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Updated: May 28, 2025
The latter is about seven miles west of the former and about the same distance east of Kut-el-Amara. It began on the north bank of the Tigris, a few miles north of the Suwatcha marshes, continued between these and the Tigris and for almost five miles in a southeasterly direction.
On January 21 it was announced that the Turks had been driven out of positions on the right bank of the Tigris, near Kut, the British occupying their trenches on a wide front. After a series of persistent attacks Kut-el-Amara fell before the British advance on February 26, opening the road to Bagdad.
The siege of Kut-El-Amara began and Susan pored over maps of Mesopotamia and abused the Turks. Henry Ford started for Europe and Susan flayed him with sarcasm. Sir John French was superseded by Sir Douglas Haig and Susan dubiously opined that it was poor policy to swap horses crossing a stream, "though, to be sure, Haig was a good name and French had a foreign sound, say what you might."
A personal acquaintance of the heroic defense of Kut-el-Amara drew in a letter to the London "Weekly Times" the following attractive picture of this strong personality: "A descendant of the famous Lord Townshend who fought with Wolfe at Quebec, and himself heir to the marquisate, General Townshend set himself from boyhood to maintain the fighting traditions of his family.
By November 24, 1915, the casualties had been evacuated to the ships eight miles to the rear. The British force remained on the position which they had won for another day and then withdrew toward Kut-el-Amara. General Townshend's force reached the Kut on or about December 5, 1915, having fought some rear-guard actions on the way, and lost several hundred men.
It is also quite likely that part of the Russian forces in the north had been diverted earlier in the month to the south in order to assist in the drive against Bagdad and Moone, which was pushed with increased vigor just previous to and right after the capitulation of the Anglo-Indian forces at Kut-el-Amara in Mesopotamia.
Early in July a similar expedition was sent against Nasiriyeh, which led to serious fighting, the Turks being badly defeated with a loss of over two thousand five hundred men. Kut-el-Amara still remained, and early in August an expedition was directed against that point. The Turks were found in great force, well intrenched, and directed by German officers. The battle lasted for four days.
Here, as well as during the fighting of the few preceding days, the British troops were frequently forced to advance wading in water up to their waist, after having spent the night before in camps which had no more solid foundation than mud. They were now within four miles of the Turkish position at Es-Sinn, which in turn was less than ten miles from Kut-el-Amara.
An officer describing General Townshend's retreat on Kut-el-Amara through a country swarming with hostile Arabs has this to say: "It speaks well for the spirit of the troops under his command that, in the face of overwhelming numbers the retirement was carried out with cheerfulness and steadiness beyond all praise, and not even the prisoners, of whom 1,600 had been captured at Ctesiphon, were allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy.
The Asquith Ministry had dissolved and Lloyd-George was hurling his dynamic personality into organizing Victory for the Allied forces in the field. Kut-el-Amara had fallen to the British Bagdad had been taken the Crescent was fleeing before the Cross of Russia the Grand Duke was driving the Turk from Trebizond.
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