Maude was not the man to lose an hour. On the 23rd of February, just before daybreak, some Infantry, English and Goorkha, were ferried across the Tigris at the Shamran bend, west of Kut, and after hard fighting succeeded in establishing themselves on the northern bank. Before dark the same afternoon a bridge had been completed. The end of the long suspense had come. The Turks had fought stubbornly for more than two months, but their line of communications had now been struck, and their main force must go or be captured.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RECAPTURE OF KUT—RETREAT OF THE TURKS.
At the same time that the Tigris was being crossed westward of Kut, the Turkish intrenchments at Sannaiyat were fiercely attacked in front, and the brave defenders, learning that the river defence had fallen behind them, at last gave way. On the 24th the maze of trenches which had resisted so many onslaughts was carried with a rush, and sweeping on rapidly the British troops replaced the British flag on the walls of Kut. On the same morning the British Cavalry poured across the bridge from the southern bank in pursuit of the retreating enemy, and the British gunboats pressed up the river again to join in his destruction. There was reason to hope that he had held on too long, and that his stubborn troops were doomed to be taken or destroyed.
This hope proved to be delusive. The Turks had to retreat very rapidly to extricate themselves in time, and they lost heavily in doing so; but they, or the bulk of them, did succeed in getting away. Many were slain, and some thousands remained in British hands, but by steady and determined rearguard fighting they checked their pursuers, and when they reached Azizieh, a hundred miles off, half way to Baghdad,[29] they were still a military force, if a defeated one.
The share of the Thirteenth in the victory and pursuit was not all that they hoped it might have been. Some eager spirits among them chafed at the caution with which the Cavalry was handled and the pursuit carried on. But nevertheless the mounted men, although unable to storm entrenchments held by a resolute enemy, had throughout done much to cover and facilitate the operations of the Infantry and guns, and they now did all that mounted men could do to harass the retreat. If it did not mean converting the retreat into a complete rout, and annihilating a Turkish army, it was a material contribution towards that end. After three days of steady pressure, during which the Cavalry lost a good many men, they had pushed the Turks over a long stretch of road, capturing prisoners and guns and booty of all kinds; and if they were stopped there, half-way to Baghdad, it was only because they had got in advance of their supplies and of the supporting Infantry.
THE ADVANCE ON BAGHDAD
SCALE ABOUT 25 MILES TO THE INCH
The following extracts from letters and journals tell the story in greater detail.
Lieut.-Colonel Richardson, D.S.O.—“On the 24th of February we left camp about an hour before daylight, reached Shumran, where a pontoon had been thrown across the Tigris the previous day by the Sappers and Infantry, crossed the river about 9 A.M., and gradually moved up to behind the Dahra Ridge, which at that time was the most advanced point held by our infantry. At noon we found what we thought was an opening in the Turkish line, went through it, and made a big left-handed sweep, until we were brought to a standstill by the Turkish rearguard, strongly intrenched. We were engaged with this till after dark, when we returned to bivouac, which we reached about 1 A.M. We were in the saddle again at daybreak on the 25th, and took up the pursuit of the Turks, who had left their intrenchments. At about midday we located their rearguard in position about Imam Mahdi, on the north bank of the Tigris, and the Regiment was ordered to attack dismounted, with the 14th Lancers on our left. We were closely engaged with the Turks until about 5 P.M., when orders were received to withdraw. Then we found that our casualties had been heavy, but mostly in wounded, the numbers being approximately one officer, Lieutenant Lord, and thirty-six men wounded. That night again we reached our bivouac after midnight, and were again on the move at daylight.
“On this day, 26th February, the Regiment was in reserve and not engaged. We bivouacked where we stood that night, and at daybreak took up the pursuit of the Turks, who were now in full retreat. Before midday we had taken some 300 prisoners, and had found six field-guns of large calibre, which had been left by the Turks. After that we replenished our nose-bags from a captured barge well stocked with barley, and followed the road taken by the retreating Turks, which was strewn with rifles, bayonets, small-arm ammunition, trench-mortars, to which the draft cattle were still harnessed, hundreds of 5.9 shells, carts full of implements, and even a motor-car. We bivouacked at dark some six miles from Azizieh.”