ely flat
and offers no means of cover whatsoever, the British advance was
stopped for the time being.

In the meantime the Third British Division under General Keary had
advanced along the right bank of the river and had carried Turkish
trenches immediately in front of the Felahieh position. In the
afternoon of April 5, 1916, the Turks tried to regain these trenches
by means of a strong counterattack with infantry, cavalry and
artillery, but were unable to dislodge the British forces.

With nightfall General Gorringe again returned to the attack along the
left bank and stormed the Felahieh position. Here, too, the Turks had
constructed a series of successive deep trenches, some of which were
taken by the British battalions only at the point of the bayonet. This
attack as well as all the previous attacks were, by the nature of the
ground over which they had to be fought, frontal attacks. For all the
Turkish positions rested on one side of the river and on the other on
the Suwatcha swamps, excluding, therefore, any flank attack on the
part of the British forces.

Again General Gorringe halted his advance, influenced undoubtedly by
the open ground and increasing difficulties caused by stormy weather
and floods. April 6, 7, and 8, 1916, were devoted by the British
forces to the closest possible reconnoissance of the Sanna-i-Yat
position and to the necessary preparatory measures for its attack,
while the Turks energetically strengthened this position by means of
new intrenchments and additional reenforcements from their position at
Es-Sinn.

With the break of dawn on April 19, 1916, General Gorringe again
attacked the Turkish lines at Sanna-i-Yat. The attack was preceded by
heavy artillery fire lasting more than an hour. In the beginning the
British troops entered some of the Turkish trenches, but were driven
back at the point of the bayonet. After this stood success. Again the
floods came to the assistance of the Turkish troops. Increasing, as
they were, day by day, they covered more and more of the ground
adjoining the river bed and thereby narrowed the front, on which an
attack could be delivered, so much so that most of its force was bound
to be lost. According to Turkish reports the British lost over 3,000
in dead. Although the British commanding general stated that his
losses were much below this number, they must have been very heavy,
from the very nature of the ground and climatic conditions, and much
heavier,