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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [24v] (55/660)
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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26 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
as considered in the Syrian problem, it could fairly be assumed,
they said, that the Turks would not be able to send more than
60,000 troops against Baghdad, but if such a landing were not
to be made the combined staffs “ consider that it would be
unwise from their point of view to occupy Baghdad with the
intention of staying there until the end of the war, but they
would favour a raid, even if the raiding force were not with
drawn immediately, providing it remained entirely within the
power of the military authorities to withdraw the troops at
will.”
They continued that a strong argument in favour of a
temporary occupation of Baghdad was the probability that a
failure to push on “ now ” might create nearly, if not quite,
as bad an impression in the East as would a withdrawal after
occupation. But if there was any doubt as to permission
being given to the military authorities to withdraw from
Baghdad at their discretion, on military grounds, the combined
staffs were definitely against either occupation or a raid.
They concluded by urging that, whatever decision was come
to, it was imperative that the force employed should be
purely Indian, and that no troops should be diverted there
from the primary theatre of war for the purpose of conducting
this subsidiary operation “ which cannot appreciably in
fluence the decision as between the armies of the Allied and
those of the Central Powers.” Lord Kitchener, how r ever,
adhered to his former opinion that a raid would suffice and
that a permanent stay at Baghdad was not necessary.
The War Committee, considered that the advantages of an
occupation of Baghdad, which was deemed a perfectly feasible
military operation by all the military authorities consulted,
outweighed the disadvantages of possible eventual withdrawal;
but before issuing the orders for the occupation they wished
to be sure that the Government of India took the same view,
more especially as there was some anxiety as to how far
the reasons for an advance on Baghdad would lead to further
dispersion of forces after its occupation and also as to the
effect of a possible ultimate retirement, or of demands for
further forces or for other operations to obviate such a retire
ment. The decision arrived at was that Mr. Chamberlain
should draft, in consultation with three other Ministers, a
telegram to the Viceroy. This telegram ran as follows:
Private. Your private telegram of 21st October. Baghdad
advance. Report of combined staffs estimates that Nixon
has only some 9,000 Turkish troops and some irregulars to
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.' [24v] (55/660), 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_100045738548.0x000038> [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