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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [114r] (232/454)
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
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GENERAL MELLISS REACHES SHAIBA 205
of them as possible direct to Shaiba by helium. They
began to withdraw about 12.45 p.m. and were all back in
Basra by 3 p.m.
Steps were now taken to impress all available heliums.
By about 4 p.m. some eighty had been collected, but the boat
men absolutely refused to man them. The difficulty was,
however, surmounted by utilising volunteers from the 20th
Punjabis to propel the heliums. They moved off, conveying
General Melliss, the 6th Divisional Staff and about three-
quarters of the 24th Punjabis, about 4.30 p.m. For the first
three hours progress was comparatively easy, but after that
the shallowness of the water forced officers and men into the
water to push the boats for the remainder of the journey.
The leading boats with General Melliss and his staff reached
Shaiba about 8.30 p.m., but the last of them did not arrive
till about midnight. Though most of the boats came under
enemy fire as they neared Shaiba, no real opposition was
encountered. On the return journey the heliums were attacked
by hostile boats in some force and incurred twenty-two Indian
casualties, mostly killed. On the 13th, a convoy of heliums
with gun ammunition attempted to cross from Basra to Shaiba,
but was compelled by hostile boats to withdraw to Basra.
When General Melliss arrived at Shaiba, fighting was still
in progress; it was dark and he was necessarily not fully
acquainted with the local situation ; and consequently he did
not take over command from General Fry till daylight on the
13th. Then, having made a personal inspection of the defences,
he established his headquarters at Kiln Post, whence an
excellent view was obtainable, especially of the ground to the
north-west and west.
At 7 a.m. on the 13th, the cavalry brigade moved out to
wards North mound to clear that area of Arabs who had been
engaged in hostilities with the British right since daybreak,
and to ascertain the enemy’s strength and dispositions. The
orders for this movement had been given by General Fry the
previous evening and General Melliss let them stand, though
he gave General Kennedy, the cavalry brigadier, instructions
not to commit his brigade if he encountered serious opposition.
The brigade moved out with eight squadrons of cavalry and
two horse artillery guns and was supported by the 104th Rifles,
who were placed under General Kennedy s orders.
The cavalry trotted out from camp along the edge of the
flooded area, while the 104th advanced direct upon North
mound from their position at the north-west corner of the
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.' [114r] (232/454), 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_100048172214.0x000021> [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