!['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.' [‎62r] (123/248)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x0000b2/IOR_L_PS_20_257_0123.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'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.' [‎62r] (123/248)")
'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.' [62r] (123/248)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
SEPARATE REPORT
BY
COMMANDER J. C. WEDGWOOD, D.S.O., M.P.
1. I was added to the Commission by direct vote of the House of Commons as a
Member of Parliament who had seen a considerable amount of fighting. 1 he fact of my
having been fighting may unwittingly have led me to be unduly severe on those who sit
behind and send other men to the front. Even making all allowance for this bias, I still
find differences, and differences of principle, between myself and my colleagues that make
the signing of their report impossible to me.
Minor 'points of difference.
2. It is not necessary to waste time over minor points of difference. To attribute ,
the disasters in Mesopotamia to the use by the Secretary of State of private telegrams,
or to Lord Kitchener’s old changes in the army in India seems to me to shew some lack of a
sense of proportion. If all the telegrams that were private had been public, and if there
had been a Military Member of Council in addition to Sir Beauchamp Duff, I do not think
even then, so long as the attitude of the Indian Administration remained the same, there
would have been much difference in result; there might have been less decision, there might
have been more friction.
Mistakes or Crimes?
3. My chief difference from my colleagues goes much deeper. They distribute blame
over many, in India, in Mesopotamia, and at home ; but censure for honest human error
has nothing in common with the censure we should pass on an attitude of unwillingness
to help in war. If we confound mistakes with crimes the result is a dangerous leniency
towards crime.
The Decision to Advance.
4. As honest error I class any mistake that may have been made in authorising the
1915 advance on Baghdad, by the “ Military Secretary of the
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.
, the Secretary of
State and the War Committee of the Cabinet.” Indeed I maintain that the publication of
the evidence will completely absolve from all blame both the Military Secretary, Sir
Edmund Barrow, and the War Committee. With the material put before them from
Mesopotamia and India they would have deserved as much, if not more, censure had they
decided, not for, but against the advance. It will be a bad day for our Empire when
soldiers and statesmen decline all risks, and withdraw confidence from the men on the spot.
General Nixon’s Advice.
5. It is possible, too, to regard as honest error General Nixon s mistake in urging the
Bagdad advance with wholly insufficient transport. He was at least enthusiastic and ready
to take risks, and to do what I suppose he thought best for his country ; while from
another point of view it would be as futile to censure General ^ixon as to censure any
other of the 21 general officers of the Indian Army whom it has been found necessary to
relieve of their commands in the field. They are the natural result of Indian Army
Government, belonging to an old type, brought up to be what they are, and deprived
by long residence among Eastern subjects of that energy, wider patriotism and education
which is essential for the successful prosecution of a great war. An administration that
was content with this type and selected the generals to command in Mesopotamia, that
knew them for what they were and yet let the expedition be run as ‘‘ nobody s child,
must be held responsible for what happened in Mesopotamia.
Starving the Army in India.
6. One can hardly regard even as an error the effort made by Lord Crewe and the
Cabinet to reduce the cost of the Indian Army before the war. My colleagues, in implying
censure upon him and earlier Secretaries of State in this matter, seem to me to miss the
point. Economy under the new conditions of friendship with Russia there might well
<C 48—176) Q
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 View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'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.' [62r] (123/248), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/257, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036338403.0x00007c> [accessed 30 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100036338403.0x00007c
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_100036338403.0x00007c">'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.' [‎62r] (123/248)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100036338403.0x00007c"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000912.0x0000b2/IOR_L_PS_20_257_0123.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
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_100000000912.0x0000b2/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/257
- Title
- '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.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:115v, 117r:124v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence