IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3264

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 1 and 15 November 1916. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: letters, telegrams, notes, reports, tables, and memoranda. An index to the contents of this volume and a summary of the contents can be found at folios 3-12. The volume concerns:

• The supply of food, equipment (e.g. body armour), and transport for Force D
• Issues concerning Inland Water Transport, in particular transfers of vessels from India for use in Mesopotamia and recruitment of ships’ masters in British colonies
• The movements of supply ships
• The movement and organisation of military units
• Reports from the fronts in Mesopotamia and Persia [Iran]
• Combat and non-combat reinforcements for Force D from India, Egypt, the British Honduras [Belize] Contingent, Fiji, China, and Portuguese East Africa [Mozambique], in particular Labour Corps and Supply and Transport Corps personnel and artillery
• Medical issues, including sickness among troops, sanitation measures, reorganisation of the Force D Medical Administration, the transfer of an ambulance train from Aden, and an inquiry into conditions on board transport ships
• Statistics for personnel, casualties, supplies, and construction materials shipped on the Tigris
• Railway construction
• Movements of Turkish [Ottoman] forces, including in Turkish-occupied areas of Persia
• The defence of British-controlled oil fields in southern Persia, including relations with local Bakhtiari [Bakhtiyārī] tribes
• A Chinese theatre for the entertainment of the Chinese Labour Corps
• Issues concerning prisoners of war, including the release of Turkish prisoners and the escape of prisoners captured by Turkish forces at Kut
• The hostility of tribes on the Shatt-al-Hai [Shatt al-Hayy/Al-Gharraf River]
• Offers from private firms in Karachi to supply additional labour.

The following tables appear:

• Royal Flying Corps (RFC) reports from listing available aircraft and engines at the start of November 1916 (f 29 and f 49)
• Distribution of Turkish forces (ff 40-41, ff 73-74)
• The personnel of the Supply and Transport Corps in Mesopotamia (f 46)
• Casualties for the weeks ending 14 October 1916 (f 55) and 21 October 1916 (ff 110-111)
• Ration requirements for a 60-day period in Mesopotamia (ff 56-57)
• Artillery in use in Mesopotamia (f 66)
• The ration strength of Force D as of 31 October 1916 (ff 87-89 and ff 106-108)
• Additional supplies needed for Force D (f 100)
• The names and strength of hostile tribes on the Shatt-al-Hai (f 105)
• Ammunition held and used by artillery forces in Mesopotamia (ff 116-117)
• The state of supplies on the morning of 11 November 1916 (f 117)
• Transport ships arriving in Basrah [Basra] in November 1916 (f 123).

Also included in the volume are:

• Weekly Diary of Information No. 21 for the week ending 7 October (ff 14-24), covering issues including: climate and flooding in Mesopotamia; political affairs in the Sultanate of Masqat [Muscat]; military construction and engineering works in Mesopotamia and southern Persia such as bases, hospitals, prisons, land reclamation, and water supply; water transport; staffing; the issue of slavery in Iraq; cemeteries; prisoners of war; a copy of ‘The Voice of Truth’ No. 4
• A map of south-eastern Mesopotamia and south-western Persia, indicating Mesopotamian tribal territories (f 25).