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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [73v] (151/540)
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
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116 HISTORY OF THE WAR : MESOPOTAMIA
Hit was a point of some strategic importance and was
connected by desert routes with Tikrit, the country to the
west and Karbala. Moreover, its bitumen wells were valuable
for boats, roads, etc. Early in February General Marshall
gave General Brooking (15th Division) instructions to cap
ture Hit and its garrison as soon as he could complete
his arrangements and weather conditions were favourable
General Marshall considered that it would be comparatively
easy to drive the Turks out of their position and capture
the town ; but, owing to their experience at Ramadi, the
capture of the Turkish force would probably be extremely
difficult. y
On the 18th February, a strong reconnoitring detachment
under General Lucas (42nd Brigade) advanced from Ramadi
and, finding Khan Abu Rayan unoccupied, took up a position
about ten miles south of Hit.* From here it was ascertained
that the Turkish main position was two miles above Hit
behind a depression known as Broad
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
, and that about
two-thirds of the enemy’s force was at Sahiliya. Not wishing
to commit his troops to serious fighting unless he saw a chance
of delivering a severe blow, General Marshall ordered contact
with the enemy to be maintained by constant patrolling and
reconnaissance, while forward communications were improved
and supplies pushed up. The latter operation was facilitated
by the completion on the 18th February of the railway exten
sion from Falluja to Dhibban.
On the 1st March, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff,
m addition to ordering General Dunsterville to remain in
Persia, asked him to report what action he could best take.
General Dunsterville replied that he would be best employed
watching the situation and that the presence of his small
part} t in Hamadan, where he was trying to allay the suspicions
ot the local Persian notables, was having a good moral effect.
He also recommended. that he should be allowed to spend
money on famine relief. H.M. Government approved these
recommendations and famine relief work (mainly road improve
ment) was begun on the 23rd March. No better means for
changing the local prevailing attitude of suspicion and hostility
* See Map 37.
in-tLrnrp+pr Cer w '^ ^ . ot ^er ranks including motor drivers and one
n? a 1 a I 115 M lssl °n were 6 Ford touring cars, 34 Ford vans and
Sis tW Car detachn \ e r nt armoured car, 1 lorry and 1 Ford van). By
British nffif 1Cre ^ eso P otam i a on their way to join his Mission 173
British officers and 331 other ranks. J
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.
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- 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.' [73v] (151/540), 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_100049244984.0x000098> [accessed 7 April 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