MESOPOTAMIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 April 1916, Page 5

MESOPOTAMIA.

ON THE TIGRIS. A TURKISH STORY. Constantinople, April 10. A communique gives a distorted vers'cn of the fight eastward of Pailahiyah on April 5 and 0, and claims ;hat 1500 British were killed and wounded, and some taken prisoner.

BRITISH ATTACK, PROVES UNAVAILING. FLOODS HAMPER THE TROOIPS. j Wellington, April 11. The High Commissioner reports as follows, undqr date London, April 10, 3.30 p.m.:— General Lake reports that General Gorringe's preparations for attack on the Sannaiyat position are well advanced, though the floods have curtailed the frontage on which an attack can bo delivered. The weather has improved and the river ha 6 not risen since the 7th insi» Later. The High Commissioner reports under date London, April 10, 9.10 p.m.:— General Lake reports that an attackon the Sannaiyat position was made at dawn yesterday, but failed to get through the enemy's lines. The operations are much hampered by the floods, which are extending. FURTHER DETAILS. THE ADVANCE IN JANUARY. FLOODS RETARD WORK. Received Aprils 11, 8.50 p.m. London, April 10. General Lake further reports that 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 are 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 Bagdad, and are feverishly constructing defence works. They believe that they will thus withstand the combined British and Russian forces.

Major-General Candler, from British headquarters, describes the storming of Umm-el-Hanpah and Felahie on Wednesday and Thursday. Preparations for the attack were most thorough, and nothing was left to chance. Rains checked the advance to el-Hannah on the 21st of January, when we advanced in the open, and have since been continually sapping up to thg enemy's position. After the completion of sixteen milc.s of complicated sap work the British firing line was within a hundred yards of the Turks' first line.

The bombers, cheering, crept over the parapet at dawn, and in a few seconds the rifle and machine-gun Are showed that We were in the enemy's trenchej, of which the entanglements were broken down by the bombardment. T'aa first line was captured by a quick rush, and the artillery then opened un the thiid line.

There was no serious resistance until wo searched the Felahie position, 2% miles behind the Turkish front. Here the communication trenches were wide and deep and adapted to pack transport. The position was two miles in depth, with flanking trenches thrown out north and south. The attacking brigade came in under heavy rifle and machine-gun lire, advancing on unpromising flat ground. We 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.