the evening light that I felt all the rush of the past pursuit was
over, that our efforts had not only been crowned with success, but
that a period of rest would now be given to man and beast. For the
pursuit had been much more than merely a hot and dusty march of 120
miles from San-i-yat to Baghdad.

All through January and February the Army Commander had been preparing
the way by a series of small victories which gradually drove the
Turks, holding the right bank of the Tigris, across the Shatt-al-Hai,
and a dozen miles above Kut. Then came the combined master-stroke on
February 22 and 23. First, on the 22nd, came the successful attack on
the San-i-yat trenches--the position that had held us at bay for a
twelve month--the position that had finally checked our troops,
struggling most bravely, but struggling in vain, for the relief of
their comrades in Kut. This success drew several Turkish battalions to
the help of the San-i-yat garrison, and so weakened the Turkish line
elsewhere. And then at dawn, on the 23rd, came the crossing of the
Tigris five miles above the Shatt-al-Hai--a crossing that will remain
famous in history--when the bravery of the troops will not make one
forget the careful preparation of the Commander and his skill in
making success possible, by causing the Turk to mass his troops both
above and below the actual point selected for crossing.

This well-timed and brilliantly executed stroke had sent the Turk
flying; but though in the two months' fighting he had lost over 8,000
in prisoners and more than that number in killed and wounded, he was
still able to fight a series of stubborn rearguard actions before the
road was free to Baghdad. It was dawn on the 11th of March before the
Highlanders, who were leading, reached the city, and an order to rest
and be thankful had been welcome to troops more used to trench warfare
than constant rapid marching in the open.

[Illustration: Ezra's Tomb.]

[Illustration: An Arab Village.]

[Illustration: Fishing By Net On The Tigris.]

[Illustration: Arabs Selling Produce On The Banks Of The River.]

[Illustration: On The Banks Of The Tigris.]

But when airmen brought intelligence that the enemy was holding an
entrenched position some twenty miles north of the city, it was
obvious that some of us must move up-river and drive him back.

It was once remarked by an American officer, who had served throughout
the Civil War, that he knew that every soldier in the