General Maude’s view of the action is given in a letter to Colonel Symons: “Your old Regiment did spendidly during the advance here, and particularly on the 5th inst., when they made a mounted charge and got well into the Turks, although they lost heavily in doing so, as they got hung up in some trench systems.”

It may be noted that the loss in killed and wounded suffered by the Thirteenth at Lajj was greater than in the famous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. The comparative nearness to England, the dramatic setting, and other circumstances, combined to make Balaclava a name of glory. The charge of the Light Brigade will always be for Englishmen one of the most splendid deeds in the history of the race. Lajj is, and is likely to remain for the nation in general, a name almost unknown. But to the Thirteenth it will always be one of the Regiment’s great days, for the level sands by the Tigris saw that morning in the dust-storm a death ride just as brave and devoted as the one which has become immortal.

CHAPTER XV.
OCCUPATION OF BAGHDAD.

The 5th of March, however glorious, had been a heavy day for the Thirteenth, and their ranks were sadly thinned.

But the Thirteenth formed only one unit of a pursuing army, and the Cavalry had to push on without delay to follow up the retreating Turks. At dawn on the 6th, therefore, the Regiment was again on the march.

One squadron, the one which had been commanded by Eve, remained for some hours with the transport in Lajj, to bury the dead and make further search for any wounded who might still be lying on the field. While they did so their Colonel, and all the wounded officers and men who had been brought in, were embarked and sent down the river to hospitals in rear of the army. The dead were buried together in a nullah on the field.

The rest of the Regiment, under command of Captain Steele, marched out weak in numbers, but still fit for further efforts, and proud of themselves. Their goal, Baghdad, now lay only thirty or forty miles ahead of them, and in common with the whole army they were eager to see the hard fighting of the past three months crowned by the capture of the famous city.

They had not long to wait, for only five days later the British flag was flying on the citadel of the Turks; but before that happened the brave enemy was to make one more stand, and take a further toll of British lives.

On the first day of the advance the Cavalry met with no serious opposition. They were tormented by another dust-storm and shelled by the retreating enemy, but they suffered little loss and made some prisoners. The line of march lay over the battlefield of Ctesiphon. This position, says General Maude, though strongly intrenched, was found unoccupied. “There was evidence that the enemy had intended to hold it, but the rapidity of our advance had evidently prevented him from doing so.” The Cavalry believed that their swift and resolute attack at Lajj had accelerated the Turkish retreat and spared the army a possibly serious rearguard action there or at Ctesiphon, and it seems not unlikely that they were right. At all events Ctesiphon was not held, and the Cavalry bivouacked that night some miles beyond it, at Bawi.

But, however this may be, the next day showed that the Turks still meant to fight. About eight miles below Baghdad a considerable river, the Diala, runs into the Tigris from the north, and bars advance up the left bank, along which lies the road to Baghdad. The Turks had destroyed the bridge over the Diala, and as the river was at that time about 120 yards broad, with a strong current, it was a formidable obstacle. The enemy was not apparently in great strength, but he had more than once shown that he could conceal his troops with effect; and whether his Infantry was in strength or not, the farther bank was “defended by numerous guns and machine-guns, skilfully sited,” while the ground in front of them was absolutely flat, with no cover. To force a passage was therefore no easy matter, and no attempt to do so was made that day.

The fighting that followed during the next three nights and days was desperate, and there is no incident in the whole campaign more creditable to the British Infantry than the repeated attempts to establish a footing on the right bank of the Diala. How attempt after attempt was foiled with heavy loss, the Turks destroying our pontoons and slaying the brave men who manned them, and how seventy of the Loyal North Lancashire got across in spite of all, and held their ground for twenty-two hours, and were at last relieved, has been told by others. It is a fine story. But not until the 10th of March was the Diala in British hands. The Turk had made a gallant stand in defence of the City of the Khalifs.

In this fighting the Cavalry had no direct share; but their work meanwhile had been hard and useful. When the advance along the left hand of the Tigris was held up by the Turks, it was decided to send a force across the Tigris with the view of turning the Diala position and getting at Baghdad from the south and west. Accordingly on the 8th of March a bridge was thrown across the Tigris, and the Cavalry, followed by an Infantry force, passed over to the right bank.

During that night the force marched in a north-westerly direction towards a place called Shawa Khan, which the Turks were reported to be holding. The march was much impeded by ravines and water-cuts, and was necessarily slow; but the Turks offered no serious opposition, and during the morning of the 9th Shawa Khan was occupied, the enemy retiring to another position a mile or two farther back. This also was approached and attacked, but was still in Turkish hands at sunset.

The Cavalry during the earlier part of the day had been operating on the left flank of the force, away from the Tigris, but the horses being in distress for want of water, it was temporarily withdrawn to the river bank in the afternoon. In spite of some shelling and rifle-fire the Cavalry had suffered little loss, and the Thirteenth had till then had no casualties; but while watering their horses they were annoyed by some sniping from the opposite bank, and a promising young officer, 2nd Lieutenant Clarkson, was unfortunately killed—shot through the heart. He was the fifth officer of the Regiment who had been killed since the campaign began.

That night the enemy evacuated their position and the force pushed on.

“On the morning of the 10th,” says General Maude, “our troops were again engaged with the Turkish rearguard within three miles of Baghdad, and our Cavalry patrols reached a point two miles west of Baghdad railway station, where they were checked by the enemy’s fire. A gale and blinding dust-storm limited vision to a few yards, and under these conditions reconnaissance and co-ordination of movements became difficult. The dry wind and dust and the absence of water away from the river added greatly to the discomfort of the troops and animals. About midnight patrols reported the enemy to be retiring. The dust-storm was still raging, but following the Decanville Railway as a guide our troops occupied Baghdad railway station at 5.55 A.M., and it was ascertained that the enemy on the right bank had retired up-stream of Baghdad. Troops detailed in advance occupied the city, and the Cavalry moved on Kadhimain, some four miles west of Baghdad, where they secured some prisoners.”

Meanwhile the force on the left bank of the Tigris, having forced the Diala, had also pushed on, and on this same morning, the 11th of March, they also entered Baghdad. The British flag was hoisted over the citadel; and the town, which was being looted and set on fire by Arabs and Kurds, was rapidly reduced to order. In the afternoon the gunboat flotilla with General Maude on board came up the river in line-ahead formation, and anchored off the British Residency. The capture of Baghdad was complete.

