<– Part 135 – February 18, 1917 | Part 136 – February 25, 1917 | Part 137 – March 4, 1917 –>
At Bir el Hassana, although the Ottoman garrison surrendered, a stray Bedouin bullet shattered a British soldier’s leg February 19, leading to his evacuation by aeroplane. The rest of the garrison surrendered two days later, and the final Ottoman retreat from the peninsula has commenced.
British and Ottoman forces met at Kut February 23, and the British successfully recaptured the city with their 50,000 men, to the Ottoman 13,000, suffering only 1,000 British and Indian casualties. The Turks lost 3,000.
British intelligence indicates that the Zimmerman Telegram was given to US officials February 24, showing details of the proposed German alliance with Mexico against the United States.
The German withdrawal to the Hindenburg line continues. In Hedjaz, a Turkish train was destroyed by a mine invented by British officer Herbert Garland.
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