'Field notes: Mesopotamia. General Staff, India. February, 1917.' [‎89r] (184/350)

Route No. 8— contd.
would be another defile, say 6 miles wide, with its
outer flank formed by the upper Suwaikieh marsh.
(b) The most noteworthy defile in the Dubuni-Aziziyah-Lajj
stretch is from ’Aziziyah to Zuwair. By sticking to
the river bank here a Force would run its head into
a narrow defile if the floods were out. But out side
of the flood is open country (see Route Report).
(c) Qusaibah-Dialah-Baghdad. All liable to flood and the
best road runs 4 miles wide of the river in its latter
portion.
Right bank—
(d) Hussaini is a likely point for a breach, and the tail of a
flood so formed approaches so close to the Liquorice
Factory An East India Company trading post. flood as nearly to join up, thence onwards
the defile opens but nowhere beyond a width of 4
miles in high flood. To turn the outer flank of the
inundation would take one anything up to 40 miles
wide of the Tigris.
(e) Similarly a flood from Dabuni (another customary spill)
point would bottle a force in a defile about 3 miles
wide and 10 miles long from Baghailah upwards.
Turning possibility same as for Hussaini flood.
(/) ’Abdullah Abu Muatif (a little upstream of ’Aziziyah) is
another natural escape, a flood from which hugs the
Tigris particularly closely and is apt to join up with
the Dabuni flood so the question of outflanking is
the same in both cases.
(g) Perhaps the best known of all the natural escapes for
Tigris is that near Seleucia. Flood water from this
may extend any distance up to 25 miles in a southerly
direction.
5. From the above it is plain that the left bank is preferable
to the right in flood season (witness its use by the Turks this
spring). In the dry season there is little to choose between the
two banks in this respect except that the road runs along the
left bank; an advance along either is comparatively simple.
6 . Practicability of route, and of movement off the road,
with note on obstacles.