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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME I.' [179r] (362/454)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
BATTLE OF KUT
331
who were making the turning movement, had been obliged
to march round the marsh to the north of the enemy’s
position and that this was delaying operations, and at 8.30
he received another report saying that the 17th Brigade
was west of the Ataba marsh and north of the enemy’s left,
and that General Delamain’s portion of the column was
attacking the central and northern redoubts, which General
Delamain expected to be in within half an hour. After receipt
of this message General Townshend sent General Fry the
news of the early success anticipated by General Delamain,
and at the same time instructed him not to make his decisive
attack till he saw that the enemy opposite him were being
affected by General Delamain’s march southwards.
At 10.40 a.m. an aeroplane flew over General Townshend's
headquarters and fired a Very light, which was the agreed
signal to show that General Delamain’s assault had been
successful. About the same time General Fry reported that
a force of three hundred enemy troops had advanced along the
right bank of the Tigris and taken up a position to enfilade
the 18th Brigade lines. The naval flotilla, advancing to
investigate this situation, fired on the Turkish force—whom
they estimated at about one thousand—and forced them to
retire again to their trenches. The Turks on this bank showed
no further activity throughout the day.
Just after 11 a.m. telephone communication between
Generals Townshend’s and Delamain’s headquarters was
broken, owing to insufficiency of cable, and remained so
throughout the day. Visual signalling being impossible, the
only means of communication* was by aeroplane or seaplane,
which rendered valuable service. The great majority of the
personnel manning the seaplanes had recently returned from
service in East Africa and suffered continuously from malaria.
Really unfit to fly the seaplanes, which were mechanically
ill-adapted for the work in Mesopotamia, these men showed
a fine spirit in continuing to work, refusing to say when they
were ill.
At 11.20 a.m. General Townshend received a message by
aeroplane from General Delamain, saying that his column was
advancing south on to the flank of the enemy position south of
the Suwada marsh ; and at 12 noon he received a further message
saying that the column had arrived south of the marsh, but
* A wireless set could not be made available for General Delamain for this
day’s operations. The wireless sets available were with General Townshend s
headquarters and on board the Malamir with General Nixon s headquarters.
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.' [179r] (362/454), 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_100048172214.0x0000a3> [accessed 5 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