![‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [‎32r] (68/294)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000112.0x0001ff/IOR_L_MIL_17_5_3273_0068.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [‎32r] (68/294)")
‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [32r] (68/294)
The record is made up of 1 volume (143 folios). It was created in 15 Jan 1917-31 Mar 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.
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206
war diary.
Date.
Summary of events.
Number.
Appendix.
20-3-17
■f
The Director of Railways, Basrah, forwarded the progress report on the Qurnah-Amarah railway conver
sion for the week ending 18th March.
18584
245
The Director, Inland Water Transport, Force “ D,” reported the numbers of rivercraft commissioned
during the week ending 17th March.
18612
246
The General Officer Commanding, Force “ D,” reported that during the afternoon of 19th March he had
occupied Fallujah on the Euphrates, 36 miles due west of Baghdad, the enemy’s troops, who had
retreated from Samawah by the right bank of the river, showed little or no opposition, falling
back north-west.
18637
247
The Director of Military Intelligence, London, forwarded a report from Caucasus Military
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
which
stated that on the 13th March a detachment of Chernozuboff’s column had reached Bane under great
difficulties, but movement of large forces in this area was still impossible owing to the depth of the
snow; also that the Russians also occupied Varabi, 12 miles west-south-west of Oghnat.
The Director of Military Intelligence, London, intimated that the Caucasus Military
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
reported
that a prisoner of 2nd Regiment, 24)th Division, stated that that regiment had arrived at Kharput from
Dardanelles early in January, and that an agent reported that the railway from Mosul to Erbil had
been completed, and was being continued to Rowanduz.
18639
248
18640
249
The report of troops, tonnage, etc., carried up and down the Tigris for the week ending 17th March was
received from the Director, Inland Water Transport, Force “D.”
18690
250
The Director of Military Intelligence, London, forwarded information dated 17 th March, from an abso
lutely reliable source, which shewed that the 6th Army and 18th Army Corps were informed from
Constantinople that £30,000 had been forwarded on March 13th for the Irak Army.
18691
261
The General Officer Commanding, Force st D,” was asked to consider, in view of overcrowding, the
advisability of moving part of the 3rd Echelon from Basrah to Shaiba for the hot weather, and if so
what extra staff and medical personnel would be required.
18711
252
The Director of Military Intelligence, London, forwarded information received from Maurice, Switzer
land, which stated (1) that two Germans and one Syrian representing themselves to be British
subjects were in Syria with British passports, (2) Jemal
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
had refused to spare any troops for
other fronts, (3) stores and munitions had been withdrawn from Bir Saba to Jerusalem, and (4) four
train loads of troops were despatched from Berlin to Constantinople on 4th March to replace troops
sent to Mesopotamia.
18720
253
About this item
- Content
The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 16 and 31 March 1917. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, tables, and memoranda containing instructions and reports.
The volume mostly relates to:
- Reinforcements and labour requirements of Force D
- Supplies for Force D, including: river craft, weapons, ammunition, rations, trains, and railway construction materials
- Lists of sick and wounded soldiers
- Prisoners of war
- Updates from the Tigris line, especially at Baghdad, Samarrah [Samarra], and Bakuba [Baqubah, also rendered in text as Bakubah]
- Updates from the Khanikin [Khanaqin] front, especially at Khanikin, Shahroban [Al Miqdadiyah], and the area around the Dialah [Diyala, also rendered in text as Dialha] river
- Updates from the Euphrates line, especially at Samawah [As Samawah] and Fallujah [Al Fallujah, also rendered in text as Felujah]
- Updates from the Russo-Turkish fronts in the Caucasus region and in Persia [Iran]
- Turkish [Ottoman] forces: movements; intelligence from deserters; reported difficulties with supplies and communication; details of commanders; re-organisation of troops; and distributions on week ending 20 March (ff 39-40) and week ending 27 March (f 120)
- Discussions about co-operating with Russian forces on certain operations
- Discussions about Force D’s priority being the consolidation of their position in Baghdad, including: planned communications with the population; approaches to taking over from the Turkish administration; and the completion of railway connections to the city
- Possibility of advancing along Euphrates to Samawah
- Intelligence provided by the Caucasus Military Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
- Intelligence about German troops
- Reports of the Royal Flying Corps
- Progress of railways construction
- Situation in Persia, particularly discussions around the decision to return the Bushire [Bushehr] force to the command of the Commander-in-Chief in India.
The volume also contains:
- Appreciations [reports] from the Directorate of Military Operations summarising the situation in Mesopotamia on 18 March (ff 21-24) and on 25 March (ff 76-77)
- Two diaries of information from 3 March (ff 83-99) and 10 March (ff 100-111), covering: climate and floods; prisoners of war; inland water transport; the Army Ordnance Corps (Basrah [Basra]); aviation; sanitary reports; tribal confederations of the Tigris; customs duties in Iraq; photographs; and railways in Mesopotamia.
A summary and index to the contents of this volume can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3272.
Whilst the volume contains copies of earlier material dating from 15 January 1917 onwards, the bulk of the material dates from March 1917.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (143 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 145; 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 also present in parallel between ff 3-143; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [32r] (68/294), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3273, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100134835014.0x000045> [accessed 3 April 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3273
- Title
- ‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:144v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence