The papers of last Saturday published a cheering message sent
by the King to General Townshend at Kut on February 14th: " I, together with all your fellow-countrymen, continue to follow with admiration the gallant fighting of the troops under your com- mand against great odds. Every possible effort is being made to support your splendid resistance." No doubt the message is incidentally an expression of the King's sense of the desperate difficulties which beset General Townshend. We must remember that the fate of Kut could in no case have any serious effect upon the general military situation ; but we live in hope that Kut may yet be relieved, and we know that General Townshend is the very man to hold out till beyond "the last possible moment." The latest news of the relief movement is dealt with in our first leading article.
Previous page
