IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3276

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 May 1917. 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 can be found at folios 3-11. The volume concerns:

• Troop movements
• Military operations, including actions on the Adhaim [Al-‘Uzaym] river
• Reports from the fronts on the Tigris and Euphrates, the Caucasus, and southern Persia [Iran]
• Issues concerning Inland Water Transport, including the transfer of ships from India to Mesopotamia and details of craft lost on rivers in Mesopotamia
• Supplies for Force D, including ammunition, guns, and tents
• Combat and non-combat reinforcements for Force D from India, Egypt, and Mauritius, in particular Labour Corps
• Staff appointments
• Railways, including railway construction and repair, traffic statistics, and the transfer of rails and rolling stock from India to Mesopotamia
• The movements and strength of Turkish [Ottoman) forces, including intelligence received from deserters and prisoners of war
• The movements of Russian forces; the effects of the Russian Revolution of February 1917
• The court martial and sentencing of troops from the 3rd Brahmans for ‘mutinous conduct’
• Aerial operations
• Relations with tribes, including ‘punitive measures’ against tribes resisting the British occupation of Mesopotamia
• The proposed deportation of Turkish families from British-occupied Baghdad
• Political developments in Najd and Hail
• The question of the future political administration of Mesopotamia
• Medical issues, including Medical Advisory Committee report on sickness and sanitary measures in Force D (ff 165-180)
• Issues around currency and exchange rates in British-occupied Mesopotamia
• Reported activity of German agents
• The political situation in Persia and the effect on this of the Russian Revolution of February 1917.

The following tables appear:

• The distribution, composition, and organisation of Force D (ff 12-29, ff 112-117, ff 139-142) and names of officers in order of superiority (ff 30-31)
• Units captured at Kut-al-Amarah [Kut] (f 30)
• Artillery and ammunition available in Mesopotamia (ff 36-37, ff 130-131)
• Distribution and strength of Turkish forces (ff 39-47, f 133, f 155, ff 244-246)
• British aerial operations between 18 and 24 February 1917 (ff 49-51)
• Medical statistics (ff 54-56, ff 88-89, ff 151-152, ff 178-179, ff 182-183, ff 197-198, ff 212-214, f 216, ff 218-220, ff 226-227)
• Disinfection measures and equipment (ff 57-58, ff 65-66)
• Inland Water Transport personnel as of 10 February 1917 (f 67)
• Shipping statistics (f 68, f 132, f 232, f 241)
• The state of supplies on the morning of 28 April 1917 (ff 76-80, ff 81-82), the morning of 5 May 1917 (ff 128-129, ff 137-138), and the morning of 12 May 1917 (ff 238-240)
• Railway traffic in Mesopotamia in the weeks ending 24 April 1917 (ff 80-81) and 3 May 1917 (f 126)
• Royal Flying Corps (RFC) report listing available aircraft and pilots in the week ending 3 May 1917 (f 93) and 10 May 1917 (f 152)
• Ration strength of Force D on 8 April 1917 (ff 109-111), 22 April 1917 (ff 124-125), and 29 April 1917 (ff 192-197)
• Distribution of land transport with Force D on 1 April 1917 (f 123)
• Reinforcements for Force D (ff 150-151)
• Inland Water Transport statistics for the week ending 17 February 1917 (ff 221-223) and 24 February 1917 (ff 229-231).

Also included are:

• ‘Diary of Information’ No. 42 dated 31 March 1917, covering: aerial operations; approximate translations of songs by Indian troops; a report on sanitation dated 31 January 1917; Inland Water Transport report for the week ending 10 February 1917; construction and engineering works in Mesopotamia and British-occupied southern Persia; and the Christmas mail for Mespotamia (ff 49-74)
• War reportage from around Samarra and on the Adhaim in the Pioneer, 17 April to 8 May (ff 145-148, f 156)
• ‘Diary of Information’ No. 43 dated 7 April 1917, covering issues including: tribal guards in the employ of British Political Officers; a description of Nasiriyah; railway operations; aerial operations between 25 February-11 March 1917, including during the capture of Baghdad; medical affairs, including reports on malaria and other infectious diseases and laboratory reports; and Inland Water Transport report for the week ending 17 February 1917 (ff 205-225)
• ‘Diary of Information’ No. 44 dated 14 April 1917, covering issues including: medical affairs, including laboratory reports; Inland Water Transport report for the week ending 24 February 1917; Army Ordnance Department report for the month of February 1917; an essay on British administration in occupied Mesopotamia by General Staff Intelligence entitled ‘The Pax Britannica in the Occupied Territories’; and aerial operations carried out between 12 and 25 March 1917 (ff 225-237).