'Mesopotamian Transport Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by the Government of India with the Approval of the Right Hon'ble The Secretary of State for India, to Enquire into Questions Connected with the Organisation and Administration of the Railway and River Transport in Mesopotamia' [‎23r] (45/114)

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At the present time the Inland Water Transport are undertaking the installa^
tion of oil tanks at Amara, Kut and Hinaidi, but the work has been delayed in
consequence of the proposal now under consideration to construct a through
railway via the Euphrates route.
205. A very large amount of extra work will be thrown on the workshops, which
are already insufficiently equipped with machinery and plant to deal with heavy
repairs to locomotives, and it is feared that the work of conversion will not progress
as rapidly as is desirable. Also due to the shortage of locomotive power it will be
impossible to withdraw engines from traffic to convert them to burn oil fuel, and this
can only be done as engines come into the workshops for heavy repairs.
206. The assistance from India of men experienced in fitting engines to burn
oil and in running them has been asked for, and steps should be taken to meet this
demand as soon as possible. Probably a large number of travelling oil tanks will
also be required from India, and as soon as it is known what classes of engines will be
supplied to meet demands now outstanding, India will be asked to construct tender
oil tanks for them.
It is desirable that every assistance should be given to Mesopotamia in this
connection, as the position as regards supply of coal is by no means satisfactory.
Stocks in Mesopotamia are low, how low can only be gauged by the fact that the
Director of Railways has to submit statements showing his requirements of coal
for a week at a time, whereas stocks at each shed should be sufficient for at least ^
three months' consumption.
CHAPTER V.
Future Development.
207. It is essential in war time that the railway Directorate should be in a posi- General,
tion to carry out surveys and construction work rapidly and at short notice, and
should be prepared to operate the railways so constructed for a heavy traffic as
soon as completed, or in many cases before construction has been fully completed.
Modern Armies depend almost entirely for their mobility on railways or rivers, and
their radius of action is limited by their power to operate, construct and repair rail
ways, or carry out equivalent services on the rivers behind them.
If forces can be moved rapidly from one point to another, it may be possible
to avert disaster, which would otherwise be inevitable or, on the other hand, to
strike blows at the enemy for which he is unprepared. As an instance of the
former may be quoted the situation in Mesopotamia itself when, during the opera
tions for the relief of Kut, large forces were at Basra and could not be moved up to
the scene of action for want of proper transportation facilities.
208. It is therefore necessary at all times to have with an Army in the field
an adequate reserve of both operating and constructing troops and material for the
transportation services. This reserve should not be limited by the actual services
or works authorised, because as soon as these services or works have been
carried out the reserve will have been absorbed; but as each additional service is
authorised the aim should be to modify the reserves correspondingly, so that the
Transportation Directorate may at any moment have adequate means ready to hand
and not hamper the movement of the Army by inability to do what is asked of
them.
209. It is not possible in many cases to foresee with any certainty all the possible
developments which may become necessary ; moreover, the relative importance
of these developments themselves change as the military situation alters.
It has been thought advisable, however, to show what are the more probable
directions in which such developments may be expected so as to give some idea of
their scope.
210. Taking the question of railways first, the two most important railway Railways,
extensions at the moment appear to be the line from Baghdad to Hilla on the Euph
rates, and the provision of a through railway from Basra to Baghdad.
211. The Baghdad-Hilla line is an amplification of the earlier Baghdad-Museyib
scheme, and its object is to tap the areas now being developed to produce the needs
of the army as far as possible from local resources. Under this scheme it is hoped