The Explorers' Club Special: April 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
In April 1916, the "world blood-pump" at Verdun continued & Irish nationalists rebelled against the British Empire; in the "Chemists' War," offense (poison gas) still held the advantage over defense (gas masks); & the Anglo-Indian force besieged at Kut surrendered to the Ottomans, who treated the defeated commander as a celebrity & let most of his men die of maltreatment.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: April 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCII: The Battle of Verdun, Part III: "They shall not pass!" (10 April-31 May 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCIV: The Easter Rising (24-29 April 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCIII: Poison gas cloud attacks near Hulluch, France (27-29 April 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCV: The Siege of Kut, Part IV: The British surrendered (29 April 1916)

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club Special: March 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
In March 1916, the Anglo-Indian effort to relieve their fellows besieged in Kut stumbled; the German assault toward Verdun stalled; the French goaded the Italians into attacking before they were ready & the Russians into a doomed direct assault on the Germans in order to relieve the pressure on Verdun; & the British & Imperial forces advanced into German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika), driving the Germans from Mount Kilimanjaro & seizing control of Lake Tanganyika.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: March 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVI: The Siege of Kut, Part III: The Battle of Dujaila (8 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVII: The Battle of Verdun, Part II: The German Offensive (21 February-9 April 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXVIII: The Endless Battles of the Isonzo, Part III: The Fifth Battle of the Isonzo (9-15 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXIX: The Battles of Latema Nek & Kahe (11-18 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXCI: The Lake Naroch Offensive (18-30 March 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDXC: The Battle of Lake Tanganyika (December 1915-July 1916)

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club Special: January 1916

Operation AXIOM: The World War
January 1916 carried on from December 1915: The Central Powers conquered Montenegro & the Ottomans tightened the noose around the British Indian force beseiged at Kut-al-Amara. The most competently planned & executed phase of the Entente misadventure at Gallipoli was the final withdrawal. The British introduced conscription.

Winston Churchill, who originally conceived of the Dardanelles Campaign while serving as First Lord of the Admiralty, was blamed almost solely for the Gallipoli disaster, which was unfair. He resigned from the government in November 1915 but remained a Member of Parliament; he returned to the Army, commanding the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front. He returned to Whitehall in May 1916, returning to the government as Minister of Munitions in July 1917.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the World War: January 1916
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXVIII: The Siege of Kut, Part II: The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad (6-8 January 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXIX: The Gallipoli Campaign, Part VII: The final evacuation (9 January 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXX: The Serbian Campaign, Part V: The Austro-Hungarian conquest of Montenegro (5-17 January 1916)
"The Explorers' Club," № CDLXXXI: The Military Service Act 1916 (27 January 1916)

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCLIII

Operation AXIOM: The World War
30 October-4 November 1918: On 31 October, the Armistice of Mudros, signed aboard the British battleship H.M.S. Agamemnon, took effect, ending the war between the Ottoman Empire & the Arabs & the Entente; on 4 November, the Armistice of Villa Giusti took effect, ending the war between the Austro-Hungarian Empire & Italy; of the Central Powers, the German Empire alone continued to fight.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DLXVII

Operation AXIOM: The World War
8 July-29 September 1917: The First (8-13 July) & Second (28-29 September) Battles of Ramadi—The first British & Imperial assault on the Ottoman garrison suffered more casualties from the extreme heat (123° F in the shade, 160° in direct sunlight) than from Turkish gunfire; the second used elaborate misdirection by local Arab allies to disguise Entente intentions, & took the Turks by storm.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DXL

Operation AXIOM: The World War
8-11 March 1917: The Fall of Baghdad—British & Imperial forces smashed the Ottoman defenses at the confluence of the Tigris & Diyala Rivers, south of Baghdad; the city itself was taken without a shot & 9,000 Turks were taken prisoner; General Sir Frederick Maude's famous proclamation read, in part, "Our armies do not come into your cities & lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators."

Lest we forget.

Commentary: Such are my times & experiences that I cannot read about Baghdad, no matter the historical period, without reflecting, at least passingly, upon the Anglo-American-Australian toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the subsequent bloody years of occupation & insurgency, & subsequent bloody years of chaos that followed the precipitous American withdrawal, which continue still, now fanned into a regional conflagration. We, too, thought we came not as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.

The Explorers' Club, № DXXXVIII

Operation AXIOM: The World War
23 February 1917: The Second Battle of Kut—British & Imperial forces, advancing up both banks of the Tigris River since December 1916, outflanked the Ottoman defenses at Kut-al-Amara; the Turks withdrew, avoiding the fate of the Anglo-Indian forces they had starved into surrendering Kut just ten months earlier; the British commander, Sir Frederick Maude, gained the nickname "Systematic Joe."

Lest we forget.

Commentary: The Wayback Machine Tour of the Siege of Kut, 1915-1916: № CDXCV.

The Explorers' Club, № CDXCV

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Siege of Kut, Part IV
29 April 1916: The British garrison at Kut-Al-Amara surrendered after a siege of almost one hundred fifty days; a ransom of £2,000,000, offered by T. E. Lawrence ("of Arabia"), was rejected by Ottoman Minister of War Evner Pasha; General Townshend lived in comfort & luxury as a P.O.W., the toast of Constantinople, while the majority of his men, both British & Indian, died of maltreatment in captivity.









The Wayback Machine Tour of the Siege of Kut
№ CDLXXI: The Battle of Ctesiphon (Prologue)
№ CDLXXV: The siege of Kut-Al-Amara begins (Part I)
№ CDLXXVIII: The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad (Part II)
№ CDLXXXVI: The Battle of Dujaila (Part III)

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № CDLXXXVI

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Siege of Kut, Part III
8 March 1916: The Battle of Dujaila—The Anglo-Indian Tigris Corps conducted a perilous night march & achieved total surprise over the German-led Ottoman defenders, but squandered their advantage through stubborn dedication to follow the timetable of the battle plan, regardless of changing conditions on the ground; within besieged Kut, starvation loomed larger with every passing day.









Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № CDLXXVIII

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Siege of Kut, Part II
6-8 January 1916: The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad—The Anglo-Indian Tigris Corps won the day & seized the field, but the German-led Ottoman defenders delayed the advance to relieve the besieged British forces at Kut & inflicted heavy casualties on the under-strength relief forces.









Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № CDLXXV

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Siege of Kut, Part I
7 December 1915: The 6th (Poona) Division of the British Indian Army, in retreat after its defeat at Ctesiphon, was surrounded by German-led Ottoman forces at the village of Kut Al Amara; the British cavalry successfully broke out; & the Ottomans began building defensive works downriver (the Tigris) to thwart anticipated British relief expeditions.









Lest we forget.

Commentary: The Battle of Ctesiphon, 22-25 November 1915; see: № CDLXXI.

The Explorers' Club, № CDLXXI

Operation AXIOM: The World War
22-25 November 1915: The Battle of Ctesiphon—A year-long advance into Ottoman Mesopotamia by British & Imperial troops is blunted amid the ruins of the ancient Parthian & Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, twenty miles south of Baghdad, beginning a British retreat that would end in disaster.









Lest we forget.