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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1917)
.-.rf - Twetoty-Eight Page East Oregonian Round-Up Souvenir Edition Pendleton, Oregon, Friday, September 21, 1917. Page Twenty-Three The Thrilling Story of the Moonlight Battle for the Possession of Bagdad (By Edmund Candlur.) The luut fighting before Baghdad it likely to become hlHtorlo on account of the splendid gallantry of our troop In the croanlnn of the DIuU river. After the action at LaJJ the TurklHh rearguard fell back on Dlula, dejilroylng the bridge which crossed the stream at its Junction with thn Tigris We pushed on in pursuit on the left bank, Mending cuvulry and two columns of Infantry to work round on the right bunk, and to en ter Baghdad from the west. Hpeed in following up was essential, and the On the second night the attempt was pursued with equal gallantry. This time the attack was preceded by a bombardment. Registering by ar tillery had been Impossible on the first day In the speed of the pursuit. It was the barrage that secured us the footing not the shells, but the dust raised by them. This was so thick that you could not see your hand In front of your face. It formed a cur tain behind which ten bouts were able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, when the curtain of dust had lifted, the conditions of the column attacking Dlala was faced night before were re-establlBhed. Suc- 1 ceedlng crossing parties were exter ! mtnated, and pontoons drifted away, I but a footing was Becured. The dust served us well. The crew of one bout which lost Its way during the barruge were untouched, but they did not make the bank in time. Dlrect- wlth another crossing In which the element of surprise was eliminated. The village lies on both banks of the stream, which Is 120 yurds wide. The houses, trees, nullah, and wullcd gar dens made It Impossible to build road and ramps quickly and to bring up pontoons without betraying the j ly the air cleared a machine gun was point of embarkation. Hence the old opened on them and the rowers were bridgehead site was chosen. The at- I shot down and the pontoons drifted tack on the night of the 7th was i back ashore. A sergeant called to checked, but the quality of courage j volunteers to get the wounded out of shown by our men has never been ' the boat and a party of twelve men surpassed in war. immediately the went over the river bank. Every first pontoon was lowered over the ' man of them, aa well as the crew of Tamo the whole launching onrty wan the pontoons, ware killed. shot down In a few seconds. It was a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated their machine guns and rifles la the houses on the op posite bank. The second pontoon had got into the middle of the stream, when a tarrlflc fusillade was opened on It. The crew of nva rowan and ten rifle men were killed and the boat floated down the stream. A third got near ly across, but was bombed and sank. All the crew were killed. But there was no holding back. The orders still held to secure the passage. Crew after erew pushed off to an obvious and certain death. The fourth crossing party was extermi nated In the same way and the pon toons drifted out to the Tigris to float j guns on the other bank past our camp In the daylight with I ground In front of tbe Some 60 men had got over and these joined up and started bombing along the bank They were soon heavily pressed by tbe Turks on both flanks and found themselves between two woods. Here they discovered a providen tial natural position. A break In the river bend had been repaired by a new bund built In a half-moon on the landward side. This formed a per fect lunette. The Lancashire men. surrounded on all sides but the river, held it through the night, all the next day and the next night against re peated and determined attacks. Those attacks were delivered In the dark or at dawn The Turks only attacked once In the daylight, as our machine swept the position their freight of dead. The drafts Twenty yards west of the lunette who went over were raised by vol-, there was a thin grove of mulberries unteers from other battalions In the and palms. The pontoon was most brigade. These and the sappers on vulnerable on this side, and it was the bank share the honor of the night here that the Turkish counter-attacks with the attacking ba'ttallon. Noth ing stopped them, save the loss or the pontoons. A Lancashire man re marked: "It is a bit hot here, hut let's try It higher up." but the gal lant fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another regiment, which was to cross higher up. were delayed, as the boats had to be carried nearly a mile across country to the stream. After the failure of the bridgehead passage the second crossing wss can celled, but the men were still game. were most frequent. Our intense In termittent artillery fire day and night -on the wood afforded some protection. The whole affair was visible to our troops on the south side, who were alile to make them selves heard by shouting. Attempts to get a cable ncroas with a rocket for the passage of ammunition fail ed At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks were driven back. One more determined rush would have s 2 5 1 s 8 Agency for COLU PHONO Jfl Complete stock all sizes mm i I DMA ) MM in fflZ I 11 ft 2 to suit purchaser. Mil M2I 2 I Hi 5 1 1111 in a i ' 5 1 ! carried the lunette, but the little gar rison, now reduced to 40, kept their heads and maintained cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen searching for loose rounds and empty ing the bandoliers of the dead. In the end they were reduced almost to their lust clip and one bomb, but we found over 100 TurklHh dead outside the redoubts when they were relieved at daylight. The crossing on the night of the 9th and 10th was entire ly successful. With our cavalry and two columns of infantry working round on the right bank the Turks were In danger of being cut off, as at Sanna-I-Yat lUtfore midnight they had withdrawn their machine guns, leaving only riflemen to dispute the passage. The crossing upstream was a surprise. We slipped through the Turkish guard. He had pickets at both ends of the river salient where we dropped our pontoons. But he overlooked essential points In It which offered us dead ground uncov ered by posts up and down stream. Consequently our passage here lost us no lives. The other ferry near the bridge was also crossed with slight loss, owing to a diversion up-stream. The Turks, perceiving that their flank was being turned, effected 4 general retirement of the greater part of their garrison between the two ferries. Some 150 In all, finding us bombing down on boh flanks, sur rendered. The upper crossing was so unexpected that one Turk was actually bayonettad as he lay cov ering tbe opposite bank with hts rifle. . By 9:30 on the morning of the 10th the whole brigade had crossed. Son after 11 the brigade was complete and the pursuit continued. The Turi a continued their rearguard action, and in the afternoon there was fighting In the palm groves of Said a, and the j Turks were cleared with the bayonet : after artillery had combed the wood. 1 The main body was holding the El j Mahomed position, one and a half j miles further north a trench line running nearly four miles inland from the Tigris. We attaced this ; in front, while another column made j a wide turning movement on the ' flank, and the enemy evacuated it at : night, on the morning of the 12th we entered Haghdad. Our force on the right bank, after defeating the ; Turkish rearguard in two actions, : reached the suburb on the opponlte side of the Bridge of Poata A brlgiJe was ferried across In coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union Jack on the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry continued the pursuit and occupied Kaxlmnln after sUtrht resistance. FYtlir rlAmntTArl narnnlnoii nnrl 1i)0 I prisoners were taken, in addition to HID (7 V fllil cu till tnc i ua 11 fa. The gunboats are still In pursuit of i-.i ' Im wAnnrNicn V UJU! ea 2 9 4 Perfect Fitting Don't Say Underwear say Munsing Wear You will find in Munsing Wear this season the same fine quality, the s&me durability, the same per fection of fit and finish, the same exceptional comfort and value as in previous seasons. Prices are of ne cessity, a little higher than former ly, but the quality of each and every Munsing Wear fabric is fully maintained. 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Phenomenal It seems, your furnace can help finance the next Uberty Loan. Here's how: Stop wasting eoal. and you can save enough to buy a Liberty Bond. Maybe two or three If you save with a vengeance. Tho government Hays, In short: "Coal Is literally and figuratively the burn ing problem of the hour.' president Wilson has just appointed a coal die- tator. and the business world Is thinking and talking about coal If you are using coal the way you have always used it, you are wasting from $50 to $100 a year And coal not to mention money Is too precious jewel to be squandered these days. It is the bed-rock sinews of war. Comes now a mighty expert em ployed by Uncle Sum Van H Man ning, director of the Hureau of Mines to tel lyou just how the next Liber ty Loan can be floated in your rur nace. so to speak, tn the liquid fire of patriotism. In the drab days off peace, you can light cigars with $10 bills and get away With It. 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