Show Gallant British Yielded Only to Starvation Turks Refused Generals General f s Sword By Major G GIn General Sir Charles Townsend In ID an nD Service Sor of or the tho Sixth British h Division b held ld Ent General Townsend commander r gallant 0 tJ th those of ot his hid had hadnot not starved starred t odds until be on en e men wen to death Lad Led literally DOWD loft left to cut cat and no nu liopo of ot relief u T ONDON Jan 4 Th The outstanding LONDO feature of ot tho the historic defense and fell fall of or Kut lies In tho the gallantry and h role endurance endur of ot the tho Sixth British who ho division m my little band of ot heroes for rive five months hung on on fighting mag mn- Wo e 0 had losses loses of ot course but the lives of or those m men n were not thrown away awnY I We Vo saved th tha whole of ot Mesopotamia I I behind us l That at was why wo we stood fast The This siege alego lasted five ho months and actually was nan longer than tho the siege of at Plo na and nd wo we vero conquered not b by tho the enemy enem but b by famine As you oU know on Christmas eve ove 1915 tho the Turks after a desperate attack got ot Into Kut t My Iy men wont went for them with tho the bayonet and after most bitter bit bit- bitter ter fighting Ung drove them theta ou out 1 The bit I enemy's s so enormous that they thoy never ne dared assault again as A I telegram of or congratulations from the tho king then thon buoyed up tho the spirit of or themen themen the tho thomen men wonderfully Starvation ICilla Scores But later the they dying at nt tho the rate of at twenty to twenty four a n day of or starvation alono alone And at nt the end end end- nt at tho er very end end wo wo were Vere reduced from a handful of or flour to nothing at atall nil all You understand what I mean Wo We had nothing left to eat cat I 1 could not bo be relieved In tho the time our supplies lasted and wo we fell from famine At tho the last hut I surrendered under under under un un- der orders o of my commander In Mesopotamia Me Me- fe- fe Tho The effort to got food tous to tous tous us by airplane was as gallant but It was failure as we did not have havo a a. suf- suf dent number of ot airplanes and the they were not snot as na good then as they aro arc now Another thing I look upon as a Il magnificent magnificent mag mag- failure was tho the attempt of ot the tho navy to get bet food tood Into Kut Iut b by means of or tho the river steamer But nut the tho Turks had stretched a 0 heavy y chain across tho rivet river below Kut and that caught ht in her propeller and drew her I trite Into to tho the ban That was tho the last et- et erI ef er- 1 I fort It was Impossible to cut m my nay y 1 I out First of ot all I was surrounded by floods floods deep deep floo floods floods and and on tho the riverside river riverside I Bl side o I was closed In by water yards ards broad brond Also the men wore then too I weak calc to march two to miles run Tn I Theo There are aro r no miracles I le- le lei i In the tho l twentieth twentieth n- n J century there are aro no miracles i In war and to cut our way out was was was' an Impossibility Perhaps the Incident which Impressed mo most mot of oC all was wan after tho the fall of the thc Kut the sight of ot those starving star lads as lS I wont went away cheering as long IonS as lS I vas vl In sight flight I Tho The Turkish commander Sn compared Rut Cut to tho the defense of ot Plevna I na the nn-the the great groat hl historic defense of or the Turks Turks and and that was l wh why tho they treated I mo me so honorably In my 01 captivity When Whon I Kut Lut fell feU my original orl force of H bayonets were ware re reduced to The I number Included reinforcements which reached mo me after m my retreat at nt phon I Tho The battle battlo of r wan one of ot the hardest battles battlon that I l know now of ot In history owing to tho the Ct great nt BU- BU of ot numbers of or the tho enemy and their very strong defensive doC positions Allowed Freedom of Constantinople I 1 had to attack and behind entrenchments entrench entrench- m monte ments nt tho the Turk IH la unsurpassed as os a 1 soldier far far better hetter than tho the German You Yon cannot compare them lie IIo stays stay there and anal anI cant can't bo moved mO Though In inthe tho the open with the tho bayonet ha hit cannot bo be c compared with tho British h. h troops troops- our lads will heat beat him every time lime Tho The Turkish commander In chief would not accept my sword lie told toM ma me that I mu must t wear It always I was walt taken as quickly as possible to Constantinople whore I 1 as received re received re- re with guards of or honor After I had been over two years In tho between Britain ln nn and Turkey was wan signed What oven eventually happened I was waH trying to bring about for Cor three months previously for tor there thero are arc many Turks hostile to the tho Germans In n Constantinople Constantinople Constanti Constanti- nople nonie Tho The Turks farles treated mo moat most honorably honorably honorably honor honor- ably but I was waa never ne allowed to go 0 about bont without an 10 aide do camp because bo boc bo- bo c cause causo uso I did not give gi my Trent t l Soldiers Like Do flogs Doc I was greatly troubled because I Iwas Iwas Iwas was never allowed d tu tv see an nn officer or a man n who had served under my 01 command or under General Allenby's command in Syria I often wondered what tho the reason was and then my suspicions were aroused It was not until tho thu spring or of this year that mat i J. discovered through a n. letter from England the horrors of or ortho tho march maich of at tho the prisoners from Bagdad Bagdad Bag s dad to tosia Asia sia Minor lInor Then I know knew why everything e had llad been n concealed from mo mo me I did dill nil all I could for my poor men boots and food tootI were sent to them b by the tho Red Iced Cross I sn saw them all packed myself bales myself bales of ot things But tho the question Is la did they over er reach tho prisoners I am afraid In Sn man many cases thc they did not Hero Hore I should like 1110 to explain that the Turks cannot understand our sympathy and Interest In tho the private soldier They treat their own soldiers lUte like dogs doEs I I That Is also abo the reason renson why there thero were I I Turkish de deserters roving about I Asia Minor In tho the last three months of or orI I tho the war as bands of at brigands I |