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Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Ctesiphon (Turkish
: Selman-ı Pak Muharebesi) was fought in November 1915 by the British Empire
and British India
, against the Ottoman Empire
, within the Mesopotamian Campaign
of World War I
.
Indian Expeditionary Force D, mostly made up of Indian units and under the command of Gen. Sir John Nixon, had met with success in Mesopotamia
since landing at Al Faw
upon the Ottoman Empire
's Declaration of War on November 5, 1914.
One of the primary reasons for initiating the campaign in Mesopotamia
was to defend the oil refinery at Abadan at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab. Adopting a forward defence policy, the British army under General Townshend
fought off a series of small Ottoman forces. Then after a year of a string of defeats, the Ottoman forces were able to halt the British advance in two days of hard fighting at Ctesiphon
.
, 40 miles (64.4 km) north of Kut al-Amara
, and 16 miles (25.7 km) south-east of Baghdad
. It is a good defensive position located in a 6 miles (9.7 km) loop of the Tigris river. At the town there is a ruined palace, the remains of a Parthia
n capital.
The Ottoman forces had formed a well-camouflaged and formidable line of trenches crossing the river. There were two lines of trenches, there was also a 20 feet (6.1 m) ancient wall 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the main line used for observation by the Ottoman forces.
The Ottoman forces consisted of approximately 18,000 men and 52 guns. The overall commander of the Ottoman army in Mesopotamia was Khalil Pasha. The commander in the field for the previous nine months was Colonel Nureddin
also called Nur-ud Din Pasha, but the Ottoman army was as of October under the command of Baron von der Goltz, a well known German general, military historian and, for 12 years, a modernizer of the Ottoman army. Baron von der Goltz was old but he was an expert on military matters and had a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ottoman army. General Goltz was still making his way to Mesopotamia and it was Nureddin who was in charge at the battle and the British believed he was still the commander. This may have been a factor in the course of events as the British - with considerable justification based on previous experience - thought poorly of Nureddin's skills as a general.
Nureddin had four divisions. The 35th and 38th Divisions were predominantly Arab. The 38th Divisions' prewar garrison had been Basra, and the 35th's was Mosul. Nureddin also had the 45th and 51st Divisions, newly raised divisions, which were predominantly Turkish. They were made up of a mixture of active and reserve soldiers. He had about 18,000 total infantry.
The British force consisted of the 6th (Poona) Division
, at a strength of around 11,000 men. Some British troops had been left behind to garrison the recently captured town and river junction of Kut
.
The British advance past Kut was slow, partly due to the bad weather and wet ground and partly due to General Townshend's reluctance to advance further. But the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the region, General Nixon, ordered Townshend to take Baghdad
. So, he commenced his march up the Tigris river.
had over 55 days to prepare his defenses, and his forces prepared them well. He deployed his forces in an L shaped formation. The 38th Division occupied the long part of the L. The new and fresh 45th Division held most vulnerable part of the line, the small leg of the L on the left, with one regiment up in the front line trenches and two in reserve. There were 12 strong points along the first trench line, and a complete second line of trenches to fall back into. In general reserve was the veteran 51st Division. The 35th was across the river. The Ottoman artillery was centrally located where it could support his left flank or the central part of his line. The artillery was ordered to fire first on the British gunboats, and then shift fire to support the Ottoman reserves.
, ordered a night march in the closing hours of November 21, 1915, with the aim of attacking at dawn on the November 22, The attack happened on schedule but due to poor ground conditions on the west bank the British ended up attacking the much stronger east bank positions.
The advance was supposed to be supported by river gunboats, however two things prevented the gun boats from becoming a factor in the battle. First, the Ottoman guns on the west bank rained fire upon them. Secondly, the Tigris was extensively mined and several river obstructions made navigation difficult.
At the beginning of the battle, C-Column, the one closest to the river bank came under heavy small arms and artillery fire and failed to reach the first trench line. A-Column, in the middle, was also halted short of the trench line.
On the right, B-Column (mainly Punjabis and Gurkhas) reached the first line of trenches, forced the Ottoman forces to retreat and pursued the retreating enemy towards the second line of trenches. Colonel Nureddin
committed the reserve regiments of the 45th Division and brought the unengaged 35th Division from the other side of the river to reinforce his lines, and the British-Indian forces were stopped.
Townshend then ordered C-Column to fall back, and try and exploit the breakthrough. This movement was rather complicated and the task was made difficult by Ottoman forces firing into their flank. Meanwhile the flying column bogged down in inconclusive fighting against Turkish and Arab Cavalry. Here again Nureddin
committed his reserves, in this case the 51st Division, to great effect, halting Townshend's flanking attack.
By the end of the day the 6th (Poona) Division had captured the first line of trenches, but the British sustained heavy casualties. The Ottoman forces had also taken heavy casualties but held their position.
also concluded he had to retreat due to the heavy losses. When he realized the British were retreating, he turned his army around and sent it in pursuit of the British-Indian forces.
The Ottoman Army had sustained casualties of 6,188, but they had short supply lines and were able to get reinforcements from Baghdad and the northern provinces. Colonel Nureddin
, learning that the British were also retreating, turned his army around and pursued the British. The Ottoman forces under the commande of Nureddin followed the British to Kut.
Ctesiphon and its aftermath revealed a key British weakness in this campaign: an inadequate supply line. The British troops were under-supplied, and their medical corps was understaffed, considering the number of troops and rate of casualties (both from battle and disease). In the later campaign which led to the capture of Baghdad
by General Maude
, logistics were much better dealt with.
The battle also demonstrated that the Ottoman Army could fight well on its own. Colonel Nureddin
had taken an army that had been beaten a number of times, put it in a carefully prepared defensive position, and held off the British and Indian forces. He also did this without any German advisors.
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
: Selman-ı Pak Muharebesi) was fought in November 1915 by the British Empire
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and British India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, within the Mesopotamian Campaign
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Indian Expeditionary Force D, mostly made up of Indian units and under the command of Gen. Sir John Nixon, had met with success in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
since landing at Al Faw
Al-Faw Peninsula
The Faw peninsula is a marshy region adjoining the Persian Gulf in the extreme south-east of Iraq, between and to the south-east of the cities of Basra and Abadan ....
upon the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
's Declaration of War on November 5, 1914.
One of the primary reasons for initiating the campaign in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
was to defend the oil refinery at Abadan at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab. Adopting a forward defence policy, the British army under General Townshend
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....
fought off a series of small Ottoman forces. Then after a year of a string of defeats, the Ottoman forces were able to halt the British advance in two days of hard fighting at Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
.
Battleground
Ctesiphon lies on the left bank of the Tigris River in the barren Iraqi desert, about 380 miles (611.5 km) upstream from BasraBasra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, 40 miles (64.4 km) north of Kut al-Amara
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
, and 16 miles (25.7 km) south-east of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. It is a good defensive position located in a 6 miles (9.7 km) loop of the Tigris river. At the town there is a ruined palace, the remains of a Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n capital.
The Ottoman forces consisted of approximately 18,000 men and 52 guns. The overall commander of the Ottoman army in Mesopotamia was Khalil Pasha. The commander in the field for the previous nine months was Colonel Nureddin
Nureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
also called Nur-ud Din Pasha, but the Ottoman army was as of October under the command of Baron von der Goltz, a well known German general, military historian and, for 12 years, a modernizer of the Ottoman army. Baron von der Goltz was old but he was an expert on military matters and had a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Ottoman army. General Goltz was still making his way to Mesopotamia and it was Nureddin who was in charge at the battle and the British believed he was still the commander. This may have been a factor in the course of events as the British - with considerable justification based on previous experience - thought poorly of Nureddin's skills as a general.
Nureddin had four divisions. The 35th and 38th Divisions were predominantly Arab. The 38th Divisions' prewar garrison had been Basra, and the 35th's was Mosul. Nureddin also had the 45th and 51st Divisions, newly raised divisions, which were predominantly Turkish. They were made up of a mixture of active and reserve soldiers. He had about 18,000 total infantry.
The British force consisted of the 6th (Poona) Division
6th (Poona) Division
For the World War II formation see 6th Infantry Division The 6th Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army.-World War I:...
, at a strength of around 11,000 men. Some British troops had been left behind to garrison the recently captured town and river junction of Kut
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
.
The British advance past Kut was slow, partly due to the bad weather and wet ground and partly due to General Townshend's reluctance to advance further. But the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the region, General Nixon, ordered Townshend to take Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. So, he commenced his march up the Tigris river.
British attack plan
Townshend's plan of attack was to separate his force into four columns. Three infantry columns, designated columns A, B, and C, were scheduled for a frontal attack on different points of the Ottoman lines. The other column, referred to as the flying column, was made up of a mix of cavalry and infantry, and was supposed to swing around the left flank of the Ottoman lines. The attack was to be supported by two river boats, a gunboat and HMS Firefly.Ottoman defense plan
Colonel NureddinNureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
had over 55 days to prepare his defenses, and his forces prepared them well. He deployed his forces in an L shaped formation. The 38th Division occupied the long part of the L. The new and fresh 45th Division held most vulnerable part of the line, the small leg of the L on the left, with one regiment up in the front line trenches and two in reserve. There were 12 strong points along the first trench line, and a complete second line of trenches to fall back into. In general reserve was the veteran 51st Division. The 35th was across the river. The Ottoman artillery was centrally located where it could support his left flank or the central part of his line. The artillery was ordered to fire first on the British gunboats, and then shift fire to support the Ottoman reserves.