Thus ended, in triumphant success, General Maude’s advance upon the capital of Mesopotamia. It had meant three months of severe and at times desperate fighting, during which the British force had lost heavily. But it had meant also the utter defeat of the Turks on their central front in Asia, and the restoration of British prestige in the East.

Indeed, it meant much more; and in writing this history of the Thirteenth it seems desirable to point out the full effect and significance of the victory in which they shared.

The recapture of Kut a fortnight earlier had already produced a striking effect. The ‘Times History of the War’ referred to this in strong terms:—

“Nor,” it said, “was the effect confined to the Middle East. The Commander of the French armies telegraphed his warm and sincere congratulations on ‘this splendid feat of arms,’ and the defeat of the Turks made a great impression everywhere. Of its immediate practical result upon the course of the War in Asia there could be no question. Within a week the Turkish forces which had invaded Northern Persia were in full retreat for their own border, and the projected Turkish movements on the Euphrates were given up. In fact, the ambitious offensive of the enemy upon this central front in Asia had collapsed like a pricked bladder. The principle of a concentrated advance on the Tigris had already been justified.”

Now Baghdad had followed Kut, and the immediate result of the second capture is thus described in the same ‘History’:—

“So fell Baghdad, the immediate base of Turkish warfare in Persia and Mesopotamia, and one of the most famous cities in all the East. If the recapture of Kut had produced a great effect, it need hardly be said that the fall of Baghdad made an impression vastly greater. In Germany it was described with unusual frankness as ‘a deplorable event,’ and on the Bosphorus the news of it was received with something like consternation; while among the Allies and all who sympathised with them it was hailed as a striking victory and an auspicious opening to the campaigns of 1917. Indeed, considering that the Asiatic theatre of war was after all a secondary one, and that the capture of an Asiatic city could hardly have any material bearing on the issue of the European conflict, the weight attached to the British success seemed almost disproportionate. But it must be remembered that the conception of a great advance eastward by way of Turkey in Asia was a fundamental part of the German scheme of world-politics, and that the seizure by Great Britain of the eastern end of the Constantinople-Baghdad railway meant a heavy blow to this scheme.”

These words were written in 1917, within a few months of General Maude’s entry into Baghdad. The subsequent course of the war was to show that far from having over-estimated the value of that success, the writer might have said more. Now that the war has come to an end, there can be no doubt that the blow struck by the British in Mesopotamia, together with the almost concurrent victory of General Allenby in Palestine, had a material effect upon the whole issue of the war. By themselves they could not have brought about the complete triumph of the Allied cause. Nothing but the defeat of the Germans in the west of Europe could do that. But they meant, if duly followed up, the collapse of the Turkish military power, and the striking out of the Turkish Empire from the great confederacy. That meant the maiming of the German scheme of world-conquest. Without the aid of Turkey as a vassal, the Kaiser’s dream of a vast Eastern dominion could never be fulfilled. And dominion in the East was no small part, some even think it was the more important part, of his scheme of world-conquest. This, however, is perhaps to say too much, and in any case, great as was the effect of the fall of Baghdad, much fighting had yet to be done, even in Mesopotamia, before the Turks finally recognised that they were not strong enough to stand alone against the British Empire. They had received a heavy blow, but they were not yet conquered.

To return to the Thirteenth Hussars and their share in the work of the Baghdad campaign, the following extracts from letters and diaries may be of interest.

The Regimental Diary shows that on the 6th March, the day after the fight at Lajj, the Thirteenth marched off at 6 A.M. with the Cavalry Division, and marched “without incident to Bawi (four miles north of Ctesiphon),” where they bivouacked. The next day the Cavalry “moved in direction of Diala river” and “came under shell-fire,” but apparently suffered no casualties. “Retired and bivouacked near Bawi.” On the 8th the Cavalry Division marched “with object of turning right flank of Turkish position.” At 5 P.M. the Division was all across the Tigris and “march continued all throughout night.” On the 9th, at 8.15, “shelled near Khair-el-Kharabeh,” and at ten o’clock “took up position on left flank of Infantry.” There the Regiment remained two hours, when they “withdrew and retired to water,” on the banks of the Tigris at 1.50 P.M. “Sniping by enemy from opposite bank.” In the afternoon the Cavalry returned to their former position and bivouacked. “Transport shelled during the day, but no damage done.” On the 10th some of the Cavalry advanced towards Kadhimain, to the north-west of Baghdad; but there appears to have been no incident to report except “wind very high during the day.” Finally, on the 11th, the Diary has the following entries:—

“4 A.M. Stood to.

“8 A.M. Marched with Division to Khair-el-Kharabeh, where the Regiment received orders to proceed to Baghdad.

“12.45. Entered Baghdad. Proceeded to bridge across Tigris, which had been destroyed by enemy prior to evacuation.46

“2 P.M. Returned to a palm bagh47 on outskirts of town, where ‘A’ and ‘C’ Squadrons bivouacked. ‘B’ and ‘D’ Squadrons proceed to Kazimain.”

“The Regiment was attached to the 35th Infantry Brigade for garrison duty.”

In these curt and unemotional words the Diary describes the march from Lajj and the entry into Baghdad. It would not appear from this that the Thirteenth had any fighting during these six days, or was much excited by the capture of the city. But Regimental Diaries are not given to unnecessary eloquence. As a matter of fact we know that the Regiment lost an officer killed, and it believed that it had been specially selected, as a reward for its conduct at Lajj, to be the first Cavalry Regiment to enter Baghdad, and to form part of the garrison. The compliment was evidently appreciated.-

One young officer of the Regiment, 2nd Lieutenant Payne, speaks as if the work had been hard, and not free from fighting, even after Lajj. He had passed some years in Canada, and had perhaps learnt there to be more outspoken than the very reserved British officer generally is. “Since that date” (3rd March), he writes on the 13th, “we have been fighting day and night without any rest or sleep, till men and horses dropped with exhaustion, and had Baghdad not fallen the day before yesterday there would have been few of the Thirteenth left to tell the tale.” His letter goes on to describe various incidents of the past week. The following are extracts:—

“Next morning, 4 A.M.,48 the Division had to move on, and our squadron was left as escort to the transport, which didn’t leave till the afternoon, so we took our men back to the awful battlefield to see if we could pick up any men alive, and to bury the dead. We buried sixteen men and three officers in the same grave, but got nothing in personal effects, as they had been stripped, some of them naked. All the time we were working we had to keep a Hotchkiss gun going to keep off the Arabs, who were coming in fast to pick up loot, of which there was tons in the way of arms and saddlery.49...

“That same night we passed through another strong point at Ctesiphon that they had not stopped to defend, and in the moonlight I rode over to see the great arch of Ctesiphon that is supposed to have been built in the time of Nebuchadnezzar or one of those birds. It has a great façade of about 200 feet high that opens into a courtyard, and alongside is this wonderful arched roof that looks as though it had been a banqueting-hall.”

The writer is a little out in his dates, but the majority of his countrymen knew not much more about the matter than he did.

“The enemy had gone back to their last and strongest position above Diala, where there is a fork in the river. We weren’t successful in smashing that place, so our Division and half the Infantry crossed the river with the intention of striking the railway north of the city, and we were out three days and nights without any rest, trying to force a way round, and the farther we went the farther we had to come for water, as it was death for men and horses to be cut off from the river. In forcing our way down to water on the morning of the 12th50 we lost an officer and man, being sniped from the other side of the river. We were all done up, no sleep, little food, and the horses dropping under us after three weeks’ fierce fighting, and slowly making our way to carry on the attack on the flank of the Infantry, which always necessitated the enemy widening his front and weakening his strength, when news came that the Black Watch entered Baghdad at 5.30 A.M.

“It was too good to believe, but then orders were passed down, ‘The Thirteenth Hussars will report at once to G.H.Q. at railway station for orders re garrisoning town.’ There was new life in all of us at once; we hadn’t had a sight of Baghdad and didn’t think we were likely to for an age, but the next minute we were hoofing it at a trot along the highroad that had been used for hundreds of centuries, over trenches that the Turks had held the night before, and over dead bodies of both attackers and attacked. But we got into the city. One seething mass of Arabs greeted us; the same scum that the day before would have delivered up any of our wounded to the Turks now brazenly brought out wounded Turks to us that were not able to get away in the rush, dirty devils always ready to join in with the winning side, but always with an eye to scrupper the unfortunate of either if they can catch him unprotected.

“After standing by for an hour or so Jeffrey was told to take two squadrons and one squadron of machine-gunners to protect Kazimain, three miles up to (?) the river. So I found myself in command of ‘D’ Squadron, and here we are in the lap of luxury (Eastern). Kazimain is where all the pilgrims come to the great mosque, and is entirely composed of caravanserai sort of hotel quarters: there are 5000 of these buildings. We are quartered in the biggest, and even the men are able to have a wooden bedstead to lie on each. It is a big square building with a courtyard in the middle, in which we have picketed over 250 horses comfortably. Jeffrey and I and the Intelligence Officer have a large stone-floored room with four bedsteads in it; there are no windows, of course, but you let down great heavy wooden shutters when the sun is too hot. The Sheikh (elder of the town) brought in beautiful carpets and bedding for us, and the women and children in hordes followed us in the street, all making a tinkly sort of yodelling song. They are in terror of the Turks coming in, and sacking the place, and taking their women. We weren’t looking our best by any means: no change of clothes, unshaven, and unwashed for five days, the dust from the storms begrimed into our skins, and our clothes in rags. But to-day we are all happy and clean. The men, who haven’t had a bath or change since January 24th,51 can now be seen having their boots polished by Arab children, and strutting about like lords; they do so love to have something to order about. You would laugh to see them when we take prisoners: they make them hold their stirrup-irons while they mount their horses, and hand them their coats to put on—anything for the sake of exercising power....

“However, it was all too good to be true—to go to sleep and not get up till daylight, and have your sleep out, was too good to last more than two days, and we have orders to turn the job over to an Infantry battalion, and rejoin the remainder of the Regiment in Baghdad, where we go into the Cavalry barracks, which no doubt will be just as nice: but the heavenly paradise of it all here, with the river alongside, and all the water you like, fresh good green stuff, and milk. This is buffalo milk, but quite good, and we get lettuces, onions, and mutton—in fact, we don’t have to open a tin of any sort. Our bread is chupatti, the round flat things which the Jews make....”

War certainly teaches a man to be content with the essential things of life.

“The Mosque here is most beautiful—that is, the outside, for no infidel is allowed inside the gate.52 It is simply enormous, and faced with silver till it reaches the roof and four towers, which are gold.

“I went down the Bazaar yesterday afternoon, and bought a pair of saddle-bags for five rupees. They are made of the very finest carpet of true colours, bound with leather; it’s a shame to use them on a horse, but my other ones are in rags from carrying so many tinned foods.... I have never carried anything in the way of loot about with me, nor let my men do so, because it is such an incentive for the Turk to put a bullet through you if you are wounded, and he finds them on you; but now the Mesopotamia War is over so far as we are concerned, and we shall live like human beings again under cover from the sun and cold nights, and be able to think of such things. The rest of the Cavalry Division are getting three days’ rest before pursuing the enemy farther up. We, as far as we know, are to be in Baghdad for a while at least....

“Late evening. I have just been taking a stroll round the town in case we don’t see it again. The officers are allowed to go in pairs armed, but we haven’t dared to let the men out yet; they have been in trouble already, climbing their way on the roof to the quarters of the Sheikh and pinching bedding; also there are intermittent shots fired now and again from mysterious spots, and there has to be a house-to-house search for any stray Turks in hiding. We went through endless streets with the houses almost touching across to each other. Every window is glassless, but securely barred, and great wooden shutters slide down to shut out the hot sun. Down by the river the Eastern picturesqueness is very novel,—to see the Arabs lifting water by appliances that have been used as long as the world was peopled; the coracles (round boats) spinning round and round as they in time get across the stream: they are allowed to spin, as it lessens the resistance to the current. To get alongside the water and amongst the palms with their green crop underneath is wonderful after weeks of the desert. I don’t know of anything more depressing and hopeless than to—as we often and often had to—be going all day in the broiling sun and dust and wind, and find it hopeless to try and get to the river, and must camp where we are, the horses unwatered, and every one finished their water-bottles, and knowing that you’ve got to be on the move at 4 A.M. again, with the expectation of meeting the enemy.”

Surely the soldier on service earns his pay.

March 14.—“We turned out of our delightful quarters at Kazimain this morning, and have now taken over the Cavalry barracks in Baghdad—a horrible, flyey, and hot place that is nothing more than bare mud walls and filth, since the outside Arabs have stripped it of everything. These brutes got in and looted the Bazaar clean; the civil population always expect that to happen on such occasions, and just sit calmly by and watch them wreck their shops.... I am writing this in agony from the flies. There are five other chaps in this bare stone-floored room with me who have their heads buried under their blankets, having given up any attempt at reading or writing....

“We found absolutely nothing in the town. The Bazaar, as the multitude of dusty and smelly arcades are called, are rows and rows of little cubby holes with the meanest supplies of merchandise, and as they were all ransacked when the Turks left, we could buy nothing at all. The whole town is most disappointing, even were it not half in ruins: everywhere is dilapidation and dirt....

“Gowan, whose father was a member for Vancouver, is in charge of the armoured cars we have attached to the Cavalry; he is an extraordinary daring chap, and when in France with the 7th Battalion had the back of his skull blown away—which he carries in his pocket—had a bayonet through his stomach, and was discharged from the Canadian Army as no further use—is now the admiration of every one for his daring exploits!”

Lance-Corporal Bowie’s diary, from which quotations have already been made in earlier chapters, tells the story of the advance from Lajj to Baghdad in very concise terms.

“On the following day, the 6th,53 we carried the pursuit of the Turks past Ctesiphon. A very bad sand-storm raged during this day, making our progress very difficult. We bivouacked that night near Bawi, and the next day was spent in a well-earned rest, while a pontoon bridge was being thrown across the Tigris, which, during the day, Turkish airmen tried very hard to destroy by bombing, but only succeeded in hitting one of our ammunition waggons, killing the entire team, drivers, and everything within a radius of 300 yards. The following day we crossed the Tigris without opposition, whilst the Infantry fought their way across the Diala river some miles farther up. We at once made a long night-march to get at the enemy’s left flank, which we attacked, forcing him back a distance of some two miles, bivouacking that night on the ground from which we had driven the enemy. During the same [day?] one of our officers was killed while we were watering our horses in the face of the enemy’s fire. The following morning we started to blow up a railway bridge, but had to abandon this enterprise owing to a terrific sand-storm which overtook us. After a few more hours’ rest we proceeded on our way to Baghdad, where we encountered no opposition, our Infantry having driven out the last of the enemy’s rearguard during the earlier part of the morning, the Thirteenth Hussars being the first of the Cavalry to enter the city, which we did about 11 A.M. on the 11th March. The following morning the pursuing Cavalry took Khasmain, whilst the Thirteenth Hussars remained bivouacked in a large orchard. Having been selected to garrison the city, we crossed the Tigris on the morning of the 14th, and took up our quarters in the old Turkish Cavalry barracks, which were situated just outside the citadel. These we found to be in a filthy condition, and infested with vermin. Happily our stay here was very brief....”

Captain Newton’s diary is also very concise, but as an example of a day’s work during the advance, the following entry of the 10th March may be quoted. After noting on the 9th “horses and men done,” the diary goes on:—

Saturday, 10th.—“Saddled up at 5.30. Brigade off to water Jaffer’s Tomb. Left with ‘A’ and ‘B’ (right wing) to escort Divisional troops. Two troops sent off on search for some missing R.E.’s and wireless. Sent with remainder to escort 6th Brigade second line down river to refill. Awful dust. Found dead R.E.’s in pontoon, and punished Arabs. Went back to where we had left Division leaving 4.30. Found Division 9.15. Awful trek in dust. Then moved to Hilawiyni in gale and dust-storm. Reached bivouac 12.30. To bed 2.30. Orders to be saddled up by 6.”

Sunday, 11th.—“Réveillé, 4. Gale still blowing....”

In a letter written from Baghdad the same writer gives a summary of the whole march from Lajj.

“We had a longish trek next day (the 6th), but saw nothing of the enemy, and we bivouacked about 6, but had no transport, so not much food. Transport came in about midnight, but I’d got my blankets with me and was fast asleep by 9 o’clock. We marched at 6 A.M., a bitter cold morning, but our mess-boxes had turned up with the transport, so we started with our tummies good and full.

“We spent an idle day, sitting about a good deal while reconnaissances went out; but it was a long day, and we didn’t get in till 9.30 in the evening, to find a grand dinner waiting for us. It was midnight again before I got to bed, as there were a lot of things to do. Next morning we were up at 4.30 and ready to move at 6, but then heard we shouldn’t move till about 1, and then cross to the other side of the river again. We lunched at 11.30, but didn’t move off till 2.30, and it was about 6 before we were across the bridge. We trekked about all next day, and in the evening heard we were to go on, and we did, but came up against the Turk positions and couldn’t get on, so came back to bivouac, thank goodness, as men and horses were nearly done in. It was while we were watering in the afternoon that poor young Clarkson was shot dead by a sniper, the only casualty we had that day, and most awfully hard luck.”

Such is too often the lot of the soldier on service—long, dreary, uneventful days with no excitement, nothing but discomfort and fatigue; and then, suddenly, the call to show what his training has done for him, and perhaps to give up his life for his country. That is what sets apart and ennobles the profession of the soldier and sailor—the constant readiness to face death. Women with their quick perceptions understand and are grateful, nor do they alone understand. In spite of all prejudices and jealousies, men too know in their hearts that the first honour is due to those among them whose choice and pride it is to guard the nation with their lives.

“We were up at 4 A.M. and ready to move at 5.30. We didn’t move till about 8, and then I was sent with two squadrons to escort transport to refilling-point. It was not a particularly hard day’s work, but it was another long day. It was 9 P.M. before I found the Division again with my transport, and then we trekked on in an awful dust-storm, and eventually reached our bivouac about 12.30. I got to bed at 2.30, was called at 4.30, and we trekked at 8. We crawled along, every one, men and horses, dead to the world, did a bit of Arab strafing, and at 10.30 received the news that the Infantry were going into Baghdad, and that the Regiment was to march in to form part of the garrison. My word, we were proud and pleased, and every one just brightened up, and we were as cheery as anything. We entered the town on the side of the river, but couldn’t cross till a bridge had been built. However, ‘B’ and ‘D’ were sent off to occupy Khazimain, a town about six miles away and a great religious centre, and ‘A’ and ‘C’ were told to camp in a delightful garden, all green and shady with date-palms and orange-trees. It was just like coming into fairyland after the time we have been in the desert, and we felt so peaceful and happy. Directly after we had fed I went to bed, and slept and slept and slept till 7.30! It was grand.”

Private Massey, of ‘D’ Squadron, has also left an account of the march from Lajj from the point of view of the trooper. He describes how the Regiment marched nearly to the Diala river, and how on the 8th March the Cavalry crossed to the right bank of the Tigris.

