"تقرير عسكري عن العراق. المنطقة ٢ (أعلى الفرات)" [ظ‎‎١‎٨] (١٤٠/٤١)

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at Dair-al-Zor being 10° less than that at Ramadi during the
summer months.
General Medical and Sanitary Conditions. —Little accurate
information is available regarding the health conditions
amongst the civil population, where the rule of survival
of the fittest holds good.
As throughout Iraq, eye diseases are very common, infection
being carried chiefly by flies and dust, and aggravated by the
generally insanitary conditions under which the people live.
Epidemics of cholera, typhus and smallpox appear at
intervals, and cases of bubonic plague have been known to
occur.
Casualties from Sickness amongst Troops. —The health of our
troops stationed on the Euphrates has generally speaking, been
excellent. A brief resume of operations on the Upper Euphrates
from a health standpoint is instructive.
Ramadi Operations, July, 1917.—In July, 1917, an unsuc
cessful attempt was made to capture Ramadi.
_ Troops concentrated at Sinn adh Dhibban, marching by
night, and the advance took place on the night of 10th-11th
July, when the column moved on Ramadi by a night march of
18 miles.
I he troops were in good physical condition at the beginning
of operations, and suffered no casualties from either heat stroke
or heat exhaustion on the march up.
Contrary to expectations, however, the Turks put up a
resistance, and our troops being held up in the open began to
suffer somewhat severely from heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
Ihe initiation of operations unfortunately coincided with a
heat wave producing temperatures of over 120°, and with a
very hot wind blowing from the east.
Between the 11th and 15th July 165 wounded passed through
the field ambulances, whilst during the same period there
were 291 cases of sickness, nearly all heat stroke and heat
exhaustion. Of these cases there were 10 deaths from heat
stroke.
Ihe medical personnel in the field ambulances suffered as
severely as the troops from the excessive heat, thereby greatly
increasing the difficulty in attending to the casualties and
sickness amongst the fighting troops and followers.
Fall of Ramadi. —The operations ending in the fall of
Ramadi took place on the 28th and 29th September, 1917.
1 roops were fit when operations began and they were brought
to such a swift and successful conclusion that casualties from
sickness were practically nil.