'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.' [‎92r] (183/248)

177
'V
Their ration has already been redued to 1 lb. a day (and
that only half barley, half atta), they receive only £
ration of ghee (1 oz. instead of 2), they get no gur, dhall
or vegetables. Potentially the ration at present is only
a trifle more than a subsistence diet (a diet of complete
rest), yet the men have to carry out their full duties in
trenches, piquets, and in maintaining the defensive
works. On the present ration they may just be able to
hold their ground, although I believe they will tend to
lose stamina. With a further reduction they will lose
weight rapidly, and be practically on a starvation ration.”
On February 27th, 1916, there were only 750 out of over
9,500 Indians eating horse-flesh. Early in April there
was a rapid rise, and on the 14th of that month 9,239
were consuming it.
128. On February 28th, 1 recommended that the horse
flesh ration of British troops be increased to 1| lbs., per
diem as the men were then getting no vegetables, butter
or bacon, and only J
oz. cheese and
1 oz. jam. This
increase began on March 1st.
129. The following are the rations issued to the garrison
from March 4th, 1916 :
Bread ...
British.
... 1 lb.
Horseflesh
... H
Jam
... 1 oz.
Salt
... 1 „
Dates ...
... H „
Ginger
... i „
Oatmeal
... 2 „
Barley meal ...
Indian.
... jib.
,, whole
... 6 oz
Ghee ...
... 1 „
Salt
... i ,>
Dates ...
... 1* „
Ginger
... i ,
Tumeric
... i „
Chillies
... i „
Meat (to those who draw it)
... 8 „
The tea had run out on March 4th.
“ March 5th, 1916. The amount and variety of
‘ extras ’ that the men can now buy in the bazar is some
what limited—consists chiefly of chappatties, cakes fried
in fat, and a small amount of dhall. There is still
apparently an abundance of country tobacco.”
130. On March 11th, the rations consisted of:—
British.
Bread 10 oz..
Meat 1} lbs.
Jam 1 oz.
Salt J „
Ginger | „
Oatmeal ... ... ... ... 2 „
Dates 1£ M
Indian.
Barley flour ... ... ... ... 10 oz.
„ unhusked ... 4 „
Ghee ... ...» ... ... ... 1 „
Gin g er i „
Tumeric ... ... ... ... fy
Meat (to those who draw it) ... 8 „
Dates „
“ For British this is just beyond a subsistence diet;
for Indians it is less than a subsistence diet, and they
will run down on it, lose stamina and scurvy will increase.”
From March 11th, a concentrated soup was made for
all British troops, and issued in the evening—it was
greatly relished and appreciated.
131. From March 14th, British troops had the following
added to their rations twice a week ; butter 1£ oz. ; bacon
1£ oz. ; cheese 1 oz. This was continued for 14 days.
All units used the green herbs obtainable on the plain
as vegetables, from about the middle of March. The chief
of these herbs were : wild mustard, a species of clover,
mint, wild carrots, small kind of thistle, dandelion, and
plantain. Medical Officers were unanimously of opinion
that the use of this green stuff had a marked influence for
good in staying the progress of the epidemic of scurvy.
132. As there were some poisonous plants growing with
he herbs, samples of the edible and poisonous ones were
collected and placed in all Headquarters Offices for
comparison.
133. From about March 10th there was a very appns
ciable decrease in the quantity of food cooked and sold in
the bazars, and on March 25th I entered in my diary :
“ Xo cakes or kababs are now being sold in bazars and
the amount of food-stuffs purchasable is quite nominal.”
“ March 29th, 1916. Interviewed A.D.S. re food supplies:
“ Salt is rapidly going down. I understand that
there is sufficient for British troops for a fortnight and
for Indians for only about five days. Advised that some
be got by aeroplane.” The A.D.S. after scouring the
town obtained 800 lbs. of salt. The ration issued was
about A? oz. daily per man. Aeroplane at a later date,
dropped 80 lbs.
“ March 30th, 1916. Owing to errors in calculations as
to quantity of barley available for issue, it is much to be
regretted that the 3 oz. now issued for parching will have
to be stopped. This puts Indians on a regular starvation
diet. The deductions will commence from April 1st,
1916.”
“ April 2nd, 1916. One of the main defects in the British
troops’ diet at present is the practical absence of hydro
carbons—there is no fat on the horseflesh, and the great
deficiency of carbohydrates ; they get an 8-oz.-loaf which
contains roughly only 6 ozs. of mixed wheaten flour and
barley.
“ In the Indian troops and followers’ rations all the
proximate principles are deficient to a marked degree ;
their diet consists solely of 10 ozs. very inferior barley
flour and 1 oz. ghi.”
134. On April 8th “ the question of still further lowering
the ration of barley flour was mooted by the A.Q.M.G.
I told him that the men were now on starvation rations,
in the technical sense of the income being greatly below
the kinetic output, that even the present rations continued
for a fortnight more would lead to many deaths. 1 sug
gested that the food grain of the town Arabs should be
lowered instead of that of the troops who in every sense
as our defenders, have greatest claim on it.” The ghi
ration ceased from April 8th, 1916.
135. From April 10th, Indians received 7 ozs. of barley
flour per diem. “ This (7 ozs. barley) with the green
stuff collected is all that non-horse-flesh eaters now
receive ; it is an absolute starvation ration and represents,
at most, 600 calories potential energy ; the normal ration
for field service fqr Indians is roughly 3,000 calories. It
is anticipated that the men at the end of a week on this
will be attenuated and many emaciated, that sickness
will increase and a certain number of men will succumb.
This reduction, however, has only been undertaken as
the result of dire military necessity and to ensure the
garrison holding out until the rehef arrives. The Arabs
of the town have already been reduced in grain to less
than a subsistence scale.”
About the middle of February we wired for 7 lbs. of
saccharin. About 5 lbs. were dropped by aeroplane on
April 2nd. It was insufficient to make a general issue
and was reserved for the hospitals, staffs, and officers of
the garrison.
136. As some men were suffering acutely from the pangs
of hunger, 2 lbs. of opium was got up by aeroplane and
14,000 one-grain pills given to medical officers of corps
units for issue to selected cases. It undoubtedly amelio
rated the intensity of these men’s sensations.
British troops felt the want of tobacco greatly. One
day they told me that they were prepared to forego part
of their ration if they could get enough tobacco for a few
smokes a day. On April 14th 1 found the men of the
2nd Dorsets smoking three different kinds of substitutes—
dried used tea-leaves, powdered dry ginger, and dried and
broken-up orange leaves. Many officers were doing the
same.
April 10th, 1916. “ Still further reduction in rations will
take place from to-morrow’. British, 5 ozs. flour, 1J lbs.
horse-flesh; Indians, 5 ozs. (barley) flour and 12 ozs.
horse-flesh.”
On the night of April 24th/25th the steamer “ Julnar ”
failed to get through to Kut. She, I w r as informed, had
250 tons of food on board, which it was stated would have
been sufficient for subsistence diet for from 16 to 20
days.
Sanitation of Garrison During the Defence.
137. The sanitation of the areas occupied by our troojxs
and follow’ers was conducted on the principles detailed
in my statements for the periods (a), (6), and (c), and, even
under the conditions of the siege, gave rise to little tioubN
a ad was carried out satisfactorily.