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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [‎42r] (88/454)

The record is made up of 1 volume (223 folios). It was created in 1923. 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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ARMY IN INDIA: PRE-WAR MILITARY POLICY 63
and certain army troops. A field army division* contained
three infantry brigades (each consisting of one British and three
Indian infantry battalionsf), one Indian cavalry regiment,J
one brigade field artillery (armed with 18-pounder quick-firing
guns), two mountain batteries (armed with 10 -pounders), two
companies of sappers and miners, one pioneer battalion, one
divisional signal company and many other ancillary units ; and
a cavalry brigade comprised one horse artillery battery with
ammunition column, one British and two Indian cavalry
regiments. In addition to the above there were about 23,000
Imperial Service Troops, 40,000 Volunteers (of whom more
than half were cadets or railway employes) and 34,000 Frontier
Militia, Levies and Military Police.
The field army was deficient of certain equipment; it was
equipped and organised for warfare on the frontier of India
and “ was not well found for an expedition overseas ”;§ there
was only sufficient clothing and boots for six divisions and six
cavalry brigades ; motor transport, though ordered from Home
for experimental purposes, had not arrived ; there was no
reserve of the new short rifles (in fact only the field army units
had these, the remainder of the army having still the old rifle) ;
there was only sufficient material for the manufacture in the
country of four million rounds of small arms ammunition ;
aviation was in an initial and experimental stage and there
were only four aeroplanes in the country ; there was no wireless
telegraphic apparatus and the telephone equipment was not
sufficient for warfare against European troops. The British
units were dependent on drafts from England to replace casual
ties on any but a very minor scale ; the Indian army reserve
of about 33,000 was inefficient; the reserve of British
officers for the Indian army only numbered forty ; and the * * * §
* Combatant strength about 13,000.
f Infantry battalions were each organised in four double companies, with
sixteen British and sixteen Indian officers ; British officers commanded the
battalion and the double companies and held the appointments of adjutant,
quartermaster, signalling, scout and transport officers, and Indian officers
commanded companies and half-companies, bearing the titles of Subadar
and Jemadar respectively ; the senior Subadar had the rank of Subadar
Major with certain additional duties and privileges and one of the Jemadars
was Indian adjutant. Shortly after the outbreak of war the British organ
isation of companies and platoons was adopted, the commands being held
by British and Indian officers'respectively.
J Cavalry regiments were organised in four squadrons, with sixteen British
and seventeen Indian officers. The former commanded the regiment and
squadrons and the latter “ troops.” There was one Risaldar Major, three
Risaldars, four Ressaidars and nine Jemadars.
§ Sir Beauchamp Duff's evidence before the Mesopotamia Commission.

About this item

Content

The volume is the first 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 divided into two parts. The first part, entitled, 'Part I. Before the Outbreak of Hostilities', consists of the following five chapters:

  • General Description of the Country
  • The Turks in Mesopotamia
  • British Pre-War Policy
  • The Army in India and Pre-War Military Policy
  • Inception of the Operations

The second part, entitled, 'Part II. The Campaign in Lower Mesopotamia', consists of the following seven chapters:

  • The Landing in Mesopotamia of Force "D" and the Operations Leading to the Occupation of Basra
  • The Occupation of Basra and the Capture of Qurna
  • Commencement of the Turkish Counter-Offensive
  • Development and Defeat of the Turkish Counter-Offensive
  • Operations in Arabistan and the Capture of Amara
  • Operations on the Euphrates and the Occupation of Nasiriya
  • The battle of Kut and Occupation of Aziziya

The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:

  • The Middle East
  • Lower Mesopotamia
  • Map 1 - To illustrate operations described in Chapter VI
  • Map 2 - To illustrate fighting near Qurna
  • Map 3 - To illustrate fighting round Shaiba
  • Map 4 - To illustrate operations in Persian Arabistan
  • Map 5 - To illustrate operations in the Akaika Channel 27th June to 5th July 1915
  • Map 6 - To illustrate operations near Nasiriya 6th to 24th July 1915
  • Map 7 - To illustrate the Battle of Kut 28th September 1915
Extent and format
1 volume (223 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a page of errata (folio 5), a list of contents (folios 6-8), a list of maps and illustrations (folio 9), appendices (folios 185v-192), an index (folios 192v-214v), and eight maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 217-224).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 225; 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 I.' [‎42r] (88/454), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048172213.0x000059> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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