Movements and the clash
Townshend, intending to copy his success at Battle of Es SinnBattle of Es Sinn
The Battle of Es Sinn was a military engagement during the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I. The battle was fought to determine control of the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was also viewed, by the British and Indian governments, as a test of the Ottoman forces and...
, ordered a night march in the closing hours of November 21, 1915, with the aim of attacking at dawn on the November 22, The attack happened on schedule but due to poor ground conditions on the west bank the British ended up attacking the much stronger east bank positions.
The advance was supposed to be supported by river gunboats, however two things prevented the gun boats from becoming a factor in the battle. First, the Ottoman guns on the west bank rained fire upon them. Secondly, the Tigris was extensively mined and several river obstructions made navigation difficult.
At the beginning of the battle, C-Column, the one closest to the river bank came under heavy small arms and artillery fire and failed to reach the first trench line. A-Column, in the middle, was also halted short of the trench line.
On the right, B-Column (mainly Punjabis and Gurkhas) reached the first line of trenches, forced the Ottoman forces to retreat and pursued the retreating enemy towards the second line of trenches. Colonel Nureddin
Nureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
committed the reserve regiments of the 45th Division and brought the unengaged 35th Division from the other side of the river to reinforce his lines, and the British-Indian forces were stopped.
Townshend then ordered C-Column to fall back, and try and exploit the breakthrough. This movement was rather complicated and the task was made difficult by Ottoman forces firing into their flank. Meanwhile the flying column bogged down in inconclusive fighting against Turkish and Arab Cavalry. Here again Nureddin
Nureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
committed his reserves, in this case the 51st Division, to great effect, halting Townshend's flanking attack.
By the end of the day the 6th (Poona) Division had captured the first line of trenches, but the British sustained heavy casualties. The Ottoman forces had also taken heavy casualties but held their position.
Second day
On the second day, Townshend again attempted to break through, with a supporting flank attack. The Ottoman forces again stopped it. They then counter-attacked the British positions with all available forces. The fight was hard, but the British line held. Both armies had taken heavy casualties and all troops had endured two days of intense combat and were exhausted. The Ottoman forces had lost 6,188 killed and wounded. The 51st Division lost 12%, the 35th Division lost 25%, and the 45th Division, which bore the brunt of the British attacks, lost 65% of its strength.Day three
On November 24, both generals ordered a withdrawal. On the British side, General Townshend concluded he needed to retreat because his losses had been too great to continue the effort to take Baghdad. Colonel NureddinNureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
also concluded he had to retreat due to the heavy losses. When he realized the British were retreating, he turned his army around and sent it in pursuit of the British-Indian forces.
Aftermath
The 6th (Poona) Division had sustained a 40% casualty rate, losing about 4,600 troops. They were exhausted from the heavy fighting of the past two days and had an effective strength of about 8,500. Townshend decided a retreat back towards Kut was necessary to rebuild the strength of his army.The Ottoman Army had sustained casualties of 6,188, but they had short supply lines and were able to get reinforcements from Baghdad and the northern provinces. Colonel Nureddin
Nureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
, learning that the British were also retreating, turned his army around and pursued the British. The Ottoman forces under the commande of Nureddin followed the British to Kut.
Ctesiphon and its aftermath revealed a key British weakness in this campaign: an inadequate supply line. The British troops were under-supplied, and their medical corps was understaffed, considering the number of troops and rate of casualties (both from battle and disease). In the later campaign which led to the capture of Baghdad
Fall of Baghdad (1917)
The British Indian Army fought the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. On 11 March 1917, after a series of defeats, it captured Baghdad after a two-year campaign.-Arrival of General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude:...
by General Maude
Frederick Stanley Maude
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander, most famous for his efforts in Mesopotamia during World War I and for conquering Baghdad in 1917.-Family:...
, logistics were much better dealt with.
The battle also demonstrated that the Ottoman Army could fight well on its own. Colonel Nureddin
Nureddin Pasha
Nureddin Pasha , often called Bearded Nureddin , was a Turkish military officer, who served in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and in the Turkish army during the Greco-Turkish War...
had taken an army that had been beaten a number of times, put it in a carefully prepared defensive position, and held off the British and Indian forces. He also did this without any German advisors.