Skip to item: of 660
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎241v] (491/660)

The record is made up of 1 volume (323 folios). It was created in 1924. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

4
444 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
had begun to eat horse-flesh at the beeinnino- a ■,
majority still held aloof. By the 10th how^f g * Apnl the
become most serious ; menwem Sing at had
even dying from weakness through want of f 4 an<1
addition to his appeal. General® Townshend feh ^4} “
bring all his influence and authority to bear on th lg + ed t0
it had come to the point when the^en h^ ei her to ?'“
they were requested or die from starvation h! do / s
successful that the next day over 5 000 tmt- H< Was 50 far
horse-flesh, and a few days Hto the'e!!!, ' vere , eat “g
had followed this example. Unfortunately most°of th° tllem
already too weak to obtain the full benefit'from theVeoS dirt
It is noteworthy to consider, in this connertinn ” •
ol^rafth^ u b dam t’ ^“^i^rr;
omcers m Kut as throughout the siege they were in verv chi
touch with the Indian troops. General Melliss was in favour at
n early date, of issuing a definite order to Indian troops that
“i* horse - flesh - General Townshend cS red
^1 ‘ 00 , drastlc a m ® asure ; while General Mamain considers
chat had a warning been issued officially at an earlier stage that
been g n r o n grearffiffi Pr ?t bably in f ° r a l0ng Siege there would have
wat ren,fired R 1 §ett,ng the Indian tr 00 P s to do wha t
vai, required. ^ Both these generals are of opinion that the
communiques issued strengthened the men in their refusal to
honp<; T fleS i h ’ as r af r ter each faiIure these statements held out
a r Garly Tehe l and the men felt that they had only to
aia rom meat ^ or a ^ttle longer to save themselves from
embarrassment and trouble on their return home.
the scale of rations now introduced for British was 6 oz.
rea an b. meat, and for Indians 5 oz. barley meal, 4 oz.
b ar ley (for parching) and 12 oz. meat. On the 10th April
ehera ownshend telegraphed to General Lake saying that
e la reduced the ration to 7 oz. barley, which would enable
nm o old out till the 17th. But it was possible that General
on inge might not be able to effect the relief and the situation
must be faced. If General Gorringe failed in his efforts, the
ur s would grant no terms except absolute surrender, unless
aS jf u 611 su Sg ested the y were paid to let the Kut garrison
go. If the Turks would give no terms at all, General Townshend
proposed to endeavour to run the blockade in the Sumam with
* r xj ^e 11 * and asked if Government would approve
j 15 ', . e as ked whether, if there was any doubt as to successful
re lef, it would not be wise to begin negotiations at once while
There w as some discussion of this proposal, but it came to nothing.

About this item

Content

The volume is the second volume of an official government publication compiled at the request of the Government of India, and under the direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence, by Brigadier-General Frederick James Moberly. The volume was printed and published at His Majesty's Stationery Office, London.

The contents provide a narrative of the operations of 1914-1918 in Mesopotamia, based mainly on official documents.

The volume is in one part, entitled, 'Part III. The First Campaign for Baghdad', and consists of the following fourteen chapters:

  • The Decision to Advance to Baghdad
  • Commencement of the Advance Towards Baghdad
  • The Battle of Ctesiphon - the First Day's Operations
  • Battle of Ctesiphon (Continued) and the British Retirement to Kut
  • The Decision to Hold Kut and British Policy Consequent on the Failure to Reach Baghdad
  • The Siege of Kut: First Phase (December 1915)
  • Commencement of the Relief Operations
  • The Action of Shaikh Saad
  • The Action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. and the First Attack on Hanna
  • Operations up to the End of February, 1916
  • The Second Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt
  • The Third Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Successful Advance to and First and Second Attacks on Sannaiyat
  • The Last Attempt at Relief; Bait Isa and Sannaiyat
  • The Siege of Kut; the Last Stages

The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:

  • The Middle East
  • Lower Mesopotamia
  • Map 8 - The Tigris from Kut al Amara to Baghdad
  • Map 9 - The Battle of Ctesiphon
  • Map 10 - The affair of Umm at Tubul
  • Map 11 - The defence of Kut al Amara
  • Map 12 - The fort at Kut; with special reference to the Turkish attack on 24th December 1915
  • Map 13 - River Tigris between Ali Gharbi and Shumran
  • Map 14 - The action at Shaikh Saad
  • Map 15 - The action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
  • Map 16 - The first attack on Hanna; 21st January 1916
  • Map 17 - The attack on the Dujaila Redoubt, 8th March 1916
  • Map 18 - To illustrate Tigris Corps Operation Order No. 26, dated 6th March 1916
  • Map 19 - To illustrate operations between 10th March and end of April 1916
  • Map 20 - The action of Bait Isa on 17th and 18th April 1916, and the attack on Sannaiyat 22nd April 1916
Extent and format
1 volume (323 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a list of contents (folios 6-10), a list of maps and illustrations (folio 11), appendices (folios 254-290), an index (folios 291-312), and eleven maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 314-324).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 325; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎241v] (491/660), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045738550.0x00005c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100045738550.0x00005c">'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [&lrm;241v] (491/660)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100045738550.0x00005c">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100025551852.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_66_2_0491.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100025551852.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image