'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎195r] (394/862)

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 279
position at Ctesiphon, and on 5 October the pursuing column, tied to
the river for transport and supplies, disembarked at Aziziya, 61 miles
by land and 102 miles by river from Kut. The Turks settled un
molested in their new position, while the British laboriously brought
up supplies.
The battle of Ctesiphon was the first of a series of disasters to the
British, the inevitable result of attempting a great task with in
adequate means. Had the decision to seize Baghdad been taken
before the advance to Kut, and had troops and transport been avail
able to follow the routed Turks before the arrival of reinforcements,
the result would have been different. Authority was received only
on 23 October to advance on Baghdad, though in anticipation of it
some forward concentration had begun. The battle that followed
showed all the defects accumulated during the years of peace:
shortage of equipment, lack of medical and other services, ignorance
of the geography and of climatic conditions. These defects were
accentuated because successful improvisation in the early months
had prevailed against indifferent Turkish and Arab troops, and
thus had bred over-confidence. When the British attacked on
22 November, with a wide turning-movement, all went well at first;
but the gunboats could not properly support the attack because of
the low water and high banks, and the Turkish forward position was
only carried at the cost of over 4,000 casualties. Moreover, all the
troops were engaged and there were no reserves. The Turkish
counter-attack with greatly superior numbers of veteran Anatolian
troops, which had just arrived in Mesopotamia, was defeated with
heavy loss, but the difficulties of evacuating the wounded and of
bringing up supplies and ammunition forced a withdrawal, first to
Lajj, then to Aziziya, and thence under threat to Kut. The first back
ward movement was the signal for the Arabs along the Tigris to turn
against the British, and for the next twelve months Arab marauders
were a constant menace to communications. The Bani Lam were
particularly troublesome right back to Ali Gharbi, sniping the supply
vessels, raiding the river posts, and even breaking into the British
lines by night and stealing arms and ammunition.
Disaster of Kut. The British reached Kut on 3 December, having
been unmolested by the Turkish army during the retirement, except
at Umm at Tubul, where the Turks stumbled on the British camp
unawares during the night of 1/2 December and suffered a rough
handling. But among the river-craft, which helped to cover the
retirement and to clear the banks, there were heavy losses, mostly on