tion remained in its original
location.

All this time General Townshend was able to communicate freely by
means of wireless with the relief forces. As the weeks rolled by it
became evident that his position was becoming rapidly untenable on
account of the unavoidable decrease of all supplies. Having had his
lines of communication cut off ever since December 3, 1915, it was now
almost five months since he had been forced to support the lives of
some 10,000 men from the meager supplies which they had with them at
the time of their hurried retreat from Ctesiphon to Kut-el-Amara,
which were only slightly increased by whatever stores had been found
at the latter place. So complete was the circle which the Turks had
thrown around Kut that not a pound of food had come through to the
besieged garrison. It was well known that the latter had been forced
for weeks to exist on horse flesh. Beyond that, however, few details
concerning the life of the Anglo-Indian force during the siege were
known at that time except that they had not been subjected to any
attack on the part of the Turks.

During the night of April 24, 1916, one more desperate effort was made
to bring relief to General Townshend's force. A ship, carrying
supplies, was sent up the Tigris. Although this undertaking was
carried out most courageously in the face of the Turkish guns
commanding the entire stretch of the Tigris between Sanna-i-Yat and
the Turkish lines below Kut-el-Amara, it miscarried, for the boat went
aground near Magasis, about four miles below Kut-el-Amara. Another
desperate effort to get at least some supplies to Kut by means of
aeroplanes also failed. The British forces had only some comparatively
antiquated machines, which quickly became the prey of the more modern
equipment of the Turks.

CHAPTER XL

THE SURRENDER OF KUT-EL-AMARA

By the end of April it had become only a question of days, almost of
hours, when it would be necessary for General Townshend to surrender.
It was, therefore, no surprise when in the morning of April 29, 1916,
a wireless report was received from him reading as follows:

"Have destroyed my guns, and most of my munitions are being destroyed;
and officers have gone to Khalil, who is at Madug, to say am ready to
surrender. I must have some food here, and cannot hold on any more.
Khalil has been told to-day, and a deputation of officers has gone on
a launch to bring some food from Julnar."

A few hours afterw