fr. Wds. 8-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7430|A/Cpl. D. Moncreiff |Died fr. Wds. 13-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/7479|Pte. J. Shannon |Died fr. Wds. 19-1-16 3 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
S/7538|Pte. M. Stewart |Died fr. Wds. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/7730|Pte. J. Stewart |Died fr. Wds. 22-6-16 The Field.
| |
8175|Sergt. J. Lugton |Died fr. Wds. 15-3-17 Motor Convoy. 128 I.F.A.
| |5 miles N. of Tagi Rly. Stn. and
| | 40 E. of railway line.
S/8183|Pte. F. Scott |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8266|Pte. W. Stewart |Died fr. Wds. 8-1-16 The Field.
| |Probably Sheikh-Saad (G.R.C.).
S/8356|Pte. A. Trory |Died fr. Wds. 7-9-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8709|Pte. J. Ferguson |Died fr. Wds. 14-1-16 2 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
S/8856|Pte. J. Elliott |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/9159|Pte. C. Wilson |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/9728|L/Cpl. E. Thomson |Died fr. Wds. 15-3-17 128 I.F.A.
| | ...
RA/10072|Pte. J. Davy |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/10155|Pte. P. Welsh |Died fr. Wds. 8-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
SRA/10285|Pte. A. Harker |Died fr. Wds. 8-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/10432|Pte. T. Wilson |Died fr. Wds. 15-3-17 128 I.F.A.
| |5 miles N. of Tagi Station
| | and 40 E. of Railway.
RA/10439|Pte. W. Hallam |Died fr. Wds. 14-4-17 32 B.G.H., Amara.
| |Amara Cemetery, Grave No. II, A, 14.
S/10639|Pte. J. Walker |Died fr. Wds. 27-4-16 3a B.G.H., Basra.
| | ...
S/10652|L/Cpl. A. Kay |Died fr. Wds. 24-5-17 32 B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
S/10654|L/Cpl. C. Williams |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/11259|Pte. P. Hiley |Died fr. Wds. 29-4-16 3a B.G.H., Amara.
| | ...
S/11535|Pte. D. Smith |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/11769|Pte. J. Nicol |Died fr. Wds. 1-6-16 The Field.
| |Cemetery at 20 B.F.A.
S/12162|Pte. W. Cannell |Died fr. Wds. 24-4-17 130 I.F.A.
| | ...
S/12321|L/Cpl. L. Latto |Died fr. Wds. 23-4-17 No. 7 B.F.A.
| |T.C. 96, 6-E, 3-1.
S/12512|Pte. A. Swanston |Died fr. Wds. 24-2-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/13103|Pte. W. Benson |Died fr. Wds. 22-4-17 No. 19 B.F.A.
| |S.-E. of Ry. culvert about 4-3/4 miles
| | S.-E. of Istabulat Station, T.C. 97, K-9, 5-6.
13186|L/Cpl. W. Campbell |Died fr. Wds. 15-3-17 128 I.F.A.
| | ...
S/13260|Pte. W. Nelson |Died fr. Wds. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/13325|Pte. T. Simpson |Died fr. Wds. 14-3-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/14626|Pte. T. Hanvey |Died fr. Wds. 23-4-17 130 I.F.A.
| | ...
S/16060|Pte. C. Ogilvie |Died fr. Wds. 25-4-17 16 C.C.S.
| |Grave No. A-22 (Cemetery unknown).
S/16041|Pte. C. Gray |Died fr. Wds. 26-4-17 32 B.G.H.
| |Amara Cemetery, Grave VIII, Block B-1.
S/16082|Pte. P. Glen |Died fr. Wds. 9-5-17 2 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/16323|Pte. A. Thompson |Died fr. Wds. 20-5-17 32 B.G.H.
| | ...
19445|Pte. D. Porter |Died fr. Wds. 21-4-17 19 B.F.A.
| | ...
1062|Sgt. W. Hanton |Enteric. 6-7-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
513|L/Cpl. G. Robertson |Suffocation 24-1-16 The Field.
| | ...
1549|Pte. J. Bennett |Dysentery. 21-9-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. F-59.
3/2008|Pte. D. Mathieson |Gastritis. 18-6-17 Falaheyeh.
| |Cemetery at 26 B.F.A.
3/2475|A/Sgt. W. Chrystal |Sun-stroke. 19-6-16 Kurna.
| |Christian burial ground, Kurna, Row B, Grave 11.
