sea was now in British
hands, and the Turkish forces in Mesopotamia had been partly destroyed
and so demoralized that it was unlikely that they would soon take the
offensive again.

In the last weeks of July, 1915, they again became troublesome. On
July 24 the British, under General Gorringe, advanced to attack
Nasiriyeh. The town was shelled by gunboats, and after a prolonged
struggle the enemy retired, and the British occupied the place on the
following day. They had captured during the fight 1,000 prisoners and
13 guns, while the dead Turks numbered about 500. The British
casualties were between 300 and 400. During this engagement the
fiercest foe the British had to contend against was the excessive
heat, which registered as high as 113, and caused great suffering and
some deaths.

Along the Euphrates, between Sukh-es-Sheyukh and Nasiriyeh, operations
now began that lasted for twenty days. The country around here is
peculiarly difficult for military movements, presenting a network of
marshes and canals. The Turks occupied intrenched positions at the
entrance of Kut-el-Hai Channel on the main line of communication
between the Tigris and Bagdad. A British force was dispatched from
Kurna to attack these positions. The expedition was supported by
extemporized gunboats, and took the waterway of the Euphrates and
Hamar Lake. Their progress was fiercely opposed by the Turks, who
hovered about their flanks. The river had overflowed it banks, and
inundated the neighboring country so that marching was difficult. It
was necessary to drag boats over the land in some places along the
advance. But the British troops were successful when reaching their
objective. One regiment outflanked the enemy's gun position on the
right bank, and during the engagement the Turks lost 7 officers and 83
regular troops and Arabs. The British casualties were 109. There were
25 killed.

CHAPTER LXXXI

SYRIA AND EGYPT

After the declaration of war against Turkey, the allied war vessels
were concentrated in the Levant and Red Sea to watch the coasts of
southern Asia Minor, Syria, and Turkish Arabia. On the Syrian coast
there was only one point where a naval force could effectively attack
communications between Constantinople and the Turkish forces. This was
the little town of Alexandretta, and the shore north to Payaz, a small
village. The Turks, if they wished to reenforce their Syrian army must
move their men, guns, and stores up a m