Mesopotamia Campaign

Mesopotamia Campaign
6 November 1914-14 November 1918
Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns
Location: Mesopotamia
Combatants:
United Kingdom	Ottoman Empire
Result: Armistice of Mudros Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
Medals: The 1914-15 Star The British War Medal 1914-18
Links:
Category: Mesopotamia Campaign

	See our interactive map of Mesopotamia Campaign locations and routes on Google Maps

Mesopotamia 1917 Assistant Surgeon G E Ferguson, IMD

This event is part of the First World War

Synopsis

The Mesopotamia Campaign was fought from November 1914 to November 1918 between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.

However the country actually remained a theatre of warfare until a peace treaty was ratified in 1924. Large numbers of troops from India were sent to deal with a revolt in 1920

Related articles

For further details of events during this period see the following articles

• Fao Landing 6 November 1914
• Battle of Basra 21-22 November 1914
• Battle of Qurna 3-9 December 1914
• Battle of Shaiba 12-14 April 1915
• Capture of Amara 3 June 1915
• Battle of Nasiriyeh 24 July 1915
• Battle of Es Sinn 28 September 1915
• Battle of Ctesiphon 22-24 November 1915
• Siege of Kut 7 December 1915- 29 April 1916
• Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad 6-9 January 1916
• Battle of Wadi 13 January 1916
• Battle of Hanna 21 January 1916
• Battle of Dujaila 8 March 1916
• First Battle of Kut 5-22 April 1916
• Second Battle of Kut 23 February 1917
• Fall of Baghdad 11 March 1917
• Samarra Offensive 13 March-23 April 1917
• Battle of Ramadi 28 September 1917
• Capture of Tikrit 5 November 1917
• Action at Khan Baghdadi 26-28 March 1918
• Battle of Sharqat 23-30 October 1918

Biographies

Details of some of the protagonists in the campaign

• General Sir Fenton Aylmer (1862-1935)
• Maj-Gen Sir Arthur Barrett (1857–1926)
• General Alexander Cobbe (1870-1931)
• Brig- Gen Walter Delamain (1862-1932)
• Baron Wilhelm von der Goltz (1843–1916)
• Lieut-Gen Sir George Gorringe (1868–1945)
• Halil Pasha (1882-1957)
• Kâzım Karabekir (1882–1948)
• Lieut-Gen Sir Frederick Maude (1864-1917)
• Gen Sir William Marshall (1865–1939)
• Maj-Gen Sir Charles Melliss VC (1862-1936)
• Lieut-Gen John Nixon (1857–1921)
• Colonel Nureddin Pasha (1873-1932)
• Maj-Gen Sir Charles Townshend (1861–1924)

Also see

• Indian Divisions in Mesopotamia
• The Anglo Indian Force
• Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre
• Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)

British Library holdings

• British Library Catalogue Link
• An account of the operations of the 18th (Indian) Division in Mesopotamia, December 1917 to December 1918, with the names of all the units which served with the division and a nominal roll of all the officers by Walter Edward Wilson-Johnston 1919.
• Iraq Administration Reports 1914–1932 in ten volumes (5, 500 pages): Contents: 1. 1914-1918 -- 2. 1918 -- 3-4. 1919 -- 5-6. 1920 -- 7. 1920-1924 -- 8. 1925-1927 -- 9. 1928-1930 -- 10. 1931-1932, with contents outline

Volunteer Regiments

• See Volunteer Artillery Battery . Detachments of the Battery were captured at Kut. The majority of the men were from Burma. E H Jones, (refer External links, and Historical books online, below), previously a member of the Indian Civil Service in Burma, was a gunner and subsequently an officer in this Battery.
• See The Anglo Indian Force

FIBIS resources

• "Trumpeter Inwood, an Anglo-Indian hero of the Kut Garrison" by Rosemary Reardon FIBIS Journal Number 32 (Autumn 2014) pages 18-29. For details of how to access this article, see FIBIS Journals.

Wounded and sick soldiers

Wounded and other ill soldiers from Mesopotamia were sent to India for treatment and convalescence. Some of these sadly became part of the group of soldiers who died in India.

Persia and Transcaucasia

Troops under the control of the Army in Mesopotamia took part in actions in Persia, and later Transcaucasia. See Norperforce.

External links

• Mesopotamian Campaign Wikipedia
• Siege of Kut Wikipedia
• Mesopotamia The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918 (1914-1918.net)
  • The 1914 actions in Mesopotamia
• The Great War Forum, a message board for the First World War, has a subcategory Middle East and North Africa where archived threads may be read. To view images, place a post, reply to a post or search, you need to be a subscriber. See Mailing lists-Military for more details.
• "Iraq 1917 - A 90th Anniversary" by Dr D M Henderson 2007. (archive.org) The Scots at War Trust. A review of the war in Mesopotamia
• Maps of operations firstworldwar.com
• Mesopotamia Campaign: 300 photographs taken by Captain Charles Henry Weaver. Captain Weaver worked with The Red Cross, but was under military command. He was mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the MBE for his wartime service. Includes Hospital Ships, nurses. mespot.net
• The Battle of Ctesiphon by David Fletcher archive.org The battle took place in Mesopotamia, 23/24th November 1915. The 76th Punjabis fought in the battle which included two armoured cars, possibly sent from India
• Anthony Langley’s The Great War in a Different Light, section "Fighting Johnny Turk in the Ottoman Empire", now an archived website, includes
  • "The Battle of Kut" by W. J. Blackledge from the magazine The War of the Nations
  • "What Really Happened at Kut" by Lovat Fraser from The War Illustrated 12th January, 1918
  • "Major-General Townshend, C.B." from the War Illustrated Deluxe, volume V page 1608
  • "Flood Warfare in Mesopotamia" from The War Illustrated, 29th June, 1918
  • "The Fight for the Garden of Eden" from the book Many Fronts
  • "Wounded in Mesopotamia" from an official report by Major R Markham Carter
• Mesopotamia Imperial War Museums. Podcast 18 in the series Voices of the First World War. Extracts from soldiers accounts, with a transcript of the podcast.
• [Diary extracts] Lieutenant Henry Gallup of 1/5th Hampshire Howitzer Battery, Royal Field Artillery was present at the siege of Kut. National Army Museum.
• Soldiers’ Stories: [Account extracts] Private William Jay of 1/5th Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment. An account of the attempt to relieve the besieged British-Indian forces at Kut. Includes details of the dreadful conditions the wounded endured due to lack of medical facilities. nam.ac.uk
• Listen to the 1985 interview with Henry Edward Shortt Imperial War Museums. British officer who enlisted at the onset of war and served as Medical Officer with the Indian Medical Service attached to 33rd Cavalry Regt in India and Mesopotamia, 1914-1918.
• Harry’s Sideshows by Harry Fecitt kaiserscross.com includes
  • The Battle of Ramadi: Mesopotamia, 27-29 September 1917
  • Kurdistan 1919: Military Operations in Mesopotamian Kurdistan: South Kurdistan, May–June 1919. Includes information about many Indian Army Regiments.
  • Mesopotamia 1920-21 Large numbers of troops from India were sent to deal with a revolt in 1920
  • The fight to relieve Rumaithah: A close run thing: Mesopotamia, July 1920
• Mesopotamia 1917-1918 from 25th County of London Cyclist Battalion: The London Regiment
• "Learning The Hard Way: The Indian Army In Mesopotamia, 1914-1918" by Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, BCMH Summer Conference 2012 – Indian Armies (The British Commission for Military History bcmh.org.uk, now an archived webpage.)
• "The Mesopotamian Front! As Observed by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Davis, U.S. Cavalry, 1918". Armor March-April 2003, pages 25- 35. html version, pdf
• British-Indian strategy and policy in Mesopotamia : November 1914 - April 1916 by P K. Davis, Phd Thesis King's College London (University of London) 1981. EthOS British Library.
• "The British Occupation of Mesopotamia, 1914-1922" by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen. The Journal of Strategic Studies Vol 30. No 2, 349-377, April 2007. academia.edu
• "‘Only by the sword’: British counter‐insurgency in Iraq, 1920" by Mark Jacobsen pages 323-363 Small Wars & Insurgencies Volume 2, Issue 2, August 1991. This version is a Word Document download which, depending on your browser, you may need to locate in your downloads folder. fundforfallenallies.org
• The British Experience in Iraq from 1914-1926: What Wisdom Can The United States Draw From Its Experience? by Matthew W. Williams. A thesis presented to the Faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2004. Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library. pdf download dtic.mil
• "The First World War Mesopotamian Campaigns: Military Lessons on Iraqi Ground Warfare" by Youssef Aboul-Enein, Strategic Insights, v. 6, issue 6 (June 2005). Calhoun, the Naval Postgraduate School. Monterey, California, USA, an official U.S. Navy website.
• Forgotten Airwar: Airpower in the Mesopotamian Campaign by Peter J Lambert, 2003 Master of Military Art and Science Thesis, Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Fort Leavenworth, KS. Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library
• Cavalry of the Clouds: Aspects of the Air War in the Eastern Theatre,1914-1918 by C H. Whitley 1997. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History in the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. A pdf download, which depending on your browser, you may need to locate in your downloads folder.
• "The AFC In Hotter Climes: The Air War Over The Mesopotamian Desert" by Air Commodore Mark Lax. Part of the conference By The Seat Of Their Pants The Proceedings of the Conference held 12 November 2012 at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook by Military History And Heritage Victoria.
• Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal 48 2010. html version, pdf rafmuseum.org.uk. raf.mod.uk version. Includes "Only A Sideshow? The RFC And RAF In Mesopotamia 1914-1918" by Guy Warner pages 9-19 and "The RAF Armoured Car Companies In Iraq (Mostly) 1921-1947" by Dr Christopher Morris pages 20-38.
• "Developing Iraq: Britain, India and the Redemption of Empire and Technology in the First World War" by Priya Satia Past & Present (2007) Volume 197, Issue 1, pages 211-255
• En-Dor Unveiled : The Story behind The Road to En-dor by Tony Craven Walker February 2014. html version, pdf, link to other downloads hesperuspress.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014. Contains correspondence from E H Jones, refer "Historical books online" below. He was a member of the Volunteer Artillery Battery (Rangoon Contingent). Very likely this was , or was connected with, the Rangoon Port Defence Volunteer Corps, which had an Artillery section.
• Articles by Amitav Ghosh: "Shared Sorrows: Indians and Armenians in the prison camps of Ras al-‘Ain, 1916-18". It is based on an account written by an Indian member of the Bengal Ambulance Corps (BAC), who became a prisoner after the fall of Kut. and ended up in the prison camps of Ras al-'Ain, in northern Syria, in 1916. “The reason the story has survived is that one of the Indian prisoners happened to write about about his war experiences forty years later. His name was Sisir Sarbadhikari and his book Abhi Le Baghdad (or On To Baghdad) appeared in 1958” It is in 18 parts, in reverse order, consisting of two pages. Scroll to the bottom of this page for part 1. Scroll to the bottom of this page to continue. ( archive.org links 1 and 2) The earlier part of the memoir, from joining up in Calcutta to the fall of Kut is described in "On to Baghdad". Scroll to the bottom of the page for part 1
• Accounts by Captain Kalyan Kumar Mukherji , a member of the Indian Medical Service, originally written in Bengali. After the fall of Kut he was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp at Ras al-‘Ain, Syria where he died in 1917. He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross. His accounts, in Bengali, are available online, refer below. Some excerpts have been translated into English by Amitav Ghosh. Scroll down to the entry The ‘Home and the World’ in Iraq 1915-17: Part 1 to commence. For the final posts, scroll down to the bottom three posts. Written July- August 2012 amitavghosh.com (retrieved 10 May 2014).
• “Yet another Indian First World War memoir found!” Article about the War Memoirs of Captain Limaye, Indian Medical Service, written in Marathi. He was with the 87th Punjabis 1918-1921. He saw action in Mesopotamia and was involved in operations against the Kurdistanis in 1919 and in quelling the Arab Rebellion in 1920. amitavghosh.com. This book may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website, refer Historical books online below.
• "Indian Soldiers and POWs in the Middle East during World War I" by Vedica Kant, Robert Upton, and Chris Gratien, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 86 (December 21, 2012) “ In this podcast, Vedica Kant talks about the experience of Indian POWs in the Ottoman Empire as well as that of Ottoman soldiers captured by the British army and brought to India and Burma, with additional commentary by Robert Upton regarding military recruitment in British India...” Webpage contains images.
• The history hidden in Haydarpaşa Cemetery by Vedika Kant 01 August 2013. Holds the graves of some 400 soldiers from what are now the Commonwealth realms who died in Turkey, mostly as POWs, in World War I.
• Inland Water Transport and Docks Reubique.com. The article mentions that this section of the Royal Engineers was founded in 1914 and was later responsible for alternate transportation during World War One in various theatres of war - including Mesopotamia where personnel from India and China were deployed.
• Grandpa’s Journal Harry James Goulter Pearman was with the Army Audit Staff in Mesopotamia. Most of the entries are for 1921. It is difficult for some/all browsers to navigate navigate this site. The following entries contain items relating to issues of fraud by members of the IWT (Inland Water Transport), including the court martial of an officer. 18 April 1921, 26 April 1921, 16 May 1921, 27 May 1921, 27 June 1921, 4 July 1921, 9 July 1921.
• World War 1 at Sea - Naval Battles in outline: Mesopotamian (Iraq) Campaign, 1914-1918 naval-history.net
• RN's Tigris + Euphrates River Gunboats with a link to The Tigris Flotilla. gwpda.org
• Royal Navy Insect Class River Gunboats
• Troopships, including Hospital Ships 1902-1922 MerchantNavyOfficers.com, now archived.
• The History of the Iraq Levies, 1915-1932 by Robert Vernon Joseph Young, PhD Thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 1997. British Library- EthOS
• "Mesopotamia". An article about Kipling’s poem Mesopotamia from Kipling.org.uk
• "Kut War Graves - Iraq" "Basra" roll-of-honour.com. Free photographs of Basra Memorial may be requested from British War Graves: War Grave Photographs. Includes category "Memorials to the Missing" which includes Basra Memorial.
• Mesopotamia Campaign 1914-1918 Bilbliography by Joint Services Command and Staff College Library, U K. (Now archived). A pdf download - depending on your browser, you may need to locate it in your downloads folder.
• Videos: World War One Through Arab Eyes by Tunisian writer and broadcaster Malek Triki. ‪Al Jazeera English. YouTube videos. ‪ Episode One: The Arabs‬ . They fought as conscripts for the European colonial powers occupying Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia – and for the Ottomans on the side of Germany and the Central Powers. Episode two: The Ottomans. Includes the history of the Ottoman-Germany relationship. Episode three: The New Middle East. Includes the way Britain and France divided the former Ottoman Empire between them.

Historical books online

• History Of The Great War: The Campaign In Mesopotamia 1914-1918 Volumes I-IV by F J Moberly. 1923-1927.

The titles are Volume I: To October 1915 : Outbreak of Hostilities, Campaign in Lower Mesopotamia, published 1923; Volume II: To April 1916: The Attempt on Baghdad, the Battle of Ctesiphon, the Siege and the Fall of Kut-al-Amara, published 1924; Volume III: To April 1917: The Capture and Consolidation of Baghdad, published 1926; Volume IV: The Campaign in Upper Mesopotamia to the Armistice, published 1927.

Hathi Trust Digital Library editions. Note: Missing all/most Maps. Volume II Maps are available in the Archive.org version.

Volume I Contents Bibliography Index

Volume II Contents Bibliography Index

Volume III Contents Bibliography Index

Volume IV Contents Bibliography Index Chronological Summary of the Campaign in Mesopotamia 1914-1918== Titles of Indian Cavalry, Infantry and Pioneer Units who served in Mesopotamia 1914-1918

Volume II is also available on Archive.org Volume II, Contents, Index. Map: Middle East and Maps 8-9, 11, 13-17, 19-20. Description of Maps

Links to pdfs Vol I, Vol II, Vol III, Vol IV Digital Library of India.

• East India (Military): Despatches regarding operations in the Persian Gulf and in Mesopotamia [in respect of Indian Expeditionary Force D] presented to both Houses of Parliament HMSO London 1915. Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt.
• A Handbook of Mesopotamia by Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division. 1916-1917. In four volumes, (plus a supplementary volume), the first contains matters of a general nature, the other volumes contain a description of the river and land routes, with a map, and a “Gazetteer of Towns”. See Iraq - Historical books online. Includes a Map of City of Baghdad nla.gov.au.
• History of the Great War: Medical Services: General History Volume 4 by Sir William Grant Macpherson and Thomas John Mitchell. Includes Mesopotamia. 1924 Archive.org

"Casualties in the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, November 1914 to December 1918" page 218 History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Medical Services: Casualties and Medical Statistics of the Great War by Major T. J. Mitchell and Miss G. M. Smith. 1931 Hathi Trust Digital Library

Appendices To The Report Of The Commission For Medical Arrangements In Mesopotamia Vol-II (July 1916). Link to a pdf download. Digital Library of India

"The Control of Flies and Vermin in Mesopotamia" page 23 The Review of Applied Entomology Volume V 1917 Archive.org.

"Heat-Stroke" Chapter IV page 51 In Mesopotamia by Martin Swayne (real name Maurice Nicoll) 3rd edition 1918 Archive.org.

• With the M. T. in Mesopotamia by Brevet Lt.-Col F W Leland RASC 1920 Hathi Trust Digital Library. (M.T.= Mechanical Transport, part of the Royal Army Service Corps)
• The Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army, Volume II by Colonel R H Beadon 1931. Link to an Adobe pdf download. Digital Library of India. Includes the First World War period, with a chapter on Mesopotamia.
• A History of the Army Ordnance Services, Volume III: The Great War by Major General Arthur Forbes 2nd edition 1932, first published 1929. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Includes a chapter on Mesopotamia.
• The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia compiled by Lieut.-Col. L. J. Hall 1921 Archive.org
• The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org "Mesopotamia" commences page 111,
• "The Motor Cycle in Mesopotamia. Carrying Despatches Through Deep Mud and Blinding Dust" page 70 The Motor Cycle, Volume 17, July 27th 1916 with photographs page 287. Archive.org.
• "Australians in Mesopotamia" Appendix No.5 The Australian Imperial Force In France During the Main German Offensive. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Volume V by C W Bean, pages 703-784. awm.gov.au
• Loyalties Mesopotamia 1914 -1917: From the Outbreak of War to the Death of General Maude by Arnold T Wilson 1930 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, in TIFF format, or as a pdf download. It is also available as a 2nd pdf download, also from DLI, and as a download from Kurdipedia.org 1936 edition.

Loyalties: Mesopotamia; a personal and historical record, Volume II 1917-1920 by Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson 1931. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available as a download from Kurdipedia.org 1936 edition. Also published under the title Mesopotamia, 1917-1920; a Clash of Loyalties.

• The Tragedy of Mesopotamia by Sir George Buchanan 1938. Hathi Trust Digital Library. This book is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website in TIFF format, or as a pdf from the DLI. The author was Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy at Basra. George Buchanan Wikipedia entry
• A Chapter of Misfortunes : the Battles of Ctesiphon and of the Dujailah in Mesopotamia, with a summary of the events which preceded them by Major-General W. D. Bird 1923 Hathi Trust Digital Library
• The Long Road to Baghdad by Edmund Candler 1919 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II
• British Campaigns in the Nearer East, 1914-1918. From the outbreak of war with Turkey to the Armistice by Edmund Dane , Military Correspondent of the Westminster Gazette 1919 Archive.org. Volume I: The Days of Adversity, Volume II: The Tide of Victory
• A brief outline of the campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918 by Roger Evans, 1926 Archive.org (For ease of reading, you may need a Djvu or BitTorrent plug-in). Also available as a pdf from the Digital Library of India.
• Mesopotamia: The Last Phase by Lieut.-Colonel A H Burne Second Edition 1938 (First edition 1936?) Archive.org. From March 1917.
• Marvellous Mesopotamia: The World’s Wonderland by Joseph T Parfit, Canon of St George’s Jerusalem 1920 Archive.org. Contains a number of chapters on WW1, commencing with “The Causes of the War”. Also Mesopotamia : the Key to the Future by Canon J T Parfit 1917 Archive.org and Serbia To Kut by Joseph T Parfit 1917. Pdf download, Digital Library of India - full title: Serbia to Kut: an account of the War in the Bible Lands [Balkans, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia]. An overview of the conflict.
• My Campaign: Volume 2 by Major General Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend. 1920 Archive.org. London edition has title My Campaign in Mesopotamia.
  • Limited access, available in full view to those in North America, and perhaps elsewhere: My Campaign: Volume 1, My Campaign in Mesopotamia Hathi Trust Digital Library. Google Books editions may be available in full view in some countries, but not UK or North America at time of writing Vol 1, M.
• Townshend of Chitral and Kut: Based on the diaries and private papers of Sir Charles Vere Townshend by Erroll Sherson 1928. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
• "Progress in Mesopotamia" from The war illustrated album de luxe; the story of the great European war told by camera, pen and pencil Volume 9 The Fourth Year 1917-1918 ed by JA Hammerton 1918 Archive.org
• "Final Victories over the Turk" from The war illustrated album de luxe; the story of the great European war told by camera, pen and pencil Volume 10 the Last Phase ed by JA Hammerton 1919 Archive.org
• The war in the cradle of the world Mesopotamia by Eleanor Franklin Egan 1918. Archive.org The author was correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post. More details in "Writing "Mesopot": Eleanor Franklin Egan on the river to Baghdad, 1917" by David Hudson.
• On the road to Kut: a soldier's story of the Mesopotamian campaign with 56 illustrations and a map. 1917 Archive.org. The author appears to be an officer from India in a Mule Corps.
• Mons, Anzac and Kut by an MP (stated to be Aubrey Herbert) 1919 Archive.org. At Kut, the author was liaison and Intelligence officer to Admiral Wemyss, Commander-in-Chief of the East India Fleet. He was engaged in attempted negotiations with the Turks at the fall of Kut, page 229, along with T E Lawrence.

• Page 99 T. E. Lawrence: In Arabia and After by Liddell Hart 1934 Archive.org. T E Lawrence accompanied Aubrey Herbert, to negotiate regarding the besieged Kut garrison. Extracts from Lawrence’s description of these proceedings, in a letter dated 18 May [1916] from the website A Century Back: Writing the Great War, Day by Day. April 29, 2016. Scroll down. The letter was written to his family, see more details.

• Besieged in Kut, and after by Major Charles Harrison Barber I M S [Indian Medical Service] 1918 Archive.org
• In Kut and Captivity : with the Sixth Indian Division by Major E W G Sandes 1919 Archive.org

Tales of Turkey by Major E W C Sandes 1924. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.

• Turkey in Travail: the Birth of a New Nation by Harold Armstrong (Lately Assistant and Acting Military Attache to the High Commissioner , Constaninople) 1925 Hathi Trust Digital Library. The initial chapters cover the fall of Kut and the author’s experiences as POW in Turkey. He appears to have then been an officer in an Indian Army regiment.
• A Kut Prisoner by H. C. W. Bishop, Indian Army Reserve of Officers. 1920 Archive.org
• Report on the treatment of British Prisoners of War in Turkey Presented to Parliament November 1918. British Library online documents: IOR/L/MIL/7/18737
• The Road to En-Dor; being an account of how two prisoners of war at Yozgad in Turkey won their way to freedom by E H Jones Lt. IARO, 1920 Archive.org The author, Elias Henry Jones was captured at Kut and had previously been in the Indian Civil Service in Burma. Biographical details are available below
• The Secrets of a Kuttite, an Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul Intrigue by Captain E O Mousley, RFA 1921 Archive.org
• Caught by the Turks by Francis Yeats-Brown 1919 Archive.org The author was a member of the Royal Flying Corps who was captured near Baghdad in 1915. Also by the same author Bengal Lancer, (1930) which contains a chapter on his time in Mesopotamia prior to his capture: Pdf download, Another pdf download Digital Library of India. Golden Horn by Francis Yeats-Brown 1932 Archive.org. May requires a DJVu or BitTorrent reader for ease of reading. Also available on the Digital Library of India website with a choice of two pdf downloads Download 1, Download 2. "A sketch of the political activities in Turkey from 1908 to the world war, and an account of the author's experiences as a prisoner of war of Turkey. This latter part (chap. V-XI) is a revision of the author's book published in 1919 under title: Caught by the Turks." Wikipedia
• A Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org. Contains some comments concerning the prisoners from Kut. A book in the On Active Service Series
• In Mesopotamia by Martin Swayne (real name Maurice Nicoll), illustrated by the author. 1917 Archive.org. The author was a doctor in the British Army working in a mobile hospital.
• To Bagdad with the British by Arthur Tillotson Clark, 1918 Archive.org. The author, an American undergraduate student, volunteered to work with the YMCA in Mesopotamia, where he ran a YMCA hut in various locations, following the troops.
• From Gallipoli to Baghdad by William Ewing, Chaplain to the Forces 1917 Archive.org
• The Thirteenth Hussars in the Great War by Sir H Mortimer Durand 1921 Archive.org. The Regiment served in Mesopotamia from c July 1916.
• With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia : 1916-1917 by One of its Officers. 1918 Archive.org. The author is elsewhere stated to be Harold John Blampied, 2nd Battalion, Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch).
• The Leicestershires beyond Baghdad by Edward J Thompson MC 1919 Archive.org. The author was an Army chaplain.
• The Bagging of Baghdad by Ernest Betts (late the Worcestershire Regiment) a book in the On Active Service Series. 1920 Archive.org
• Mesopotamia, 1914-15 : Extracts from a Regimental Officer's Diary by H. Birch Reynardson 1919 may be downloaded as a pdf from OUDL - Osmania University Digital Library. Downloads from the OUDL site may only be available during Indian office hours (IST 10 am to 6 pm) (IST = GMT+5:30). This book is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, in TIFF format, or download as a pdf from the DLI. The author was an officer in the 1st Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
• Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916 from Robert Palmer 1916 Archive.org. He went with a draft from the 6th Hants, (Hampshire Regiment) in India since November 1914, to reinforce the 4th Hants. Both these regiments were part of the Territorial Force. He was killed June 21, 1916, aged 27 years.
• A Dweller in Mesopotamia being the Adventures of an Official Artist in the Garden of Eden, with sketches by Donald Maxwell 1921 Archive.org. The author/artist went to Mesopotamia for the Imperial War Museum. Also see the book below The Naval Front.
• The War and the Bagdad Railway; the story of Asia Minor and its relation to the present conflict by Morris Jastrow 1917 Archive.org
• "The Baghdad Railway and the War" with Map page 271 The Cradle of the War: The Near East and Pan-Germanism by Henry Charles Woods 1918 Archive.org
• The Navy in Mesopotamia, 1914 to 1917 by Conrad Cato 1917 Archive.org
• "The Navy in the East" page 148 The Naval Front by Gordon S Maxwell, Lieut. RNVB illustrated by Donald Maxwell, Lieut. RNVB 1920 Archive.org
• World War I Naval Staff Monographs. Select Volume 4: Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf to download a pdf. Published London July 1921. Royal Australian Navy website (Select Media Room/Publications/World War I Naval Staff Monographs). This publication is also available to read online at the Qatar Digital Library
• History of the Great War based on official documents: Naval Operations.Volumes I-III by Sir Julian Stafford Corbett, Volumes IV-V by Henry Newbolt. Published 1920-1931. Archive.org Volume III Includes Mesopotamia. Volume IV, includes Mesopotamia. Naval-History.net has transcribed editions which additionally contain maps from a separate case for Volume III.
• World War 1 at Sea - Contemporary Accounts: The Navy Records Society and The Naval Review Scroll down to Part 2, Naval Review letter M “Mesopotamia & Persian Gulf”, then access the articles mentioned in the Naval Review Archives. naval-history.net. Includes
  • "The Tigris Above Baghdad" by Lieut-Comr. A S Elwell-Sutton RN. Scroll to item 15 page 153 The Naval Review February 1923 Vol. XI No. I, produced by The Naval Society. Details of the Caddisfly, one of the 'Fly' class gunboats.
• "The First Commission of HMS Firefly" by Staff Surgeon FG Hitch RN JRNMS Volume 4, 1918 Archive.org. One of the 'Fly' class gunboats. Also details of other craft on the river Tigris.
• War in the Air: being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force, Volumes II-VI by H A Jones. Volume V 1935, Volume VI 1937. Part of the series History of the Great War based on official documents. Include Mesopotamia.
• The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914-1918 by F M Cutlack 1933 (first published 1923) The Official History of Australia in the War: Volume VIII Archive.org
• In the Clouds above Baghdad, being the Records of an Air Commander by Lt-Col J E Tennant 1920 Archive.org
• War In The Desert: An R. A. F. Frontier Campaign by John Bagot Glubb 1960. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Mainly about Iraq in the 1920s.
• War in the Garden of Eden by Kermit Roosevelt, Captain, Motor Machine Gun Corps 1919 Archive.org. The author was an American, the son of (pre WW1) US President Theodore Roosevelt, who was appointed an honorary Captain in the British Army in August 1917. Page 66 indicates the author was in the 14th Battery, Light-armoured motor-cars (14th L. A. M. B.). The fighting cars were Rolls-Royce.
• Report of the Commission appointed by Act of Parliament to enquire into the Operations of War in Mesopotamia. Together with a separate report by Commander J. Wedgwood and appendices. Presented to Parliament. HMSO 1917. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Menadoc at Bibliothek.uni-halle.de version
• The Liberator of Mesopotamia [Lieut.-General Sir Stanley Maude] by Basil Mathews 1918 Hathi Trust Digital Library
• Official Despatches from The London Gazette and details of some Official Documents digitised by the British Library, and other digitised material, are linked from Mesopotamia In The First World War warletters.net.
• Qatar Digital Library Digitisation of content from the British Library’s India Office Records Collection. When looking at a book file, to select a particular page, click on “View all items”.
  • Report by Brigadier W. S. Delamain, C.B., D.S.O., on the operations of the Indian Expeditionary Force "D" up to 14th November 1914 published by the General Staff, India (Government Central Branch Press, Simla: 1916) IOR/L/MIL/17/15/88
  • Report from Lieut-General Sir P. H. N. Lake K.C.B., K.C.M.G. Commanding I.E.F. "D" on the Defence of Kut-Al-Amarah under Major-General C. V. F. Townshend, C.B., D.S.O., 3 December 1915-29 April 1916 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/105
