“I wrote you Friday last, February 23rd, and we moved at 4.15 next morning, 24th. The fight at the river-crossing had gone very well, and we were sent over the bridge which our sappers had built about 9 A.M. The Infantry were still pretty busy further forward, and we waited about for three or four hours and watered. Then we really thought our chance was coming of getting them in the open, but their rearguard put up a very fine fight, and got into nullahs and ditches, and our show ended in a dismounted fight, and we weren’t able to turn them out, and so it ended at dark. The squadron was out on flank guard and had next to nothing to do, and only one man wounded, and one of Payne’s chargers, his best of course, killed. We camped north of the river, but weren’t in till midnight, and I can tell you we were tired then. We had had nothing to eat, and there were no rations up, so we turned in straight off. It had been a very hot day. “Well, the Turks’ rearguard cleared off in the night and we had got Kut. For they had evacuated it directly we got the crossing of the river, to escape being bottled up there. Meanwhile the other Corps had taken Sannaiyat, but the remnants of the Turks got away from there too. The Turk rearguard really did well. I did hope and think our day might have come, but it was not to be. All the same there was nothing to grumble at, for we had got Sannaiyat and Kut, and the whole of the Turks were retreating as fast as ever they could. “Our monitors came up the river as soon as Sannaiyat was taken, and passed through our bridge early the next day. Then--that is, Sunday 25th--the pursuit started. We managed to get some food early in the morning and left camp at 7. I was advance-guard, but we saw no Turks till the afternoon, except a few scattered prisoners which we rounded up. In the afternoon the other Brigade on our left found their rearguard and sent for us to help. They were in a very strong position, Infantry and Artillery, and we were sent in dismounted. The Regiment was on the left, ‘B’ and ‘C’ in front, and ‘A’ and ‘D’ in support, under me. We were very weak in numbers, only about 100 in the firing line from the Regiment, and they were much too strong for us. We went on, of course, but finally got held up, and we had a warm time. I took the support line up to within about 100 yards of the front (two squadrons). The Turks were shooting very well--rifle, Maxim guns, and their guns too--and people behind thought we should be about wiped out. But ‘V’ behind us helped us no end, and when orders came to retire we got out of it better than I expected, just before dark. ‘B’ and ‘C’ came back through me, and I then came, but by degrees. The men, all of them, were topping. We had heavy casualties, but only a very few killed.