Second Battle of Kut
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Kut was fought on February 23, 1917, between British and Ottoman forces at Kut
, Mesopotamia
(present-day Iraq
).
The battle was part of the British advance to Baghdad
begun in December 1916 by a 50,000-man British force (mainly from British India) organized in two army corps.
The British, led by Frederick Stanley Maude
, recaptured the city, but the Ottoman garrison there did not get trapped inside (as had happened to Townshend
's troops in the previous year when the Ottomans had besieged Kut in the Siege of Kut
): the Ottoman commander, Kâzım Karabekir Bey
, managed a good-order retreat from the town of his remaining soldiers (about 2,500), pursued by a British fluvial flotilla along the Tigris River.
The British advance wore off on February 27 at Aziziyeh, some 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) beyond Kut. After three days' worth of supplies had been accumulated, Maude continued his march toward Baghdad.
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...
, 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...
(present-day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
).
The battle was part of the British advance to 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...
begun in December 1916 by a 50,000-man British force (mainly from British India) organized in two army corps.
The British, led by Frederick Stanley 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:...
, recaptured the city, but the Ottoman garrison there did not get trapped inside (as had happened to 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....
's troops in the previous year when the Ottomans had besieged Kut in the Siege of Kut
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
): the Ottoman commander, Kâzım Karabekir Bey
Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
, managed a good-order retreat from the town of his remaining soldiers (about 2,500), pursued by a British fluvial flotilla along the Tigris River.
The British advance wore off on February 27 at Aziziyeh, some 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) beyond Kut. After three days' worth of supplies had been accumulated, Maude continued his march toward Baghdad.