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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎165v] (339/660)

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. .

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296 HISTORY OF THE WAR: MESOPOTAMIA
on the soldier ; and his advance would probably take nl
just after the middle of February, when his reinforcement 6
had arrived. The probable strength of his force on the right
bank would then be 12,000 rifles, with strong artillery and
the cavalry brigade ; and co-operation by the Kut garrison to th
fullest extent possible was essential. The best way of ensurin 6
this must depend on the developments during the next ter
days and General Townshend was to consider most carefully tb
necessary arrangements. General Aylmer then entered int)
the different alternatives, which do not directly concern tlfs
narrative as the necessity for them did not arise; but thev
are given with General Townshend’s reply in Appendix XX*
A brief reference is now necessary to operations on the
Euphrates, whence a detachment had been despatched as
described before, to demonstrate up the Hai. Just before
handing over command to General Brooking, General Gorringe
had reported that the tribes round Shatrat al Muntafik had
expressed their determination to oppose a British advance up
the Hai and he was consequently of opinion that a withdrawal
from Butaniya, where the main detachment was encamped,
might have a bad effect unless preceded by an advance. On
the 28th January General Lake instructed General Brooking
to withdraw the Butaniya detachment when weather and
political conditions appeared favourable.
General Brooking finally decided that the withdrawal
should take place on the 7th February. The detachmentf at
Butaniya was about 1,600 strong with 6 mountain guns under
Brigadier-General E. C. Tidswell, commanding the 34th Brigade.
No severe tribal pressure upon the withdrawal was anticipated;
but for the sake of safety. General Brooking sent out from
Nasiriya a detachment^ of about 1,300 troop>s with 4 guns to
a position half-way between Nasiriya and Butaniya to support
the withdrawal.
As soon as General Tidswell started his retirement (about
8.30 a.m.), large numbers of Arabs began to harass the force and
were joined gradually by contingents of Arabs from villages—
supposed to be friendly—along the route. But they caused
the British no undue losses until General TidswelTs detachment
* Further details concerning his plans for co-operation are given by General
Townshend in the appendix of “ My Campaign in Mesopotamia.”
t One squadron, 12th Cavalry ; half battalion, 2nd Queen’s Own RoyalWest
Kent Regiment; l/5th Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey); H4th
Mahrattas ; 30th Mountain Battery.
t One squadron, 33rd Cavalry ; 1 /2nd Sussex Battery, R.F.A.; 44th
Infantry ; half 90th Punjabis.

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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.' [‎165v] (339/660), 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_100045738549.0x00008c> [accessed 15 May 2024]

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