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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [108r] (220/454)
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.
THE TURKISH COUNTER-OFFENSIVE
193
H.M.S. Clio had been despatched to Bushire in consequence
of a request from the British Consul there for military
support ; and on the 13th March General Barrett reported
that he had authorised the British Resident at Bushire to
stop—if the necessity arose and after consultation with the
senior military officer on the spot—one of the transports
conveying troops to Mesopotamia and to disembark any
troops required.
Between the 17th and the 25th March the greater part* of the
33rd Infantry Brigade, the l/5th Hampshire Howitzer Battery
and the 12th Company of Sappers and Miners reached Basra.
The 30th Infantry Brigade were on their way from Egypt,
but it was questionable if they would arrive in time for the
Turkish attack. On the 31st March General Barrett received
information that the Turkish main force had left Nasiriya for
a forward concentration; hostile cavalry and infantry in
considerable numbers reconnoitred to within two miles of
Shaiba on the 1st April; and on the 3rd the enemy were reported
in some strength south of Zubair. From the news received
by the next day General Barrett expected that the Turkish
advance on Shaiba would take place within the next ten days
—an estimate which was confirmed by the report on the 6th
that the Turkish concentration near Nukhaila was complete.
Their strength in this area was estimated at twelve thousand
regulars with twenty-four to thirty guns and some eight to
ten thousand Arab tribesmen.
On the Ahwaz line the weak British cavalry outposts had
been forced by Turks to retire on the 31st March and again
on the 6th April ; and on the 3rd the Espiegle had been
engaged by Turkish field guns to the north of Qurna, and
in reply had inflicted some loss on the enemy, her own
casualties only amounting to three wounded. Everywhere
the indications pointed to the imminence of a Turkish offensive.
With the augmentation of the strength of Force “ D ”
there arose the question of a senior commander and additional
staff to cope with the increased duties of command and main
tenance. The Government of India decided on the 18th March
to organise the force as an army corps of one cavalry brigade
and two infantry divisions under the command of General
Sir John Nixon, who was then commanding the Northern
Army in India.f
* l/4th Hampshire, 66th and 67th Punjabis, under the command of
Major-General G. F. Gorringe. The 11th Rajputs, the fourth battalion, did
not arrive till the 9th April.
t See Appendix IV., p. 350.
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.' [108r] (220/454), 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_100048172214.0x000015> [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