2750|Dmr. J. Watt |Para-typh. 10-7-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. 105
3/3572|Pte. G. Billington |Para-typh. 1-7-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. 105
3892|Pte. J. Sanderson |Disease. 29-6-16 S.S. Malamir.
| | ...
3/4229|Pte. J. Clark |Heat-stroke 26-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
3/4246|Pte. T. Clowe |P.U.O. 7-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
3/4251|Pte. P. McGinley |Suffocation 27-6-16 Amara.
| | ...
3/4252|Pte. S. Johnstone |Enteric. 4-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/4874|Pte. J. Fettes |Gastritis. 20-7-16 Falaheyeh.
| |Cemetery at 20 B.F.A.
S/6709|Pte. W. Sherriff |Enteritis. 27-5-16 Falaheyeh.
| | ...
3/7229|Pte. E. Dunbar |Heat-stroke 3-7-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/7622|Pte. W. Ferguson |Enteric. 3-10-16 33 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/7643|Pte. E. Wallace |Heat-stroke 20-7-16 Basrah.
| | ...
S/8024|Pte. A. McLaren |Dysentery. 29-5-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/8040|Pte. S. Russell |Dysentery. 21-6-16 R. Boat P-4.
| | ...
8052|Sgt. G. Warden |Enteric. 26-5-17 127 C.F.A.
| | ...
8390|Pte. W. Murphy |Typhus. 20-4-17 Amara.
| |Amara Cemetery, Grave No. VIII, A. 5.
S/8713|L/Cpl. J. Cairney |Drowned Acc. 14-3-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/8715|Pte. J. Oliphant |N.Y.D. fever 17-8-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| | ...
S/8888|Pte. D. Fleming |Malaria. 2-8-16 The Field.
| | ...
9852|Pte. J. Beattie |Dysentery. 30-12-16 33 B.G.H.
| |Hakimeyeh Cemetery, Makina, Row C, No. 15.
S/10012|Pte. R. Cowper |Cholera. 19-5-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/10047|Pte. R. Broadbent |Heat-stroke 1-7-16 Falaheyeh.
| |Cemetery at 20 B.F.A.
SRA/10271|Pte. A. Howard |Enteric. 9-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
10488|L/Cpl. D. Ramsay |Dysentery. 2-5-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/10527|Pte. H. Roberts |Enteric. 14-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
1757|Pte. P. Cameron |Drowned. 15-8-16 Basrah.
| | ...
S/5414|Pte. R. Craigie |Enteric. 8-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/10591|Pte. T. Surgener |Malaria. 15-7-16 Makina.
| | ...
S/10599|Pte. J. Lewis |Enteric. 8-8-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. 184.
S/11537|Pte. J. Preston |Dysentery 12-10-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/11540|Pte. W. Mills |Enteric. 14-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/11709|Pte. B. McMeechan |Disease. 27-6-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| | ...
S/12115|Pte. A. Robertson |Enteric. 18-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/12328|Pte. J. Broadbent |Heat stroke 5-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/12433|Pte. J. Kirkland |Enteric. 24-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/12437|Pte. R. Younghusband |Enteric. 5-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/12474|Pte. J. Porter |Disease. 14-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/12519|Pte. J. Christie |Bronche. 10-6-16 Alexandria.
| |Pneumonia
| | ...
S/12531|Pte. W. Morrison |Dysentery. 22-9-16 Falaheyeh.
| | ...
S/13131|L/Cpl. W. Forbes |Dysentery. 20-7-16 Basrah.
| | ...
S/13137|Pte. F. Docherty |P.U.O. 28-6-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery.
S/13144|Pte. S. Lennox |Enteritis. 22-7-16 Basrah.
| | ...
S/13145|Pte. J. McHugh |Typhoid. 28-6-16 Sheikh-Sand.
| | ...
S/13148|Pte. A. McDougall |Enteric. 28-6-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/13154|Pte. E. Ross |Dysentery. 20-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/13160|L/Cpl. J. Selkirk |Disease. 29-6-16 S.S. Mejidieh.
| |Christian Burial-ground, Kurna, Row B, Grave 14.
S/13176|Pte. F. Tait |Drowned. 23-6-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| | ...
13191|Pte. J. Carroll |Disease. 29-6-16 S.S. Mejidieh.
| |Christian Burial-ground, Kurna, Row B, Grave 13.
S/13192|Pte. J. Connelly |Heat-stroke 26-6-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery.