“It was now beginning to get dusk. All that night, and during the early hours of the 9th, we continued marching, going in a north-westerly direction. We crossed many big nullahs, which we found great difficulty in crossing. When daylight broke we found ourselves within a few miles of Baghdad, and according to rumour we were to attempt to cut the railway above Baghdad, to prevent the Turks getting their rolling-stock away. We were heavily shelled during the day, but our Regiment escaped without casualties. We proceeded to water late in the afternoon, and it took us a long time to reach it as the river was a long way off. We were sniped at on our way, and on reaching the river we had to go down to get water in buckets under the fire of a sniper on the left bank of the river. Lieutenant Clarkson, of the M.G. Brigade, brought a machine-gun into position on the bank, and stood up trying to find the sniper with his glasses. He was instantly shot through the heart and fell down dead.

“When we had finished watering, we moved into a big garden with a large wind-wall round it. Here we had something to eat, a piece of biscuit and a bit of bully. The horses were very badly done up, but we soon moved on again. Where we camped that night is more than I can say, as for the next few days I lost all sense of our position, as we seemed to be all over the show, here, there, and everywhere. Anyway, we camped somewhere in the desert that night, close up to the firing line.

“The transport was shelled coming in, and suffered several casualties amongst native drivers. We had six hours in bed.”

March 10.—“Réveillé on the 10th was at 4 A.M. We fed the horses and had breakfast, and afterwards saddled up and went to water. Two troops were put to guard a signalling-post all day which was on the top of a high mound, close to where the Turks had had trenches the previous day, and from where we had been fired on. It was pitch dark when we moved off, very late at night, and the worst sand-storm in which it has ever been my luck to be in came on. It was a terrible experience, and I never want to experience such a storm again. How we reached camp, or who led us in, I couldn’t say, but it ceased when we reached camp. Got in after midnight, with nothing to eat and drink, and réveillé ordered at 3.30 A.M. next morning. Transport late at arriving in. Lay down in our clothes and one blanket for a few hours, and slept like the war-worn soldiers we undoubtedly were.”

March 11.—“On the 11th we started off again early in the direction of Baghdad, and met several parties of Arabs who were fleeing from the city on entry of the British that morning.... After proceeding a little farther, word was passed down the line that we were going to be the first Cavalry Regiment to enter Baghdad. As we neared the entrance other regiments stood aside, and we passed on and at last met a battalion of the Black Watch, who had been the first Regiment to enter Baghdad. After proceeding a bit farther, we came to Baghdad station, and here we halted for half an hour. We then mounted again, and proceeded round the end of the railway.... We were now entering the city, but with the exception of a few snipers all was quiet. White flags were everywhere, and after riding through several streets we called a halt close to some Cavalry barracks, which we entered soon after. Only two squadrons went in, however, as there was not enough room for the Regiment. The barrack rooms above the stables were roomy and airy, but filthy.... On the 14th the Regiment moved into fresh barracks on the left bank of the river.”

There for the present we may leave the Thirteenth to get a little rest, and to regain as far as possible the cleanness and smartness which had suffered during the rough work of the march. Their goal was reached, and they were part of the force which had occupied the enemy’s famous citadel.

CHAPTER XVI.
OPERATIONS IMMEDIATELY AFTER CAPTURE OF BAGHDAD.

Baghdad had been captured, and a heavy blow struck at the Turks—a heavier blow perhaps than any one understood at the time; but much remained to be done before the British Commander in Mesopotamia could give his troops the full repose they needed.

In the first place, the Turkish force which he had beaten at Kut and driven through Baghdad must be pursued in its retirement northwards until it was destroyed or hunted away out of reach. General Maude was too good a soldier not to know that the annihilation of the enemy’s armed force, rather than the capture of any city, was the real object to be kept before him. And the necessity of a rapid pursuit to the north, up the line of the Tigris, was all the more urgent because of the near approach of the flood season. Control of the river “bunds,” or dams, and irrigation works up-stream of the city must be secured, or it would be possible for the Turks to cause extensive inundations, not only crippling the movement of the British army, but doing serious mischief in other ways.

Then it was important for the security of the military position that the surrounding country on all sides, not only to the north, should be cleared of Turkish troops for a considerable distance, so as to allow of the pacification of the neighbouring Arabs, and the free collection of supplies. To the westward there were Turkish troops on the Upper Euphrates, which threatened mischief down the course of that river on the British flank and rear. To the eastward, on the Diala, it was believed that there were also some Turkish troops, dominating a tract rich in crops and forage.

Moreover, General Maude had to keep in mind the great strategical considerations involved—the exertion of continued pressure on the Turkish base in Asia Minor, and the possibility of co-operating not only with the Russians on the right, who were driving or following the Turkish invading force out of Persia, but in a measure with General Allenby in Palestine. The Russians, though weak, were comparatively near, and it might be feasible actually to join hands with them. Palestine was far away, out of reach, behind the great Arabian desert; but the harder the Turks were pressed on their central front, the less strength they would be able to spare for their right.

General Maude’s plan of operations therefore, after the capture of Baghdad, was to follow up that blow without delay by pushing out three strong columns. One was to strike at the Euphrates westward, and occupy Feluja on that river, thirty-five miles from Baghdad; another was to press the pursuit to the northward, up the line of the Tigris and of the Baghdad Railway; the third was to move out north-east towards the Persian frontier, so as to secure the rich Diala district, and if possible, with the help of the Russians, to crush the Turkish force retreating from Persia.

During the short campaign which followed, all these objects were in a measure attained. By the 19th March the western column had established itself on the Euphrates, and thus commanded the whole course of the river down to the sea, clearing Maude’s left and rear from Turkish pressure. The northern column had a hard fight at Mushaidi, twenty miles up the railway line, where the retreating Tigris force turned to bay, with the result that it was, on the 14th and 15th March, driven from its intrenchments and completely beaten, streaming away to the north in confusion. The eastern column at the same time surprised and occupied Baquba, a point on the Diala thirty miles from Baghdad.

It was with this eastern column that the 7th Cavalry Brigade was connected; and indeed during the remainder of the war, which was to last for more than a year and a half yet, the Brigade was chiefly employed in the country to the east of the Tigris.

The Thirteenth Hussars were left at the close of the last chapter in occupation of the Turkish Cavalry barracks in Baghdad, resting after their severe exertions. But their rest was short, for on the 23rd of March, by which time they were becoming tired of the heat and the dirt and the flies, they were warned for active service again, and on the following day they rejoined the Brigade at Baquba. The Regiment was now in good condition, men and horses restored and fit for service, and the prospect of further work in the open was hailed with pleasure.

