GENERAL SIR STANLEY MAUDE AND HIS STAFF, BAGHDAD, 1917. Frontispiece. BY BOMBAY THE TIMES PRESS 1918 TO THE CHILDREN OF THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE —— REGIMENT BRIEFLY DESCRIBING THE DOINGS OF THE 2ND BATTALION IN MESOPOTAMIA WRITTEN SO THAT THEY MAY NOT FORGET THE HARDSHIPS ENDURED AND THE SACRIFICES WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE ON THEIR BEHALF 1916-1917....

In writing this short account of the 2nd Battalion in Mesopotamia, my aim has not been to write a military history of all that was achieved; that will be the task of some one more competent to judge of merits and demerits than myself. My object has been to give an account in simple language of the two years spent by the Battalion in the Iraq, so that the children of the men of the regiment may know of the brave deeds and the hardships cheerfully borne on their behalf. Two articles describing our

At the outbreak of war, the 2nd Battalion —— was stationed at Bareilly, having been in India since the end of the South African War. Of the fighting in that campaign, the 2nd Battalion had had its full share. At first it formed part of General Wauchope's Highland Brigade and fought with traditional stubbornness at Magersfontein and Paadeburg, and later on identified its name with many of the captures and some of the hardest marches of that campaign. On the mobilisation of the Indian Corps, the 2

It takes about seven hours from the mouth of the river to Basrah. The journey up is of interest as none have been here before, and everything is new. Both sides of the river the banks are covered with palm trees, stretching inland for distances varying from 500 yards to three miles, and after that all is desert. We pass Abadan on our right where the pipes of the oil fields belonging to the Anglo-Persian Oil Coy. reach the river from Ahwaz. It has been said that the Mesopotamian Campaign was star

The 2nd Battalion disembarked at Ali-el-Gharbi, one hundred and eighty miles from Basrah. The ground was little better than a bog from the rain of the previous day; with very little rain the whole countryside seems to become a quagmire. The mud is about the most slippery kind to be found anywhere, so that walking is made most difficult. The first work was to unload the barges. All the kit, supplies, and tents had to be taken ashore as we were leaving the boats for good and were now in a hostile

The strategical importance of Kut-el-Amarah lies in the fact that it is at the junction of the Shatt-el-Hai with the Tigris. The force which controls Kut has the choice of movement down the Hai or the Tigris at will, and this advantage was with the Turk. The summer was rapidly advancing with its awful heat and the enemy, unable to press his advantage any further, was quite willing to remain in his trenches and await events. And so for seven months both sides resorted to trench warfare, and sat d

All these improvements, all these reinforcements, all these extra supplies could have but one meaning and but one end in view, and that was as soon as the summer heat was over in the words of Nelson's famous signal to "engage the enemy more closely." The time spent out of the trenches was no holiday, one talked of going back to the Rest Camp. But Rest Camp was only a kindly term; it did not mean, as one might be led to believe, a delightful camp where comfortable chairs and well-served meals wer

Everything was ready. The Regiment was in excellent form and fettle, highly trained and efficient, and the powers that be knew that it could be depended on to a man. The first rains had fallen and it was cool without being cold. Mesopotamia takes a long time to cool after the great summer heat and does not usually get very cold till January, and on December 13th the British offensive began on the right bank of the Tigris near Kut, and very severe fighting took place. It was not till February 191

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 promotio