IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3243

The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 16 and 31 December 1915. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, memoranda, letters, lists and tables.

The volume mostly relates to:

• Reinforcements and supplies for Force D, including: troops and staff from France and Egypt; river craft; machinery; weapons; ammunition; aeroplanes; and animals
• Staff appointments, movements, and pay rises
• Sick and wounded soldiers
• Prisoners of war numbers, movements and exchanges
• Reports from the: Tigris line (around Kut [Al-Kut, also rendered in text as Kut-al-Amarah]); Euphrates line (especially around Nasiriyah and Ctesiphon); Karun line (especially around Pusht-i-Kuh); and the Caucasus Front
• Intelligence on German and Turkish [Ottoman] troops, especially with regards to their plans for Persia [Iran], Baghdad, and Egypt
• Russian operations in Persia and wishes of the Grand Duke [Nicholas Nikolaevich, Commander-in-Chief and Viceroy in the Caucasus for Russia] to co-operate with Force D on the Caucasus Front and in northern Persia
• Agreements with the Il-Khani [I̅l-Khānī, also rendered in text as Ilkhani] and the Il-Begi [I̅l-Begī] of the Bakhtīyārī tribe to safeguard the Persian Oil Company’s interests
• Views of the ‘Arab Committee’ in Cairo with regards to plans for an ‘independent Arab State or Confederation’ and their political aspirations in Mesopotamia (folio 83)
• Reports on Turkish dispositions in North Syria, the Caucasus, and Baghdad
• Plans to provide relief for troops at Kut and Baghdad
• Intelligence with regards to Bin Sa’ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Āl Sa’ūd], Bin Rashid [Saʿūd bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Rashīd], and the Sharif of Mecca [Al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī, Sharīf of Mecca]
• Conclusion of a treaty between Bin Sa’ud and Sir Percy Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, on 26 December 1915
• Discussions relating to procedures for reporting information.

The volume also includes:

• Table showing strength of units in Force D on 1 October 1915 (ff 50-56) and on 1 November 1915 (ff 148-154)
• Distribution of troops of Force D week commencing 12 December 1915 (ff 195-196)
• Table showing distribution of the Turkish Army (ff 70-74)
• Appreciation [reports] from the Directorate of Military Operations on the situation in Mesopotamia on 20 December 1915 (ff 93-95) and 27 December 1915 (ff 208-209)
• Table showing supply personnel required for the two divisions en route from Force A to Force D (f 156)
• Table showing ‘...progress of transports carrying the Lahore and Meerut Divisions and other reinforcements to Mesopotamia’ (ff 266-269)
• A statement showing the ‘...strength of reinforcements and details for Basra which embarked at Bombay [Mumbai] and Karachi.’ (ff 270-279).

The vast majority of material in the volume dates from December 1915, with the exception of a small amount of material which dates from October 1915.

A summary of the contents of this volume can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3242.