THE STORY OF THE SIEGE OF SAMAWAH. THERE was no sound of revelry in the small perimeter camp tucked away in a bend of the Euphrates, a mile above Samawah. The hot day had spent itself, and a group of four officers, having finished what they were pleased to call dinner -a meal of many things tinned, supplemented by a few local purchases of vegetable of an Eastern variety,-sat, as the poets say, wrapped in the glory of an Eastern night. Of a sudden there was a slight ruffle in the air-a hot wind from the desert appeared to quicken all to life. The group of officers stirred, and each went to carry on." An Indian officer reported that his men were ready to march to their piquet posts, which had been prepared as a result of the rebellious activities of Sheikh X. Events had moved quickly that day, so quickly that Captain C. remarked that Piccadilly was very far away. Captain C. was expecting leave to England. few words of command, a rattle of rifle-bolts and bayonets being fixed, and a company marched out to clear the situation. With the first streak of dawn this company, gallantly led by Captain O., drove the Arabs from from the position which they had captured, many preferring death by drowning rather than face the cold steel. With their last effort the men of the small piquet rendered their weapons useless ere they fell into the hands of the enemy. "Aut vincere aut mori." The few who had escaped death lay severely wounded. Thus ended the first engagement of what was to prove a war of no small magnitude with a merciless enemy, who could call many thousands to his standard, and had the strongest of allies-the desert. In a few hours every mud hut, every tent, and every minaret was being emptied of matériel for war against the Infidel. Piquets which appeared to be of insufficient strength to withstand a heavy attack were withdrawn. The Barbooti bridgehead piquet busied themselves during the day in anticipation of further attacks, and a surprise awaited the Arabs at night. Under cover of darkness a considerable number lay concealed behind camelthorn bushes. The experienced eyes of an Indian officeryoung, though old in wars had watched those bushes of camel-thorn, and a murderous fire was poured into the attackers. No further attempt was made to capture the position. For a time the main efforts of the tribesmen were directed against Rumaitha and the forces which attempted its relief. Its garrison had only two days' rations, and was obliged to rely on raids. Under cover of aerial bombardments, storm parties rushed forward to the surrounding buildings, scattering bombs round suspicious corners, and overcoming all resistance by the use of the bayonet, while coolies picked up anything eatable and rushed back with it. I hope that a better pen than mine will some day give a record of the gallant defence made by the brave defenders of the Rumaitha post, for the stand will rank second to none. Their moral, severely tested by disease, hunger, and thirst, and the persistent attacks of an enemy many times their number, was subjected to a still greater strain, for one day they heard the guns of a relief column, only to find next morning the sounds growing fainter and fainter. The column had done its best, but it was too small in number; and if the men of the Rumaitha garrison did not accompany it, honour certainly did. After this failure the Commandant of Samawah strained every means to afford some relief to the besieged. Unable to reach the garrison, this took the form of attracting the enemy's attention from Rumaitha, which, after a stand of twenty-one days, was relieved by a large column operating from the north, and the garrison withdrew with that force. It was to be expected that the Arabs would turn their attention to the next isolated post, and Samawah prepared for events. In order to stiffen the defences and rid the enemy of a base from which he could operate, it was decided to demolish three villages which were situated some three miles from the main position, and which had harboured the tribesmen who attacked the Barbooti Bridge piquet. Before dawn two hundred rifles from the main camp and one hundred from the station position moved out, and a defence vessel was moored in a convenient position to co-operate with the fire of the gun of the armoured train which was to be responsible for the artillery support. With the first light of dawn the signal for the attack was given. The Mahrattas advanced through the villages, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. Except for sniping, which was particularly heavy on the flanks, the Arabs offered little resistance, and the work of destruction was undisturbed. They had left their villages before the attack was launched, and had concentrated at a fa vourable distance, waiting for the withdrawal. In the meantime they endeavoured to cut off the isolated advanced flank. Considerable rifle-fire could be heard from that direction, but except for a mule which was calmly grazing on camel-thorn, nothing could be seen of friend or foe. It was not until the attacking troops had advanced within three hundred yards of the position held by the advanced flank that the real situation was known. The enemy, strong in number, had succeeded in surrounding the flanks of the small party, and had all but completed the ring. The Arabs were wise and did not wait for the steel and bomb. The withdrawal of the whole line commenced with the liberation of the advanced flank, which was according to the plans of the commander. It was a difficult operation. A withdrawal is a point d'appui for the enemy in savage warfare, and only the steadiness and alert initiative of the retiring troops will save them. Each thin khaki line rose in its turn, and withdrew with a quick but steady tread to its next position, each movement being signalled by a heavy roll of musketry. The tribesmen raised their usual cries of victory, and calling on Allah to witness their deeds, rushed blindly forward to fall before the storm of bullets from the retiring troops. Suddenly a column of dust was observed to rise on the flank, and hun dreds of robed figures on horseback charged, heralding their approach with a rattle of shot from the saddle and a tremendous shout. Not a quiver went through the khaki line. Each man moved as if on parade. No need to question the returned warriors