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Show RUSSIANS TO AHACK BAGDAD Way Opened By the Retreat of the Turks From Khanikin. Petrograd, May 12, 1:50 p. m., via London, 5:2q p. m. The Russian force in Persia, which during the past ten days has completed the arduous task of traversing the mountain district dis-trict separating It from the Turco-Persian Turco-Persian frontier, driving the Turks upon their --strongly fortified base of Khanikin, now stands at the very threshold of Mesopotamia, and future developments In connection with the Russian expedition toward Bagdad are being awaited with the greatest interest. The hasty retreat of the Turks in this quarter seems to imply that the forces defending Khanikin have been greatly overestimated, and it is apparent ap-parent that tlfey have as yet been unable un-able to transfer the force released by assistthe surrender of Kut-el-Amara to assist their hard-pressed army north of Eagdad. The Russian advance ad-vance upon Khanikin, therefore, very seriously threatens the whole rear of the Turkish Bagdad army confronting that army with the possibility of being be-ing entirely cut off from the city of Bagdad and the forces operating to the southward against the British. According to the opinion of Russian critics, tho Turks now are endeavoring endeavor-ing to meet thels contingency by an entire change of front from south, to north and uorthenst, so rearranging their forces as to meet the Russian pressure in these directions at tho expense ex-pense of their campaign south, of Bagdad, Bag-dad, which has become less important than that in the Khanikin region, in view of the growing danger of a Russian Rus-sian attack upon their rear. |