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.
| LUNN HAS A QUIET REST AND SMOKE. | B. H. LUNN AND C. V. HENDRY. |
MAP: THE OPERATIONS AT KUT-EL-AMARA, SHOWING THE WIDE TURNING MOVEMENTS SOUTH OF THE RIVER.