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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [‎71r] (146/454)

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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FIGHTING AT SAHIL
121
left three hundred yards and to keep touch with the right of
the 18th Brigade ; the 22nd Company Sappers and Miners,
were to move echeloned on the right rear of the Dorsets ; seven
platoons of the 117th Mahrattas, called in from the right flank
guard, were to form a reserve behind the Dorsets; and half
the 104th Rifles were to form a reserve behind the 20th.
General Barrett had retained under his own command, as a
general reserve, the 48th Pioneers and the 120th Infantry ;
and placed the whole of the artillery (63rd Field and 23rd and
30th Mountain Batteries) under his C.R.A.
About 10.30, when the 18th Brigade was moving to its right
to lessen the gap between the two brigades, another heavy
rainstorm came on. The mist this caused obscured the whole
front for a time and caused the 18th Brigade temporarily to
lose their direction. The ground was now ankle-deep in slippery,
clinging mud, and for a time the advance almost came to a
standstill. Men, guns and horses could only move at a slow
walk and the artillery wagons stuck heavily and frequently.
Moreover, the hand-barrows carrying the telephone cable of
the headquarter signal section stuck so badly that attempts to
link up headquarters by telephone with the other formations
had to be abandoned. Consequently, communication during
the rest of the fight had to be carried out mainly by dismounted
orderlies ; for visual signalling was constantly interrupted by
the atmosphere, and the mud and open country militated
against the use of mounted men.
Meanwhile, all the artillery had come into action in the
open between the two brigades and engaged the enemy’s
position between the old fort and the mosque, to cover the
advance of the 18th Brigade. This brigade was halted at
11 a.m. to enable the 16th Brigade to move up into the same
alignment ; and then the whole line advanced. Soon after,
the enemy opened a heavy rifle fire from his whole line and
this disclosed the position of a well-concealed line of trenches
north-west of the old fort and at about one thousand yards
range from the 18th Brigade firing line. The Arabs forming
the main garrison of this part of the hostile line were using
black powder and the line of smoke this caused afforded an
excellent target. This hostile rapid fire continued for some
time, but being generally too high it had little effect on the
18th Brigade; it caused, however, heavy losses to the Dorsets
in the 16th Brigade, whose line it partly enfiladed.
The further attack of the 18th Brigade was devoid of special
features. Their advance was steadily maintained under cover

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.' [‎71r] (146/454), 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_100048172213.0x000093> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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