S/13225|Pte. T. Davidson |Enteric. 2-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/13227|Pte. R. Boyd |Enteritis. 30-6-16 The Field.
| | ...
S/13233|Pte. J. Reddie |Heat-stroke 2-7-16 3 B.G.H.
| | ...
S/13234|Pte. N. Sweeney |Dysentery. 21-7-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. 18.
S/13243|Pte. J. Bain |Disease. 28-6-16 Sheikh-Saad.
| |Sheikh-Saad Cemetery, Grave No. 18.
S/13913|Pte. C. McMillan |Malaria. 3-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/13982|Pte. J. Duff |Enteric. 8-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/13989|Pte. J. King |Enteric. 4-3-17 3 B.G.H.
| |Hakameyeh Cemetery, Grave No. D-9
S/14009|Pte. G. Carson |Drowned. 13-1-17 The Field.
| | ...
S/14016|Pte. A. Flynn |Enteric. 12-7-16 Amara.
| | ...
S/15105|Pte. E. Gay |Dysentery. 26-12-16 R. Boat P-53.
| | ...
S/15666|Pte. A. Bewick |Jaundice. 25-6-17 16 C.C. Station.
| | ...
17512|Pte. C. Rattray |Dysentery. 7-12-16 32 B.G.H.
| |Amara Cemetery, Plot C, Row 4, No. 9.
-------+----------------------+---------------------------------------------------
_Nominal Roll of W.Os., N.C.Os., and men of the 2nd Battalion reported
'Missing' or 'Wounded and missing' during the service of that Unit in
I.E.F. "D"._
(up to 31st July 1917).
+----------+-----------------------+----+----------------------+
Regimenta | Rank and Name. |Coy.| |
No. | | | |
+----------+-----------------------+----+----------------------|
S/7159 |L/C. Beattie, L. | 4 |Missing, 7-1-16. |
3/5192 |Pte. Black, W. | 3 |W. and M., 7-1-16. |
S/5198 |Pte. Dixon, J. | 2 |Do. |
S/10496 |L/C. Haig, W. | 1 |Do. |
3/2483 |Pte. Hutchison, G. | 3 |Do. |
9661 |Pte. McConville, T. | 4 |Do. |
S/7753 |Pte. Menelaws, G. | 1 |Missing, 7-1-16. |
S/10323 |Pte. Miller, J. | 3 |W. and M., 7-1-16. |
S/8005 |Pte. Nicholson, T. | 2 |Missing, 7-1-16. |
3/2901 |Pte. Smith, C. | 1 |Do. |
S/7159 |Pte. Wilson, G. | 4 |Do. |
S/7056 |L/C. Carmichael, B. | 1 |Missing, 8-1-16. |
8408 |C.Q.M.S. Jessop, A. | 2 |Do. |
2718 |Pte. McKnight, J. | 2 |Do. |
1110 |Pte. Duncan, D. | 2 |Do. |
| | | Died a Prisoner of |
| | | War at Mosul, 1-3-16.|
S/8257 |Pte. Campbell, H. | 2 |W. and M., 13-1-16. |
1891 |Pte. Kerwin, J. | 1 |Missing, 13-1-16. |
S/8730 |Pte. Rodger, A. | 2 |W. and M., 13-1-16. |
S/8319 |Pte. Armstrong, G. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
3/3389 |Pte. Bain, J. | 2 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/9034 |Pte. Barnes, C. | 1 |Do. |
1166 |Pte. Baxter, F. | 1 |Do. |
1862 |L/C. Birse, A. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
S/8750 |Pte. Bradie, J. | 2 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/8496 |Pte. Cairns, W. | 2 |Do. |
S/8912 |Pte. Chapman, A. | 4 |Do. |
S/8417 |Pte. Crerar, J. .. | 2 |Do. |
S/7104 |Pte. Dalziell, G. | 2 |Do. |
1234 |Pte. Docherty, N. | 1 |Do. |
3/2872 |Pte. Dunleavy, A. | 2 |Do. |
S/8874 |Pte. Fairfull, J. | 1 |Do. |
166 |A/C. Gair, M. | 1 |Do. |
3/2282 |Pte. Garland, P. | 4 |Do. |
10475 |Pte. Grey, J. | 1 |Do. |
S/8452 |Pte. Hamilton, D. | 1 |Do. |
9260 |Sgt. Humm, T. | 2 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
10338 |Pte. Ireland, G. | 3 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/10161 |Pte. James, G. | 4 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
S/10147 |Pte. Law, S. | 1 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/10337 |Pte. Leach, R. | 1 |Do. |
1084 |Pte. McBride. G. | 1 |Do. |
S/3984 |Pte. McComb, A. | 1 |Do. |
SRA/10442 |Pte. McKenzie, J. | 4 |Do. |
S/7574 |Pte. Matheson, P. | 1 |Do. |
S/2941 |L/C. Menzies, J. | 4 |Do. |
S/7936 |Pte. Mitchell, J. | 1 |Do. |
