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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [88v] (181/454)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
CHAPTER VIII.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE TURKISH COUNTER-OFFENSIVE.
T HE capture of Qurna achieved two immediate results.
In the first place, the neighbouring Arabs became more
friendly ; during the fighting they had preserved a neutral
attitude, but now many of their Shaikhs came forward
and expressed their intention of adhering to our side.
Secondly, the information gleaned from the captured prisoners
cleared up the uncertainty regarding Turkish numbers and
dispositions. Timely and adequate intelligence of the Turkish
dispositions and numbers had been difficult to obtain. The
nature of the country and the lack of aeroplanes limited
military reconnaissance ,* and the news brought in by Arabs
could not be deemed altogether reliable.
It was now ascertained that, after their defeat at Muzaira’a,
the main Turkish force had retired to Amara ; most of the
remnants of the 38th Division from Basra were on the Euphrates
about Suq ash Shuyukh and Nasiriya ; and Ajaimi with some
of his Muntafik following were also about Nasiriya. There
were only five reserve and gendarmerie battalions of infantry
with six hundred cavalry and a few guns at Baghdad; but
reinforcements were on their way there. These were said
to consist of four infantry battalions and some guns from Con
stantinople, as well as two infantry battalions, a field battery,
and some Kurdish tribesmen from Mosul.
On receipt of this news at the
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 Secretary
of State asked the Government of India if it was practicable
to send a force to eject the Turks and to occupy Nasiriya.
Such occupation, Lord Crewe observed, would block the
approaches from* Baghdad either by the Euphrates or
by the Shatt al Hai and would protect the Muntafik Arabs
from Turkish interference. He understood that Suq ash
Shuyukh could be reached by water from Qurna in two to
three days, and he emphasised the advantages of an occupation
of the triangle Basra-Qurna-Nasiriya.
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 View the complete information for this record
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [88v] (181/454), 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_100048172213.0x0000b6> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/1
- Title
- 'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3r, 4r:216v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence