Battle of Wadi (1916)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Wad


caption=
partof=the Mesopotamian Campaign
(World War I)
date=13 January 1916
place=Hanna defile, convert|3.5|mi|km east of Sheikh Sa'ad, Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq
result=Decisive Ottoman victory
combatant1= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
flagicon|India|British British India
combatant2= flagicon|Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire
commander1= flagicon|United Kingdom Fenton Aylmer
flagicon|United Kingdom George Younghusband
flagicon|United Kingdom George Kemball
commander2= flagicon|German Empire Colmar von der Goltz
flagicon|Ottoman Empire Halil Pasha
strength1=19,000
strength2=22,500
casualties1=1600 dead or wounded,
numerous captured
casualties2=unknown, estimated minor

The Battle of Wadi, occurring on 13 January 1916, was an unsuccessful attempt by British forces fighting in present-day Iraq during the First World War to relieve beleaguered forces under Sir Charles Townshend then under siege by the Turks at Kut-al-Amara.cite web|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/wadi.htm |title=Battles: The Battle of the Wadi, 1916|date=Wednesday, 27 February, 2002|accessdate=2008-09-15] cite book|last=Candler|first=Edmund|title=The Long Road to Baghdad |publisher=Cassell|location=Baghdad|date=1919|pages=311]

Pushed by regional British Commander-in-Chief Sir John Nixon, General Fenton Aylmer launched an attack against Turkish defensive positions on the banks of the Wadi River.cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=74|title=Battle of Wadi this day in history 1916|publisher=history.com|accessdate=2008-09-15] cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Martin|title=The First World War: A complete history|publisher=Henry Holt and Co|date=2004|pages=688|isbn=0805076174] The Wadi was a steep valley of a stream that ran from the north into the River Tigris, some convert|6|mi|km upstream towards Kut-al-Amara from Sheikh Sa'ad. The attack is generally considered as a failure, as Fenton managed to capture the Wadi, but at a cost of 1,600 men, which led to Townshend's submission, along with 10,000 of his men, in the largest single surrender of British troops up to that time. However, the British recaptured Kut in February 1917, on their way to the capture of Baghdad the following year.cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/meso_bat10.htm|title=The long long trail|publisher=1914-1918.net|accessdate=2008-09-15] cite book|last=Esposito|first=Vincent Joseph |title=A Concise History of World War I|publisher=Praeger|date=1964|pages=414]

Background

On 5 December 1915, Turkish forces under the command of Halil Kut and the German commander Baron von der Goltz, surrounded an Anglo-Indian force of 25,000 men and began the Siege of Kut-Al Amara, a city convert|50|mi|km south of Baghdad.cite book|last=Barber|first=Major Charles H|title=Besieged in Kut - and After|publisher=Blackwood|date=1917|language=English] Replying to pleas for help from Major Charles Townshend, Mesopotamian Theatre commander Sir John Nixon dispatched the British Tigris Corps of 19,000 men under Lieutenant General Sir Fenton Aylmer to relieve the besieged garrison.cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer|coauthors=Priscilla Mary Roberts|title=World War I: Encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=2005|pages=1661|isbn=1851094202, 9781851094202]

The first attempt to relieve Kut (the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad) came on 6 January 1916. Aylmer's advance force, under Major-General George Younghusband, moved forward from Ali Al-Gharbi towards Sheikh Sa'ad along both banks of the Tigris. Younghusband's column made contact with the Turks on the morning of 6 January, convert|3.5|mi|km east of Sheikh Sa'ad. British efforts to defeat the Turks were unsuccessful.cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/nixons_second_despatch.htm|title=Nixons Second Dispatch|publisher=19141918|accessdate=2008-09-17] British casualties were heavy amounting to 4,202, including 133 officers. Following this, the Turks voluntarily abandoned their position on 9 January for an unknown reason, and retired convert|10|mi|km upstream to the Wadi.cite web|url=http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/Mesopotamia/Truth_of_Kut_01.htm|title=What happened at Kut|last=Fraser|first=Lovat|date=January 12, 1918|publisher='The War Illustrated' — 'a Pictorial Record of the Conflict of the Nations' |language=english|accessdate=2008-09-17]

Preparations for the battle

Aylmer’s troops were exhausted and demoralized as they continued to make their way up the Tigris toward Kut. Their progress was hampered by the region’s typical shortage of available roads and supply routes. Aylmer planned to outflank the Wadi position, capture the Hanna Defile and surround the Turkish force. The 28th Brigade under Brigadier General George Kemball would attack the Wadi trenches frontally, while the rest of the Tigris Corps moved around the flank. However, the British troops were hampered by having no accurate maps of the area, so much of the planning was left to chance.

Meanwhile, the Turkish army, under new regional commander Khalil Pasha, set up new and firmer defensive positions—with some 20,000 troops—along the banks of the smaller Wadi River, through which the British would have to pass to reach Kut.

Battle of Wadi

The attack, which began in the early afternoon of 13 January — postponed from the morning because of a persistent mist and a slow advance by artillery across the river — quickly lost the intended element of surprise, as the outnumbered British forces on both sides of enemy lines struggled to assert themselves against a robust Turkish defense. Kemball made a frontal advance, while Younghusband, with the bulk of the British force, attempted a wide turning movement. The delay seriously affected the chances of success, as small-arms and artillery fire from the alerted Turks began to halt the British infantry movements.

Lacking proper maps, the leading British column became lost. Seizing the opportunity, the Turkish units began to wheel around from a north-south orientation to an east-west, to face the British flanking manoeouvre. The resulting frontal attack by the 28th Brigade was repulsed with heavy casualties.

By dusk, it became clear that the attempt had failed. British troops, attempting to maneuver around the Turkish flanks, failed to reach the river, and the mouth of the Hanna Defile was still strongly held by the entrenched Turks. Aylmer called off the attack by the end of the day and ferried most of his remaining troops to the right bank of the Tigris.

By this time, Aylmer's troops had gained control of the Wadi, but it was a small advance that was unworthy of the 1,600 men killed or wounded (including 40 British officers) in the attack and did little to bring relief closer to Townshend’s beleaguered forces at Kut. The provision of adequate medical capacity and supplies had not improved significantly since the appalling debacle at Sheikh Sa'ad, so again many casualties suffered without treatment or evacuation for several days.

Aftermath

The British continued to attempt to break through the Turkish lines over the coming months in order to rescue their brethren in Kut, all of which were unsuccessful. In April 1916, after nearly five months under siege, Townshend finally submitted, along with 10,000 of his men, in the largest single surrender of British troops up to that time.

Through mistreatment and neglect leading to starvation, nearly 5,000 British prisoners died before the end of the war. The Siege of Kut was an important Turkish victory, greatly raising Turkish morale and prestige for the Turks in the Middle East. The British government on the other hand was forced to pour more resources into Mesopotamia.

The British managed to win back Kut in February 1917, on their way to the capture of Baghdad the following year.cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/meso_bat10.htm|title=The long long trail|publisher=1914-1918.net|accessdate=2008-09-15] The humiliation the British faced due to the loss of Kut had been 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 of Mosul.

References