Show BRITISH PILE UP SHELLS AT BASRA end Gerl yran dream of proposed terminus of berlin bagdad railway line CAPTURED SHIPS IN TIGRIS simple possession of the river tigris Is sufficient to control the population for many miles inland general headquarters mesopotamia expeditionary force basra the cul of germanys germanas Germ anys immediate eastern as aspirations pi rations was the creation ot of basra as the persian gulf vernanus teri ter alnus of 0 the berlin bagdad railway system writes louis edgar browne in the lie chicago news the germans in their wildest dreams could hardly have imagined basra as it Is today it Is the headquarters lead quarters and main base for british operations in mesopotamia the term base has come to mean a place where thousands of troops are encamped in glistening white tents carefully arranged in rows and blocks avith military precision mountains of food stores for the men and fodder for the animals lio hospitals petals find and headquarters and dispatch riders lashing dashing about as though the angel of death were after them basra Is all that and more never was there a more unique campaign than this one where there Is every contrast between cast and west the tigris Is all important in the campaign it Is fickleness personified it floods subsides and spreads cholera with absolute impartiality hardly two engagements out of all the furious encounters that have marked the steady progress of british troops up the river have occurred more than eight miles from its banks the british objective has been to take possession of the ri river the turks have tried only to hold it simple possession of the river is sufficient to control the population tor for many miles inland british ships everywhere one stands on the army commanders pier and realizes that britain does control the seas As far as one can see either up or down the river there are ocean going ships tugging at anchor chains drawn taunt as bow strings by the swift current the ships are anchored one behind the other in a long column they hall from many corners of the earth and among their cargoes one may find everything from a big howitzer shell to a skein of embroidery brol dery for some arab harem the ships are nearly all british they fly one of the varied designs of the british flag it may be the white ensign of the royal navy or the red ensign of the mercantile fleet or the blue ensign with indias andias rising sun or the australian flag with its tour four stars depicting the southern cross every day a few ships draw into midstream and with halt half exposed propellers thrash their way toward the sea they have before them a terrible tossing about by the arabian sea monsoon but even at that they must be thankful to the depths of their souls basra Is all that Is vile the very air one breathes Is rank poison the temperature pera ture runs up to degrees on ahe the river irwill it will go higher the shore Is a smelling swamp where dangerous mosquitoes breed by billions hent heat apoplexy hangs bangs over every mans head like a sword suspended by a thread cholera comes in the night tried to block channel A funnel top a jumble of topmasts top masts and a few shreds of loose cordage snapping in the breeze bear mute evidence of the way the turks attempted to block the river british monitors were pressing close upon the retreating tur kash army hurling high explosive shells hells into its rear guard the tur alli h admiral hurriedly threw three ships across the river and scuttled them the middle ship was a fine german liner containing cargo the contemplate salvaging her the others were smaller ships one a light ship and the other a small steamer the plan was admirable but it was engineered with characteristic turkish inefficiency and the small steamer on the right swung clear of the channel find and fouled the liner before she sank the turks are a bit superstitious us about the tigris and they declare the river foiled their plans because bebau c it did LIU I 1 not wish to bore through the river bank to form a now channel which it would have done had the admiral been successful cess ful anchored in the stream Is a great black ship with a golden star and the letters P S S painted on her funnel the letters translate pr prize I 1 z e steamship I 1 have seen so many prize steamships in the east that it as though british captures of germanys germanas Germ anys mercantile marine must compensate largely for her losses through ger banys submarine campaign the prizes still retain their german names probably for the purpose of identification fi although they fly the red ensign and are operated by government crews |