IOR/L/MIL/17/15/66/2

The volume is the second volume of an official government publication compiled at the request of the Government of India, and under the direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence, by Brigadier-General Frederick James Moberly. The volume was printed and published at His Majesty's Stationery Office, London.

The contents provide a narrative of the operations of 1914-1918 in Mesopotamia, based mainly on official documents.

The volume is in one part, entitled, 'Part III. The First Campaign for Baghdad', and consists of the following fourteen chapters:

• The Decision to Advance to Baghdad
• Commencement of the Advance Towards Baghdad
• The Battle of Ctesiphon - the First Day's Operations
• Battle of Ctesiphon (Continued) and the British Retirement to Kut
• The Decision to Hold Kut and British Policy Consequent on the Failure to Reach Baghdad
• The Siege of Kut: First Phase (December 1915)
• Commencement of the Relief Operations
• The Action of Shaikh Saad
• The Action of the Wadi and the First Attack on Hanna
• Operations up to the End of February, 1916
• The Second Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Attack on the Dujaila Redoubt
• The Third Attempt to Relieve Kut; the Successful Advance to and First and Second Attacks on Sannaiyat
• The Last Attempt at Relief; Bait Isa and Sannaiyat
• The Siege of Kut; the Last Stages

The volume also includes nine maps, entitled:

• The Middle East
• Lower Mesopotamia
• Map 8 - The Tigris from Kut al Amara to Baghdad
• Map 9 - The Battle of Ctesiphon
• Map 10 - The affair of Umm at Tubul
• Map 11 - The defence of Kut al Amara
• Map 12 - The fort at Kut; with special reference to the Turkish attack on 24th December 1915
• Map 13 - River Tigris between Ali Gharbi and Shumran
• Map 14 - The action at Shaikh Saad
• Map 15 - The action of the Wadi
• Map 16 - The first attack on Hanna; 21st January 1916
• Map 17 - The attack on the Dujaila Redoubt, 8th March 1916
• Map 18 - To illustrate Tigris Corps Operation Order No. 26, dated 6th March 1916
• Map 19 - To illustrate operations between 10th March and end of April 1916
• Map 20 - The action of Bait Isa on 17th and 18th April 1916, and the attack on Sannaiyat 22nd April 1916