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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [142r] (288/540)
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.
DUNSTERVILLE’S VIEWS
229
September the British had repeatedly but unsuccessfully
advised Colonel Stepanoff in command to withdraw. The
enemy attack commenced at about 6 a.m. and the Russians
and Armenians only held on to their positions for about an
hour, when they retired hurriedly, leaving the Warwicks isolated
and with both flanks uncovered. These two companies then
fell back steadily and gradually, fighting a rear-guard action,
for some three miles towards the point where the Baku-Digya
road crossed the railway. But before they could reach it, they
ran short of ammunition and a number of their men were cut
off by enemy cavalry. When finally about noon they reached
the railway, 4 officers and 67 other ranks were missing.
By this time the British infantry were all very tired men.
Ever since their arrival in Baku they had been on constant
duty day and night, generally in the front line ; they had seldom
had the full, or kind of, ration they were used to ; and they had
found the moist heat very enervating. General Dunsterville
discussed the whole situation with General Lewin, who had
just arrived in Baku for a short visit, and came to the conclusion
that it was useless to continue the defence and that he must
withdraw the British troops from Baku. He informed the
Baku Government of his conclusions and requested them to
meet him that afternoon (1st September). At 4 p.m. he
addressed the assembled committees, informing them that he
considered that Baku could not be saved from the Turks and
that to continue its defence would only involve unnecessary loss
of life. The British troops had hitherto done all the fighting,
as the local troops had consistently failed to assist or support
them ; and he was about to give orders to his men to withdraw
from the line. He gave this warning so that the Baku
authorities could fill the gaps with their own troops ; but he
recommended them to make terms with the enemy at once.
In conclusion, he urged them to take immediate action and
not to waste time in making speeches and passing resolutions.
He then left them for an hour to come to a decision.
His speech caused considerable anger and consternation.
But it failed to achieve the desired effect; for when he returned
in an hour’s time, the assembly was still engaged in useless
talking. He begged them to act and again left them for an
hour, only to find on his return that they were still passing
resolutions without showing any signs of taking definite action.
As he felt that under such conditions it would be unfair to the
inhabitants to desert them, he decided to allow his troops to
remain, contenting himself with sending a warning note to
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.' [142r] (288/540), 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_100049244985.0x000059> [accessed 7 February 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