'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM' [629v] (1271/1386)
The record is made up of 1 file (687 folios). It was created in 1915-1918. 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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No. 1C.
/V2>, 3103
Sii
Letter from
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.
to the Admiralty, Xo.
dated 27th October 1915.
1 See No. 12.
2 See No. 13.
With reference to your letter of the 23rd May, Xo. M. 03918, 1 and of 10th
July, Xo. M. 40i27, 2 on the subject of the
protection of the Anglo-Persian Oil Fields and
Pipe Line, I' am directed to inquire whether the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty still attach great importance to the maintenance
of the supply of oil from those fields, as it has been stated on presumably good
authority that their Lordships are no longer dependent on this source of supply.
Mr. Secretary Chamberlain would be glad to know as early as possible whether this
is correct, as it may considerably modify the present military arrangements for the
defence of the Oil Fields and Pipe Line,
I am, Ac.,
F. G. Barrow, General,
Military Secretary. * (i) (ii) * (iv) (v)
yST
Sir,
Xo. 17
4^
Letter from Ind-rn Office to War Office, v^no
daied 21st December 1915.
322 i
—^
1 To India, dated 8tli December 1915.
From ditto, dated 9th December 1915.
To ditto, dated 11th December 1915.
From ditto, dated 18th December 1915.
(See Nos. 10, 11, 22 in Supplement
“ A.”)
With reference to the enclosed telegrams 1 to and from the Viceroy of India,
I am directed to say that the Secretary of State
for India would be glad to receive as early as
possible the views of the Army Council.
2. Whether we eveniually decide to assume
the offensive in Mesopotamia or whether we are
compelled to restrict ourselves to the defensive
Mr. Chamberlain is reluctantly forced to admit that the situation demands an increase
to our forces in the Mesopotamian theatre of war, but he is also aware both of the
serious shortage of troops in India and of the imperative demands now being forced
upon us by the exigencies of the war in other regions, lie therefore suggests for the
consideration of the Army Council the following expedient.
3. The Government of India have, as a temporary measure, detailed- two
provisional brigades of the Indian Army for service in .Mesopotamia pending the
arrival of the Lahore Division. Mr. Chamberlain now proposes to add another
brigade from the Indian Army to the two already sent, thus completing a fifth Anglo-
Indian Division, on the clear understanding that the War Office will at once make
arrangements for sending to India 12 battalions of British troops, either garrison
regiments or new formations, to replace the 12 battalions taken ’as an emergency
measure from the garrison of India for field service in Mesopotamia. As stipulated
by the Viceroy it is essential that the battalions be despatched fully armed and
equipped.
(4) The advantages of this proposal are :—■
(i) That it will obviate asking the War Office for a fully trained Division,
which, doubtless, cannot well be spared.
(ii) That it will expedite the provision of the 5th Division asked for.
(hi) That it gives General Xixon a Division which,will on the wholmbe better
adapted for Asiatic warfare. ^ ' ,
(iv) That it increases the European garrison of India.
(v) That it reduces the number of organised Indian units in India at a time of
possible internal unrest and disturbance.
(5) In the Memorandum on “The Military Situation in India and the Middle
Fast,” prepared by the Military Secretary,
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.
, anti submitted to the Com
mittee of Imperial Defence on 20th November, it was suggested in the last paragraph
of Part II. that 10,000 additional reinforcements should be sent to India during the
next few months.
If the proposal now made in paragraph 3 of this letter be accepted, Mr. Chamberlain
is satisfied that there will be no occasion to press for the 10,000 men referred to
above, as the one proposal practically includes the other. He hopes that in this way
About this item
- Content
This file contains working drafts of confidential prints, correspondence and telegrams from the room of Sir Edmund Barrow, Military Secretary in the 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. , collected for the Mesopotamian Commission which was convened to examine the causes of the besieging and surrender of the Indian Expeditionary Force in Kut-el-Amara [Al Kūt].
The papers cover a range of topics and include the following: General Townshend's assessment of the situation after the Battle of Kut-el-Amara; a précis of correspondence relating to the origins and development of the Mesopotamia expedition; and a collection (ff 396-399) of private telegrams between the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy, prior to the outbreak of war with Turkey.
The file also includes some tables showing the strength of General Townshend's force at Ctesiphon (folio 111) as well as the Indian Expeditionary Force 'D' (In Mesopotamia) Troops of the 6th Poona Division (folio 114).
Correspondents include: General Sir John Nixon; Major-General Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend; the Viceroy of India; officials of the Admiralty; officials of the War Office.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (687 folios)
- Arrangement
The entries are recorded in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 686; 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. Multiple additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are written in crayon and pencil; where they are written in pencil and circled, they are crossed through.
The file has one foliation anomaly, f 374A.
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/5/768
- Title
- 'PAPERS RELATING TO THE MESOPOTAMIAN COMMISSION from SIR E. BARROW'S ROOM'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:5v, 7r:89v, 91r:107v, 109r:130v, 131ar, 131r:134v, 135ar, 135ar, 135r:136v, 137ar, 137r:203v, 204ar, 204r:225r, 225ar, 225v:295v, 296ar, 296r:316v, 317ar, 317r:374v, 374ar:374av, 375r:405v, 406ar, 406r:562r, 562ar, 562v:623v, 624ar, 624r:686v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence