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'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎194r] (392/862)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (430 folios). It was created in 1944. 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. .

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THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 277
demolished before the advance could proceed. The supply vessels
had to be dragged through the cut by hawsers manned by the troops,
and heliums and rafts had again to be employed by the infantry and
field guns for the attack. Opposition was considerable, for the Turks
were actively supported by large numbers of Muntafiq Arabs, and
supply difficulties increased as the flood-levels fell. It was not until
25 July that Nasiriya was at last occupied, and this brought the first
campaign to a successful end.
The Campaign of 1915-1916
The operations just described were carried out with comparatively
few battle casualties, but had been costly through sickness, particu
larly among British troops. Effectives were much reduced in the two
divisions now in Mesopotamia, the hospitals were full, and drafts
were with difficulty spared from Territorial units in India. There
were shortages of both land and river transport, and the needs of
France and difficulties in Gallipoli loomed large in the eyes of the
home authorities; Mesopotamia suffered in consequence, and re
mained the land of improvisation.
Advance to Tut. After their defeat at Nasiriya the Turks concen
trated their main force at Kut, whence they could threaten the divided
British forces at Nasiriya by the Shatt al Gharraf and at Amara by
the Tigris. Trouble was brewing in southern Persia where German
agents were at work, and the defence of this area became a responsi
bility of the army in Iraq. General Nixon, the G.O.C., and the
governments and military authorities in both India and England
debated whether to continue the advance to Kut. This was eventually
ordered : (1) to protect both Nasiriya and Amara, and so the whole
of the Basra vilayet; (2) to prevent Turkish intervention in Persian
Arabistan, and so to protect the oil installations; (3) to counter by
a successful advance the deterioration of the political situation in
south Persia; and (4) to seize a forward base for a possible advance to
Baghdad, a project which already had many supporters, and which
was becoming politically desirable because of reverses in other theatres
of war.
Early in September the British under General Townshend began
to concentrate at Ali Gharbi, and by the 16th the advanced troops
reached Sannaiyat, 8 miles below the Turkish position on both banks
of the Tigris at Sinn, covering Kut. Day temperatures were still high
(1 io°—120° F.), but the nights were some 50° cooler. The river was
nearly at its lowest level, and navigation was already difficult.

About this item

Content

The volume is titled Iraq and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (London: Naval Intelligence Division, 1944).

The report contains preliminary remarks by the Director of Naval Intelligence, 1942 (John Henry Godfrey) and the Director of Naval Intelligence, 1944 (E G N Rushbrook).

There then follows thirteen chapters:

  • I. Introduction.
  • II. Geology and description of the land.
  • III. Coasts of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
  • IV. Climate, vegetation and fauna.
  • V. History.
  • VI. People.
  • VII. Distribution of the people.
  • VIII. Administration and public life.
  • IX. Public health and disease.
  • X. Irrigation, agriculture, and minor industry.
  • XI. Currency, finance, commerce and oil.
  • XII. Ports and inland towns.
  • XIII. Communications.
  • Appendices: stratigraphy; meteorological tables; ten historical sites, chronological table; weights and measures; authorship, authorities and maps.

There follows a section listing 105 text figures and maps and a section listing over 200 illustrations.

Extent and format
1 volume (430 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is divided into a number of chapters, sub-sections whose arrangement is detailed in the contents section (folios 7-13) which includes a section on text-figures and maps, and list of illustrations. The volume consists of front matter pages (xviii), and then a further 682 pages in the original pagination system.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 430; 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎194r] (392/862), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/64, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037366479.0x0000c1> [accessed 23 March 2025]

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