'Railways Mesopotamia and L of C [Lines of Communications] Policy, Vol. II'

Content

The file, marked secret, contains correspondence and notes regarding rail and river transportation in Mesopotamia [Iraq] during the First World War. The papers cover several matters, including:

• The construction, conversion, maintenance, and expansion of the railways in the region, including regular progress reports from the Director of Railways, Baghdad
• Military operations targeting the Turkish railways in Palestine
• Planning and progress of the Mesopotamia Transport Commission
• Supply of railway materials, rolling stock, and personnel
• Postwar railway policy in India and Mesopotamia
• The question of substituting oil fuel for coal supply in river and rail transport.

Correspondents include: the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Egypt; the Chief of Imperial General Staff; Director of Railways, Baghdad; the War Office; the Commander-in-Chief, Army Headquarters, India; the Major General Sir Henry Francis Edward Freeland, Chairman of the Mesopotamia Transport Commission; the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Mesopotamia; the Chief of the General Staff, India; the Director General of Movements and Railways, War Office; and the Assistant Director of the Inland Water Transport, Mesopotamia.

Extent and format

1 file (135 folios)

Arrangement

The file is arranged in chronological order, from the rear to the front.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 137; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are written in coloured crayon.

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/L/MIL/5/788

History of this record

Date(s)

3 Dec 1917-24 Jun 1918 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Inland water transport

People & organisations

Commander-in-ChiefChief of the General StaffGovernment of India, Army Department, War SectionChief of the General Staff, IndiaGeneral Officer Commanding, Egypt

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Cite this record in your research

'Railways Mesopotamia and L of C [Lines of Communications] Policy, Vol. II', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/5/788, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/node/9548> [accessed 14 July 2026]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100000000465.0x0002ee

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