The Battle of Sharqat (October 23–30, 1918) was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I, which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros.
Anticipating an Ottoman armistice following the defeat of the Ottomans in Palestine and the recent surrender of Bulgaria,[3] British Premier David Lloyd George ordered Sir William Marshall, Commander-in-Chief on the Mesopotamian front, to remove any residual Ottoman presence from that theater by twin advances up the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and capture the oil fields near Mosul on the Tigris. There was a lack of available transport, after a large amount had been supplied to Dunsterforce for its advance across Persia, so Marshall persuaded the government to limit the advance to the Tigris Front only.
Battleedit
An Anglo-Indian force consisting of the 17th and 18th Indian Divisions and the 7th and 11th Indian Cavalry Brigades, led by Sir Alexander Cobbe, left Baghdad on October 23, 1918. In just 39 hours they covered 120 kilometres (75 mi) to the Little Zab River, where the "Dicle Group" of the Ottoman Sixth Army, led by İsmail Hakkı Bey, who was the commander of the Ottoman 14th Division, was awaiting them. The Sixth Army had been weakened due to lack of replacements. His forces consisted of the XVIII Corps, which comprised the 14th and 46th Divisions, and the XIII Corps, which comprised the 2nd and 6th Divisions.
Seeing his army's rear threatened, İsmail Hakkı Bey withdrew another 100 kilometers (62 mi) to the north to Al-Shirqat, where Cobbe attacked him on October 29, sending the 11th Cavalry Brigade to pin the Ottoman front while the 17th Division came up to support them. The 17th were delayed in arriving, and the cavalry were shelled by Ottoman guns overnight. In the morning the 13th Hussars charged the hill where the guns were, and made a dismounted charge up it with fixed bayonets, successfully capturing the guns. İsmail Hakkı Bey was aware of the peace talks at Mudros, and decided to spare his men rather than fight or break out. He surrendered on October 30.[4] The 18th Division advanced on Mosul, 50 miles further north, and were 12 miles short of the town when the armistice was declared.
Aftermathedit
On November 1, 1918, Mosul was peacefully occupied by the 7th and 11th Indian cavalry brigades, after the British forces ignored the request of the Ottoman Commander-in-chief, Ali İhsan (Sâbis), to withdraw to the positions they had held at the armistice.
^ abDicle Grubu 7, 9, 43, 18 ve 22'nci Alaylarla Avcı Alayından oluşmuştur., Gazi Mustafa Kemal, "1'nci Ordu Komutanı Ali İhsan Paşa'nın yarattığı durum", Nutuk. (in Turkish)
^Wilcox, R. (2006). Battles on the Tigris. Pen & Sword. pp214
^Edward J. Erickson, Ordered to Die: A history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War (Greenwood Press, Wesport, CT 2001), 203.
Sourcesedit
Moberly, F. J. Official History of the War: Mesopotamia Campaign. Imperial War Museum, Volume IV 1927. Reprint edition 2011. ISBN1-84574-939-1.
Erickson, Edward J. Ordered to Die: A history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN0-31309-558-2.
External linksedit
Battle of Sharqat, 1918, at FirstWorldWar.com
Battle of Sharqat, at The Western Front Association
January 01, 1970
battle, sharqat, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Battle of Sharqat news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Battle of SharqatPart of the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War IDateOctober 23 30 1918LocationNorth of Baghdad present day IraqResultBritish Assyrian victory 1 Belligerents British Empire India Assyrian volunteers Ottoman EmpireCommanders and leadersSir William Raine Marshall Sir Alexander Cobbe Malik Yaqo Agha PetrosIsmail Hakki BeyStrength2 infantry divisions 2 cavalry brigades Tigris Group Dicle Grubu of Ottoman Sixth Army five infantry regiments and one rifle regiment 2 Casualties and losses1 80011 322 citation needed 13 000 2 POW with many more wounded and killed citation needed The Battle of Sharqat October 23 30 1918 was fought between the British and the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian Campaign in World War I which became the last conflict between the belligerents before of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 Notes 5 Sources 6 External linksBackground editAnticipating an Ottoman armistice following the defeat of the Ottomans in Palestine and the recent surrender of Bulgaria 3 British Premier David Lloyd George ordered Sir William Marshall Commander in Chief on the Mesopotamian front to remove any residual Ottoman presence from that theater by twin advances up the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and capture the oil fields near Mosul on the Tigris There was a lack of available transport after a large amount had been supplied to Dunsterforce for its advance across Persia so Marshall persuaded the government to limit the advance to the Tigris Front only Battle editAn Anglo Indian force consisting of the 17th and 18th Indian Divisions and the 7th and 11th Indian Cavalry Brigades led by Sir Alexander Cobbe left Baghdad on October 23 1918 In just 39 hours they covered 120 kilometres 75 mi to the Little Zab River where the Dicle Group of the Ottoman Sixth Army led by Ismail Hakki Bey who was the commander of the Ottoman 14th Division was awaiting them The Sixth Army had been weakened due to lack of replacements His forces consisted of the XVIII Corps which comprised the 14th and 46th Divisions and the XIII Corps which comprised the 2nd and 6th Divisions Seeing his army s rear threatened Ismail Hakki Bey withdrew another 100 kilometers 62 mi to the north to Al Shirqat where Cobbe attacked him on October 29 sending the 11th Cavalry Brigade to pin the Ottoman front while the 17th Division came up to support them The 17th were delayed in arriving and the cavalry were shelled by Ottoman guns overnight In the morning the 13th Hussars charged the hill where the guns were and made a dismounted charge up it with fixed bayonets successfully capturing the guns Ismail Hakki Bey was aware of the peace talks at Mudros and decided to spare his men rather than fight or break out He surrendered on October 30 4 The 18th Division advanced on Mosul 50 miles further north and were 12 miles short of the town when the armistice was declared Aftermath editOn November 1 1918 Mosul was peacefully occupied by the 7th and 11th Indian cavalry brigades after the British forces ignored the request of the Ottoman Commander in chief Ali Ihsan Sabis to withdraw to the positions they had held at the armistice Notes edit Assyrians and Two World Wars November 13 2020 ISBN 9798564099837 a b Dicle Grubu 7 9 43 18 ve 22 nci Alaylarla Avci Alayindan olusmustur Gazi Mustafa Kemal 1 nci Ordu Komutani Ali Ihsan Pasa nin yarattigi durum Nutuk in Turkish Wilcox R 2006 Battles on the Tigris Pen amp Sword pp214 Edward J Erickson Ordered to Die A history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War Greenwood Press Wesport CT 2001 203 Sources editMoberly F J Official History of the War Mesopotamia Campaign Imperial War Museum Volume IV 1927 Reprint edition 2011 ISBN 1 84574 939 1 Erickson Edward J Ordered to Die A history of the Ottoman Army in the First World War Westport Connecticut Greenwood Press 2001 ISBN 0 31309 558 2 External links editBattle of Sharqat 1918 at FirstWorldWar com Battle of Sharqat at The Western Front Association Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Sharqat amp oldid 1220099452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
