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'HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR BASED ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA 1914-1918. VOLUME IV.' [150r] (304/540)
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.
DECISION TO EVACUATE
245
Faviell, the Warwicks held on for a time to enable the 8 th
Field Battery to withdraw and then fell back into line with
the Worcestershire. During this time Major Havelock’s party
had again been heavily engaged and, deserted by most of the
local troops, had been obliged to fall back in the direction of
the town. Major Havelock himself was killed and many of
his detachment were killed or wounded. About 3 p.m. the
Russians on the left of the Worcestershire main body also
retired. This necessitated the further retirement of the whole
line, which fell back gradually and slowly till about 5 p.m.
when it reached the vicinity of the northern outskirts of the
town.
lo return to the British left, where the Turkish pressure had
been steadily maintained and where, owing to the amount of
dead ground, it had been impossible to observe their numbers
and dispositions. They had brought several guns into action
and from 10 a.m. onward shelled the Allied line heavily,
especially directing their fire against the cemetery hill position ;
and between 2 and 4 p.m. they gradually worked forward into
a cemetery to the north-west of this position. From here
their machine guns enfiladed the cemetery hill crest and under
this fire the local troops suddenly retreated about 4 p.m. With
insufficient men to fill the gaps they left, Major Ley felt that
he had no option but to withdraw his men also. As, however,
the enemy made no attempt to follow up our retirement, the
local troops were able to rally and push uphill again with part
of the North Staffordshire, to take up a final and last position.
At 3 p.m. Colonel Keyworth came to the conclusion that,
if they wished to avoid annihilation or capture, the British
troops must evacuate Baku.* Colonel Stokes was sent for and
the situation explained for the information of the Russian
Commander-in-Chief. After this the necessary orders for with
drawal were issued, Major Ley being instructedf to hold on to
his position at all costs till 8.30 p.m. to enable the remainder
of the troops to withdraw to the place of embarkation.
In point of fact, the enemy appears to have been incapable
of further serious effort anywhere after about 4 p.m. ; and the
gallant tenacity of the British infantry had been so far successful
* General Dunsterville, having learnt that the Russian Commander-in-
Chief considered further resistance impossible, had visited Colonel Keyworth’s
headquarters a little while before this and discussed the situation. Finding,
Jowever, that Colonel Keyworth considered that the position could be held
till the evening. General Dunsterville left it entirely to his decision whether and
when evacuation was necessary,
t This order reached Major Ley about 6.30 p.m.
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.' [150r] (304/540), 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_100049244985.0x000069> [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