"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية. الحملة في بلاد الرافدين ١٩١٤-١٩١٨. المجلد IV". [و‎‎٧‎٣] (٥٤٠/١٥٠)

DEPARTURE of 3rd DIVISION 115
Mesopotamia on the lines of the instructions sent to him on the
22 nd November, 1917, when he assumed command* ; and the
reinforcement to be found from Mesopotamia for Palestine was
limited to one Indian division and four batteries of 6 -inch
howitzers. In Palestine an offensive campaign was to be
carried out. Finally, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff
asked General Marshall to report, having regard to these
instructions and to the possibility of the extension of commit
ments in Persia, what railway and inland water transport
personnelf and labour for railway construction he could spare
for Palestine.
The 3rd Division was selected for transfer to Egypt, and
during March arrangements were made for its movement, its
place in the 1st Corps being taken by the 18th Division.
Matthews’ Column remained during February in the vicinity
of Pai Taq, where road improvement was in progress though
hindered to a considerable extent by stormy weather.^ But
except for an armoured car which proceeded to Kermanshah at
the beginning of the month and could not return because of
the snow and bad road, no other troops moved eastward of
Qasr-i-Shirin into Persia during February.
In Mesopotamia during February, beyond punitive measures
against aggressive tribesmen and Air Force activity, there
were no operations of importance except a short British
advance in the direction of Hit on the Euphrates. For the
previous two months the Turks had been reported to be
reinforcing their troops in that neighbourhood, and at the
beginning of February it was estimated that the Turkish force
about Hit and Sahiliya consisted of part of the 50th Division
(157th and 169th Regiments) with a total combatant strength
of between 4,000 to 5,000. There appeared to be little change
in the enemy’s dispositions on the Tigris ; but in the Qara
Tepe-Kifri-Kirkuk area there were indications of a con
centration of strength to the rear, most of the troops on the
Diyala having been withdrawn. This movement was possibly
due to supply difficulties, although information that the
Turks were making arrangements for flooding the Qara Tepe
area indicated some apprehension on their part of an offensive
by us in this direction.§
* See page 87.
f The total number of river craft of all sorts then in Mesopotamia, or on
order for there, was 1,760.
j The snowfall in the mountains during the winter 1917-18 was the heaviest
that had occurred for the past ten years.
§ Reports from the Caucasus may have reached them that we were con
templating an advance towards Mosul.