IN MESOPOTAMIA

Southland Times, Issue 17935, 29 January 1917, Page 5

IN MESOPOTAMIA

ENEMY RESIST DOGGEDLY. ALMOST BLOODLESS VICTORY. TURKS SLIP AWAY. (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) PARIS, January 27. Received January 28, 5 p.m. Mr Candler, the correspondent with the Mesopotamian forces, says that on the morning of 19th January we occupied a triangle of trenches, the last foothold of the Turks in the bend of the Tigris below Kut. The enemy resisted doggedly for ten days, but as he was cornered we economised in casualties In the advanced trenches. Gradually our concentrated artillery and trench mortar fire made the area hardly tenable; but the enemy made desperate sorties and counter-attacks. We had cleared part of the last trenches with the bayonet, when the Turks finally departed cleverly. They kept up a noise as if digging all night, while they slipped across the Tigris by boats, pontoons, and coracles, which were concealed in shelters beneath the banks. Hence our assault in the morning was comparatively bloodless. DETERMINED BRITISH ASSAULT CONSIDERABLE GAINS HEAVY TURKISH LOSSES. (Australian & N.Z. Cable Assn & Reuter) LONDON, January 27. Received January 28, 5.5 p.m. Mesopotamia official: —By a determined assault under cover of an Intense bombardment, we seized and consolidated 1100 yards of the first line of trenches on the right bank of the Tigris, south-westward of Kut-el-Amara, also a considerable length of the second line. Our losses were slight. The Turks, westward of the Hai river thereupon made four furious counterattacks. The first and third were, broken by our Artillery, infantry and machine gun fire, but the second and the fourth were momentarily successful. We resumed the offensive and regained much of ttie ground, from which we had been temporarily dislodged. The Turkish losses all day were extremely heavy, 70 of them were taken prisoners, and 580 corpses were buried in the loop eastward of Kul-el-Amara, besides 500 that were buried by the enemy.