S/8688 |Pte. Mitchell, W. | 3 |Do. |
1921 |A/C. Murray, R. | 1 |Do. |
S/10207 |A/S. Newton, R. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
S/8494 |Pte. Ormiston, T. | 3 |Do. |
887 |C.S.M. Oswald, W. | 1 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
1802 |Pte. Paton, J. | 1 |Do. |
10501 |Pte. Pollock, D. | 1 |Do. |
S/7120 |Pte. Rennie, S. | 2 |Do. |
659 |Pte. Robertson, N. | 1 |Do. |
1605 |A/C. Shand, D. | 2 |Do. |
634 |Pte. Shaw, J. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
3/3970 |Pte. Sim, D. | 1 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/7658 |L/C. Spriggs, W. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
8/3854 |L/C. Swan, T. | 4 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
S/8880 |Pte. Thomson, P. | 3 |Do. |
S/7621 |Pte. Vanbeick, A. | 2 |Do. |
S/8744 |Pte. Weatherspoon, R. | 2 |Do. |
10242 |Pte. Westrop, W. | 1 |Do. |
S/8932 |Pte. Whyte D. | 3 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
S/6733 |Pte. Wilkins, E. | 1 |Missing, 21-1-16. |
1989 |Pte. Wilson, R. | 3 |Do. |
S/7902 |Pte. Worthington, H. | 1 |W. and M., 21-1-16. |
S/10029 |Pte. Irving, R. | 1 |Missing, 28-1-16. |
S/7032 |Cpl. Cumming, G. | 3 |W. and M., 6-4-16. |
S/10576 |Pte. Barbour, W. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
8/11800 |Pte. Beattie, G. | 3 |Do. |
898 |Pte. Beveridge, J. | 2 |Do. |
S/10641 |Pte. Buchan, J. | 2 |Do. |
S/10579 |Pte. Campbell, J. | 3 |Do. |
682 |Pte. Carr, A. | 4 |Do. |
S/9850 |Pte. Churchard, R. | 3 |W. and M., 22-4-16. |
S/10563 |Pte. Clark, T. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/4235 |Pte. Cranson, J. | 1 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/9562 |Pte. Currie, W. | 2 |Do. |
S/8638 |Pte. Fleming, W. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
| | | Officially reported |
| | | killed in action, |
| | | 22/4. |
S/10581 |Pte. Ford, W. | 3 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/10560 |Pte. Gouge, F. | 2 |Do. |
3/8960 |Cpl. Green, H. | 2 |Do. |
S/8594 |Pte. Hamilton, J. | 3 |Do. |
S/10671 |Pte. Hamilton, D. | 2 |Do. |
S/10644 |Pte. Henderson, W. | 4 |W. and M., 22-4-16. |
S/11758 |Pte. Kirkham, W. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/9501 |Pte. Lauchlan, W. | 2 |Do. |
S/10568 |Pte. Low, W. | 2 |Do. |
S/11966 |Pte. McCarthy, A. | 2 |Do. |
S/10135 |Pte. McGlennon, J. | 2 |Do. |
3/4223 |Pte. McGregor, A. | 4 |Do. |
S/10662 |Pte. McLaren, J. | 2 |Do. |
1889 |Pte. McLean, R. | 3 |Do. |
2635 |Pte. Marshall, D. | 1 |Do. |
S/4379 |Pte. Marshall, G. | 3 |Do. |
S/7697 |Pte. Montgomery, H. | 1 |Do. |
S/11286 |Pte. Morgan, G. | 4 |W. and M., 22-4-16. |
S/3346 |Pte. Morrison, D. | 1 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
8166 |Pte. Morrison, S. | 1 |Do. |
S/10536 |L/C. Ramsay, J. | 2 |Do. |
S/11751 |Pte. Russell, J. | 2 |Do. |
S/11557 |Pte. Smith, A. | 2 |Do. |
S/11753 |Pte. Smith, E. | 2 |Do. |
S/3708 |Pte. Sinclair, J. | 1 |Do. |
S/11390 |Pte. Stewart, J. | 1 |Do. |
S/11607 |Pte. Styles, S. | 1 |Do. |
1459 |L/C. Torrance, G. | 3 |Do. |
S/4076 |Pte. Walker, J. | 1 |W. and M., 22-4-16. |
7908 |C.S.M. Wilkie, A. | 1 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
2772 |Pte. Whyte, R. | 4 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
| | | Officially accepted |
| | | as having died |
| | | between 22-4-16 and |
| | | 2-2-17. |
S/4239 |Pte. Wilson, R. | 1 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/10674 |Pte. Wilson, J. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-17. |
| | | Officially reported |
| | | killed in action, |
| | | 22-4-16. |
