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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [197v] (403/660)
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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360 HISTORY OF THE WAR: MESOPOTAMIA
that desertion among the Indian troops increased; and that
the Arabs of the town looked upon the British cause as lost
In a telegram of the 11 th to General Aylmer, however he
spoke in high terms of the conduct of his British troops
whose discipline, patience and cheeriness were, he said
splendid. He could not say the same, however, of his
Mahomedan and some of his Hindu troops.
General Townshend himself recognised, he says, that there
was little hope of relief and he considered it certain that the
relieving force would never again find such favourable
conditions as had offered in the Dujaila attack. The Tigris
flood was expected on the 16th March, and it might stop all
relief operations. If he was not relieved by the 7th April,
breaking out of Kut would be rendered impossible by the
floods, and famine would compel him to surrender. Accord
ingly he asked Generals Gorringe and Lake on the 1 1th March
whether they did not think it would be advantageous, while
preparations for the next effort at relief were in progress,
for him to enter into negotiations with Halil. His idea was
that, as there was no longer any likelihood of the Turks being
able to retake the Basra vilayet, the further retention of Kut
was not necessary, and he might be able to obtain honourable
terms from Halil by exchanging Kut for permission to his
own force to march out with their arms, artillery, and pouch
ammunition and join the relieving force, while their sick
and wounded, with the baggage, went down by river.
General Townshend said that he had roughly one month’s
food on starvation diet which might last him, he thought,
till the 17th April, but that his staff were going into the matter.
If, therefore, there was any doubt in the minds of Generals
Gorringe or Lake regarding the certainty of early relief,
General Townshend suggested that his proposal should be put
before Government. Negotiations to be successful, he said,
should be begun soon, while he had food to bargain with, and
he pointed out that a third effort at relief would undoubtedly
entail heavy losses in addition to those already suffered.
General Gorringe informed General Lake next day that
he was making no reply to the above, as he considered that the
matter was one solely for General Lake to deal with; but he
considered that the fact of Halil wanting to offer terms indicated
his desire to free his troops for other operations, and in a
month’s time much might happen in our favour. General
Lake told General Townshend on the 13th March that, though
he did not approve of his suggestions, they had been forwarded
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.' [197v] (403/660), 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_100045738550.0x000004> [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