Mesopotamian campaign (Central Victory)

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
The Ottoman Empire had conquered the region in the early 16th century, however never fully gained complete control over the area. Regional pockets of Ottoman control through local proxy rulers maintained the Ottoman's reach throughout Mesopotamia. With the turn of the 19th century came reforms. Work began on a Baghdad Railway in 1888: by 1915 it had only four gaps, and travel time from Istanbul to Baghdad had fallen to 21 days.

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company had exclusive rights to petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad, and Khorasan. In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for oil for the navy. Kuwait was another strategic factor for the British.

The operational area of the Mesopotamian campaign was limited to the lands watered by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The main challenge was moving the supplies and troops through the swamps and deserts which surrounded the area of conflict.

Shortly after the European war started, the British sent a military force to protect Abadan. In Abadan was one of the world's earliest oil refineries. British operational planning included landing troops in the Shatt-al-Arab. The reinforced 6th (Poona) Division from the British Indian Army was assigned, designated as Indian Expeditionary Force D (IEFD).

Another reason for British effort in Mesopotamia, especially in the minds of politicians like Austen Chamberlain (Secretary of State for India) and former Viceroy Lord Curzon, was to maintain British prestige with Indian Muslim opinion, and at first it was run by the India Office and Indian Army with little input from the War Office.

The Ottoman Fourth Army was located in the region. The army was composed of two corps, the XII Corps with 35th and 36th Divisions at Mosul and XIII Corps with the 37th and 38th Divisions at Baghdad.

On October 29, 1914, after the Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau, Breslau bombarded the Black Sea port of Theodosia. On October 30 the High Command in Istanbul changed the force distribution. On November 2 Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha expressed regret to the Allies for the operations of the navy. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Sazonov said it was too late and Russia considered this raid as an act of war. The Cabinet tried to explain that hostilities were begun without its sanction by German officers serving in the navy. The Allies insisted on reparations to Russia, the dismissal of German officers from the Goeben and Breslau, and the internment of the German ships until the end of the war. But before the Ottoman government responded Great Britain and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire on November 5. CUP's official Declaration of War came on November 14.

When the Caucasus Campaign became a reality with the Bergmann Offensive, Enver Pasha sent the 37th Division and the XIII Corps Headquarters to the Caucasus in support of the Third Army. The entire XII Corps was deployed to the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The Fourth Army Headquarters was sent to Syria, to replace the Second Army Headquarters which went to Istanbul. In place of the Fourth Army was "Iraq Area Command" with only the 38th Division under its command.

Mesopotamia was a low priority area for the Ottomans, and they did not expect any major action in this region. Regiments of the XII and XIII Corps were maintained at low levels in peacetime. Lieutenant Colonel Süleyman Askerî Bey became the commander. He redeployed portions of the 38th Division at the mouth of Shatt-al-Arab. The rest of the defensive force was stationed in Basra. The Ottoman General Staff did not even possess a proper map of Mesopotamia. They tried to draw a map with the help of some people who used to work in Iraq before the war, although this attempt failed. Enver Pasha bought two German maps scaled 1/1,500,000.