"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية. الحملة في بلاد الرافدين ١٩١٤-١٩١٨. المجلد II." [و‎‎٢‎٥‎١] (٦٦٠/٥١٠)

TURKISH NEGLIGENCE 461
for our prisoners, some of our own medical officer prisoners
were able m some cases to attend to our own men but in
many cases they were not. The Turkish neghgence to'provide
food and clothing, which were always in any case most difficult
to obtain m ^Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, was directly
responsible for many of the casualties. In other cases, death
was largely due to the brutality of the Arab soldiery and
inhabitants who looted our men perpetually and habitually
lU-treated therm The Turks had many years’ experience of
Arab methods but they took little trouble to restrain them.
On the 2Jth April, when the Turks entered Kut, General
Townshend was sick, General Melliss had been on the sick
list for some days, and it fell to the lot of the next senior officer
General Delamain, to hand over Kut to the Turkish divisional
commander. On the whole, says General Delamain, the Turks
behaved well, though some parties of British and Indians
including individuals in out of the way parts of the defensive
area, had their property rifled by Turkish and Arab soldiers.
Any such cases, however, when brought to the notice of the
Turkish military authorities, were at once attended to and
action taken to rectify matters or to prevent any recurrence.t
Many of the inhabitants of the town, however, fared very
badly at Turkish hands, several of those who had helped us
being hanged. That and the next day the British force moved
into camp at Shumran, many of them having to march, as there
were insufficient steamers, and in their weakened state this
caused much suffering, especially as the Turks gave them no
rations till the 30th at Shumran, when they issued some
Turkish biscuits.^; General Melliss, who had insisted on leaving
hospital and joining his men in camp, did what he could,
with the assistance of Colonel Chitty, § to alleviate conditions.
But he soon fell ill again and the apathy of the Turks was too
great to be overcome. There were no tents or shelters and many
of the men, having no blankets or kits, suffered much from
ex posure to the sun. During the next few days Turkish and
Curiously enough, in 1919, after the war, when General Delamain then
commanding the Burma Division, went to inspect the Turkish officer prisoner
o war camps, the first Turkish officer he met was this same divisional com
mander.
t In this respect the impression gathered from the Parliamentary report
quo ed appears to be incorrect; and General Delamain’s opinion is con
firmed by that of Major Sandes f' In Kut and Captivity ”).
+ About 4 inches in circumference and f inch thick, these were so hard that
they could only be eaten after being steeped in water for several hours. The
inadequacy of this fare, quite unsuitable for half-starved men, was the cause
of many deaths.
§ Assistant Quartermaster-General, 6th Division.