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The Siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916) and Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, KCB, DSO
Somebody mentioned this to me today and I was surprised I did not know of this siege or the commanding General. It starts as Gallipoli was ending and a very interesting story.I have cut and pasted from Wikipedia to summarise it and the General.
His Wiki entry is probably the most interesting British General's I can recall reading. I have summarised below his career and some interesting comments and some of the details of the Siege and aftermath. However full story at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Vere_Ferrers_Townshend
is worth a read if you like British military history of later 1800's. What happened to the survivors of the siege is quite harrowing especially in view of his excellent treatment.
The Siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the First Battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 160 kilometres (100 mi) south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. The 6th (Poona) Division of the Indian Army was commanded by Major-General Charles Townshend. Following the surrender of the garrison on 29 April 1916, the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo, during which many died. Historian Christopher Catherwood has called the siege "the worst defeat of the Allies in World War I".
Some attempts to relieve Kut were made but did not make it through. It is interesting to note that initial command was from India as this Division was part of the Indian army although it did have British Regiments and Generals.
In April 1916 No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps carried out the first air supply operation in history. Food and ammunition were dropped to the defenders of Kut, but "as often as not their parcels go into the Tigris or into the Turkish trenches!". All the relief efforts had failed, at a cost of around 30,000 Allied killed or wounded.
British leaders attempted to buy their troops out. Aubrey Herbert and T. E. Lawrence were part of a team of officers sent to negotiate a secret deal with the Ottomans. The British offered £2 million (£122,300,000 in 2017) and promised they would not fight the Ottomans again, in exchange for Townshend's troops. Enver Pasha ordered that this offer be rejected.
The British also asked for help from the Russians. General Baratov, with his largely Cossack force of 20,000 was in Persia at the time. Following the request he advanced towards Baghdad in April 1916, but he turned back when news reached him of the surrender.
General Townshend arranged a ceasefire on the 26th and, after failed negotiations, he simply surrendered on 29 April 1916 after a siege of 147 days. Around 13,000 Allied soldiers survived to be made prisoners. Historian İlber Ortaylı states that "Halil Pasha acted like a gentleman to the surrendering British officers" and offered "to take the PoWs up towards the north in river boats in case fuel could be provided from British bases nearby. The offer was rejected by the British. 70% of the British and 50% of the Indian troops died of disease or at the hands of their Ottoman guards during captivity.
Townshend himself was taken to the island of Heybeliada on the Sea of Marmara, to sit out the war in relative luxury. The author Norman Dixon, in his book On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, described Townshend as being "amused" by the plight of the men he had deserted, as if he had pulled off some clever trick. Dixon says Townshend was unable to understand why his friends and comrades were ultimately censorious over his behaviour.
Jan Morris, a British historian, described the loss of Kut as "the most abject capitulation in Britain’s military history." After this humiliating loss, General Lake and General Gorringe were removed from command.
The commanding General had a very interesting career.
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, KCB, DSO (21 February 1861 –18 May 1924) was a British Imperial soldier who led an overreaching military campaign in Mesopotamia during the First World War, which led to the defeat and destruction of his command. Aussie mother and French wife. Major Napoleon fan.
In 1884, Townshend was part of the relief expedition to rescue the besieged army of General Charles Gordon, better known to the British public as "Chinese Gordon", at Khartoum. The power of the press and its ability to rouse public opinion in favour of heroic generals besieged by Islamic fanatics was noted by Townshend at the time. In January 1885, he fought at the Battle of Abu Klea, which was his first battle and the first time he killed a man. In 1886, he transferred from the Royal Marines to the British Army, largely because he felt it offered better prospects of promotion. Townshend made his name in England as a British Imperial hero with the assistance of London's Fleet Street's coverage of his conduct as the besieged garrison commander during the Siege of Chitral Fort on the North West Frontier in 1895.
He fought in the Sudan at the Battle of Atbara and the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, for which he was awarded the DSO. In January 1896, he received a letter from Herbert Kitchener, who wrote that he wanted him to serve under his command in Egypt, which served as a measure of Townshend's fame that a general would ask a mere captain not even under his command to take charge of one of his battalions. During battles with the Islamic fundamentalist Ansar of the Sudan from 1896 to 1899, culminating in Omdurman, he was promoted by Kitchener to major and was mentioned in dispatches for outstanding bravery for the fourth and fifth time
The American historian John Semple Galbraith wrote that "Townshend was an inveterate self-advertiser, constantly and actively promoting his own brilliance in the hope of recognition by a grateful country, preferably in the form of a KCB. Many other authors also comment on his ambition but in a negative manner.
When Winston Churchill-who had gotten to know him well in the Sudan-asked him to read over an early draft of his 1899 book The River War, Townshend in his notes attacked allies such as Sir Herbert Kitchener, Sir Archibald Hunter and Hector MacDonald, aka "Fighting Mac", as all having "got a reputation – perhaps greater than they can uphold.
He made a lengthy visit to Canada in 1902. He was supposed to be researching possible invasion routes by which the United States might invade Canada, which led him to travel the length and breath of Canada, but most of his time was spent in the province of Quebec researching the role of his famous ancestor, George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, in fighting the French in the Seven Years' War for a biography he was writing.
Townshend's habit of ceaselessly lobbying his superiors for a promotion and his frequent transfers from various units as he sought to climb the career ladder tried the patience of many, and ironically actually hindered his career, as he earned the reputation of being something of a whiner and someone who never stayed in a regiment for very long. In 1914, he asked to be given a command on the Western Front and was refused.
It was largely the logistical problems posed by the mismanagement of Basra that doomed the relief expeditions sent out to save Townshend and his men at Kut. In February–March 1916 a number of new divisions arrived at Basra, but the supply bottlenecks at Basra meant the British were unable to deploy them in the relief of Kut.
