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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [105r] (214/540)
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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GENERAL MARSHALL’S VIEWS
167
In regard to the Euphrates line, the War Office considered
it advisable to reduce Hit to an outpost, supported by Ramadi;
and that, if the railway was extended to Tikrit, the shortage of
railway material necessitated discontinuance of the extension
to Ramadi.
On the 12th May General Marshall replied. His operations
in South Kurdistan had driven the demoralised remnants of
the Turkish 2nd Division across the Little Zab beyond his
powers of pursuit, but had only caused the diversion of one
infantry battalion from the other division ( 6 th) in the XIII
Corps to oppose his advance.* To keep up the maximum
pressure on enemy forces within reach, his only objective was
the Turkish XVIII Corps ; and an extension of the railway to
Tikrit would bring him within thirty and fifty miles, respectively,
of the XVIII Corps positions at and above Fat-ha. Though
he had no doubt that he could capture these positions, he was
equally certain that the Turks there would retire rather than
offer serious opposition ; and to maintain the large pursuing
force necessary to keep up pressure on the enemy it would
be necessary to extend the railway beyond Tikrit. This
would enable him to maintain both his 1st Corps on the Tigris
and his Illrd Corps on the Kirkuk-Erbil line.
In General Marshall’s opinion, such operations would result
in the capture of Mosul and the disappearance of Turkish
control of country between the Tigris and the Persian border.
But his railhead would then be much closer to the enemy
railhead at Nisibin and his force could have no effect on the
Turks in the Caucasus, who could be supplied there and at
Tabriz from the Black Sea.
To extend the railway to Tikrit would take two months
and another two months to Shuraimiya, beyond which no
estimate was possible as the line would have to cross the
Jabal Hamrin. Moreover, owing to the intense heat of the
next four months, General Marshall urged most strongly that
no operations should commence before the 15th September.
As regards General Dunsterville’s force, General Marshall
could only supply at Hamadan from about June to December
* The 6th Division at this time was believed to consist of the 16th, 18th
and 22nd Regiments. Two battalions of the 22nd were near Mosul, but
the 3/16th and all three battalions of the 18th Regiment moved westward,
from Ruwandiz and the Penjwin-Halebja area respectively, to Altun Kopri
at the beginning of May. The Turkish force, believed to belong to the 6th
Division, which was reported moving towards Urmia, was understood to be
2,500 rifles strong, including the 2/16th and l/22nd Regiments, with some
frontier formations.
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.' [105r] (214/540), 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_100049244985.0x00000f> [accessed 29 March 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