'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [‎63v] (131/454)

106 HISTORY OF THE WAR: MESOPOTAMIA
Fao fort; that it would take about forty-eight hours to arrange
for the armament of tugs and launches and to fit the necessary
sweeps ; and that sweeping would make subsequent progress
slow. As the final arrangement for landing at Fao could not
be made, however, till the return of Major Radcliffe with the
required information from Kuwait, and as he was not expected
back till the 6th, the delay was immaterial.
At 4.30 p.m. on the 3rd, the convoy arrived off the outer
bar of the Shatt al Arab and met the Odin. At 3.50 a.m. the
same day, the Espiegle had left her anchorage in the Karun
river and, apparently unperceived by the Turks, had proceeded
with all lights out and anchored in the main channel south of
Mohammerah, in order to intercept Turkish launches and to
cover Abadan and Mohammerah.
On the 4th and 5th, naval preparations for the attack on
Fao were carried out with some difficulty owing to the heavy
swell; and bullet-proof cover was provided on the upper decks
of the transports to facilitate covering fire for the landing force.
On the morning of the 5th, Major Radcliffe arrived back from
Kuwait with the information that Fao fort was in ruins, that
the Turkish force there was about four hundred strong* with
seven or eight guns of old pattern, and that the landing opposite
the fort was bad. General Delamain accordingly decided - } -
that the landing should take place next day at and just below
Fao village, about four miles above the fort, after the Odin
had silenced the Turkish guns at the forts. The transports
proceeded to the inner bar at 11 a.m., where orders for next
day's operations were issued. To carry these out, a force of
a naval beach party, one hundred marines, two mountain
guns, a section of sappers, three companies of the Dorsets, the
20th Punjabis and 117th Mahrattas, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Rosher of the Dorsets, was to land near the telegraph station
under cover of fire from the Odin and from guns and rifles on
board the transports Varela and Umaria. But, as there were
insufficient boats to land the whole force at one time, four
relays had to be arranged.
On the 6th, at 6 a.m., the Odin moved up the river, with
the armed tug Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. -i-Naphte and Ocean’s picket-boat sweeping
* Information from Turkish sources indicates "the strength as one hundred
and ten rifles and four guns (vide Appendix VI, p. 352), but there were
probably Arabs as well.
f The Shaikh of Kuwait had suggested landing to the west of the port,
via a narrow hor. General Delamain rejected this scheme, as not only
would previous reconnaissance have been necessary, but also he was too short
-of steam launches.