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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [89r] (182/540)
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.
RAILWAYS
141
At the end of March the only naval vessels on the Mesopo
tamia rivers were the four gunboats of the “ Insect " class.
On the 6 th February, a special Directorate of Irrigation
came into being, to deal with the development, maintenance
and control of irrigation, as well as the construction and
upkeep of river embankments, etc.
During the summer and autumn of 1917 the question of the
further development of railway and water communications in
Mesopotamia, to meet the requirements of a probable enemy
offensive, had been under consideration ; and at the beginning
of October the Chief of the Imperial General Staff had intimated
that Major-General H. F. E. Freeland would be sent out as an
expert adviser regarding requirements and possibilities. On
the 21st January, 1918, General Freeland, in his report, advo
cated—to meet the requirements of a force of the size fore
casted in his instructions—the construction of a railway from
Basra up the Euphrates via Nasiriya to Baghdad. General
Marshall concurred in this opinion, but various objections
to it were put forward by the Commander-in-Chief in India.
The whole question of the construction of a through railway
from Basra to Baghdad, either by the Euphrates or Tigris
routes, was, however, deferred, as the Chief of the Imperial
General Staff said that there appeared no likelihood of the
British force in the Baghdad area being increased beyond one
cavalry and eight infantry divisions, for which the communi
cations, existing or under construction, already sufficed.
At the end of March, 1918, the following railways were in
existence :—
Basra-Nasiriya (metre gauge).
Basra-Amara (metre gauge).
Kut-Baghdad (metre gauge).
Baghdad-Baquba (metre-gauge).
Baquba-Jabal Hamrin (2 ft. 6 in. gauge, under conversion
to metre gauge).
Baghdad-Samarra (standard gauge).
Baghdad-Dhibban (standard gauge).
Sumaika-Sadiya (2 ft. 6 in. gauge).
Baghdad-Mufraz (Decauville).
In addition a survey was being made for a metre gauge
extension from the Jabal Hamrin to Qizil Ribat; and a
standard gauge line from Baghdad to Hilla was under
construction.
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.' [89r] (182/540), 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_100049244984.0x0000b7> [accessed 18 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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