'WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. ''D''. Volume 41. 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 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 and a summary of the contents can be found at the start of IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3289. The volume concerns:. Appreciations [reports] and intelligence summaries from the Directorate of Military Operations dated 16 December 1917 (ff 9-10), 23 December 1917 (ff 127-129), 30 December 1917 (ff 249-250); Supplies, particularly of timber, tents, and preserved meats; The difficulties of dispatching petrol and oils in drums; A shortage of tin affecting food supplies; The armistice signed by Germany, Austria, Russia, Turkey and Bulgaria on 17 December 1917; Movements of Turkish [Ottoman] and German troops; British aerial bombardment of aerodromes at Humr [Al Humr], Tuz Kurmatli [Tuz Khurmati]; Commentary on shipping and port works recommended by the Cherry and Thompson Commission and A Monteath; Financial powers available to civil administrators in occupied territories and arrangements for receipts; The occupation of Samawa [As Samawah], Hillah [Al Hillah] and Kifl [Al Kifl]; The proposed Irrigation Directorate; The selection of men to be allotted to Major-General Lionel Dunsterville; Reinforcements for Force D, including supplies of medical officers, camels, and personnel for the Inland Water Transport Department, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and the Railway Department; Reports from the Royal Flying Corps of machines in service and pilots available; Russian officers from England who were anxious to serve in Mesopotamia; The following tables appear:. Distribution of Force D on 18 November 1917 (ff 16-21), 25 November (ff 144-155); Ration strength of Force D on 24 November 1917 (ff 36-38, 187-191), 1 December (ff 133-136), 17 November (ff 136-140), 8 December (ff 212-214); Distribution of the Turkish Army on 18 December 1917 (ff 48-49), 25 December 1917 (ff 167-169); State of supplies on 15 December (ff 56-57, 76-77), 22 December (ff 177-178, 201-202); Weekly return of the sick and wounded on 1 December (f 72); Strength return for Force D on 10 November (ff 115-117); Effective strength of the Railway Department (ff 237-241)

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

Unrestricted