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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME II.' [‎257v] (523/660)

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. .

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L
474 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
all responsibility for its reinforcement, which is certain to prove a very
serious drain on resources in personnel, and for its maintenance until such
time as peace has been proclaimed. They realise that this is an Indian
affair, and they realise that troops can be devoted to the purpose which
could not profitably be employed elsewhere. That being the case, operations
in this theatre do not sin against what is a fundamental principle of the
art of war—the principle that, if victory is to be achieved, fighting resources
must be concentrated at the decisive point. But they wish to insist upon
the importance of this : that under no circumstance must troops, which
might otherwise be employed in Europe, be diverted from the primary
theatre of war for the purpose of conducting a campaign which cannot
appreciably influence the decision as between the armies of the Allied and
those of the Central Powers.
H. B. JACKSON, Admiral, A. J. MURRAY, Lieut.-General,
First Sea Lord. Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Wth October, 1915.
ANNEXURE A.
Distribution of the Turkish Army.
(Exclusive of unarmed and partly-trained recruits.)
Gallipoli
Thrace
Western Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. ..
Konia .. j
Smyrna .. I ..
Adana .. f
Black Sea Coast *
Syria and Palestine
Caucasus
Mesopotamia (exclusive of irregulars) ..
Hejaz, Asir and Aden district
Total
ANNEXURE B.
Notes on Railways.
Haidar Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. to Beersheba (believed to be present railhead).—Distance
approximately 1,320 miles.
No rail communications likely to be open for two years yet between Kara-
punar and Dorak.
Cilician Gates. —The unfinished section through the Cilician Gates is
approximately 20 miles long. The Bagtsche tunnel north of Aleppo is pierced,
but only a Decauville railway is running through ?t present. Rolling stock
is probably inadequate for more than three or four trains a day on other
sections. Coal will have to be brought down from Hungary to feed the lines.
The extension from Beersheba to the Canal will take at least 3£ months
to construct (distance 150 miles as the crow flies, 220 miles by road).
Railway material cannot begin to reach Beersheba much before the beginning
of December. The railway extension to Suez Canal might be completed by
the 15th March. The railway will be almost completely taken up with the
transport of ammunition, railway material, guns and coal after the Germans
have opened railway communication with Constantinople, and therefore not
available for troop movement after (say) the 21st November.
Aleppo-Ras al Ain line (to Baghdad).—Trains are running as far as Ras
al Ain from Aleppo ; 373 miles of line between Ras al Ain and Samarra has
yet to be completed. From Samarra the line is completed to Baghdad.
130.000
150.000
75.000
50.000 (?)
47.000
145,000
9,000
28.000
634,000

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.' [‎257v] (523/660), 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_100045738550.0x00007c> [accessed 10 February 2025]

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