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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [50v] (107/660)
The record is made up of 1 volume (323 folios). It was created in 1924. 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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76 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
Both General Townshend and General Delamain, from their
respective positions, saw masses of the enemy falling back, and
soon afterwards General Townshend received a message from
General Delamain : “ The enemy are in full retreat. May I
advance on ‘ V.P.’ ” General Townshend, thinking that
this Turkish retreat had been caused by his turning attack,
replied in the affirmative, and the infantry of General
Delamain’s column at once began to advance against “ V.P.”
This was a little before 9 a.m.
It is difficult to give a satisfactory explanation of the masses
of men seen retiring by Generals Townshend and Delamain
and by others ; it was too early in the day for the mirage, and
several officers who observed the movement were in positions
two and a half miles apart. The Turkish account admits that
a certain proportion of their men retreated at this' period, but
gives no indication of anything like a retirement in mass.
Possible solutions are either that the masses seen were moving
to oppose the British turning attacks or else that they consisted
largely of non-combatants.
About 7 a.m. the commander of the Turkish 51st Division
received telephonic orders from Nur-ud-Din to leave at Qusaiba,
as army reserve, two infantry battalions, his engineer company,
and a quick-firing battery, and to move out with the remainder
of his division to oppose the British column reported to be
moving from the north on Qusaiba. While the necessary
arrangements for this move were being made, the divisional
machine guns were fortunate enough to bring down a Britisli
aeroplane passing overhead, thus again depriving General
Townshend at a critical period of one of his very few remaining
aircraft. The remainder of the 51st Division, comprising
five battalions infantry,* four field and six mountain guns and
machine gun company (four guns) and accompanied by the
Iraq Cavalry Brigade, moved north-north-east to a low mound
about one and a quarter miles distant. Leaving the field guns
here in position, the division opened out and moved eastward,
with the cavalry brigade covering their left.
In the meantime, on the British left, General Hoghtons
infantry had closed by 8 a.m. to within about 2,000 yards range
of the enemy’s trenches. As the mist lifted, the 17th Brigade
could only tell the approximate position of these trenches by
the line of wire entanglements, which was all that was visible,
for the enemy occupants still showed no signs of activity.
General Hoghton, not wishing to commit hi mself to an atta c^
* 7th Regiment, three battalions. 9th Regiment, two battalions.
About this item
- Content
The volume is the second 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 in one part, entitled, 'Part III. The First Campaign for Baghdad', and consists of the following fourteen chapters:
- The Decision to Advance to Baghdad
- Commencement of the Advance Towards Baghdad
- The Battle of Ctesiphon - the First Day's Operations
- Battle of Ctesiphon (Continued) and the British Retirement to Kut
- The Decision to Hold Kut and British Policy Consequent on the Failure to Reach Baghdad
- The Siege of Kut: First Phase (December 1915)
- Commencement of the Relief Operations
- The Action of Shaikh Saad
- The Action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. and the First Attack on Hanna
- Operations up to the End of February, 1916
- The Second Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt
- The Third Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Successful Advance to and First and Second Attacks on Sannaiyat
- The Last Attempt at Relief; Bait Isa and Sannaiyat
- The Siege of Kut; the Last Stages
The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:
- The Middle East
- Lower Mesopotamia
- Map 8 - The Tigris from Kut al Amara to Baghdad
- Map 9 - The Battle of Ctesiphon
- Map 10 - The affair of Umm at Tubul
- Map 11 - The defence of Kut al Amara
- Map 12 - The fort at Kut; with special reference to the Turkish attack on 24th December 1915
- Map 13 - River Tigris between Ali Gharbi and Shumran
- Map 14 - The action at Shaikh Saad
- Map 15 - The action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
- Map 16 - The first attack on Hanna; 21st January 1916
- Map 17 - The attack on the Dujaila Redoubt, 8th March 1916
- Map 18 - To illustrate Tigris Corps Operation Order No. 26, dated 6th March 1916
- Map 19 - To illustrate operations between 10th March and end of April 1916
- Map 20 - The action of Bait Isa on 17th and 18th April 1916, and the attack on Sannaiyat 22nd April 1916
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (323 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains a list of contents (folios 6-10), a list of maps and illustrations (folio 11), appendices (folios 254-290), an index (folios 291-312), and eleven maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 314-324).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 325; 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 II.' [50v] (107/660), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045738548.0x00006c> [accessed 10 February 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2
- Title
- 'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3r, 3r, 4r:70v, 72r:79r, 160v, 80r:102v, 104r:160r, 161r, 313v, 161v:281v, 283r:313v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence