On the 21st news arrived that the Turks had abandoned Basra, and that Arabs were looting the place. A British force was at once embarked on river steamers, while other troops were sent forward across the desert on foot. About eight miles beyond Sahil the Turks had attempted to impede the navigation of the river by sinking ships in the fairway; but the business had been badly done, and our gunboats, after silencing a battery of Krupp guns on the bank, got past the obstruction. About ten on the morning of the 22nd the river force entered Basra without opposition. Later in the day the desert column arrived; the German flag was hauled down, and the Union Jack was hoisted in its stead. During the remainder of the month the British prepared a base camp a few miles up the river.
At the beginning of December news arrived that the Turks had reassembled at Kurna, some forty-nine miles above Basra, and were about to put their fortunes to the test once more. The sketch map on page [277] shows you the position of Kurna, the highest point on the river to which ocean-going steamers can ascend. You will notice that the old and now partly-blocked-up channel of the Euphrates unites with the Tigris at Kurna, and that the town occupies a strong position in the angle between the rivers, with broad waters on two sides of it. Some people tell us that Kurna stands on the site of the garden of Eden, though others say that the abode of our first parents lay to the north-west of Bagdad.
Not much opposition was expected at Kurna, so only a small force, including a detachment of the Norfolks, was sent upstream on 3rd December. It was accompanied by three gunboats, a yacht, and two launches, all armed. Next morning the troops were landed on the eastern bank about four miles below Kurna, while the gunboats went ahead to engage the Turkish artillery and to shell the town. By midday the British force was looking across the three-hundred-yard-wide stream towards the palm groves which surround Kurna, and was attacking the village of Mezera, which stands about a mile from the left bank of the Tigris. The Turks were driven out of the village, and withdrew to the bank of the river, where they kept up so heavy a fire that our men were compelled to retire. It was now evident that the Turks were holding the place in force, and that the task of the British was much harder than had been supposed.
The attackers dug themselves in, and sent back to Basra for reinforcements, which arrived on 7th December. On that day the action of the 5th was fought over again, but with far better results. Mezera was recaptured, the Turkish trenches on the bank of the river were cleared, and the survivors escaped across the stream. The gunboats did excellent work, and several of them were hit.
It was now clear that Kurna could not be taken by a frontal attack. The only way was to cross the river above the town and fall upon the place from the rear. Early on 8th December two battalions with two mountain guns were marched a long way up the river; some daring sappers swam the stream carrying with them a wire. Snipers fired at them repeatedly, but they managed to get across safely, and construct a sort of flying bridge. By this means, and also by the use of a dhow which had been seized, our troops and their guns crossed the river. By evening they had entrenched themselves amidst the trees to the north of Kurna. All was ready for the final assault.
It was never delivered. On the night of the 8th
"a small steamer came down from Kurna showing all her lights, so we did not fire on her. She turned out to be carrying three Turkish officers who had come to offer the surrender of Kurna! Of course we knew we could get into the town, but thought most of the garrison would escape up the river Euphrates. They wanted to be allowed to march out with their arms, but, of course, we would not agree to that, and after about an hour they agreed to an unconditional surrender."
Thus Kurna fell into British hands. The whole garrison surrendered, and the Turkish officers gave up their swords; but as a compliment to the commander his sword was returned to him. Chaldea was now in our possession, and we were well placed to beat off attacks from the north. There were still, however, many Turkish troops in the neighbourhood, but they did not make any serious attack on us. We had achieved our purpose, and had built up a strong barricade against an enemy advance to the Persian Gulf and a threat to the security of India.
