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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎78r] (162/660)
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎78r] (162/660)

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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.'
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Ref: IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2

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. .

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WAR COMMITTEE CONSIDER SITUATION
127
The Commander-in-Chief in India also telegraphed to the
War Office
. The Turkish strength disclosed at Ctesiphon and
check to Nixon there renders absolutely essential the imme
diate despatch of two divisions from France and Egypt.”
He followed this up with another wire to the War Office
(it was repeated next day to 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 losses of British troops in Nixon’s last
action have been extremely heavy, and we are totally
unable to replace them from India. We most urgently
request that strong drafts for all British regiments now
in Mesopotamia .... be despatched at earliest possible
moment . . . .”
On the 25th November the situation in Mesopotamia, as
disclosed by the telegrams so far received (see preceding
chapter), was considered by the War Committee of the
Cabinet. Mr. Chamberlain and General Barrow attended
the meeting, and one of the questions discussed was the pro
vision of drafts required to bring up the British units to their
proper strength. Our own losses had been heavy and the
lurks had been found to be stronger than had been expected.
1 he abandonment of the Gallipoli peninsula might throw the
whole East into a blaze. It was therefore necessary to make
certain that we remained sufficently strong in Mesopotamia
and on the North-West Frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. of India. At that time the
difficulties of finding sufficient British drafts for the different
fronts were considerable, and the War Committee were
informed that there was a shortage of 200,000 infantry.
It was decided that as a matter of principle all military
units in the theatres of war and on the Indian frontier should
be kept up to strength, even though this might involve the
postponement of the formation of new units, and that in
accordance with this principle, the drafts asked for by
the Commander-in-Chief in India for the British regiments
now in Mesopotamia, averaging 500 per battalion, or 2,000 in
all, should be supplied by the War Office forthwith, as well
as the necessary drafts for India. 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. were to
request Sir John Nixon to communicate his immediate
intentions, having regard to the probable dates of arrival
of reinforcements, which should be notified to him, and what
enemy forces he estimated were, and were likely to be,
opposed to him, and also what forces he estimated he would
require to overcome the enemy and occupy Baghdad. He
should be told, in forming his estimate, to err, if he erred
at all, on the safe side.

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
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎78r] (162/660), 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_100045738548.0x0000a3> [accessed 14 May 2024]

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Reference
IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2
Title
'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.'
Pages
front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3r, 3r, 4r:70v, 72r:79r, 160v, 80r:102v, 104r:160r, 161r, 313v, 161v:281v, 283r:313v, back-i
Author
East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
Usage terms
Open Government Licence