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'Mesopotamia Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia, together with a Special Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP, and Appendices. London: HMSO, 1917.' [‎12v] (24/248)

The record is made up of 1 volume (122 folios). It was created in 1906-1918. 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. .

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PART V.—CORRESPONDENCE AND TELEGRAMS AS TO ADVANCE
ON BAGHDAD.
22
The latter telegram was repeated to General Nixon from India in a telegram dated
October 5th, which also stated :—
“ At present no reinforcements can be spared from this country, so that unless arrangements can be made
by the Secretary of State for the despatch of an Indian Division from France an advance on Baghdad cannot
be carried out. Under these circumstances there seems to be no advantage in concentrating at present so
far forward as Aziziyeh as the only gain in this is if a move toward Baghdad takes place. Commander-in-
Chief considers that no advance in strength should be carried out beyond Kut-al-Amara until it is certain (and
this appears to us very doubtful), that the reinforcements from France may be expected.
Finally on October 6 th, the Viceroy sent the following telegram to the Secretary of
State : —
“ Orders to stop further advance were telegraphed yesterday to General Nixon.”
Thus the plan of an immediate advance on Baghdad was apparently abandoned ; and
that this was the belief at the front in Mesopotamia is evident from the following
Divisional Order issued by General Townshend on October 11 th, 1915 :—
The General Officer Commanding 6th Division wishes to tender his grateful thanks to all ranks of the
division for the gallant and noble spirit in which they have advanced some 180 miles from Amara, defeated
the enemy in an extremely strong position, and moved on another 50 miles or so in pursuit.
That we did not catch the retreating Turks is due to the fact of the shallow water of the river, and to the
fact that the Turks are endowed by nature with strong knees.
He wishes he could have announced to the troops the end of their labours in Mesopotamia, but these
operations naturally depend on those operations now being carried out in the Dardanelles, whence we now
hope for good news.
He desires to tell the troops that orders have been received from Government in England that we are, for
the present, to hold the position we have gained and thus our present orders are not to advance to Baghdad.
It is the intention, therefore, of the G.O.C. to make the force as comfortable as it is possible to do under th®
circumstances ; tents, &c., will be brought up as soon as possible.
(Signed) R. G. Peel,
Colonel, General Staff.
11 . Meanwhile on October 4th the Cabinet met, and the Secretary of State reported
the position to them, and the opinion of the Cabinet was conveyed to the Viceroy on
October 5th in the following terms :—
The position was reported yesterday to the Cabinet, and they have decided to appoint a committee of
Foreign Office, General Staff, Admiralty, and 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. , to consider in all its possibilities and policy advance
on Baghdad.
If forces available are sufficient to take and hold the place, political reasons were thought to make occupation
desirable. ... It is thought by Barrow that we might be able to capture Baghdad, but that forces weakened
bv further losses would be insufficient both to hold it securely against counter-attacks and to maintain com
munication. Kitchener can hold out no hope of reinforcements from Europe or Egypt.
12 . On the following day, October 5th, General Nixon replied to the Secretary of
State’s telegram of October 4th, as to “ navigation troubles ” in the following terms :—
By marching the troops with land tiansport and by lightening the vessels and employing them to tow
loaded barges, we have overcome the difficulties of navigation
The view I take is that before us lies an enemy who has been shaken, who is short of ammunition and has
lost 13 guns, and while we have the chance it is obviously profitable for military reasons to overwhelm him
I hope I can destroy him, as the position in which he has taken refuge is one where we are able to manoeuvre.
Should we let such an opportunity slip by us, I can see no arguments by which we could justify ourselves.
As will be subsequently seen, misunderstanding arose about the first sentence of this
telegram. It was understood to affirm a general sufficiency of transport, but it really
only answered the Viceroy’s telegram of October 4th,* relating to the immediate local
difficulties of navigation.
In a private telegram of the same day, the Viceroy stated :—
The following is the present situation :—
With the forces at his disposal General Nixon could, without much difficulty, capture Baghdad, and at
the same time take or destroy the Turkish steamers and other boats thus practically preventing any further
attacks down stream. But without himself being reinforced by one Division of troops he could not remain
there exposed to attack by Turkish reinforcements from Mosul or Aleppo. To advance to Baghdad and to
retire later, under pressure from the Turks, would be a grave error. Consequently Nixon must remain at
Kut-el-Amara unless it be possible to reinforce him from elsewhere other than from India.
On the 7 th, a telegram from the Viceroy stated that the Commander-in-Chief in India
agreed that it would be unwise to occupy Baghdad with the present forces.
As regards this telegram, Sir Beauchamp Duff informed us that the telegram which he
proposed to send was couched in somewhat different terms, and ran as follows : —
I have consulted the Commander-in-Chief, who has no doubt that as things stand at present we could
capture Baghdad, but that our available troops would net be sufficient to hold it should the Turks mass troop*
for a counter-attack and that the effect of entering Baghdad and subsequently having to retire would
be disastrous Moreover, he doubts whether in the present state of the river, combined with our present
* See para. 10 ante. This telegram was communicated to General Nixon.

About this item

Content

A signed proof, folios 1-100, plus additional material, folios 101-124. The cover bears the signature of Sir Arthur Hirtzel, Assistant Under-Secretary of State. The report has been annotated in blue pencil at various points.

Contents:

  • 'Part I. Preface.
  • 'Part II. Origin of Mesopotamia [Iraq] Expedition.'
  • 'Part III. Advance from Basra to Kurna.'
  • 'Part IV. The Advance to Amara [Al-'Amārah] and Kut [Al-Kūt].'
  • 'Part V. Correspondence and Telegrams as to Advance on Baghdad.'
  • 'Part VI. The Advance from Kut to Ctesiphon.'
  • 'Part VII. Operations for Relief of Kut.'
  • 'Part VIII. Armament, Equipment, Reinforcements, &c.'
  • 'Part IX. Transport.'
  • 'Part X. Medical Breakdown.'
  • 'Part XI. Causes Contributing to the Errors of Judgement and Shortcomings of Responsible Authorities.'
  • 'Part XII. Findings and Conclusions. Recommendations.'
  • 'Separate Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP.'
  • 'Appendix I. Vincent-Bingley Report.'
  • 'Appendix II. Memorandum by Sir Beauchamp Duff.'
  • 'Appendix III. Colonel Hehir's Account of the Siege of Kut-el-Amara.'

Additional material:

  • Folio 101. Manuscript note [by Arthur Hirtzel] on net military expenditure.
  • Folios 102-109. Copy of the East India (Army Administration), Further Papers regarding the Administration of the Army in India , 1906.
  • Folios 110-115. Manuscript notes, titled 'Suggested redraft & amplification of second half of parag 1' [unknown hand].
  • Folio 116. A clipping from the Daily Telegraph , Wednesday 4 July 1917, featuring an article titled 'Mesopotamia. Ex-Viceroy's Statement. The Medical Breakdown.'
  • Folios 117-124. An expanded typescript version of Hirtzel's manuscript notes (folio 101).
Extent and format
1 volume (122 folios)
Arrangement

A table of contents can be found at folio 4v.

An index can be found at folios 93-97.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 124; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 110-115; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence. The volume comprises a stitched pamphlet, and other stitched and loose-leaf material.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Mesopotamia Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia, together with a Special Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP, and Appendices. London: HMSO, 1917.' [‎12v] (24/248), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/257, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036338403.0x000019> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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