The Siege continues
Spotting an opportunity, Ottoman forces began attacking the bridge in force. On 9 December, the decision was made to detonate the bridge to prevent its capture by the Ottomans. A British Gurkha officer and two Gurkha men volunteered to accompany the party of Royal Engineers tasked with blowing the bridge. Major Sandes, who had been responsible for the bridges construction, described the event:
For their bravery, the three men from 2/7th GR were awarded a Distinguished Service Order and two Indian Order of Merits.
With the bridge destroyed, the Turks made several attacks on the town with no success, and by January 1916 the siege had settled into static warfare akin to that on the Western Front. Men on both sides of the siege lines were subject to sniping and shellfire, but within Kut itself the main enemies were hunger and boredom.
Return to main exhibition page. Courage and Captivity: The Gurkhas at the Siege of Kut
