Map of the area covered in the Mesopotamia campaign. Image source: National Army Museum

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World War I began in July 1914 between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the **Ottoman Empire**) against Allied Powers (**Great Britain**, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States).

This is the tale of the battle fought between Great Britain (troops sent by the Indian division) and the Ottoman Empire in the Kut region (see in the map) along the shores of Tigris. The Ottoman Empire is today's Republic of Turkey and parts of Iraq and Iran. The Ottoman Empire had the most powerful army during the period to what is referred to as the '*The Golden age of Islam*'. After the 17th CE, the powers of the Ottoman empire gradually decreased yet not all was lost. 

> As WWI commenced, the Ottoman Empire joined the central forces. The British initially eyed the oil and gas supplies in the Ottoman province of Mesopotamia on the Basra coast of Iran. The British sent its troops from India to take charge of it and just after two weeks to Ottoman choosing the Indian Division of the British army left the port of Bombay for the "**Mesopotamian campaign**".
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The British have been known for good planning and strategies. The Ottoman Empire was besieged from all sides and it was crumbling under pressure. On November 22nd 1914, the British-Indian troops invaded Basra, the oil fields opening the Iraqi front. This was a great but short-lived victory as this is just the beginning. 

> High on morale, the British put their focus on Baghdad (now the capital of Iraq). But why Baghdad? Baghdad had a rich supply of oils which were the main target of the British anyways. Also, after taking over Baghdad they would have control over the Persian Gulf allowing them a monopoly over the seas establishing a direct route to India, their resource-rich colony.
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Sure the Turkish forces weren't what they used to be but they were fighting for their home. The drive to fight for your motherland is an underestimated trait which the British-Indian troops didn't count upon. The Ottoman army refused to budge and didn't allow the opposition to filter through. 

But soon the commander of Iraq, Colonel Nurettin Bey, realised he didn't have enough forces to take on the British army head-on. He devised a plan. He carefully started retreating with his army from Baghdad to a place 30 km away from it. He only allowed a few skirmishes which could delay the British army march. When the British troops reached there, they easily captured it, celebrated their victory unaware of the trap they were being led into. 

The British army then captured the city of Amara. The ottoman army kept on retreating without any losses. But this was their battlefield. No one knew it better than they did. They formed a line of defence to the north of Kut al Amara.  The British army couldn't prepare themselves for the disaster they were about to face.

The British formed their new military base in Kut-al-Amara as it already had the perfect design for it. What they didn't know what that, Kut al Amara had been purposely left behind by the Ottoman soldiers. By December, the plan was set in place, the Ottoman soldiers which had been forming their defence for months attacked. The city of was a closed one. It was easy to capture it from all sides and not to mention the attack was a total surprise. The British troops were trapped inside. Supplies could only come to them through the river which was falling short. With food and ammunition declining, the British army began facing heavy losses. 

Nurettin Bey and Khalil Pasha, the two commanders of the Ottomans sent three letters in total to General Townshend, the general of the British army asking him to surrender. The British general refused each time. Great Britain went into panic mode. Their 13,000  brave soldiers with more than 400 officers were stuck in the siege of Kut. In the end, they decided to send a British spy, Thomas Edward Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia), a man who hated the Ottomans. 

His main motive was to find Khalil Pasha, the commander, befriend him and then when the opportunity struck offer him a million pounds to release let go of the British army. In case he declined, the offer was to be upped to 2 million pounds. However, when Khalil Pasha was made this offer, he was infuriated and rejected it outrightly. 

> Townshend, the British general had no choice but to surrender in the end. 13,309 men which included 6 generals and 476 officers, on April 29th 1916, were taken as captive. Never ever has these many British troops been captured in history. This was by far, Britain's one of the most humiliating losses.
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Townshend was allowed to go back to Britain after a few years where it was made clear he won't get another mission ending his military career. This battle from Basra to Kut is a forgotten war where the British faced one of their worst defeats where so many Indian soldiers were involved.

WWI commenced. British-India sent its troops to capture Baghdad. The Ottoman Empire was crumbling. Capturing the Persian Gulf would have been Britain's greatest victories but did they underestimate the Turk forces' drive to protect their motherland? 