'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM' [‎517r] (1044/1386)

-MiHtary Secret.
From Secretary^Qj_J$iaU te-X-ieeroy, Arfny'f)v r pa rime, nt,
]4:th January 1916.
3260. Mesoj^tamian situation discussed at War Counpi! yesterday,
and some anxiety was expressed. JJ^hey decided that an Interdepartmental
conference ^Ifonld examine quesj^n and submit proposals. /
Conf^race proposes that ytfu should at once prepare^diree Brigades for
servicp^on understanding th^i in addition to 12 Garrison regiments already
prm
early despatch to
from Egypt and four
rom England. For this
e composed of battalions
used War Office wiB^detail 12 more battalion
na. These will include eight Indian battalioi;
'fully trained and emJlpped Territorial battalion
purpose War Office^re prepared to detail a Br
organised and traced from commencement of/(^ar. b
Lord Kitchener and I accept this proposal subject to your concurrence
as it offers m(m ready solution
Indian regiments in question have/suffered so severely ih France or
Gallipoli that rest in India desirable anil their composition nyty make them
specially^acceptable to you, in view (^Frontier unrest. f y '
Conference did not recommend/a Divisional organis|uion for Jlfesp^-
tamia/reinforcements from India yds probably you cannotspare apHllery and
may prefer to attach Brigades tg^Tlivisions weakened liy losses./*
55.. -
From Viceroy, Army Iteparhntnl, ISth January 1916.
H. 412. The proposals contained in your* telegram of the 14th instant
No. 3260 are agreed to on the following conditions ; (a) all the British
battalions must arrive in India before 15th March and should therefore
have left England by 14th February. This applies to the four territorial
battalions equally with the 12 garrison battalions, (b) The Indian battalions
from Egypt must be despatched to India at once. These eight battalions
should be:—15th Sikhs, 33rd Punjabis, 39th Garhwals, 2nd Battalion
2nd Gurkhas, 1 st Battalion 4th Gurkhas, 1 st Battalion 5 th Gurkhas,
1 st Battalion 6 th Gurkhas, 2 nd Battalion 8 th Gurkhas, (c) On the under
standing that the above dates of despatch can be adhered to, three brigades
will be prepared for service with Force “ D,” and despatched as their reliefs
arrive. It is agreed that a divisional organisation for these three brigades
is not necessary at present and that they can be allotted to existing
divisional formations, (d) As a result of these moves there will be the
epuivalent of six Indian divisions in Mesopotamia as against Cavalry Corps
in France, and it follows that we require the return of all the staff medical
and ordnance officers together with their subordinate personnel and clerical
establishments despatched with Indian Expeditionary Forces to FTance and
Egypt less such minimum numbers as may be absolutely necessary for the
requirements of the Cavalry Corps in France and the very small Indian
force now to be retained in Egypt. At present we are unable to supply the
needs of lorce “D ” in these respects and certainly cannot maintain them
efficiently under the trying climatic conditions without the return of whole
of those now asked for.
Subject to retention by the War Office of minimum requirements as
above, the equipment and transport despatched with these forces together
with transport especially sent in response to Secretary, War Office telegram
No. 21,892 of 20th October should also be returned.
All regular Indian Army Officers who belong to regiments which are not
under the War Office to be sent to India at once to enable us to meet
shortage owing to casualties in Mesopotamia and to supply British Officers
for Persian Cossack Force proposed in your telegram of the 14th instant.
Also 30 Royal Engineer (officers below the rank of Colonel and with some
experience of Indian conditions.