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'Railways - Mesopotamia and L of C [Lines of Communication] Policy' [62r] (123/204)
The record is made up of 1 file (100 folios). It was created in 18 May 1917-21 Dec 1917. 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.
S p; C R E T
From:- G.0.C-in-C.,Basra
To:- War Office
15.9.17
Inv/ator 1895 Sagy
Your telegram 13th September 39215 M.R.3 389
Bridge over river Tigris at Amr.ra opened August 15th is 750
feet long and twenty fc^t broad. Structure is pile bridge
with floating section 270 foot long, two girder ramps each
62 feet long between floating and piled sections to take up
rise and fall of river. Floating section made of locally
JUi )
built steel pontoons stiffened with girders with Flegtiblc
joints is opened for river traffic by releasing locking pin
and is closed by means of steam driver winch in 2| minutes.
Bridge can cross load of 8?r tens, moving at 15 miles per
hour. Purpose of bridge is military communication between
both banks at Amara and to replace old Turkish bridge which
was slow, cumbersome and in need of replacement. Bridge
built entirely of material in the country that could be
spared from other works.
Addressed M.R.3; repeated War Section
C. I.G.S.
D. C.I.Ci.S
D.M.O.
D . M . I .
M.I.2.
A.G.
M.G.O.
D.G.M.A
D.G.M.R
D.R .R.
M.R.3.
M.0.2. .
M. 0.2 . a. *
* Asks for details of the bridge.
About this item
- Content
The file, marked secret, contains correspondence and notes regarding rail and river transportation for the Mesopotamian campaign during the First World War. The papers cover a number of matters, including:
- Strategic considerations of the use of rail and river communications
- Supply of railway materials, rolling stock, and personnel to Mesopotamia [Iraq] from India, other parts of the British Empire, and allied territories
- Problems with unloading and shipping congestion at Basra
- Progress of railway construction, including weekly reports from the General Officer Commanding or Director of Railways to the War Office, starting from August 1917
- Capacity estimates (for troops, food, ammunition, and materials) and efforts to increase it
- Complaints of shortages of railway stock and personnel in India due to the demand in Mesopotamia
- Preparations for a commission, led by Sir Henry Francis Edward Freeland, to be sent to review rail and river transportation in Mesopotamia
- Questions of flooding and damming of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Correspondents include: the Commander-in-Chief, India; the Chief of the Imperial General Staff; the General Officer Commanding, Mesopotamia; the War Office; the Director of Railways, Mesopotamia; the War Section, Army Department, Government of India; and Major General Sir Henry Francis Edward Freeland.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (100 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order, from the rear to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 102; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are written in coloured crayon and pencil; where they have been written in pencil and circled, they have been crossed through.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/5/787
- Title
- 'Railways - Mesopotamia and L of C [Lines of Communication] Policy'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:101v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence