"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية. الحملة في بلاد الرافدين ١٩١٤-١٩١٨. المجلد IV". [ظ‎‎١‎٦‎٩] (٥٤٠/٣٤٣)

282 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
infantry with guns and had been forced to retire. ^ The brigade
then swept to the northward, engaging enemy infantry and
transport columns on the road to Mosul apparently with good
effect. General Cobbe received news of its action at 5.45 a.m.
on the 26th. . . . t r
At 11 p.m. on the 25th October the dispositions of General
Cobbe’s force were as follows. r i
On the northern bank of the Little Zab the 11th Cavalry
Brigade was at Zarariya, the 7th Cavalry Brigade at Shumait
and the 53rd Infantry Brigade, with C/337th Battery, R.F.A.,
two miles from the Tigris junction. The bridging train, which
had been much delayed in its march from Fat-ha by the bad
road, did not reach the Little Zab till after dark. Six batteries
of the 18th Division artillery were south of the Little Zab,
almost opposite Mushak, with the 54tli Infantry Brigade, which
had moved forward from Fat-ha during the day, bivouacking
close by. Headquarters of the 18th Division were at Tel-ad-
Dhahab and the remainder of the division (less the Ain Nukhaila
detachment) were at Fat-ha, the greater part having been
employed during the day on road improvement.
The 51st Infantry Brigade covered a wide front on the Tigns
right bank. The Highland Light Infantry were holding the
advanced line astride the road and along broken hills to the
west of it at a point about a mile south of Mushak ; and in
rear of them in support were eight mountain guns. To the left,
about one and a half miles south-west of the Highland Light
Infantry, Colonel Coningham’s column of the l/10th Gurkhas,
four mountain guns and two machine gun sections was on the
crest of the Jabal Makhul* The remainder of the brigade group,
with 51st Brigade headquarters, were bivouacked on the road
about a mile in rear of the Highland Light Infantry. At Qala
Jabbar were the 17th Division headquarters, the 34th Infantry
Brigade (less 2nd Royal West Kent) and the 403rd and 404th
Field Howitzer Batteries. These two batteries, of which the
403rd was pushed forward during the night to join the 51st
Brigade Group, had been brought up only by dint of great
exertion and resolution. The 1064th and 1066th Field Batteries
had also, after great effort, got through the Fat-ha gorge, but
were still five miles short of Qala Jabbar. The remainder of the
17th Division Group were at, or south of, the gorge.
At 11 p.m. General Cobbe sent orders to the 18th Division ,•
to be ready to move at dawn and to send pat rols with machine
* The supply of this column had been extremely difficult owing to the nature
of the ground.