FORCES IN TURKEY

Our forces in Egypt, Palestine, etc were, of course, originally sent there for the protection of Egypt and the Suez Canal, and to co-operate with the army in Mesopotamia in attacking the enemy’s lines of communication to the East. Since the surrender of the Turks, certain forces have been and are still required to keep order locally and see that the terms of the armistice are carried out. In Cilicia the Turks have been showing a somewhat truculent spirit. They do not appear to realise that they have been defeated, and are inclined to carry on their old system of oppression and exterminating the Armenians. It is hoped, however, that in the immediate future the troops in this theatre will be reduced by about one-half, but the question is entirely one of shipping facilities. At present there are three divisions at Alexandria waiting to be shipped, and one at Cairo. In Palestine, Syria, and Cilicia there are now three divisions, largely of Indian composition, and four mounted divisions, of which two are Indian (with a proportion of British cavalry) and two Australasian. In Mesopotamia we had, at the close of hostilities, five divisions of infantry and three cavalry brigades, of which one division was British. Now that the campaign against the Turks is over, it is still necessary to keep troops in the country, for the local inhabitants, if left to themselves, without even what measure of control existed under the Turkish regime, would at once commence fighting, and the benefits of civilisation introduced during the war would be lost. It may be remarked that in no other theatre have such benefits from the war resulted: Basra has been made into a port with every modern facility, the navigation of the rivers has been improved, hundreds of miles of railway have been constructed; Baghdad has been transformed into a prosperous city under our rule, and improvements in irrigation, in addition to the increase in security, have enormously increased agricultural production. An army of occupation will therefore be required for some time, but this will be largely Indian in composition. It is proposed to withdraw a considerable portion of the British troops before the coming hot weather, but again the question is one of shipping facilities.