S/10668 |Pte. Wilson, J. | 2 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
S/10540 |L/C. Wood, C. | 1 |Missing, 22-4-16. |
| | | Officially |
| | | reported killed |
| | | in action, 22-4-16. |
S/15657 |Pte. Carlyle, W. | 1 |Missing, 14-3-17. |
15613 |Pte. Cook, J. | 1 |W. and M. 14-3-17. |
3/10222 |Pte. Harris, A. | 2 |Do. |
S/11776 |Pte. Hewitt, G. | 1 |Do. |
S/11307 |L/C. Hutchison, J. | 1 |Do. |
S/15892 |Pte. Jennings, R. | 1 |Do. |
S/15080 |Pte. Watt, J. | 4 |Do. |
S/13905 |Pte. Batchelor, C. | 3 |Missing, 21-4-17. |
S/11835 |Pte. Burnett, W. | 3 |Do. |
S/3569 |Pte. Campbell, J. | 4 |Do. |
17494 |Pte. Gilfillan, T. | 2 |Do. |
| |____| |
| TOTAL |125 |Of whom 4 have now |
| | | been officially |
| | | reported as died or |
| | | killed in action. |
+---------+-----------------------+----+----------------------+
Total Missing, battle of 7th Jan. 1916 11
Do. do. 13th January 1916 3
Do. do. 21st January 1916 50
Do. do. 22nd April 1916 44
Do. do. 14th March 1917 7
Do. do. 21st April 1917 4
Missing, various dates 6
PRISONERS OF WAR.
------------+---------------------+----+----------------------+
Regimental | | | |
No. | Rank and Name |Coy.| |
------------+---------------------+----+----------------------+
SRA/10254 | Pte. Cottle, T. | 1 |Pris. of War, Mosul. |
| | | Captured, 7-1-16. |
S/11543 | Pte. McDonald, G. | .. |Pris. of War, Afion |
| | | Kara Hissar, Captured|
| | | 22-4-16. |
SRA/10062 | Pte. Debnam, J. | 4 |Captured, 21-1-16. |
| | | Released in September|
| | | 1916 and invalided |
| | | to India. |
------------+---------------------+----+----------------------+
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
I.E.F. "D."
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 53.
After a period of severe and strenuous fighting extending with only
short pauses over a period of two months, I wish to express to the
Navy, to Lieut.-Generals Marshall and Cobb, to the Divisional and
Brigade Commanders, to the staffs including my own and to all ranks of
the fighting troops, my warmest thanks for their splendid work and my
congratulations on their brilliant successes. To the Regimental
Officers, N.C.Os. and men, a special word is due for their matchless
heroism and fighting spirit, and for their grit and determination so
fully in accord with the best traditions of British and Indian
Regiments. Whilst regretting deeply the casualties necessarily
incurred in the attainment of our object, the series of stinging blows
dealt to the enemy, his severe losses which are out of all proportion
to the size of his force and his obviously faltering spirit afford
ample proof to all ranks that their sacrifices have not been made in
vain. My thanks too are due to Major-General MacMunn, to the Director
and their assistants and to all ranks of the Administrative Services
and Departments, both in the field and on the lines of communication
who in face of unexampled difficulties have by sterling work and
energy risen superior to them and regularly met the needs of the
fighting troops with ample supplies, stores and munitions without
which the loss of lives would have been considerably increased and
success rendered impossible, and have been the means of providing
every comfort, attainable for the sick and wounded. To each and every
member of the Navy and Army and to those who, though not belonging to
either of the services have helped to bring about the results achieved
I tender my earnest thanks for their wholehearted and magnificent
efforts. The end is not yet; but with such absolute co-operation and
vigour animating all continuance of our success is assured.
