‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 22. PART II. (From 16th to 31st May 1916).’ [‎107r] (218/246)

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General Lake’s “ mission ” referred to by the Chief of the Imperial
51399 _ General Staff was: whilst ensuring the
security of his force, to keep the Turks
occupied in order to assist the Russians and to minimise and counteract the
effects of the fall of Kut.
The above correspondence has been repeated to General Lake with a
56311 request for his views.
6. Prom the continuous information received regarding retrograde move
ment on the part of the Turks, it seems just possible that they may have already
withdrawn more of their troops from the Kut area for operations against the
Russians then is known, and that the force in contact with the Tigris Corps is
not so strong as it is thought to be.
At any rate their position on the left bank of the river is one which must
g5425 give them much cause for anxiety. Should
General Gorringe force the passage of the
Hai with which object he was bringing up pontoons, it would seem that the
enemy must withdraw from their forward positions on the left bank of the
Tigris to above Kut.
\ '
S. G. Loch,— 30-5-16.
Information received since the above was written shows :—
(i) That an offensive as suggested from here “ say near Magasis ” pre-
657og sents difficulties to the man
on the spot which combine
with his instructions from Chief of the Imperial General Staff to
rule out action across * the
Tigris.
• 56859
delayed, and that until 26th
May no real touch had been
(«) That shortage of transport imposes a passive attitude on him until a
tramway extends his radius
of action.
Paragraphs 2 and 3.
(That is to say, we are not prepared to take the opportunity offered us
by the weakness of Turkish forces opposed to us.)
(in) That an offensive, apart from other drags, depends still on flood
conditions to an extent
56oo9 • o j* i
which our information does
Paragraph 2. not aUow us to j u( ]g e 0 f.
(i») That the Turkish advance on K.asr-i-Shirin appears to have been
56734
gained with Baratoff.
That is, Baratoff has had at least 4 days in which to strengthen his position,
g0063 thus increasing his prospects of successful
resistance, and, thereby, the period in
which Gorringe’s chances lie.
Our information as to the extent of the enemy’s position on the Hai is
Yea nil, and only the most general informa
tion as to his dispositions, our own strength,
and matters affecting the military situation, is given us by Force “ D.,”
A. Skeen,—31-5-16.
C. G. S.
If we remain inactive until the Turks have disposed of Baratoff, we shall
have a strong offensive directed against us; and we may find that inaction will
have cost us more in the end than action now.
Note carefully the report of 2 more Turkish Divisions in Mesopotamia.
G. M, Kirkpatrick,— 31-5-16.
D. M. 0.