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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [15v] (37/660)
The record is made up of 1 volume (323 folios). It was created in 1924. 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. .
Transcription
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8
HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
minute on an advance to Baghdad, as he anticipated that the
question would be revived owing to the victory at Kut. He
advocated a policy of caution and prompt orders to General
Nixon not to advance; for though it was possible, he said,
that General Nixon’s present force was strong enough to expel
the Turks from Baghdad, he did not consider that the force
was strong enough to hold it against possible Turkish attacks
later on and an evacuation then by the British might have
disastrous political effects. He was of opinion that it would be
incurring unjustifiable risks to go to Baghdad unless we could
reinforce General Nixon with a complete division and one or
two cavalry regiments.
, By this date Mr. Chamberlain had received Lord Hardinge’s
private letter of the 10th September, in which the Viceroy
had advocated the formation in Egypt of a reserve provided
‘ by the Indian divisions from France ; and in which he had
pointed out the decrease in India’s military strength, the
growth in India’s responsibilities, and how improvisation in
India had practically reached its limits ; he had also explained
that the situation in India was slowly deteriorating, and as it
might at any moment become critical it gave cause for anxiety
as to the future. Lord Hardinge’s review of the situation
caused Mr. Chamberlain considerable apprehension. It indi
cated more anxiety on the Viceroy’s part than Mr. Chamberlain
had been led to expect. Moreover, it reached him at a time when
sudden changes and developments in the European situation
were an additional disturbing influence.
On the 4th October, Mr. Chamberlain wired officially to
India: . I shall be glad to know what Nixon’s present
intentions are, as if, owing to navigation troubles, there is no
probability of catching and smashing the retreating enemy,
there is no object in continuing the pursuit . . . The
telegram went on to say that the previous orders as to a cautious
policy in Mesopotamia still held good, “ subject to course of
events at Baghdad and elsewhere and to the recommendations
you now make; ” and concluded by asking tor an estimate of
the enemy’s strength in Mesopotamia. Mr. Chamberlain
supplemented this official telegram with a private one to Lord
Hardinge in which he said that the latter’s private letter of the
10th September seemed to render it imperative to stop General
Nixon s further advance ; and he asked for an early communi
cation of the Viceroy’s views.
Mr. Chamberlain s views at this period were further expressed
in his weekly private letter of the 7th October. It was, he
About this item
- Content
The volume is the second volume of an official government publication compiled at the request of the Government of India, and under the direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence, by Brigadier-General Frederick James Moberly. The volume was printed and published at His Majesty's Stationery Office, London.
The contents provide a narrative of the operations of 1914-1918 in Mesopotamia, based mainly on official documents.
The volume is in one part, entitled, 'Part III. The First Campaign for Baghdad', and consists of the following fourteen chapters:
- The Decision to Advance to Baghdad
- Commencement of the Advance Towards Baghdad
- The Battle of Ctesiphon - the First Day's Operations
- Battle of Ctesiphon (Continued) and the British Retirement to Kut
- The Decision to Hold Kut and British Policy Consequent on the Failure to Reach Baghdad
- The Siege of Kut: First Phase (December 1915)
- Commencement of the Relief Operations
- The Action of Shaikh Saad
- The Action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. and the First Attack on Hanna
- Operations up to the End of February, 1916
- The Second Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt
- The Third Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Successful Advance to and First and Second Attacks on Sannaiyat
- The Last Attempt at Relief; Bait Isa and Sannaiyat
- The Siege of Kut; the Last Stages
The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:
- The Middle East
- Lower Mesopotamia
- Map 8 - The Tigris from Kut al Amara to Baghdad
- Map 9 - The Battle of Ctesiphon
- Map 10 - The affair of Umm at Tubul
- Map 11 - The defence of Kut al Amara
- Map 12 - The fort at Kut; with special reference to the Turkish attack on 24th December 1915
- Map 13 - River Tigris between Ali Gharbi and Shumran
- Map 14 - The action at Shaikh Saad
- Map 15 - The action of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
- Map 16 - The first attack on Hanna; 21st January 1916
- Map 17 - The attack on the Dujaila Redoubt, 8th March 1916
- Map 18 - To illustrate Tigris Corps Operation Order No. 26, dated 6th March 1916
- Map 19 - To illustrate operations between 10th March and end of April 1916
- Map 20 - The action of Bait Isa on 17th and 18th April 1916, and the attack on Sannaiyat 22nd April 1916
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (323 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains a list of contents (folios 6-10), a list of maps and illustrations (folio 11), appendices (folios 254-290), an index (folios 291-312), and eleven maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 314-324).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 325; 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 volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [15v] (37/660), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045738548.0x000026> [accessed 5 February 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2
- Title
- 'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3r, 3r, 4r:70v, 72r:79r, 160v, 80r:102v, 104r:160r, 161r, 313v, 161v:281v, 283r:313v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence