!['HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎198v] (405/660)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100025551852.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_66_2_0405.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎198v] (405/660)")
'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [198v] (405/660)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
362 HISTORY OF THE WAR: MESOPOTAMIA
them might have been diverted to oppose the Russian Ker
manshah column. Assuming that General Gorringe had
effective fighting strength of 28,000 with 70 or 80 guns
General Townshend considered that the Turkish main force
on the left bank should be our principal objective. He
suggested that General Gorringe should make a feint at dusk
with a column on the right bank to induce the enemy to transfer
forces to that bank, withdrawing this column to the left bank
after dark and then by a wide turning movement of his main
force to the northward during the night deliver an attack
against the enemy’s left flank and rear, i.e., a manoeuvre
similar to that executed by him at the battle of Kut in
September, 1915. General Lake, in forwarding this appreciation
pointed out that General Townshend was evidently unaware
of the extent of the floods and marshes, which rendered his
suggestion impossible in practice.
General Gorringe estimated the total Turkish fighting
strength on the Tigris at 25,000 with 75 guns, of whom 9,100
with 24 guns were holding the left bank positions from Hanna
to Es Sinn, and 12,000 with 27 guns were holding the right bank
positions at Es Sinn and to the eastward. He considered it
improbable that the enemy would receive further reinforce
ment, and reports had been received that a division intended
for Mesopotamia had been diverted to Erzerum. He under
stood that General Townshend’s time limit of food was the
17th April; and he considered it reasonable to expect that the
10.000 Russians at Karind,* opposed by 7,000 Turks, with only
5.000 recruits at Baghdad to support them, would in a month’s
time have reached within striking distance of Baghdad.
He took the view that the approaching floods would oblige
the Turks to transfer their line of supply to the right bank of
the Tigris, and this bank would also, owing to its probable
greater immunity from flood inundation, be more suitable
for the operations of his own force. He, therefore, came to the
conclusion that his best course would be to turn the enemy’s
right flank, cross the Hai and then force his way to Shumran
to capture the enemy’s bridge and supplies, as a preliminary
to joining hands with General Townshend and to further
operations, which would oblige the Turks to attack him or
evacuate their positions. This course would also have the
advantage that should he not be successful he would in any
case hold the line of the Hai and thus prevent the Turks from
drawing supplies from the Ha i districts^
* They occupied Karind (Western Persia) on the 12th March.
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 View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [198v] (405/660), 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_100045738550.0x000006> [accessed 30 April 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100045738550.0x000006
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_100045738550.0x000006">'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎198v] (405/660)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100045738550.0x000006"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100025551852.0x000001/IOR_L_MIL_17_15_66_2_0405.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_100025551852.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- 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