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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎144v] (297/660)
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎144v] (297/660)

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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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258 HISTORY OF THE WAR: MESOPOTAMIA
The evacuation of the wounded was carried on throughout
the 15th January and proved a most difficult undertakin?
which was not completed till the morning of the 16th The
weather prevented any air reconnaissance, and, although a
certain amount of bridging material was brought up to the
Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. and a bridge constructed over that stream, it was found
impossible to begin a bridge across the Tigris, which was now
a boisterous yellow flood. Forty per cent, of the danaks of the
bridging train were wrecked or sunk on that and the previous
day and the remainder were almost all badly strained or
damaged. During the day, two guns of the 23rd Mountain
Battery, the remaining three companies of the 93rd Infantry,
and the 1/lst Gurkhas were ferried across to the right bank of
the Tigris, a difficult and tedious operation owing to the state
of the river. Joined by the squadron 33rd Cavalry from the
right bank column, they were posted during the night opposite
the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. .
On the evening of the 15th General Aylmer received a
telegram from General Townshend which expressed anxiety
at having had no information of General Aylmer’s movements
since the news that the Turks had been driven out of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
position, and continued : “We are now the 15th January,
that is to say, the date which you laid down in December as
being hazardous to expect me to hold out beyond. I only
shut myself up at Kut on the distinct understanding that I
was relieved in a month and we have now been six weeks ....
It seems to me that Nur-ud-Din is fighting delaying actions
in order to let expected reinforcements arrive.” That same
night General Aylmer got another telegram from General
Townshend saying that the enemy was turning the siege into
a blockade investment, that the last three or four nights had
been quiet and that there were very few enemy troops left
opposite him on the right bank. They had seen hostile cavalry
in observation all day on the left bank at Es Sinn, a large
enemy camp on the right bank near Dujaila, and an enemy
attempt to make a mahaila bridge over the Hai about 4,500
yards from the Tigris.
The weather on the 16th January continued to be very bad
with gales of wind and heavy rain. In the morning, in reply
to General Townshend's telegram of the previous day, General
Aylmer said that it was his intention to advance by both banks
of the river; he mentioned the delaying effect of the weather
and assured General Townshend that everything possible was
being done to effect his relief. At the same time, General

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.' [‎144v] (297/660), 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_100045738549.0x000062> [accessed 30 April 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