'Report from Lieut-General Sir P. H. N. Lake K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Commanding I.E.F. "D" on the Defence of Kut-Al-Amarah under Major-General C. V. F. Townshend, C.B., D.S.O., 3 December 1915-29 April 1916' [‎16r] (31/44)

29
I have carefully thought out the situation and wish to sum up my ideas
and give you my views and the conclusion I have come to.
Paragraph /.—(r/) Not only is breaking out a pure question of chance,
a spin of the coin, owing to having to cross the river undetected at
night, but I can only in case of success extricate some 3,000
combatants leaving 5,000 combatants obtainable exclusive of
wounded and sick and all guns.
{h) By thus doing Kut falls at once and lets the Turks immediately
take the offensive down the Tigris, for as long as I resist at Kut
they cannot get past their ships, munitions, stores, etc.
(^) You could not remain where you are or you may share my fate ; you
would h'ive to retreat in a hostile country and doubt if you could
remain at Amarah, and Nasiriyah would most likely be surrounded
and fall.
(fi) Thus we lose all the territory we have gained in last year's cam
paign and it becomes disastrous and inglorious. It is for (£), (c)
and {d) above that 1 arrested my retirement from Ctesiphon and
made a stand at Kut, it was my own decision.
{e) While I hold Kut the Russians can from Kasr-i.Shirin seriously
menace Baghdad. More follows."
APPENDIX Y,
Copy of a telegram from Townshend to Heai Quarters, No. 69-120 G., dated a5th
January 1916.
" In continuation of 69-119-G. of January 25th.
Paragraph 2. —I have now placed all food in the town under Annesley my
A. D. S., collected all the food stuff and rationed inhabitants. I
now find that we can last for 84 days as regards food supplies,
great stores of barley having beei discovered, besides all this 1
have 3,000 animals to feed on.
Paragraph 3. —As regards the want of morale of a good many of your
Indian troops I have the same here in a more modified form. It
is my handful of Norfolks, Dorsets, Oxfords who are my sheet
anchor here. We do not want inferior drafts of Indian recruits
from India as my battalions were filled up with after the battle of
Kut-al-Amarah in September last. Melliss, Delamain, Hamilton
and Hoghton will bear me out in this, one or two good all
British divisions are what we want. Then now is the time to
demand good white troops from over seas, an Army Corps to save
and hold Mesopotamia if Government considers it worth holding.
The Germans know that Mesopotamia and not Egypt is the
best avenue of approach to India and that is why all these
German oncers are here now, so I take it Mesopotamia is worth
holding and we have shed much blood to gain thus far.
Paragraph —I repeat I think the Turks will not have the heart to leave
their safe trenches and overwhelm me out of my trenches and
houses, they would lose terribly at that game and have lost
heavily when they tried to do so.
Paragraph 5.—The floods will arrive I suppose in February (and will ?)
compel Turks to recede and the side with the most gunboats
obtains the sea power as they enabled me to take Amarah last
June.
*
Paragraph 6. —The more I think out the situation the more convinced I
am that the best and highest role I can play is that of Osman
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. at Plevna where months of defence held up the Russian
advance and saved Constantinople. In the same way the defence
of Kut will save the whole of the Basrah Vilayet ; it will give the
Si 4GSB