'Mesopotamia Commission. Report of the Commission Appointed by Act of Parliament to Enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia, together with a Special Report by Commander J Wedgwood, DSO, MP, and Appendices. London: HMSO, 1917.' [‎88r] (175/248)

APPENDIX III
ACCOUNT OF THE MEDICAL ARRANGEMENTS, ETC , DURING
SIEGE OF KUT-AL-AMARA.
By Colonel P. HEHIR, C.B., M.D., I.M.S.
THE DEFENCE OF KUT-AL-AMARA.
(a) Period from December 4th, 1915, to April
29th, 1916.
1. The following statements are made from my personal
diaries and rough notes that were made for the Medical
and Sanitary Report of the Defence of Kut.
Duration of Siege.
2. The siege of Kut-al-Amara lasted from December
4th, 1915, to April 29th, 1916—147 days.
Brief Description of Kut-al-Amara.
3. Kut-al-Amara is a small town on the left bank of the
Tigris consisting of a dense collection of houses and huts
built more or less promiscuously. The town contained
about 650 houses, including 200 shops, several caf6s and
a few wool-presses. The better-class houses are built of
burnt brick, but the majority of the habitations are
larger or smaller mud huts. The main part of the town
and most of the well-constructed houses stand near the
bank of the river, but leave a broad river front.
The town is situated about half-way down the descend
ing limb of a deep bend in the river. The area it covers is
roughly oblong in shape, its length about 1,000, its breadth
600 yards. The distance between the south-eastern
boundary of the town and the lowest part of the bend
is about 300 yards.
4. There is no drainage system to the town. Each house
has in the central yard a deep soakage pit, the refuse
house water reaching it through a hole in the surface ;
it acts on the principle of a septic tank and is cleared out
twice a year or so. Many of the houses have likewise a
privy connected with a subterranean cess-pit which is
often only 5 to 10 yards from the shallow house-well, the
water of which is brackish and impure.
5. The Covered Bazaar, which contained several of our
h spitals, consists of a series of intercommunicating
colonnades with roofs, and a large number of small stalls.
Its main avenue runs East and West, which joins another
running North and South near the river front. On both
sides of each colonnade are rows of small cubicles each
of which accommodated from four to six patients.
6. On the North-West and South-East of the town
there are date plantations and orchards of oranges,
lemons, figs, peaches and pomegranates, and what used to
be extensive vegetable gardens.
7. This town was the most insanitary place we occupied
in Mesopotamia. The whole of the interior of the town,
including the streets and lanes, the banks of the river
and the surrounding area for a distance of 250 yards, were
made use of as latrines, the surfaces of the streets and
bye-lanes were the urinals. The town refuse was never
systematically collected, and on our arrival to some extent
blocked the roads and thoroughfares; mounds of it
existed on the banks of the river and immediate confines
of the town. No sanitation had been attempted.
8. The salient places of the defended area were : The
town itself, the brick-kilns to the East of the town, he
Old Fort about two miles North-East of the town, the
line of bloek-houses extending from the Fort to the
beginning of the descending limb of the bend running
roughly from East to West.
9. Our defences extended from the fort on the left bank
along the line of the four block-houses to the same bank,
1£ miles to the North-West of the town ; this line roughly
corresponded with our first line trenches, the second line
Tenches and reserve troops trenches being echeloned
parallel to them in the rear. On the left bank of the
river along the whole bend were a series of pickets in
trenches covering the right bank. The guns of the
different batteries were located at the brick-kilns, in front
of these kilns and behind the trenches in the North-West
Section, others being on the left bank near the town and
on the barges. On the right bank, almost opposite the
North-West angle of Kut is the village of Wool-Press
which was occupied by two battalions of Indian Infantry;
this force was, when necessary, supplemented by half a
battalion British Infantry ; its trenches were on the North-
West and South of the village.
10. The enemy occupied trenches along the whole of the
North-East, North and North-West front, also along the
right bank around the village of Wool-Press and along the
South and East of Kut opposite the fort. Enemy snipers
operated from the whole of the right bank in the vicinity
of Kut and the fort, except the part at Wool-Press and
the bank of a few hundred yards North and South of it.
11. From December 5th the town of Kut was shelled
more or less practically every day; periodically there
were heavy bombardments ; sniping was perpetual day
and night, and high-explosive bombs were dropped from
aeroplanes occasionally.
Strength of the Defence Garrison.
12. The garrison consisted of
with the 30 th Infantry Brigade,
heavy batteries.
The garrison on December 8th,
the following:—
British Officers
„ rank and file
Indian Officers
„ rank and file ...
Followers (about)
the 6th War Division
one Howitzer and two
1915, was made up o
2065
2,276
153 - Effective
6,941
3,500;
13,076
In Hospitals:—
British Officers
„ rank and file
Indian Officers
„ rank and file
Followers
12 1
258
22 '
1,176
42/
Sick ; .n 1
Wou::
1,510
Total to be rationed
14,586
13. The civil population of Kut at the commence men f
the siege was roughly 6,400; at the end of Februa >•■,
1916, it was 6,225, made up as follows :—
Natives of the town :
Men ] ,538
Women and children ... 3,803
Immigrants from Makina Village
(called by us Wool-Press) ... 504
Maheillah men ... 316
Coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. (S. and T. employees) ... 64
6,225
Location of the Troops.
14. The infantry force was distributed as follows:—
(1) One brigade occupied the Fort and trenches to its
North and North-West; (2) another the trenches extend
ing from the left of the above, Westwards to the river
bank forming the North-West Section ; (3) one formed
the reserve ; (2) and (3) relieved each other weekly; (4)
half a brigade guarded the town and picketted the bend,
its other half being quartered in Wool-Press village on
the right bank opposite the North-West angle of Kut.
15. The following were located in and near the town ;
two Indian infantry units and Headquarters of Division
and Brigades, with followers, all billeted and numbering
1,200; General Hospitals, Field Ambulances, Indian
Stationary Hospital, personnel and patients, in billets—
2,100 ; General Reserve in camps and dug outs (on the
North, North-East and East of the town), 1,800.
16. The troops on the right bank were cut off from Kut;
and the only means of intercommunication were the
steamer and motor launch which crossed at night with
rations, and returned with any sick and wounded requiring
admission into hospital.
State of Troops on arrival at Kut.
17. The 6th Division had gone through a severe hot
weather, and an outbreak of malaria in Lower Meso
potamia, had experienced exceptional hardships, and
privations for 17 days preceding the siege, and arrived
in Kut in an exhausted state as will have been seen from
the itinerary given in my statement for the period (e)
During the early stage of the siege, the preparation of