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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [46v] (97/454)
The record is made up of 1 volume (223 folios). It was created in 1923. 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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72 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
status quo in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
(where, however, there was little
doubt of our being able to retain command* of the sea) ;
and, lastly, the menace to the security of India by the raising
of a Jahad, which would combine Afghanistan and the Musal-
man tribes of the
North-West Frontier
Region of British India bordering Afghanistan.
of India with a possible
rising in India itself. The last mentioned was the most serious
and raised all sorts of minor issues, connected mainly with
Persia and the intervening territory. Not the least among
such minor issues was the effect on unrest in India that might
be produced by military inactivity in face of grave provocation.
It was, however, felt that this part of the question was one
primarily for India to solve as being well within her capacity.
It had been a long-established custom for the Government of
India to control and direct military operations based upon
that country, and in the conduct of such operations to act
independently of the War Office ; with such general control
by H.M. Government as was required being exercised through
the medium of the
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.
. In consequence, when the
first proposals for operations at the head of the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
were put forward, the W T ar Office, overweighted already by
their commitments elsewhere, welcomed the idea that they
should be controlled by the
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.
and conducted by the
Government of India.
The
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.
and War Office were both represented
in the Cabinet and the records show that the staffs of both
offices had frequent intercourse concerning the general progress
of the operations ; and although, as stated by the Secretary
of State for India in the House of Commons (on the 12th July
1917), the
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.
was not organised to conduct military
operations, there appeared at first to be no reason for the
necessity of direct intervention by the Chief of the Imperial
General Staff ; and it was not till the failure to reach Baghdad,
the investment of Kut al Amara, the evacuation of Gallipoli
and the growth in importance of the Egyptian operations,
that it became increasingly apparent that a more closety
co-ordinated measure of control was essential. The reasoned
statement of the 31st January 1916 submitted by the Chief of
the Imperial General Staff to the War Committee recommend
ing such central co-ordination will be dealt with hereafter in
its chronological order.
Although there was no pre-war plan for operations in
Mesopotamia, the possibility that troops from India might be
* The occupation of Basra preventing its use as a submarine base perfected
our command of the Gulf and adjacent waters.
About this item
- Content
The volume is the first 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 divided into two parts. The first part, entitled, 'Part I. Before the Outbreak of Hostilities', consists of the following five chapters:
- General Description of the Country
- The Turks in Mesopotamia
- British Pre-War Policy
- The Army in India and Pre-War Military Policy
- Inception of the Operations
The second part, entitled, 'Part II. The Campaign in Lower Mesopotamia', consists of the following seven chapters:
- The Landing in Mesopotamia of Force "D" and the Operations Leading to the Occupation of Basra
- The Occupation of Basra and the Capture of Qurna
- Commencement of the Turkish Counter-Offensive
- Development and Defeat of the Turkish Counter-Offensive
- Operations in Arabistan and the Capture of Amara
- Operations on the Euphrates and the Occupation of Nasiriya
- The battle of Kut and Occupation of Aziziya
The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:
- The Middle East
- Lower Mesopotamia
- Map 1 - To illustrate operations described in Chapter VI
- Map 2 - To illustrate fighting near Qurna
- Map 3 - To illustrate fighting round Shaiba
- Map 4 - To illustrate operations in Persian Arabistan
- Map 5 - To illustrate operations in the Akaika Channel 27th June to 5th July 1915
- Map 6 - To illustrate operations near Nasiriya 6th to 24th July 1915
- Map 7 - To illustrate the Battle of Kut 28th September 1915
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (223 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains a page of errata (folio 5), a list of contents (folios 6-8), a list of maps and illustrations (folio 9), appendices (folios 185v-192), an index (folios 192v-214v), and eight maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 217-224).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 225; 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 I.' [46v] (97/454), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048172213.0x000062> [accessed 2 April 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/1
- Title
- 'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:3r, 4r:216v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence