Mesopotamia.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 8, 12 April 1916, Page 6

Mesopotamia.

GENERAL LAKE’S REPORT. [United Fresh Association. 1 London, April 10. General Lake further" reports’ tnat the attack at dawn on the 9th inst. on Sannaiyat failed to pierce the enemy’s lines. Operations were much hampered by the floods, which ate extending. Constantinople telegraphs that the Turks express confidence in the situation in Mesopotamia. They have concentrated over a hundred thousand troops at Mosul, ten miles from Bagr dad, "and are feverishly constructing defence works. - They believe that they will'thus'withstand the combined British and Russian forces.

THE FIGHTING IN JANUARY. Major-General Candler, from British headquarters, describes the storming of Umm-el-Hannah and Felahie on Wednesday and Thursday. Preparations for, the attack were most thorough, and nothing was felt to chance. Rajas checked the advance to Umm-el-H'annah on the 21st of January, when we advanced in the open, and j have since been continually sapping up to the enemy’s position. After the : completion of sixteen miles of cornpli-j cated sap work the British firing line j was within a hundred yards of the j, Turks’ first line. j The bombers, cheering,. crept over j the parapet at dawn, and in a few | seconds the rifle and machine-gun fire | showed that we were in the enemy’s j trenches, of which the entanglements were broken down by the bombard- j ment. Tbc first line was captured by ! a quick nidi, and the artillery then opened on the third line. There' was no serious resistant- until we searched the Felahie position, 2J- miles behind the Turkish front. Here the communication trenches were , wide ’’and deep‘ and adapted to pack j transport. The position was two miles ( in depth, with flanking trenches' thrown out north and south. The at-j tacking brigade came in under heavy j rifle and machine-gun fire, advancing : on unpromising flat ground. i lYe assaulted and carried the trenches on the right of the river, and the rest of the trenches were rushed after dark, the Turks being cleared out with the bayonet. Our casualties were not heavy, considering the stubborn resistance and the nature of the ground.