  • Short memorandum on the inception, difficulties and results of the Mesopotamian Campaign printed by the General Staff, India (Simla, 1916) IOR/L/MIL/17/15/76
  • Critical Study of the Campaign in Mesopotamia up to April 1917: Part I – Report Compiled by officers of the Staff College Quetta 1925 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/72/1
  • Mesopotamian Transport Commission. Report of the Commission appointed by the Government of India... to enquire into questions connected with the organisation and administration of the Railway and River Transport in Mesopotamia 1918. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/125/1. This book is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, as a pdf download. The British Library also holds two maps published in conjunction with the report.
• The British Library digitised manuscripts include
  • IOR/L/PS/11/121 1917 Political and Secret Annual Files which includes “Indian Journalists Tour of Mesopotamia” Newspaper articles written in Indian newspapers June 1917
  • IOR/L/PS/11/129 1917 Political and Secret Annual Files includes P 4640/1917 The Turkish campaigns in Mesopotamia, Palestine and Hedjaz; P 4700/1917 The War: arrest in Persia of certain Indian Army deserters, case of one Abdul Manun; P 4973/1917 The War: military situation in Turkey
• "Narrative of a March into Kurdistan during the Rebellion of 1919" by Captain J. C. Burns Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1922;39:5 pages 354-371
• Review of the civil administration of Mesopotamia by Gertrude L Bell. Issued by the India Office December 1920. Hathi Trust Digital Library
• The Insurrection in Mesopotamia 1920 by Lieutenant General Sir Aylmer L. Haldane 1922 (links to pdf downloads) Archive.org
• Mesopotamia: the "Daily Mail" inquiry at Baghdad by Sir Percival Phillips 1922 Archive.org
• The Truth About Mesopotamia Palestine and Syria by John de Vere Loder 1923. Link to a pdf. Digital Library of India.
• Iraq Levies 1915-1932 by Brigadier J Gilbert Browne CMG. CBE. DSO. 1932 . A transcription. “Assyrian RAF Levies”
• The Ins and Outs of Mesopotamia by Thomas Lyell 1923. Link to a pdf. Digital Library of India.
• Iraq: A Study in Political Development by Philp Willard Ireland 1937 Archive.org. May require a Djvu or BitTorrent plugin for ease of reading. Also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, (two different files), in a TIFF format, and also available as a pdf on the DLI. Includes chapters on the war period, in addition to the post war years.
• Page 219 The Memoirs Of Sir Ronald Storrs 1937 Archive.org. The author, working for the Foreign Office in Egypt, was appointed Political Officer in Mesopotamia in 1917 to represent the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia.
• Field Notes Mesopotamia by General Staff India 1915 (Poor quality print) is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website in TIFF format, or as a pdf from DLI
• When’s When In Mesopotamia by General Staff, Mes. Ex. Force Printed at the Government Press Baghdad 1919. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Conversion tables showing the European style dates from August 1914 to December 1919 and the equivalent dates under various other systems: Arabic - Old Style - Turkish Official - Jewish - Persian Zodiacal. Also details of Arabic time, where the day commences at sunset.
• The Spoken Arabic of Mesopotamia by John Van Ess, first published 1917. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
• Kalyan Pradeep: Captain Kalyan Kumar Mukhopadhadhaya, I.M.S.-er Jiboni, by Mokkhoda ['Mokshada'] Debi (1928) [Kalyan Pradeep: The Life of Captain Kalyan Kumar Mukherji, I.M.S.] in Bengali may be read online on the Digital Library of India website. The catalogue entry is Kalyan-Pradip by Mokshada Debi There are two book files, Pdf download 1, Pdf download 2.
• Sainyaan'tiila Aat'havand-ii by Limaye Go Gan' published 1939. Sainyatil Athavani, or War Memoirs of Captain Gopal Gangadhar Limaye. Marathi language with an English Introduction. The author was in the Indian Medical Service IMS, 1918-1921. As part of the 87th Punjabis, he saw action in Mesopotamia and was involved in operations against the Kurdistanis in 1919 and in quelling the Arab Rebellion in 1920. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
• Also see Norperforce, for books relating to actions in Persia and Transcaucasia, under control of the Army in Mesopotamia.
• Fiction
  • On the road to Bagdad; a story of Townshend's gallant advance on the Tigris by Lieut-Col Brereton 1917. Archive.org. An adventure story.