Edward SHAW

HISTORY OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE REGIMENT IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 (Littlebury Bros. Ltd. 1936)

MESOPOTAMIA, 1916

6th (Service) Bn. East Lancashire Regiment

The position had been assaulted on April 6th by the 7th Indian Division and this had failed.

Sannaiyat is on the southern edge of Suwaikaiya Marsh, 2 miles from the River Tigris.

The troops moved forward on the evening of the 8th April, deploying on the line of the British trenches 650 yards from the Turks. Every man carried 200 rounds of ammunition . . . all were confident of success.
It was a cold night and when all were in position the troops- lying motionless in the open, for all movement and noise were strictly prohibited- soon became benumbed, and the keen edge of their anticipation was blunted. At 4.20 a.m. [9th] the advance began, but collision with a Turkish patrol had already given warning to the enemy; when the leading line was still 250 yards from the hostile trenches a red flare went up from a spot near the marsh. Almost at once the whole scene was lit by flares, and a devastating fire from artillery, and from machine-guns and rifles, opened up on the British. This did not check the front line in spite of the losses inflicted, but only groups of men were able to reach and enter the first Turkish trench where for a time they maintained an unequal struggle.

. . . As dawn came and the British artillery opened, it was clear that the attack had failed. Turks and Arabs were seen to leave the hostile trenches and club the British wounded, until driven in by fire. Casualties were 9 officers and 137 other ranks of which 67 were reported as ‘missing believed killed’.

[Edward Shaw was killed on the 9th April.]