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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [64r] (132/540)
The record is made up of 1 volume (266 folios). It was created in 1927. 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.
97
7th DIVISION LEAVES MESOPOTAMIA
19465
H
and in any case the chances were against any serious attack
in Mesopotamia before the next winter. He believed the
Turks to have little desire to do any more fighting anywhere ;
and they were short of men and deficient of other resources.
For example, their cavalry division and more than six other
divisions in the Jerusalem vicinity numbered only about
15.000 fighting men ; in fact the word division throughout
their army was a misnomer. France was war-weary, very
short of men and breaking up divisions ; and Italy would
always have to be stiffened by some of our troops. America
hoped to put twelve divisions into France by May and twelve
more by December \ and this rate could not be quickened for
lack of shipping. Our infantry in all theatres of war was
100.000 below establishment and would perhaps be twice as
short next spring. Germany could probably during the next
few months bring thirty to forty divisions from her eastern to
her western front and must realise the advantage of gaining a
decision before American help arrived. On the other hand
she had been well punished in 1917 and her economic position
was very bad. Austria was longing for peace but could not
break away from her German masters; while Bulgaria would
do no more fighting than Germany could make her do.
From the above the Commander-in-Chief would gather,
said the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, that we must
cut down in Mesopotamia and Palestine to a defensive minimum
and that all the additional men India could give were needed,
and needed quickly.
On the 4th December, His Majesty’s Government decided
that, in view of the greatly improved situation in Mesopotamia
and of the fact that the number of rifles in our force there was
more than treble that of the enemy, one of the Indian divisions
should be moved from Mesopotamia to Egypt. General
Marshall was accordingly directed to detail an Indian division
other than the newly-formed 17th or 18th ; and he selected
the 7th Division, which left for Egypt before the end of the
month, its place in the 1st Corps being taken by the 17th
Division. On the 4th the Chief of the Imperial General Staff
also telegraphed to the Commander-in-Chief in India that
in order to prevent British divisions being broken up on the
Western Front it was desired to release British battalions
from Egypt by replacing them by Indian battalions and he
asked what India could do towards such replacement at an
early date.*
* This led to a decision not to raise the 19th Division and to send many
more battalions from India to Egypt.
About this item
- Content
The volume is the fourth 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 V. The Campaign in Upper Mesopotamia, 1917-1918 - North-West Persia and the Caspian, 1918', and consists of the following ten chapters:
- May, June and July 1917
- August and September 1917: The Capture of Ramadi
- October to December 1917 - Occupation of the Jabal Hamrin, Action of Tikrit and Death of General Maude
- January to March 1918: Dunsterville's Mission and the Action of Khan Baghdadi
- April and May 1918: Operations in Kurdistan and Arrangements to Counter the Turco-German Threat beyond our Northern Flank
- British Plans to Stop the Enemy's Advance into Persia and to Obtain Control of the Caspian
- The Fall of Baku
- British Advance up the Tigris: Actions of Fat-Ha Gorge and on the Little Zab
- The Battle of Sharqat and the Armistice
- Conclusion
The volume also includes fourteen maps, entitled:
- The Middle East
- Mesopotamia
- Map 34 - Operations near Ramadi: July and September 1917
- Map 35 - Operations in the Jabal Hamrin: October and December 1917
- Map 36 - Actions at Daur and Tikrit: 2nd and 5th November 1917
- Map 37 - Operations on the Euphrates line: March 1918
- Map 38 - Action of Khan Baghdadi: 26th March 1918
- Map 39 - Operations in the Kifri-Kirkuk area: April and May 1918
- Map 40 - The Cavalry affair of the 27th April 1918, and the action of Tuz Khurmatli, 29th April 1918
- Map 41 - Operations of "Dunsterforce", 1918
- Map 42 - Operations at Baku, August-September 1918
- Map 43 - Operations on the Tigris: 18th-30th October 1918
- Map 44 - Action by 7th Cavalry Brigade near Hadraniya: 29th October 1918
- Map 45 - Battle of Sharqat, 29th October 1918
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (266 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains a preface (folios 5-6), a chronological summary of the campaign in Mesopotamia (folios 7-8), a list of contents (folios 8-11), a list of maps and illustrations (folios 11-12), appendices (folios 197-232), an index (folios 233-254), and twelve maps in a pocket attached to the inside back cover (folios 256-267).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 268; 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 file 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 IV.' [64r] (132/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/4, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049244984.0x000085> [accessed 18 January 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/4
- Title
- 'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:2v, 4r:186v, 188r:255v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence