THE MIDDLE EAST FRONT
THE MESOPOTAMIAN CAMPAIGN: 1914 – 1917
THE BATTLE OF CTESIPHON AND RETREAT TO KUT: NOVEMBER 1915
Acknowledgements
Mesopotamian Campaign (detail): historyofireland.com/WW1 Lower Mesopotamia: en.wikipedia.org Indian machine gunner: FirstWorldWar.com Mesopotamia (detail): nam.ac.uk Battle of Ctesiphon: ww1live.wordpress.com Indian Troops: the times.co.uk Troops at Ctesiphon: The Great World War: A History, Vol VII, edited by Frank A. Mumby, The Gresham Publishing Co. Ltd, London, c1920 Arch of Ctesipnon: artuk.org. The Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh.
As we have seen, the Ottoman Empire’s entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers in October 1914 opened up the Caucasus Campaign, but it also spawned a number of other combat areas in the Middle East. The battle for Mesopotamia can be seen as the most important of these. Indeed, for the British, it proved the largest commitment outside of Europe during the entire war. At first, the Ottomans gave this area very little concern, being fairly convinced that the British – then deeply involved on the Western Front – would see this as a backwater in need of future attention, but they were badly mistaken. The British valued this region not only for the supply of oil, received by pipeline from the oil wells of southern Persia, but also for the large Abadan refinery at the head of the Persian Gulf. Oil was fast becoming a highly prized commodity, not only for the vehicle industry, but also for the modernization of a country’s naval force – increasingly becoming oil-
WW1-
Acting without delay, on the 6th of November an infantry brigade of the Indian Army (Indian Expeditionary Force D), together with 600 British troops, landed at Fao at the head of the Persian Gulf (see map). It quickly overcame the forces defending the port, made up of irregular tribal units, and then, to gain defence in depth, moved up the Tigris valley, capturing the port of Basra two weeks later. At this time a further brigade was added to the invasion force. Upxto this point, Ottoman opposition, though concentrated at times, had been comparatively light, but the next objective, the town of Qurna, 46 miles to the north and reached early in December, proved quite another matter. Here, at the confluence of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates, the Turks made a spirited stand. The British proved unable to break through their lines, and at one time were forced back to their landing stage. It was not until a Sepoy private, carrying a line, had managed to swim across the Tigris (probably over a mile wide at this time) that a ferry was eventually set up. Indian troops were then able to cross to the other bank and encircle the town, taking their enemy completely by surprise. Over 1,000 men were captured. In this encounter the British suffered some 300 casualties and the Ottomans close to 1,500.
Come Spring 1915, the Ottomans decided to send in regular forces, aimed at stopping the British advance in the north and attempting to regain overall control in the south. Two divisions were dispatched at once and a further two later in the year. Thus strengthened,xon April the 12th some 4,000 regular troops and about 14,000 Arab Irregulars (provided by Arab sheiks opposed to the British) launched a powerful attack on the town of Shaiba (see map above). The plan was to use this town as a springboard to recapture the important port of Basra and regain command over access to the Persian Gulf. It was a closely run infantry battle – though some cavalry were employed – and the Turks came close to victory at one time. Had they managed to take Basra, it would have been a serious blow to the British, and would have served to question, as some already were, the policy of advancing too far and too quickly with limited resources.
Meanwhilexfurther north the British continued to do well. In July, a surprise attack upon the Ottoman supply base at Nasiriya brought further success. With gunboat support, the Turks were put to flight. Close on 1,000 prisoners were taken, along with a large amount of military equipment. Then byxSeptember – despite the hardships of a desert climate – they had reached and successfully captured Kut-
Withxthis target in view, the British force advanced further north but, just 20 miles short of the capital city, it was confronted with a much larger Ottoman army (some 18,000 men and 52 guns) at the town of Ctesiphon (see map above). Here, among its ancient relics, the Turks, led by a Colonel Nureddin, had built two lines of deep trenches along the river bank, and a third line further north where the River Diala joins the Tigris (see map), each at a loop in the river. After three days of fierce fighting, during which the Indians did manage to take the first line of trenches, it became clear that the advance on Baghdad had to be abandoned. General Townshend, with more than 40% of his troops killed or wounded, and fast running out of ammunition, was forced to pull back to the fortified town of Kut, over 40 miles to the south. Harried all the way, and with the badly wounded simply heaped in pony carts, they arrived there on the 3rd December, and were quickly surrounded by Nureddin’s forces. It was there that 13,800 Indian and British troops were to remain under siege until – close to starvation and with no hope of relief – they were forced to surrender in April 1916. It was a catastrophic ending to what had been a swift and otherwise successful campaign. And it was made the worse by following close on the heels of the British failure in the Gallipoli Campaign!
Needless to say, the campaign was not without its critics. There were those who argued that, the basic aim of the invasion having been met, the decision then taken to capture Baghdad was an unwise one. There was a limit to the number of troops available, casualites were particularly high via battle and sickness, and there were known to be serious delays in the supply of essential goods, particularly fresh water, ammunition and medical supplies. And conflicting views among commanders on the ground were accompanied by political contributions, voiced by the Indian Government – then responsible for the operation – and a British Government anxious to keep its empire intact. In the event, Baghdad was not captured until March 1917.
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Incidentally, thexArch of Ctesiphon, seen in the background
of the illustration above, is the remains of an ancient Persian monument dating back to somewhere between the 3rd and 6th centuries. Known in Arabic as Tāq Kasrā, it is located near the modern town of Salman Pak in Iraq. It is the second largest single-
…… Among those taking part in the Mesopotamian Campaign at one time or another was Clement Atlee, Britain’s Labour prime minister (1945-
As we shall see, the Siege of Kut was to be a grim and harrowing affair for the beleaguered force, and its capitulation in April 1916 was to bring even greater hardship in its wake. Indeed, many were not to survive the long forced march to captivity.
