8 
LANU a WATER 
October 4, 1917 
say in the presence of such a peril-that it is the duty of every- 
one who sees what a negotiated peace would mean -and 
most educated men see it^to witlistand by every means m 
their power the progress of lassitude and of disafiection, and 
to resolve bv every means in tln-ir power the inevitable 
differences of" temperament and tradition between the Allied 
Peoples. The tliscussion of those points which interested u-. 
in the days of peace is futile to-day. ^iqually futile is mutual 
recrimination between conflicting interests, however sharp 
their conflict. The whole task and the only task i- to win 
the war.. And ifitinmo llif.ii'ar means Ihe imposition by force 
of arms upon, the (,erman people and their Allies, of the con- 
ditions imposed by European civilization : not the persuasion 
o' the ("jernian people to an acceptance of those conditions; 
that would be worthless. Nor a document merely registering 
those conditions that we know from repeated Prussian 
declaratioas and actions would be disregarded. The German 
never keeps his word. But \'ictory imposing these conditions, 
with tlie weigf]t of guarantees held by the victors. Short of 
that, tlie war is lost and we are lost. 
Ramadie 
The victory in Mesopotamia achieved by Sir Stanley 
^[aude last Friday and Satiuday is of first class importance. 
The news has come in late and I can only deal with it very 
briefly this week. 
It would seem, so far as we can judge from the lirst news 
alone, to have this character : 
The enemv can attack by two roads, and wi'th two lines 
of supply behind him. The first line of supply is the \'alley 
of the Euphrates, nourished from Aleppo, which is the nodal 
point of all near Eastern strategics. He can also attack 
down the Tigris Valley, indirectly nourished from Aleppo, 
but only after a tedious journey across countrv' from the 
Tigris and necessarily based to some e.xtent upon his exist- 
ing stores and magazines in the mountains of Armenia, 
where, before the Russian invasion, he had his principal con- 
centration to meet tho'- successful armies of the Grand Duke 
Nicholas. 
He apparently intended to attack the British troops hold- 
ing the area of Bagdad by both routes. He would strike from 
the north along the Tigris, whence he would get most of his 
men and a sufficient supply. He would strike from the east 
where his forces were probably less considerable, but with an 
ample supply, because there is no direct transport down the 
P-uphrates from the railway, which reaches'and crosses that 
river, whereas it does not reach the Tigris. 
At any rate his plan appears to have been this double 
and converging attack. Sir Stanley Maude's victory of 
last Friday forestalled this plan by restoring on both sides 
the advanced base of the attack from the west along Euph- 
rates. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are at their 
nearest in the region of Bagdad. The road westward to 
Aleppo from Bagdad runs to a point called Feludja, some 
35 ntiles irom Bagdad. To the north of this road goes the 
telegraph line, to the south of it a railway. 
• Feludja is on the eastern or Bagdad side of the Euphrates. 
There is a large bridge of boats at Feludja crossing the broad, 
Very rapid, and difficult stream. Beyond the stream the rail- 
wa;y ceases and the telegraph and road run together, south of 
•the river and between it and .the big marshy stream of water 
called the Habbaniva mere. This shallow lake and marsh 
drain into the Euphrates by a water-course which comes in 
at the point of Ramadie — four miles to the east of this is 
Mushaid. At Ramadie the General commanding the main 
Turkish force, Ahmed Bey, and his staff, with a considerable 
garrison, were awaiting the moment to advance. At 
.Mushaid was an advanced post. The great success which 
followed was obviously due to surprise, that one necessity of 
decision. The British l-'orce reached the bluff which stands 
to the s6uth of Mushaid, overlooking the river, on the even- 
ing of Thursday last, September 27th, and established con- 
tact with the enemy. It is clear from what follows that tlie 
enemy expected no such movement. The left of the British 
line attacked Ramadie from the south-east, and meanwhile 
the cavalry, having crossed the watercourse, established 
themselves on the road to the west of Ramadie. By some 
time on Fridav, therefore, the main .Turkish force Iving at 
Mushaid, on the road behind it towards Ramadie, and at 
Ramadie itself, was completely encircled. The British con- 
tained it to the east, to the south and to the west. On the 
north ran the river. 
During the night an attempt was made by the enemy's 
forces, thus trapped, to break out up the Euphrates by the 
road westward. The British cavalry was already there and 
stopped this attempt, and at nine o'clock in the eyening 
of Saturday the encirclement was so apparent to the enemy 
that he was compelled to surrender, though under what con- 
ditions, whether of negotation or by the storming of his last 
defences we do not know at the moment of writing — the even- 
ing of Monday, October ist. Sir Stanley Maude reports that 
the lighting of Friday was very severe, including, presumabh', 
as it did, the carrying of the enemy's field works drawn to the 
. south east of Ramadie, eastward o'f the water-course. We are 
informed in the despatch that much material and several 
thousand prisoners fell into British hands, as well as the Turkish 
general in command and his staff, but there is no enumeration 
as yet of these captures. 
Those interested in military history will note the parallel 
between this brilliant piece of work arid the manoeuvre of 
Rivoli — allowing of course for the difference of scale. 
H. BeI-LOC 
