The shell of the 'Throne of Chosroes' on the site of ancient Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia. Turkish forces stopped an Indo-British army advancing towards Baghdad in November, 1915 with both sides suffering heavy losses. The British retreated to Kut-el-Amara. © Copyrighted 1919 by the New York Times Company

Modern Fighting Amid Ruins of Ancient Empires



The massive brick shell of the 'Throne of Chosroes' on the site of ancient Ctesiphon, where in 1915 the British were engaged in a series of battles with the Turks.



(© British official photo, from Underwood & Underwood)

Other views: Larger

Wednesday, November 24, 1915

"Not evacuation, but a renewed advance was the unchanging British plan of campaign in Mesopotamia. There, on November 21, General Townshend attacked the Turkish defences of Ctesiphon, as a prelude to what was intended to be a rapid march on Baghdad, a mere twenty-two miles away. But the earlier good fortune of Basra, Burna, Amara and Kut was over. Of the 8,500 British and Indian troops who went into battle at Ctesiphon, more than half were killed or wounded. Despite almost twice that number of casualties, the Turkish defenders, far from panicking and fleeing as they had in earlier battles, not only stood their ground, but counter-attacked. The British, four hundred miles from the sea, could expect no reinforcements of any sort; the Turks could, and did call on the resources of Baghdad, only a few hours' march away.

Having come so far, the British were forced to retreat. . . ."

Quotation Context

Protecting an oil pipe line that ran from Ahwaz and oil fields in Persia to Basra, a commercial and communications center on the Persian Gulf, the British moved up the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers towards Baghdad. In earlier battles, the Turkish defenders had retreated, the British expected continued success as they moved on Ctesiphon. General Nixon commanded British-Indian forces in Mesopotamia; Townsend the army working its way to Baghdad.

Source

The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 211, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994

Tags

1915-11-24, 1915, November, Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia