MESOPOTAMIA, OPERATIONS IN. The operations of 1914-18 in Mesopotamia were in their initial stages conceived on, comparatively speaking, modest lines. The object at the outset was merely (I) to protect the Anglo-Persian oil instal lations, (2) to occupy the greater part of the Basra vilayet so as to secure possession of the Shatt al 'Arab and the districts immediately round the head of the Persian gulf, and (3) to im press the Arabs and others in this region and in the territories intervening between the Ottoman empire and India. Steps had already been taken before relations between the Entente Powers and the Porte were actually broken off, and a brigade of the 6th Indian Div. had been despatched to an island near the head of the Persian gulf. Then, on Nov. 7, two days after the British declaration of war on Turkey, these advanced troops appeared in their transports at the mouth of the Shatt al 'Arab.
The fort guarding the entrance was taken, and the brigade en camped some miles up the stream on the right bank. On learning
this, the Turks hurried all available forces down from Basra; but, the rest of the 6th Div. having arrived under Sir A. Barrett, they were on the 17th attacked and overthrown. Basra fell on the 21st, and Barrett then promptly pushed troops up to Al Qurna, which was taken on Dec. 9. As considerable Turkish reinforcements were arriving from Baghdad, he was not alto gether comfortably situated ; but the Osmanlis were not in aggres sive mood, and the invaders were little interfered with during the first three months of 1915. The Indian Government in March decided to raise the expeditionary force to the strength of an army corps by adding the 12th Indian Div., and early in April Sir J. Nixon took over command from Sir A. Barrett, General Townshend at the same time taking over the 6th Division.