"استطلاعات في بلاد الرافدين وكردستان وشمال غرب بلاد فارس ولرستان في الفترة من أبريل إلى أكتوبر ١٨٨٨، كتبها المقدم ف. ر. مونسيل، فرع الاستخبارات. يوجد مجلدان. المجلد الأول: تقرير سردي ووصف للمدن الكبرى والطرق المؤدية منها. شيملا: فرع الاستخبارات، إدارة قائد الإمداد والتموين، ١٨٩٠" [ظ‎‎٩] (٣١٢/٢٣)

4
The right or south-west face is similar to that just described. The con-
Right face. structiou is the same, and it also has three embra
sures. The armament of these faces would be of
lighter calibre than the sea face—probably guns of about 5 tons weight, capa
ble of being easily and quickly worked.
Thus the total armament of the work would therefore be two 25 or 30 ton
guns and six of 5 tons each (three on each face).
The gorge or rear face is a simple stone curtain with a gateway protected
Gorge. ty a caponier in the centre. The curtain contains
casemated quarters, and would be unarmed except by
machine guns.
There is a shallow wet ditch some 30 yards wide round the fort. In
Wet ditch and glacis. £ront is ^ small glacis, the interior slope of which is
faced with brick. This bank is built principally
to protect the foundations of the escarp against high tides. In January 1887,
a very high tide, caused by a strong south-east wind, washed away a good deal
of this bank in front of the main face. It was then under construction, and
has been since faced with brick. It is 4 feet high and of varying thickness
from feet upwards. It would protect the foot of the escarp from fire also.
There is a small group of mud huts outside the gate of the fort; also a
small creek and quay on the river face to facilitate discharging material from
the native craft.
H.M.S. Turquoise, our largest vessel at present in the Gulf, and whose
heaviest gun is a 64-pr. R.M.L., might get over the bar at spring tide, but
rarely risks doing so.
To the south-west of the fort lie extensive shallows and mud flats, extend
ing in old charts to about 6 miles, and which have probably of late years lar^'e-
ly increased. °
In front of the sea and river faces are deep, soft mud flats, uncovered at
low water, but with 2 feet of water at high spring tides. At ordinary tides
there is a belt of mud exposed, forming a very efficient protection against boat
attack. Any one endeavouring to land would sink to his waist atonce or be
entirely engulfed.
In front of the gorge and the south-west face are small patches of reclaim
ed land and date plantation banked out from high tides, but capable of inun
dation.
i might be attacked from the desert, which extends to within
halt a mile of the entrance immediately beyond the date plantations. This
would avoid the mud flats which render the other faces inaccessible.
The end of the low spit on the east side of the river mouth does not lie
directly opposite the fort. Kusbah, a Persian fishing village of some 100
reed huts, is situated on this, and is 2,000 yards to the north-north-east of
The bank there is hard sand and easy for landing. The shortest ranges
batte r ies could open on the north-east face of the fort would thus
be 2,000 yards.
I he entrance to the channel from the sea is marked out by two buoys, the
proper y o tie British India Steam Navigation Company, who put them
own an move t rem when necessary to follow the changes of the channel,
lire buoys are 4 miles apart, and the course between them for a vessel inward
bound would be JV. 31° N. Between the buoys lies the bar on which at high-
tkles"^”ffe^ ^ lere * S ^ °f water. The rise and fall of spring