regarding the result. A smile of victory covered every countenance. The camps became a maze of trenches and bastions. Horses and mules were no longer able to enjoy their usual liberty and clean standings, but were confined in large trenches. The enemy, although not in force, showed considerable activity in sniping. The portable wireless which had been erected delivered news of the outer world, which news was everything but encouraging. Under cover of darkness the enemy occupied points of vantage, " strafed," and disappeared before dawn. The night prowlers became more adventurous, and it was necessary to limit their wanderings. One night they advanced within a very short distance of the defences, and temporarily occupied some mud buildings, the demolition of which time had not permitted. Bomb - traps were laid, and many a brick hid a sure death-dealing weapon at the slightest touch, and the opening of a door meant a sudden journey to the unknown. The placing of these bomb-traps caused much excitement and amusement, and during the following nights the majority of the men had been able to withdraw in another train, a number had many explosions were heard; but whether a wild dog, a jackal, or a human prowler fell victim, no no proof could been killed, and much ambe obtained. However, the munition and a twelvenight prowlers became dis- pounder gun lay as loot for couraged by the many ex- the Arabs. plosions, and and limited their wanderings. The daily runs of the armoured train to a point twenty miles south, where it was met by another train of its kind, continued to bring in supplies. Every trip meant an engagement with the enemy, who made nightly attempts to destroy the track, and the stories of these little fights as told by the men who manned the train would make interesting reading. Efforts to obtain such defence weapons as mortars having failed, the next best thing was a new-pattern longrange rifle - bomb. The new weapon arrived by the last supply to be brought by the armoured train, for the next trip made resulted in obtaining no communication with the train which operated from the south, the base for which was Kidr, where an encampment of some 200 rifles helped to form the defence of the line of communication, which measured several hundred miles. Kidr had been attacked by a large force of the enemy, and although the attack had been repulsed the garrison had been ordered to evacuate their position the following day. The armoured trains conveying the garrison to a stronger station of defence had collided; and while It was unfortunate for the Samawah garrison that at this time the defence vessel Greenfly ran aground while patrolling the river between Samawah and Kidr. Large numbers of armed Arabs were observed from the look-out tower of the main camp to be entering Samawah town from all directions. The position which offered the first obstacle was the station camp, situated a mile from the main camp, and facing one wall of the city. Well fortified, and held by a hundred of the Napier Rifles, it was now considerably reinforced by the armoured train, manned by fifty rifles of the Lancers. Strong barbed-wire entanglements surrounded the camp and the train, and other forms of defence were not lacking. There was a quorum of British officers-Captain R. of theLancers, who had full command of the post; Lieut. F. of the Napier Rifles; the gunner officer; and Captain M., the M.O. All were full of confidence, but little did they know how great the trial would be. It was evening of a hot September day when the tribesmen hoisted their banners as the signal for battle, and all camps were engaged before dawn. The scene on the Euphrates that night must have caused much excitement, and offered little encouragement to the enemy. Columns of smoke were to be seen as two defence vessels, a steamer and barges, ploughed their way towards Samawah, carrying ammunition and food and a reinforcement of fifty men and three British officers to the besieged garrison. The story of the adventures of that flotilla, which had sailed some hundred miles along a dangerous winding river, greeted with a murderous fire at every bend, would make interesting reading, sad though some of it would be. The flotilla had lost one steamer, which caught fire and perished with all its crew; and a few miles from its destination, and within sight of Samawah, a barge loaded with foodstuffs was dragged from its tug by the shallow bank, and fell into the hands of the enemy. The casualties which the flotilla had suffered and the bullet-spattered decks of all the boats were evidence of the difficult and brave task that had been accomplished. The enemy pressed many attacks against the station camp, communication with which was now limited to lamp and helio. All these attacks having been beaten off with severe losses, the tribesmen-thousands in numbercommenced digging positions round the camp, and strongly entrenched themselves at every corner. Fresh banners were raised daily, which showed that more sheikhs had brought their tribes to hasten the victory and share the loot which they boasted would soon fall into their hands. The personal servant (a negro Arab) of Captain R., the commander of the station post, crept outside the defences at night and collected intelligence of the enemy intentions. Subsequent events proved how false this intelligence was. An aeroplane arrived, and began to "plough the fields and scatter." The tribesmen were not slow to recognise the terror from on high, and concentrated their rifle-fire at the new target. Each sudden swoop made by the 'plane was followed by loud explosions of bursting bombs and the rattle of Lewis-gun fire. The men of the post joined in the fight, for the Arabs in their excitement gave less consideration to cover. It did not last more than fifteen minutes. However, during its short stay the 'plane had given ample demonstration of its power. Our sniping posts in the main camp were now fully manned, and many an Arab fell victim to the deadly shot which came from unexpected directions. The palm grove on the opposite bank of the river must have been a "Ploegstreete Wood" for them. They soon found their lairs unsafe, and deserted the bush and palm-trees for more substantial cover. One Arab sharpshooter, who occupied a mud building on the opposite bank of the river 200 yards from the |