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. |