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

This event is part of the First World War

Mesopotamia 1917 Assistant Surgeon G E Ferguson, IMD

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

• Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre

The Inland Water Transport (Royal Engineers)

The Inland Water Transport and Docks Section of the Royal Engineers was originally formed in December of 1914 to deal with and to develop transport on canals and waterways of France and Belgium. The Section at first operated under the Director of Railways, but, owing to the rapid development of Inland Water Transport, a special directorate was formed in October of 1915. In the summer of 1916 all non-transport work in Mesopotamia became a part of the Inland Water Transport Directorate’s responsibilities, and during 1917 its scope was extended to cover Inland Water Transport and Dock Working in Egypt, in Salonika, and in other theatres of war. The European personnel in Mesopotamia were supplemented by over 42,000 native personnel from India, Egypt, West Africa and China.

The British Library has the book The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia compiled by Lieut.-Col. L. J. Hall under the direction of Brigadier-General R. H. W. Hughes. [With plates.] published London 1921. Also available as a reprint through Amazon.co.uk from the FIBIS Shop . Also available online, see below.

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 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website. Table of Contents is computer page 6. Refer Online books-Digital Library of India for more details about this site.

British Library holdings

• Iraq IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41-138 1914-1944 includes
  • Mesopotamian Campaign includes
    • Indian Expeditionary Force 'D'. Nominal rolls of officers in Commands, Staff and with units. Simla: Military Sec's Branch, Army HQ India, Jun 1914. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/80 1914
    • Composition of the Headquarters, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force (Force 'D'). Simla/Delhi: GSI, 1917-21. 19 issues: monthly Feb-Oct & Dec 1917, Jan-Apr 1918, Oct 1918, Jan & Jul 1919, May 1920, Jan & Apr 1921. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/85 1917-1924
    • Officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers brought to notice by General Officer Commanding I.E.F. 'D' for good services rendered during the operations from November 1914 to 31st March 1915. Simla: GSI, 1915. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/134 1915
    • List of names of officers and men under Maj-Gen Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend brought to notice for gallant and distinguished service in the field 5th October 1915 to 17th January 1916. Simla: GSI, 1916. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/135 1916
    • Particulars of service rendered by officers as received from General Townshend. Simla: GSI, 1916. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/136 1916
    • Recommendations for rewards in connection with operations against Arab tribesmen on the Euphrates Line January and February 1916. Simla: GSI, 1916. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/137 1916
• Military Department Library: Indian Army IOR/L/MIL/17/5 1854-1947 includes
  • Roll of rewards and promotions to officers and men of the Indian Army and departments serving in the various expeditionary forces in France (A), Egypt (E), the Mediterranean (G), East Africa (B), Mesopotamia (D), and in operations in the Persian Gulf, at Muscat, Aden, Somaliland, in China, and on the north-west and north-east frontiers of India, notified in the London and India Gazettes marginally noted. no imprint, 5th & 6th edns 1916. 2 vols. IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2414 1916
• 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

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. The Scots at War Trust. A review of the war in Mesopotamia (archive.org link)
• 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
• The Battle of Ctesiphon by David Fletcher 14th August 2013 tankmuseum.org. Mesopotamia, 23/24th November 1915. The 76th Punjabis fought in the battle which included two armoured cars, possibly sent from India (archive.org link)
• Anthony Langley’s The Great War in a Different Light, section "Fighting Johnny Turk in the Ottoman Empire", now an archived website, includes
  • "The Campaign in Mesopotamia to the Fall of Kut" from The Great War: the standard history of the all-Europe conflict, edited by H.W. Wilson, volume 7, chapter 133. (13 volumes in the series) Reprinted in 1999 as Volume 4: Carnage (6 volumes in the series) Look inside the book
  • "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
• Troopships, including Hospital Ships 1902-1922 MerchantNavyOfficers.com
• Harry’s Sideshows by Harry Fecitt kaiserscross.com includes
  • The Battle of Ramadi: Mesopotamia, 27-29 September 1917
  • 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 (archive.org link)
• 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 html version, pdf
• Capt George Theodore Gill and 2/6th Gurkha Rifles in Mesopotamia 1916 from David Gill’s gillww1. (archive.org link)
• A collection of WW1 photographs, most probably taken in Mesopotamia. Includes a few images of Indian soldiers. rootschat.com Forum thread.
• "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.
• Blog 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
• 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
• Personal bibliography of the Mesopotamia Campaign by Mikemeso. Great War Forum thread
• Naval and Military Press have a reprint edition of With the M.T. in Mesopotamia by Brevet Lieut. Col . F. W. Leland, R.A.S.C.. The author was an officer in Mechanical Transport in 1916-1918. "An account of the work of Mechanised Units in Mesopotamia , vital to understanding supply problems in a harsh terrain". (archive.org link)
• “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, where the Introduction is in English.

Historical books online

• History Of The Great War: The Campaign In Mesopotamia 1914-1918 Volumes I-IV by F J Moberly. 1923-1927. Volume II 1924 Archive.org.Contents,Index

All the volumes are available to read online on the Digital Library of India website. The Contents pages of Volume IV are computer/digital file pages 15-20. Titles of Indian Cavalry, Infantry and Pioneer Units who served in Mesopotamia 1914-1918 may be found on pages 402-404 (computer pages 463-465). Refer Online books-Digital Library of India for more details about this site.

Naval and Military Press has published reprint editions: Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV

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

• 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
• The Inland Water Transport in Mesopotamia compiled by Lieut.-Col. L. J. Hall 1921 Archive.org
• A brief outline of the campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918 by Roger Evans, 1926 Archive.org (You may need a Djvu plug-in, see our article Online books-Archive.org)
• 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.
• "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.
• Iraq Levies 1915-1932 by Brigadier J Gilbert Browne CMG. CBE. DSO. 1932 assyrianlevies.info
• 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.
• 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
• Mons, Anzac and Kut by an MP (stated to be Aubrey Herbert} 1919 Archive.org
• A Kut Prisoner by H. C. W. Bishop, Indian Army Reserve of Officers. 1920 Archive.org
• 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
• A Prisoner in Turkey by John Still 1920 Archive.org. Contains some comments concerning the prisoners from Kut.
• The Long Road to Baghdad by Edmund Candler 1919 Archive.org Volume I, Volume II
• 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.
• 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
• Report of the Commission appointed by Act of Parliament to enquire into the operations of war in Mesopotamia, together with a separate report by J. Wedgwood. With appendices, Mesopotamia Commission London 1917 menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de
• The Navy in Mesopotamia, 1914 to 1917 by Conrad Cato 1917 Archive.org
• "Mesopotamia" commences page 111 The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org
• 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
• The following are available to read online on the Digital Library of India website.
  • Field Notes Mesopotamia by General Staff India 1915 (Poor quality print)
  • Mesopotamia 1914-15 by H.Birch Reynardson 1919
  • Loyalties Mesopotamia 1914 -1917 Arnold T Wilson 1930
  • The Tragedy Of Mesopotamia by Sir George Buchanan 1938. The author was Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy at Basra