'WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. ''D''. Volume 29. PART II. (From...

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 1916. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, memoranda, tables, and letters containing instructions and reports. The volume mostly relates to:. Reinforcements and supplies for Force D, including: rations, river craft, animals, and land transport; Staff: appointments, pay grades, and illnesses; Prisoners of war, particularly allegations of ill-treatment towards British prisoners of war; Updates from the Tigris line, especially at Kut-el-Amarah [Al-Kut, also rendered in text as Kut-el-Amara], Sannaiyat [As Sina'yat], and Baghailah [An Nu'maniyah]; Updates from the Euphrates line, especially at Nasiriyah [also rendered in text as Nasiriyeh]; Updates from the Russo-Turkish [Russo-Ottoman] front, especially at Hamadan; Turkish forces: movements; status; locations of particular Divisions; and distributions for week ending 26 December (ff 79-88); Discussions about the future operations of Force D; Details of present operations, especially to secure the Hai [Nahr al Gharraf (river), also rendered in text as Shatt-al-Hai]; Situation in Persia [Iran]: proposals to dispatch the Bushire [Bushehr] force to support the troops under Sir Percy Sykes; proposals to create a Bakhtiari [Bakhtiyārī] force to maintain order on the road between Ahwaz [Ahvaz] and Ispahan [Isfahan]; and dispatch of a military detachment to the oilfields; Proposals to form a Cavalry Division in Mesopotamia; Proposals to disband the Chinese Corps; Intelligence concerning deserters, including information provided by captured deserters; The volume also includes:. Appreciations [reports] from the Directorate of Military Operations summarising the situation in Mesopotamia on: 17 December (ff 22-24); 24 December (ff 71-73); and 31 December (ff 124-126); Force D's 'Diary of Information' for week ending 9 December (ff 60-68), organised into sections entitled: 'Climate and Floods'; 'Amarah [Al 'Amarah] Revenues (Part IV)'; 'Military Accounts (Part III)'; 'Inland Water Transport'; 'Note on Camels and Donkeys in the Shamiyah Desert between Nasiriyah and Zubair [Az Zubayr]'; 'The arrival of Force ''D'' in Mesopotamia (not printed)'; 'Prisoners of War'; and 'Photographs'; Distribution of troops on 3 December (ff 94-98); 'Report on the siege of Kut-el-Amara. 5th December 1915 to 29th April 1916.' by Lieutenant Harold Sydney Douglas McNeal, RFA [Royal Field Artillery] (ff 127-140). This report includes an appendix containing several communiqués to the troops by Major-General Charles Townshend, Commanding, 6th Division, which are all dated between 13 November 1915-10 April 1916. The appendix also includes a communiqué to the troops from Major E G Dunn, dated 11 March 1916; Report entitled 'Turkish Treatment of British Prisoners of War', describing the aftermath of the siege of Kut-el-Amara (ff 140-146). The report includes a short section on events and conditions at Baghdad; A summary and index to the contents of this volume can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3266. Whilst the volume contains copies of earlier material dating from 13 November 1915 onwards, the bulk of the material dates from December 1916.

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.

Unrestricted