General Maude’s despatches of 1917 show what the work was. The Turks, heavily defeated as they had been, were by no means inclined as yet to give up the game as lost, and the British forces east of the Tigris soon found that the enemy was still capable not only of resistance, but of determined attempts at offensive action. His troops consisted of two main sections, the 13th Corps, which was retiring from Persia, and the 18th Corps lately beaten on the Tigris, but rallied and reinforced in a few days from the Turkish reserves in the North. These two Corps began to act in co-operation, and to threaten attacks upon the British eastern and northern columns. It was an excellent example of the tenacity of the Turks, and of their quick recovery after defeat.

“About the 26th of March,” writes General Maude, “there were indications that a converging movement was being made by part of the 13th Corps down the right bank of the Diala from Deli Abbas, and by the 18th Corps along the left bank of the Tigris ... apparently with the intention of assisting the withdrawal of the 13th Corps from before the Russians.” These advances were resisted by the British northern and eastern columns, the former driving back the 18th Corps northwards, and the latter dealing with the 13th Corps. “On the 27th the enemy made a determined attempt to move down the right bank of the Diala ... but our Cavalry, skilfully handled in some difficult ground, resisted the enemy’s advance from successive positions, inflicting severe losses, and finally checked the forward movement that evening. Next day the enemy fell back towards Deli Abbas, followed up by our Cavalry.”

On the 2nd of April the British and Russians joined hands. From that time until the end of the month there was some stiff fighting all over the country, and the troops suffered severely from the heat, the constant dust-storms, and the difficulty at times of getting water. The work of the Cavalry was incessant and very arduous, now in trying to get round into the enemy’s line of retreat, now in falling back before him and luring him on into a position where the Infantry could close on him, and always in covering the front and flanks of the columns. There was no conflict of the nature of that at Lajj, no mounted charge into the enemy’s troops, but there was steady hard work, of great value to the army; and of this the Thirteenth had to do its full share. General Maude, who refers repeatedly to the Cavalry in his despatches, sums up in the following words the effects of the operations in this part of the country:—

“As a result of the fighting during the month of April the enemy’s 13th and 18th Corps had been driven back on divergent lines.... The 13th Corps had twice taken the offensive, with results disastrous to itself, and the 18th Corps had been defeated and driven from its selected positions on four occasions. Our total captures for the month amounted to some 3000 prisoners and 17 guns, besides a considerable quantity of rolling-stock and booty of all kinds. The objectives which we had set out to reach had been secured, and the spirit of the enemy’s troops had been broken.”

Coming so soon after the winter advance and the capture of Baghdad, this was a good piece of work, and creditable to all the soldiery concerned, whose spirit never faltered. Indeed, according to their General, “as conditions became more trying, the spirit of the troops seemed to rise,” and to the end their discipline, gallantry in action, and endurance were as conspicuous as ever. But their exertions had of course imposed a heavy strain upon them, and now that the enemy was for the time powerless for further trouble, General Maude determined to give them the rest they needed.

“The increasing heat,” he writes, “now rendered it necessary that the troops should be redistributed for the hot weather, and that every provision possible under existing conditions should be made with a view to guarding against the trying period which was rapidly approaching. Whilst it was necessary to hold the positions which had been so bravely won, and to strengthen them defensively, the bulk of the troops were withdrawn into reserve and distributed in suitable camps along the river banks, where they could obtain the benefit of such breezes as were available, and where a liberal supply of water for drinking, bathing, and washing was obtainable.”

The Thirteenth, among other regiments, were allotted one of these standing camps, a shady grove of palm-trees on the eastern bank of the Tigris at Chaldari, about nine miles above Baghdad, and very thankful men and officers were to settle down in it.

Nevertheless, it may be observed, the Regiment did not begin to enjoy its comparative peace and comfort until nearer the end of May than the end of April. They marched into Chaldari on the 14th of May, but on the 16th they marched out again for another week’s hard work under the blazing sun. Though the two Turkish Army Corps had ceased fighting, the Arab tribes on the upper reaches of the rivers above Baghdad had been giving trouble, and before settling down for the summer it was found necessary to punish them for some of their misdeeds. Columns were accordingly sent against them, and to one of these, which operated on the Tigris, the Thirteenth were attached. Some tribes were duly brought to book, and the troops did not get back to camp until the 24th May, when the heat had become tremendous. But the tribesmen had learnt that British troops could move against them whatever the temperature might be, and the lesson was a very salutary one.

The following extracts give the story of these two months, March 24th to May 24th, from a more personal point of view.

Lance-Corporal Bowie—Diary.—Lance-Corporal Bowie’s remarks about the Cavalry barracks in Baghdad have been quoted in the preceding chapter. His diary goes on:—

