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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎259v] (527/660)

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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478 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
Qala Salih (Tigris)
Amara (Tigris)
Ali Gharbi (Tigris)
Kut al Amara and above (Tigris)
Abadan (Karun)
Ahwaz (Karun) ..
Band-i-Qir (Karun)
Bushire ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ) ..
1 battalion Infantry.
i battalion Infantry; 1 section
Royal Garrison Artillery(Heavy);
four guns (Volunteer Battery) ;
1 Mountain Battery.
1 Infantry Brigade.
Two guns (Volunteer Artillery).
6th Division.
2£ regiments Cavalry.
10thBrigade, Royal Field Artillery.
< Howitzer Battery, Territorial
Force.
Heavy Brigade, Royal Garrison
Artillery (less 1 section).
_ 1 Battery, Royal Horse Artillery.
J company Infantry.
1 regiment Cavalry of 3 squadrons.
f 1 squadron Cavalry.
-< 2 battalions Infantry.
(_Five captured Turkish guns.
Communications
Fao to Basra (Shatt al Arab), 66 miles "l Total length of line of communica-
Basra to Baghdad (via River Tigris), > tions from Fao-Baghdad is 568
502 miles .. .. . • .. J miles by river and less by road.
Nasiriya to Basra, 115 miles (River Euphrates).
Nasiriya to Kut al Amara, 120 miles (Shatt al Hai).
Mohammerah to Band-i-Qir, 100 miles (Karun River).
ANNEXURE F.
Operations in Mesopotamia.—Notes by Admiralty War Staff.
The situation in Mesopotamia is almost entirely a military problem to be
dealt with mainly by the War Office and 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 navy is concerned but to a very limited degree in operations undertaken
in that part of the world ; its larger ships cannot afford any direct assistance
or support to the army in the field, and the service of providing local transport
for troops and supplies which usually falls to the navy in combined operations,
is, in this particular case, performed by river steamers and other hared craft
under the direction of the Indian military authorities.
The work which the navy is called upon to perform consists of :—
1. The safe transport of troops from Europe or Egypt to Basra.
2. The efficient patrol of the River Tigris by armed gunboats and other
small shallow-draught craft.
3. Limited assistance in air service by provision of a few machines
and pilots.
As regards 1.—The Admiralty is prepared to provide transport for an army
of one or two divisions from France or Egypt to Basra.
It is impossible to give an estimate of the time, from the receipt of the
order to undertake the move, which would be required to convey to, and
disembark the force at, Basra. This would depend on what other moves
were being made by the transport service at the time, and on the strength
and nature of the force to be moved.
The estimated length of the voyage from Marseilles to Basra is 22 days,
and from Egypt to Basra, 14 days.
It should be noted that unless ample warning were given, the Indian troops
would have to use the existing accommodation, as fitted in the ships.
2. No interference with our transports or supply ships is apprehended by
enemy vessels in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Shatt al Arab. The Admiralty War

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.' [‎259v] (527/660), 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_100045738550.0x000080> [accessed 30 April 2024]

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