IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3312

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 30 November 1918. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, letters, memoranda, and tables.

An index to the contents of this volume can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3311. The volume concerns:

• Military personnel issues, including: recruitment, reinforcements, and the transfer of officers
• Supply of food, equipment, ordnance, construction materials and other items to Force D
• Preparations for the demobilisation of Force D
• Demobilisation of the Turkish [Ottoman] Army
• Prisoner of war exchanges
• Railway, river, and port traffic in Mesopotamia [Iraq]
• The British occupation of the Mosul Vilayet
• Construction of railways in Mesopotamia
• Post-war economic and political conditions in Mesopotamia
• The creation of new governments in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine
• Discussion of the Anglo-French Declaration and its significance for Mesopotamia
• Proposal for the creation of a British-administered ‘Kurdish State’ centred on Sulaimaniyah [Sulaymaniyah]
• Transfer of Mesopotamian public debts, archives, and other state assets from the Turkish to the British administration
• Official examination of the 49th Bengal Infantry
• British occupation of Baku and Batum [Batumi]
• British policy in the Caucasus, including: the British intention to ‘police’ the region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea; proposed disarming of ‘the 6 ½ million inhabitants of Trans-Caucasia’; and the proposed British recognition of autonomous governments in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
• British military support for White Russian and other anti-Bolshevik forces
• Intelligence concerning German troop numbers and movements in the Caucasus and Anatolia
• Intelligence concerning Turkish troop numbers and movements in the Caucasus and Anatolia
• Political events in Constantinople [Istanbul]
• Supply issues for British units in Persia [Iran]
• Request from the Shah of Persia that Persia be represented at future peace negotiations.

The volume also contains:

• Distribution and composition of Force D, including details of lines of communication and general organisation (ff 56-64)
• Report of pilots and aircraft available for service in Mesopotamia, 14 November 1918 (f 3), 21 November 1918 (f 120)
• Ration strength of Force D on 5 October 1918 (ff 92-96), 12 October 1918 (ff 18-22, 175-179), 19 October 1918 (ff 117-120), 26 October 1918 (ff 72-74)
• Strength return of Force D on 21 September 1918 (ff 22-34), 28 September 1918 (ff 198-210), 19 October 1918 (ff 90-92), 26 October 1918 (ff 261-262)
• Ammunition return of Force D on 5 October 1918 (ff 210-221), 25 October 1918 (f 39), 29 October 1918 (ff 84-85), 5 November 1918 (f 85), 12 November 1918 (f 99), 19 November 1918 (f 264)
• Weekly return of sick and wounded dated 12 October 1918 (ff 76-77), 19 October 1918 (ff 169-170)
• State of supplies on 7 November 1918 (ff 110-111), 20 November 1918 (ff 262-263)
• Distribution Report showing number and condition of motor vehicles with Force D, 1 October 1918 (ff 223-244).