Fall of Baghdad (1917)
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Baghdad was the southern capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1917. While it had no strategic value to the British, its fall would be of some propaganda value. After the disasters in the Mesopotamian Campaign during 1916, a victory was needed to restore British pride. On March 11, 1917, the British army did capture Baghdad.
Arrival of General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude
After the surrender of the Kut garrison on April 29, 1916, the British army in Mesopotamia underwent a major overhaul. A new commander, Lt. Gen. Sir Frederick Stanley Maude was given the job of restoring Britain's military reputation.General Maude spent rest of 1916 re-building his army. Most of his troops were recruited in India and then sent by sea to Basra. While these troops were being trained, British military engineers built a field railroad from the coast up to Basra and beyond. General Maude also obtained a small forces of armed river boats and river supply ships.
The British launched their new campaign on December 13 1916. The British had some 50,000 well trained and well equipped troops, it was called the Tigris Corps. The Ottoman forces were smaller, perhaps around 25,000 strong under the overall command of Khalil Pasha.
March on Baghdad
There were no set-backs for the British on this campaign. General Maude proceeded cautiously, advancing on both sides of the Tigris river. He earned his nickname Systematic Joe. The Ottoman forces contested a fortifed place called the Khadairi Bend which the British captured after two weeks of siege work (January 6 to January 19 1917). The British then had to force the Turks out of a strong defensive line along the Hai River. This took them two more weeks (from January 25 till February 4). Another Ottoman position, called Dahra Bend, was taken on February 16. Finally the British re-captured Kut on February 24 1917 (Second Battle of Kut).
The local Ottoman commander, Karabekir Bey, did not let his army become trapped in Kut like General Townshend had done in the previous year. But his forces were ground down by the constant battles and defeats - only 2,500 remained after Kut fell. These linked up with the Baghdad garrison of some 10,000.
Baghdad
The march on Baghdad resumed on March 5 1917. Three days later, Maude's corps reached the Diyala River on the outskirts of the city.Khalil Pasha choose to defend Baghdad at the join of the Diyala River and the Tigris, some 35 miles south of Baghdad. The Ottoman troops resisted the initial British assault on March 9. General Maude then shifted the majority of his army north. He believed that he could outflank the Ottoman positions and strike directly for Baghdad. Khalil Pasha responded by shifting his army out of its defensive positions to mirror the move of the British on the other side of the river. A single regiment was left to hold the original Diyala River defences and the British crushed this regiment with a sudden assult on March 10 1917.
This sudden defeat un-nerved Khalil Pasha and he ordered his army to retreat north to Baghdad. The Ottoman authorities then ordered the evacuation of Baghdad at 8 p.m. on March 10. But the situation was rapidly moving beyond Khalil Pasha's control, the British followed close on the heels of the Ottoman troops and they captured Baghdad without a fight on March 11 1917. Some 9,000 Ottoman troops were caught in the confusion and became prisoners of the British.
The British were worried that the Ottoman government might try to flood the Tigris plain. As it happened, this fear was unfounded. The Turks never attempted to flood the area.
Entering the City
The British troops were greeted with enthusiasm from the local population. A week after the capture, General Maude issued the [Proclamation of Baghdad] which included the line:
"Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators."
Consequences
This was clearly a victory for the British and yet another defeat for the Ottoman government. The humiliation for the British due to the loss of Kut had been at least partially rectified. The Ottoman government was forced to end its military operations in Persia and try to build up a new army to prevent the British from moving on to capture Mosul.The capture of Baghdad, a provincial capital, also meant that the first Turkish province had fallen under British control. Although this was good news, it caused a great deal of bureaucratic fighting between the British government in London and the British government in India.
Once he captured Baghdad, Maude was the de facto Governor of Mesopotamia from Basra to Baghdad. Sir Percy Cox, the Tigris Corps Political Officer, attempted to issue a proclamation stating that the province was under joint British-Indian Administration. But London ordered Cox not to issue his proclamation, and came out with its' own proclamation asking Arab leaders to aid the British Administration.
At the same time, the Indian Colonial Government had different ideas. After all, they had been the prime movers behind the Mesopotamia in the first place. The British government in India wanted this new area placed under their direct control.
This power struggle lead to the creation of the Mesopotamian Administration Committee under the leadership of Lord Curzon. Its main task was to determine who would govern the Basra and Baghdad provinces. Its ruling was a British, not Anglo-Indian, administration for Basra and an Arab authority for Baghdad. This decision would have wide ranging effects on the world, which still affect us today.
Sources
- Bruce, A. (n.d.). 17th February - 11th March 1917 - The Capture of Baghdad. [Electronic Version]. An Illustrated Companion to the First World War.
- Duffy, M. (2002). Battles: The Capture of Baghdad, 1917. The First World War. Retrieved August 17, 2005 from http://firstworldwar.com/battles/baghdad.htm
- Frederick Stanley Maude (n.d.). Retrieved August 17, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Stanley_Maude
- Fromkin, D. (1989). A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
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