Part 19 (2/2)

_Later._--Two junior officers visited the Turkish headquarters'

camp. General Townshend did not go.

They brought back news that Enver Pasha had refused parole and demands unconditional surrender. Destruction of our ammunition, spare rifles, and kit, proceeds apace. I have just destroyed my two saddles, field-gla.s.ses, revolver, and much else. Detonations are heard all along the trenches.

Kut falls to-morrow. This news on top of these few short hours of hope seems incredible, and the silence with which the garrison received it is too magnificent for reference.

_Later, 4.30 p.m._--At lunch Tudway informed me in his quiet way that he contemplated running the gauntlet downstream in the _Sumana_ to-night in the hope of saving his s.h.i.+p from the Turks. He has communicated with his S.N.O. at Basrah. He invited me to come with him. I felt very complimented and after some consideration I agreed. Tudway knew his s.h.i.+p, the river, and the likely stoppages. He had counted the risk of cables. The current would help us and the Turkish guns were all still, no doubt, pointing downstream against other possible _Julnas_. In two hours we should be down.

We left things at this and Tudway went to make inquiries.

He has just returned in a resigned frame of mind. The project was absolutely private and not known to headquarters, who, however, sent antic.i.p.atory orders to Tudway that the _Sumana_ was under no circ.u.mstance to be damaged but kept intact in Kut.

The surrender was unconditional, and we were destroying everything. The _Sumana_, however, was a most valuable a.s.set for inducing Turks to give us transport. One learnt subsequently, however, that the G.O.C. had retained it for his own use on a Turkish promise to allow him to go downstream to see Sir Percy Lake the Army Commander.

Whether this was actually so I cannot say. We have considered the chance of getting downstream by night on a s.h.i.+p's lifebelt, the current doing several knots and quite enough to carry one down. There was, of course, the considerable chance of capture by the devilish Arabs or being seen by the Turks. The chief question, however, was whether we could stay in the water six or seven hours. In our present health we decided it out of question, even if we had covered ourself with oil.

_9 p.m._--Our little mess had its last talk. We sat and smoked, divided the remnants of tobacco and tin of atta, and awaited news. I am told to come into hospital, but a later report says there is no room.

_April 29th._--General Townshend has issued a last communique holding out hope that he will go home and arrange the exchange on parole. It is, however, a very slender hope.

Kut-el-Amara, April 29th, 1916.

”_Communique._ 1. The G.O.C. has sent the following letter to the Turkish Commander-in-Chief:

'YOUR EXCELLENCY,

Hunger forces me to lay down our arms, and I am ready to surrender to you my brave soldiers who have done their duty, as you have affirmed when you said, ”Your gallant troops will be our most sincere and precious guests.”

Be generous, then, they have done their duty, you have seen them in the Battle of Ctesiphon, you have seen them during the retirement, and you have seen them during the Siege of Kut for the last five months, in which time I have played the strategical role of blocking your counter-offensive and allowed time for our reinforcements to arrive in Iraq. You have seen how they have done their duty, and I am certain that the military history of this war will affirm this in a decisive manner. I send two of my officers, Captain Morland and Major Gilchrist, to arrange details.

I am ready to put Kut into your hands at once and go into your camp as soon as you can arrange details, but I pray you to expedite the arrival of food.

I propose that your Chief Medical Officer should visit my hospitals with my P.M.O. He will be able to see for himself the state of many of my troops--there are some without arms and legs, some with scurvy. I do not suppose you wish to take these into captivity, and in fact the better course would be to let the wounded and sick go to India.

The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, London, wires me that the exchange of prisoners of war is permitted. An equal number of Turks in Egypt and India would be liberated in exchange for the same number of my combatants.

Accept my highest regards.

(Sd.) GENERAL TOWNSHEND, Major-General, Commanding the 6th Division and the Force at Kut.'

'2. I would add to the above that there is strong ground for hoping that the Turks will eventually agree to all being exchanged. I have received notification from the Turkish Commander-in-Chief to say I can start for Constantinople.

Having arrived there, I shall pet.i.tion to be allowed to go to London on parole, and see the Secretary of State for War and get you exchanged at once. In this way I hope to be of great a.s.sistance to you all. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your devotion and your discipline and bravery, and may we all meet in better times.

(Sd.) CHARLES TOWNSHEND, Major-General, Commanding the 6th Division and the Force at Kut.'”

No orders have been issued about the entry of the Turks.

Some sort of formality in handing over is talked of. We have demolished everything. I have just met the brigade armourer, a most valuable N.C.O., who has the history of every gun in the brigade. He looked many years older, and said he had just helped to blow up the last gun. One breech-block of the howitzers which we demolished by lyddite in the bore travelled over Kut far on to the _maidan_.

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