![‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [‎79r] (162/294)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000112.0x0001ff/IOR_L_MIL_17_5_3273_0162.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.)’ [‎79r] (162/294)")
‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 32. PART II. (From 16th to 31st March 1917.)’ [79r] (162/294)
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.
HHHHflHKSfiBHHI
N
253
WAH DIARY.
Date.
26-3-17—
contd.
Summary of eveuts.
The Gommander-in-Chief informed the Secretary, War Office, that as the General Officer Commanding,
Force “ D,” wished to have as many reinforcements as possible, as soon as possible, he proposed to
act in accordance with his wishes regarding the despatch of reinforcements for all units other than
those of tire 13th Division, so as to arrive in time for distribution by the end of May, on the
understanding that all trained drafts were sect from Home direct to Basrah and untrained men to
India, and provided his proposals did not complicate the shipping problem.
The General Officer Commanding, Force “ D,” intimated that his proposed spheres of action for the
British and Russian Forces were based on the strategical appreciation of the situation, and the fact that
his force was to become the left flank of the Russian armies, his concern henceforth being with the
Euphrates and not the Tigris : and that if his reading of the strategical aspect was correct, it was
only by giving the Russians room to manoeuvre and reasonable facilities for feeding their armies,
that close co-operation, with good results, could be expected from them.
The Director of Railways, Basrah, forwarded a progress report on the Qurnah-Amarah Railway conversion
for the week ending 25th March, the total up to date being 38 miles.
The Assistant Adjutant General, 3rd Echelon, reported the authorised establishment of Force “D*\
Number.
20138
20146
20150
20159
Appendix.
327
328
329
330
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.)’ [79r] (162/294), 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_100134835014.0x0000a3> [accessed 1 January 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