(SD.) F. S. Maude, Lieut.-Gent.,
_Commanding I.E.F. "D."_
_15th February 1917._
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
I.E.F. "D."
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 64.
I have received the following message from His Imperial Majesty the
King-Emperor:--
"March 11th.--It is with greatest satisfaction that I have
received the good news that you have occupied Baghdad. I heartily
congratulate you and your troops on the success achieved under so
many difficulties.--George R.I."
I have sent the following reply:--
"March 12th.--Your Imperial Majesty's gracious message has been
communicated to all ranks of the forces serving in Mesopotamia by
whom it has been received with feelings of intense gratitude,
loyalty and devotion. The difficulties by which we have been
confronted have only increased our determination to surmount
them."
The following are some of the other messages received and replies
sent:--
From His Excellency the Viceroy of India:--
"March 13th.--My most hearty congratulations to yourself and the
troops under your command on the capture of Baghdad which has
been achieved by their gallantry and devotion to duty."
"March 14th.--Your Excellency's kind message has been received
with sincere gratitude by all ranks of the forces in Mesopotamia.
Nothing could have exceeded the valour and endurance of the
troops both British and Indian under trying conditions."
* * * * *
From The Grand Duke Nicholas:--
"March 10th.--I and the Caucasus Army send heartiest
congratulations on the new success won by the glorious troops
under your command. The Caucasus Army will do all in their power
to further your developments and successes."
"March 12th.--On behalf of the troops serving in Mesopotamia I
beg to thank your Imperial Highness very warmly for kind message
which is much appreciated by us all. Our Russian comrades in
Caucasus may rest assured that we shall continue to do our utmost
to assist their operations already so successfully commenced."
* * * * *
From the Right Hon'ble the Secretary of State for War:--
"March 13th.--His Majesty's Government desire me to convey to you
and all ranks under your command their cordial congratulations on
the noble feat of arms which has led to your occupation of
Baghdad. They fully recognise the difficulties which you have
faced and overcome and wish to express their high appreciation of
the skilful plan of operations, the careful co-ordination of the
administrative work and the courage and endurance of the troops."
"March 14th.--Your message conveying approbation of His Majesty's
Government with respect to our efforts has been received with
widespread pleasure by all ranks of the forces in Mesopotamia.
The difficulties by which we were met were soon swept aside by
the dauntless valour and endurance of the troops ably seconded by
the thorough and smooth working of the administrative services."
* * * * *
From His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief in India:--
"March 12th.--To you and your gallant troops I desire to convey
my own and the warmest congratulations of all ranks in India on
your splendid achievements. The valour, devotion to duty and
determination which have defeated a stubborn enemy and culminated
in the capture of Baghdad evoke our highest admiration."
"March 14th.--All ranks of the forces in Mesopotamia thank Your
Excellency most warmly for your most kind message. It is a
particular source of satisfaction to us to feel that our efforts
are appreciated so thoroughly by our comrades in India. British
and Indian troops have vied with each other in valour and
endurance and difficulties met with have only stimulated our
determination to surmount them."
* * * * *
From Admiral Sir David Beatty, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., D.S.O.:--
"March 12th.--Please accept, on behalf of the Grand Fleet and
myself, our admiration and congratulations upon the magnificent
achievement in capturing Baghdad by the gallant forces under your
command."
"March 14th.--Your message has been received with widespread
pleasure by all ranks of the forces in Mesopotamia. During
operations the Navy has, as usual, played its part nobly. We are
particularly proud at receiving congratulations from the Grand
Fleet, which has itself done much superb work consistently during
past two and a half years."
* * * * *
From Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E.,
Commander-in-Chief Armies in France:--
"March 16th.--Your brilliant achievements and continued successes
are a great delight and a great encouragement to all ranks under
my command."
"March 16th.--Most grateful for kind message--much valued."
* * * * *
From Vice-Admiral Sir Rosslyn E. Wemyss, K.C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., Naval
Commander-in-Chief, British East Indies:--
"March 14th.--Please accept hearty congratulations of self and
whole of Indian Squadron on your splendid success. I am proud to
think that the Royal Navy has been able to co-operate with your
troops."
"March 16th.--Most grateful to you and East Indies Squadron for
kind message. Royal Navy here have co-operated with our
operations brilliantly."
* * * * *
From General Sir Archibald Murray, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O., D.S.O.,
Commander-in-Chief, Egyptian Expeditionary force:--
"Your splendid series of successes are being watched with the
profoundest delight and gratification by all ranks of the
Egyptian Force. Bridging operations must have been grandly
carried out. Once more our heartiest congratulations."
"Most grateful for kind message. All ranks appreciate it,
especially coming as it does from a Commander and troops who have
themselves done so brilliantly. Our troops here have been quite
magnificent."
* * * * *
From Lieut.-General G. F. Milne, C.B., D.S.O., Commander-in-Chief
British Forces at Salonika:--
"March 12th.--Hearty congratulations to you and your Army from
all ranks of the Salonika Force."
"March 13th.--We all thank you very warmly for kind message."
* * * * *
From Major-General A. R. Hoskins, C.M.G., D.S.O., Commanding East
African Force:--
"March 13th.--Hearty congratulations from all ranks East African
Force to Mesopotamian Force on brilliant achievements."
"March 16th.--Most grateful for kind message much appreciated by
us all."
* * * * *
From the Right Hon'ble the Lord Mayor of London:--
"March 13th.--The City of London sends hearty congratulations on
the capture of the historic City of Baghdad."
"March 14th.--Your Lordship's kind message conveying
congratulations of the City of London is very warmly appreciated
by all ranks of the forces in Mesopotamia. Qualities of courage
and endurance displayed by troops throughout operations have been
superb."
F. S. MAUDE, _Lieut.-General_,
Commanding Indian Expeditionary Force "D."
_30th March 1917._
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
I.E.F. "D."
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 66.
In pursuance of the authority delegated to me by His Imperial Majesty
the King-Emperor, I make the following awards for gallantry and
distinguished service in the field:--
_Awarded the Military Cross._
CAPTAIN ROBERT MACFARLANE--For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to
duty. Although wounded early in the action he continued to lead his
Company with great determination until the evening, when the position
was finally taken by a bayonet charge. With great courage and skill he
led his Company up to a position from which he was able to enfilade
the enemy at close range, thereby greatly assisting the charge.
SECOND-LIEUTENANT BENJAMIN SMITH HOUSTON,--For conspicuous gallantry
and ability in leading the second line of his battalion with excellent
judgment under heavy fire. After reinforcing the first line he took
command of the left portion of it including some 60 men of an Indian
Infantry regiment who were without an officer and led them on during
the charge and subsequent advance on the railway station. He had
recently done fine work when in command of a patrol.
_Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal._
No. 1081, SERGEANT JAMES STRACHAN--For conspicuous gallantry and
ability in action. When all four of his Company Officers had been
wounded, he took command of the left flank of the battalion. He ably
directed their fire and later led forward what remained of his company
across the open and drove the enemy out of his position taking some
prisoners.
NO. 19438, LANCE-CORPORAL GEORGE MCGABE,--For conspicuous gallantry
and resource during operations. Seeing that a gap existed between an
Indian Regiment and his own, and that the former in this locality had
lost all their officers, he took charge of their Lewis guns and filled
the gap. Later, he was conspicuous for his gallantry in leading the
Indian Infantrymen in the charge across the open.
_Awarded the Military Medal._
No. 2262, SERGEANT FRANK CONNEL.
F. S. MAUDE, _Lieut.-General_,
Commanding I.E.F. "D".
_31st March 1917._
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
I.E.F. "D."
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 76.
His Imperial Majesty the King-Emperor, has conveyed the following
message to me:--
"May 8th.--The series of successes achieved in defeating the
Turkish Forces brought against you since your capture of Baghdad
reflect the very highest credit upon you and all ranks under your
command. Your progress is all the more appreciated by your fellow
countrymen in that they are conscious of the trying conditions
under which your troops have fought.--George R.I."
The following reply has been sent by me:--
"May 9th.--Your Imperial Majesty's gracious message expressing
approbation of our recent successes has filled all ranks of the
Navy and Army in Mesopotamia with loyal enthusiasm. The valour
and devotion to duty of the troops conscious of their superiority
over the enemy have been superb, whilst in spite of great heat
recently experienced their health remains most satisfactory."
* * * * *
From the Right Hon'ble the Secretary of State for War:--
"May 8th.--War Cabinet desire me to convey their high
appreciation of your recent operations which have resulted in the
defeat of the enemy's forces and the successful occupation of the
greater part of the Baghdad Vilayat. The splendid spirit and
gallantry displayed by the troops under trying climatic
conditions and the skill shown by your subordinate commanders
merit high commendation and are a proof of the efficiency and
devotion to duty of all ranks of the force under your command."
"May 9th.--Your telegram conveying approval of War Cabinet at
success of our recent operations is greatly appreciated by all
ranks in Mesopotamia. Fighting spirit and endurance of troops
have been admirable throughout in spite of great heat recently."
F. S. MAUDE, _Lieut.-General_,
Commanding Indian Expeditionary Force "D."
_11th May 1917._
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
I.E.F. "D."
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 82.
In pursuance of the authority delegated to me by His Imperial Majesty
the King-Emperor, I make the following award for gallantry and
distinguished service in the field:--
_Awarded a Bar to Distinguished Conduct Medal._
No. 1543, SERGEANT CHARLES EASTON.--For conspicuous gallantry in
action. Seeing that an officer had been hit some 80 yards in front of
his post and was unable to move owing to continuous sniping, he ran
forward, dressed his wounds, and got him back to the river bank. As
sniping still continued, he swam the river, supporting the wounded
Officer, and gained the other bank. Had the Officer not been moved, he
must again have been hit by the enemy's snipers who were within 300
yards.
F. S. MAUDE, _Lieut.-General_,
Commanding Indian Expeditionary Force "D."
_17th June 1917._
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
MESOPOTAMIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.
ORDER OF THE DAY, No. 96.
In pursuance of the authority delegated to me by His Imperial Majesty
the King-Emperor, I make the following awards for gallantry and
distinguished service in connection with operations in the field
covering the period April 1st to September 30th, 1917, inclusive.
_Awarded Second Bar to Distinguished Conduct Medal._
No. 2702, SERGEANT WILLIAM LOGAN.--For conspicuous gallantry and
ability. At a critical moment he led forward a party of bombers under
heavy fire and controlled them with great skill until wounded. By his
courage and coolness he materially assisted in repelling a
counter-attack and in re-taking a redoubt, [Awarded D.C.M., _London
Gazette_, 20th October, 1916, Bar to D.C.M., _London Gazette_, 29th
August, 1917].
_Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal._
No. 3-2377, PRIVATE GEORGE BEVERIDGE.--For conspicuous gallantry and
initiative. He repeatedly carried messages back from the firing line
under heavy fire and, at a critical moment, rallied his comrades
after a counter-attack and led them to the final capture of the
position. His courage and dash were most marked.
No. 2334, PRIVATE JOSEPH CLARK.--For conspicuous gallantry and
devotion to duty. He displayed great resource and initiative in
re-organising both British and Indian troops after a counter-attack,
in time to meet successfully a second one. His bravery and coolness
throughout the day greatly encouraged his men. He has done fine work
on other occasions.
* * * * *
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS.
MESOPOTAMIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.
ORDER OF THE DAY. No. 102.
The following extract from the _London Gazette_ is published for
general information:--
His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the
award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officers,
Non-commissioned Officers and Men:--
WAR OFFICE,
_26th November 1917._
No. 871, PRIVATE CHARLES MELVIN, Highlander Regiment
(_Kirriemuir_).--For most conspicuous bravery, coolness and resource
in action. Pte. Melvin's Company had advanced to within fifty yards of
the front-line trench of a redoubt, where, owing to the intensity of
the enemy's fire, the men were obliged to lie down and wait for
reinforcements. Pte. Melvin, however, rushed on by himself, over
ground swept from end to end by rifle and machine gun fire. On
reaching the enemy trench, he halted and fired two or three shots into
it, killing one or two enemy, but as the others in the trench
continued to fire at him, he jumped into it, and attacked them with
his bayonet in his hand, as owing to his rifle being damaged, it was
not "fixed." On being attacked in this resolute manner most of the
enemy fled to their second line, but not before Pte. Melvin had killed
two more and succeeded in disarming eight unwounded and one wounded.
Pte. Melvin bound up the wounds of the wounded man, and then driving
his eight unwounded prisoners before him, and supporting the wounded
one he hustled them out of the trench, marched them in and delivered
them over to an officer. He then provided himself with a load of
ammunition and returned to the firing line where he reported himself
to his platoon sergeant. All this was done, not only under intense
rifle and machine gun fire, but the whole way back Pte. Melvin and his
party were exposed to a very heavy artillery barrage fire. Throughout
the day Pte. Melvin greatly inspired those near him with confidence
and courage.
W. R. MARSHALL, _Lieut.-General_,
Commanding-in-Chief,
Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force.
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS,
_6th March 1918._
Printed and published by E. G. Pearson at the Times Press,
Bombay--2519'18
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