'WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. ''D''. Volume 42 PART II (From 16th...

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 January 1918. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, letters, tables, and memoranda, containing instructions and reports. The volume mostly relates to:. Reinforcements and labour requirements of Force D, including proposed reorganisation of supervising personnel for labour units; Staff appointments, promotions and training; Supplies for Force D, including: road transport, rations, coal, weapons, ammunition, animals, and shrapnel; Lists of sick and wounded soldiers; Turkish [Ottoman] forces: movements; intelligence from deserters; status in western Asia Minor; construction of railways; and distribution as of week ending 29 January (ff 192-193); Details of tonnage [amounts of cargo] transported on ships; Railway and port traffic reports; Demand for personnel across multiple departments; Complaints regarding the ban on exporting dates; Updates from action around Kasri Shirin [Qasr-e Shirin, also rendered in text as Qasri Shirin and Kasrishirin], including intelligence that tribes in the vicinity are friendly towards the Turkish army; Discussions about persuading Russian forces to defend the border at Persia [Iran] and the possibility of sending a British detachment to help; Details of the [Major-General Lionel] Dunsterville Mission, including: updates; supply of intelligence and personnel; request that Dunsterville shares copies of reports with the Commander-in-Chief in India; and details of Dunsterville's remit (ff 77-79); Details of the Transportation Commission led by General Henry Freeland, including: updates; discussions about future peacetime railway policy; and the sharing of information with the Commander-in-Chief in India; German troops: movements; information on Wireless Formations in Mesopotamia; status at different fronts; composition of troops; intelligence from captured aviators; and changes in command; Plans for cultivation activities in Mesopotamia; Plans to build mills in Mesopotamia; Affairs in Persia, including concerns about the new cabinet and a proposed agreement between His Majesty's Government and the Persian Government; Reports about recent events at Nejef [Najaf]; Naval Commander-in-Chief's desire to take control of wireless stations; Plans to disrupt Turkish forces' supply and communication lines; Status of Russian forces in Persia; Reaction of Percy Cox, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the High Commissioner of Egypt's concerns over 'growing uneasiness among Arabs'; Tests of Abadan petrol; Correspondence difficulties with the French Agent at Basrah [Basra]; The volume also contains:. Statement showing strength of the different contingents serving with Force D as of 17 November 1917 (ff 7-16); Monthly distribution report of motor vehicles in service with Force D on 1 November 1917 (ff 27-35); Appreciations [reports] from the Directorate of Military Operations summarising the situation in Mesopotamia and Persia on 20 January (ff 79-80) and 28 January (ff 180-181); Whilst the volume contains copies of earlier material dating from November 1917 onwards, the bulk of the material dates from January 1918.

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

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