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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎61r] (128/660)

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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V ™nUl'.T= rfW.--«- - xT
THE DEFENCE OF GURKHA MOUND
Southward of Water Redoubt the Turkish attack never
got near the British main line. British accounts show that the
n n 1 Oth Mahrattas and 7th Rajput -
who held this portion of the hne-were never attacked w th ;L
vigour; and the Turkish account states that their 38?h
Division which was directed to attack on the right of Tevad
Beys detachment retreated precipitately as soon as fir! was
opened on it from the British main line
From Water Redoubt southwards'for the greater part of
he night much Turkish cheering, shouting and firing was heard
from the direction of Gurkha Mound ; and it was evident that
a fierce fight was in progress there. The 35 th Turkish Division
making repeated attempts to overwhelm the British detachment
holding this mound from 7 p.m., onwards, managed to work all
round the mound, but without weakening the defence • and at
4 a.m., their attack withered away and they withdrew with
severe losses. Muhammad Amin, the Turkish historian and
one of Nur-ud-Din s staff officers at this battle, pays the
following tribute to the gallantry of the British defenders
The 35th Division strove for hours in front of that
brave and determined little force left alone on the little
hill-top and, though it lost many men, did not gain its
end, nay did not succeed in drawing near even !
Early in June 1916, I met Captain Stockley* one of that
brave band, after his capture at Kut al Amara, on the
deck of the Khalifa. He and some hundred of his com
panions were being taken to Baghdad. That officer, as
we passed by Ctesiphon, gave us many reminiscences of
that night's fight between his detachment and the 35 th
Division. According to him, that detachment consisted
of one hundred men of the 24th Punjabis and three
hundred of the 7th Gurkhas and a machine gun com
pany, under the command of the brave and daring Lieu
tenant-Colonel Powell f—in all four hundred men and a
machine gun company. Having listened, with a forced
politeness and a disdain I was far from feeling in reality,
to the relation of the secrets of that night by Mr!
Stockley, I must confess to a deep hidden feeling of
appreciation of the deed of that brave self-sacrificing
enemy detachment, which for hours, though only four
* Captain (now Major) C. H. Stockley, D.S.O., M.C., Indian Army, then
commanding the Maxim Battery.
t Lieutenant-Colonel W. B. Powell, C.M.G., D.S.O., commanded the 2/7th
Gurkhas.
(11985)

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
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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎61r] (128/660), 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_100045738548.0x000081> [accessed 16 November 2024]

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