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Dear Post 45, I have more information on the British cemetery we cleaned up in Al Kut. We had a ceremony today to mark the end of the cleanup and honor the dead. It was broadcast live on the BBC and the 1st U.K. Division General was the guest speaker. The story is going to be picked up by CNN also and replayed on the BBC The story of the cemetery goes like this: British Campaign for Mesopotamia
1914-1918 In April 1915, the Indian Expeditionary Force "D", which had landed at Fao (I believe this is the Faw Peninsula) the previous November, began its advance inland with the intention to clear Turkish forces out of south-west Iraq. Amara was occupied in early June and the advance continued along the line of the Euphrates to Nasiriyah, and along the Tigris to Kut, which was taken on 29 September. The advance to Baghdad was resumed on 1 November, but was brought to a standstill against the strong Turkish defenses at Ctesiphon on 22-24 November. By 3 December, the force comprised chiefly of the 6th (Poona) Division of the Indian Army, was back in its entrenched camp at Kut, where they were besieged by Turkish forces. The 6th Division suffered heavy casualties in desperate but unsuccessful attempts to reach the town and raise the seige in January, March and April.cThe garrison was forced to capitulate on 29 April 1916 and nearly 12,000 men were taken prisoner, many of whom died in captivity. |