“Happily our stay here was very brief, every one being very thankful to leave these so-called barracks, which we did on the morning of the 23rd, rejoining our Brigade. The next morning we recommenced our pursuit of the enemy, who were located by Captain Robinson (with ‘C’ and ‘D’ Squadrons as a patrol) on the banks of the Diala river the following evening. We attacked them at dawn the following morning, and for the next four days our two Brigades were hotly engaged with the enemy, who were finally driven back on to Deli Abbas at the foot of the Jebel Hamrin Range. We bivouacked some ten miles back, and there formed a line of outposts. Meanwhile the enemy had apparently retired right up into the hills. On April 8th, our Brigade moved out from behind the huge mound where we had been under cover and marched down to the river Diala, which was some ten miles distant, to refill our water-carts and let the men do their washing and have a much-needed dip in the river while the horses were grazing. After a pleasant day here, during which our patrols saw no signs of the enemy, we went back to the mound. On the following morning, the 9th, the Regiment left the Brigade to make a reconnaissance of Deli Abbas. We had not travelled very far before we encountered no less than seven columns of the enemy, who had marched down from the hills during the night. This force proved to be the 13th Army Corps, some 28,000 strong. The Regiment immediately took up a position with all Hotchkiss guns, on a long low mound situated a few miles S.W. of Deli Abbas, and from here we were able to inflict heavy losses on the enemy, owing to their eagerness to surround and annihilate what they took to be an isolated Regiment. In this action Lieutenant Fitz-Gibbon, although wounded himself, succeeded in getting all our Hotchkiss guns safely out of action, when we were in danger of envelopment, and were forced to retire amidst a perfect hail of lead and shell. Meanwhile the remainder of our Brigade and the 6th Brigade had deployed for action. Now commenced what proved to be one of the hardest fights in which the Cavalry had yet been engaged, the enemy trying their hardest to effect an enveloping movement by forced marches. This object we were only able to defeat by a most stubborn ‘rearguard action,’ which we had to maintain until the arrival of our main force. Our two Brigades engaged them all day, and by nightfall our outposts were on the Serri, some eight miles from the mound where we had first come into contact with the enemy. Early the following morning they renewed the attack with increased violence, and slowly forced us back the whole day to the Tomb of ——, some few miles north of Deltawa, where they succeeded in getting well round our left flank, and were slowly enveloping us, when we received the most welcome news that our Infantry had arrived, and had succeeded by forced marches in getting well round the enemy’s right flank, which considerably relieved the strain from us. Our outposts on this night, the 11th, were about one mile south of the Tomb. Early the following morning we, co-operating with our Infantry, made a very strong attack and succeeded in driving the enemy from their position at Chaliyeh, where they left 315 dead on the field after a very fierce engagement. Renewing the attack at dawn the following morning, we forced the enemy back again to a small village called Serai Lik, where they again left the field full of their dead and wounded: some 200 dead and 900 wounded were counted. The following morning we again attacked the enemy, whom we completely routed, and after a very short stand they speedily retired on to Deli Abbas, a village situated right at the foot of the Jabel Hamrin range of hills. For two more days we continued to harass the enemy’s flanks until their main force had retired right up into the hills again. Our Infantry now formed a line of outposts some few miles from Deli Abbas, whilst on the 17th inst. the Cavalry marched back to the village of Deltawa, where we went into bivouac. Here it was decided to form the Regiment into two composite squadrons, owing to the great number of casualties we had sustained amongst both men and horses through wounds, sickness, &c. This was done on the morning of the 19th inst., and the remaining men and horses were sent into bivouac at a small village called Sindiyeh, some few miles farther back. In this district the Arab rifle thieves were very active, and on several occasions succeeded in getting clear away with rifles, in spite of the utmost vigilance, during the time we had a bivouac near that village. During the next fortnight the Regiment remained in bivouac at Deltawa, at the same time making wide reconnaissances between the line held by our Infantry, who had ‘dug in’ near the Serri, and the foot of the Jebel Hamrin Range. During these we occasionally came into contact with enemy patrols, with whom we had several sharp skirmishes. It was during one of these that Private Keany of ‘C’ Squadron was captured while carrying despatches.

“On May 4th we received orders to march down to Chaldari and there pitch our summer camp. We accordingly marched to Sa Salekh and from here to Chaldari, where we proceeded to erect our summer camp on the left bank of the Tigris some nine miles north of Baghdad. On the camp being completed, we went into it on the 13th inst., and on the same day the following awards appeared in our Regimental Orders for gallantry in our action of 9th April: Lieutenant Fitz-Gibbon the M.C. and Private Roberts the D.C.M. Private Roberts died from the wounds he received the day following the action.54

“Three days after this, the 16th inst., the Regiment received sudden orders to turn out at 4.30 P.M. on an Arab strafe. It was made known to us later that these Arabs had literally cut to pieces the whole of a British survey party, consisting of three British officers and their orderlies, and some sixteen native soldiers who were their escort.

“We marched at 4.30 and crossed the river at Baghdad. We bivouacked that night some ten miles east of it. Marching again at daybreak, we encountered a terrific sand-storm which made the going very difficult, nevertheless we succeeded in covering some thirty-nine miles over the waterless desert before bivouacking for the night.

“Continuing again early the following morning, we trekked another eighteen miles or so in the direction of Mushada, when a halt was made. Reconnoitring from here, we located the Arabs some distance from the village. We rested until dawn the 19th inst., when we attacked them and inflicted heavy casualties amongst them, at the same time driving them before us on to General Cobbe’s column, which had marched down from Samarrah. This column exacted a terrible revenge for those murders, and literally mowed them down with machine-gun fire. We inflicted some 3000 casualties in all amongst this huge band of Bedouin Arabs. This incident had a wonderful effect on the Arabs throughout the country, and no doubt prevented them from committing many similar outrages.

“On the conclusion of this we marched back to our camp at Chaldari.”

Private C. T. Massey, ‘D’ Squadron—March 24.—“On the 24th we turned out to graze, and while the horses were grazing Private Cox came up with the order to ‘turn in and stand to.’ We moved off in a north-easterly direction about midday, after buying oranges and limes from Arabs on the square. We rejoined the portion of the Regiment that moved off earlier in the day, at a camp next morning, the 25th.

“We were now on the right bank of the river Diala, and I kept no notes of daily events, but we had many severe engagements with the enemy. It was on Easter Sunday or Monday that we met the Turkish army coming out of the Jebel Hamrin Range. We were then at Deli Abbas. It was the 1st and 3rd troops of ‘D’ Squadron which bore the first shock of the Turkish attack, but we were greatly outnumbered, and retired only in the nick of time under a hail of bullets. A few horses came down; one man was killed and two wounded. My riding-horse got away, so I jumped on top of the pack-horse, but the gun-case had not been properly strapped up and the Hotchkiss gun fell out; but No. 5 on the gun, a man named Cartwright, who was riding behind, dismounted and picked it up, and I halted and it was put in the case again. We continued to retreat for several days, but it was part of a clever scheme; the Infantry meant to get in between them and the hills from which they came. The Infantry, however, came up too close, and the Turks retired again, before our Infantry could get behind them, but they suffered heavy losses in the retreat back to the hills. It was during these twenty-five days on the Diala that our horses suffered more than in the whole fighting up from Kut. We could only water once a day, and many a time I have felt faint from thirst and chewed grass for moisture, as well as wild oats and barley.”

A few days later the writer was sent on leave to India, and his diary comes to an end.

Letter from 2nd Lieutenant F. Norman Payne—March 25, 1917.—“After the Regiment getting nicely settled down to their garrison work they were suddenly ordered away, and are now seventy miles beyond Baghdad.

“Poor chaps may be out weeks and weeks, and already have been five weeks without any kit, it all still being at Bassouia Camp.55 The boats coming up river are fully laden and won’t stop to pick up anything like that.”

From Private Hugh H. Mortimer to his Mother, April 3, 1917.

On the trek, 3. 4. 17.

“My dearest Mother,—No doubt you all thought my last letter a bit of a hash, which it verily was, but if you only knew the conditions under which I wrote it you’d think I was lucky to get it off as it was. I wrote part of it in Baghdad, as I was in the City Military Police for a week, and could not manage to post it then, so I had to take it with me when the order came to get on the move again. Do you think they could do without the Thirteenth Hussars here when there’s any dirty work to be done? Not likely. We got the job as Cavalry garrison in the capital because we’d distinguished ourselves on the drive-up, and incidentally lost more than half, but when reinforcements came up and not many of them, out we had to go again: the Cavalry Division could not manage without us.

“We’ve been living mainly on fresh air, biscuits, dates, and water, with an occasional bully or fresh-meat stew when we can buy or pinch a sheep from Mr Arab. Lor’ knows where we are now, but we can’t be far from the Russians; in fact, I believe one column of ours is in communication with them. Our aeroplanes have been over to ’em several times.

“Well, that’s that. We have had some very exciting little times since we left B. [Baghdad?], and I thought it was all up when ten of us, all that’s left of the 4th troop, ‘C’ squadron, had to go out twelve miles in advance on reconnaissance, as we got cut off by their Cavalry twice, and had to gallop miles for life and ford a canal, known as Kelly’s Canal,56 about eight feet deep. Still we got back none much the worse.

“Have you ever experienced the thrill one gets when something happens to lift one out of the blackest depths of depression, &c.? Well, it was like this, I hadn’t got a fag or shred of baccy, and hadn’t had a smoke for days; was browned off to the eyebrows on bully and biscuit diet with occasional spoonful of jam thrown in here and there—more then than now—and was trying to snatch forty winks—we were having a rest day—under my saddle with flies and mosquitoes buzzing around, sweating like a bull with the heat of the aft’noon even with one thin shirt on, when a bloke kicked my feet and shouted, ‘Cheero, Morty, mail’s up.’

“Please keep the newspaper cuttings of all our doings out here. Now don’t forget that, as I shall love to read ’em over afterwards, and we don’t get much news of our own doings out here.

“I think I shall manage to wangle the ten-shilling note as soon as we get settled somewhere, sometime. Please thank —— and —— and all other well-wishers and contributors for me separately and individually.

“Yes, I received a very nice little parcel from St Silas’s, but have not had any time at all to acknowledge it, as you can guess by your mail, which always takes precedence with me.... I expect we shall be slackening off out here shortly as ’tis getting very hot again, especially from about 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., when every effort is an effort and one sweats rivers, lying down—in fact, it’s really worse lying down than knocking slowly, one doesn’t seem to notice the heat so much then. We have to make bivouacs with our blankets thrown across swords and twigs stuck in the ground to get a little shelter from the sun, as there is next to no shadow here, and the sun is nearly overhead again. Roll on, we’ve just about got J. Turk beat to the wide now, so it’s about time we had a long rest. Then we are made to clean and polish everything up, and it’s some job that, as all steelwork is eaten in with rust, and everything more or less the same since we came on service.

“Well, my candle has just given me the wink and I’m finishing this by moonlight, so cheerio to all of you. Hope you are all in the pink.... Take great care of yourself, mother, love, and all the others as well. Am fit as a fiddle myself when I can get enough to eat.”

Private Mortimer was decorated soon afterwards with the Military Medal for bravery in action, and after reading his letter one is not surprised to hear it.

The Regiment, it may be observed, though weak in men, and still weaker in horses, was now strong in officers again. Colonel Richardson and others wounded at Lajj had returned, and though one or two more had since been hit, they were doing well. But one, unhappily, had lost his life in a very sad way: Captain Newton, who had commanded a squadron at Lajj, and had afterwards gone through the April fighting, was drowned in the Tigris on the night of the 25th.

He stepped overboard in the darkness from a river steamer, and though life-belts were thrown out at once he was swept away by the current, which was very strong. A boat was lowered, but could find no trace of him. Captain Newton’s death was much deplored. An officer on the staff of the Division, in a private letter to his own people, writes of him: “Poor Tiger Newton is dead. He walked overboard and fell into the Tigris on his way to India on leave.... He is a great loss to the Thirteenth Hussars, where he was immensely popular. He was a splendid character, was greatly esteemed by all who came in contact with him, and exercised great influence in his Regiment.” His Colonel wrote: “Quite apart from my personal sorrow, I know how grieved the whole Regiment will be, for both officers and men were very fond of him.” And General Jones, who had commanded the Brigade at Lajj, wrote of him as follows: “At the fighting at Lajj, where the Thirteenth Hussars had such heavy losses, he was the Senior Officer left of the squadrons in the most advanced line, and was in constant communication with me by telephone after the charge. It was an anxious time for most of us, and perhaps especially for me, as I was commanding the Brigade. Nothing cheered me so much as his cheery voice. We were momentarily expecting a counter-attack in greatly superior strength, and our Battery was stricken silent; but he never lost heart, and I am sure his example went far in putting heart into his men, if such was necessary. It did me good anyhow. It was also greatly due to him that at dusk we were able to carry away the officers and men who were lying wounded between the lines. Had he been alive now, his name would have gone in for a Mention in Despatches. He died as many others have died, but he has not lived in vain.”

In other letters mention is made of “his outspoken Christian life,” and he is described as “one whom everybody loved.”

It may be noted that in the meantime one of the Thirteenth subalterns, 2nd Lieutenant J. H. Hirsch, had passed through a very tragic experience, being on board the Cameronian transport, on the way to join, with several men of the Regiment, when she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. His letter describing the affair shows that “there was no panic,” all the men going quietly to their posts on deck, and setting to work to lower the boats. The two destroyers which formed the escort “were simply wonderful—the rate they came alongside! When we were hit they dashed round, making a smoke-screen. Then they dashed round the boats and rafts and swimmers, like two old hens guarding their young, picking up men when it was possible, who were shouting for help. A lot we passed were drowned, as they had put their life-belts on wrong....”

Then the submarine was sighted. The writer was by that time on board one of the destroyers. “The other destroyer had signalled there was a submarine near us, so the guns were manned, and we saw the wake of the beast, so we fired and only just missed.” Luckily the shot was enough to drive away the submarine, otherwise the slaughter might have been terrible, for, according to Lieutenant Hirsch, “there were about 1200 men on the destroyer and about 50 officers,” and she was, of course, exposing herself to great danger in trying to save life. However, no second torpedo was fired, and after circling round the wreckage for some hours after the ship had gone down, the destroyers made for Malta, and in spite of a “very, very rough” sea, succeeded in getting there safely next day. But 140 lives were lost, among them the lives of eight privates of the Thirteenth.