When Townshend learned that Aylmer had been replaced with Gorringe as commander of the relief force, he was heard to say: "But he's junior to me!". This was a mere prelude to Townshend going into a bout of hysteria as he began jumping up and down, screaming and crying his eyes out that it was completely unfair for him to be rescued by a general junior to himself like Gorringe rather than a general of equal rank like Aylmer, saying how he was supposed to come out of this siege a hero if the rescue force was commanded by a general of lower rank than himself. Townshend was gravely offended by the decision to give command of the relief force to Gorringe, sending out a long radio message saying giving the command to Gorringe was "a slight on my record of service.
Townshend grew increasingly desperate as the siege went on, at one time sending off a message claiming that if Kut fell, it would be a worse defeat than Yorktown.
to be continued !!!
Somebody mentioned this to me today and I was surprised I did not know of this siege or the commanding General. It starts as Gallipoli was ending and a very interesting story.I have cut and pasted from Wikipedia to summarise it and the General.
His Wiki entry is probably the most interesting British General's I can recall reading. I have summarised below his career and some interesting comments and some of the details of the Siege and aftermath. However full story at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Vere_Ferrers_Townshend
is worth a read if you like British military history of later 1800's. What happened to the survivors of the siege is quite harrowing especially in view of his excellent treatment.
The Siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the First Battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 160 kilometres (100 mi) south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. The 6th (Poona) Division of the Indian Army was commanded by Major-General Charles Townshend. Following the surrender of the garrison on 29 April 1916, the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo, during which many died. Historian Christopher Catherwood has called the siege "the worst defeat of the Allies in World War I".
Some attempts to relieve Kut were made but did not make it through. It is interesting to note that initial command was from India as this Division was part of the Indian army although it did have British Regiments and Generals.
In April 1916 No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps carried out the first air supply operation in history. Food and ammunition were dropped to the defenders of Kut, but "as often as not their parcels go into the Tigris or into the Turkish trenches!". All the relief efforts had failed, at a cost of around 30,000 Allied killed or wounded.
British leaders attempted to buy their troops out. Aubrey Herbert and T. E. Lawrence were part of a team of officers sent to negotiate a secret deal with the Ottomans. The British offered £2 million (£122,300,000 in 2017) and promised they would not fight the Ottomans again, in exchange for Townshend's troops. Enver Pasha ordered that this offer be rejected.
The British also asked for help from the Russians. General Baratov, with his largely Cossack force of 20,000 was in Persia at the time. Following the request he advanced towards Baghdad in April 1916, but he turned back when news reached him of the surrender.
General Townshend arranged a ceasefire on the 26th and, after failed negotiations, he simply surrendered on 29 April 1916 after a siege of 147 days. Around 13,000 Allied soldiers survived to be made prisoners. Historian İlber Ortaylı states that "Halil Pasha acted like a gentleman to the surrendering British officers" and offered "to take the PoWs up towards the north in river boats in case fuel could be provided from British bases nearby. The offer was rejected by the British. 70% of the British and 50% of the Indian troops died of disease or at the hands of their Ottoman guards during captivity.
Townshend himself was taken to the island of Heybeliada on the Sea of Marmara, to sit out the war in relative luxury. The author Norman Dixon, in his book On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, described Townshend as being "amused" by the plight of the men he had deserted, as if he had pulled off some clever trick. Dixon says Townshend was unable to understand why his friends and comrades were ultimately censorious over his behaviour.
Jan Morris, a British historian, described the loss of Kut as "the most abject capitulation in Britain’s military history." After this humiliating loss, General Lake and General Gorringe were removed from command.
The commanding General had a very interesting career.
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, KCB, DSO (21 February 1861 –18 May 1924) was a British Imperial soldier who led an overreaching military campaign in Mesopotamia during the First World War, which led to the defeat and destruction of his command. Aussie mother and French wife. Major Napoleon fan.
In 1884, Townshend was part of the relief expedition to rescue the besieged army of General Charles Gordon, better known to the British public as "Chinese Gordon", at Khartoum. The power of the press and its ability to rouse public opinion in favour of heroic generals besieged by Islamic fanatics was noted by Townshend at the time. In January 1885, he fought at the Battle of Abu Klea, which was his first battle and the first time he killed a man. In 1886, he transferred from the Royal Marines to the British Army, largely because he felt it offered better prospects of promotion. Townshend made his name in England as a British Imperial hero with the assistance of London's Fleet Street's coverage of his conduct as the besieged garrison commander during the Siege of Chitral Fort on the North West Frontier in 1895.
He fought in the Sudan at the Battle of Atbara and the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, for which he was awarded the DSO. In January 1896, he received a letter from Herbert Kitchener, who wrote that he wanted him to serve under his command in Egypt, which served as a measure of Townshend's fame that a general would ask a mere captain not even under his command to take charge of one of his battalions. During battles with the Islamic fundamentalist Ansar of the Sudan from 1896 to 1899, culminating in Omdurman, he was promoted by Kitchener to major and was mentioned in dispatches for outstanding bravery for the fourth and fifth time
The American historian John Semple Galbraith wrote that "Townshend was an inveterate self-advertiser, constantly and actively promoting his own brilliance in the hope of recognition by a grateful country, preferably in the form of a KCB. Many other authors also comment on his ambition but in a negative manner.
When Winston Churchill-who had gotten to know him well in the Sudan-asked him to read over an early draft of his 1899 book The River War, Townshend in his notes attacked allies such as Sir Herbert Kitchener, Sir Archibald Hunter and Hector MacDonald, aka "Fighting Mac", as all having "got a reputation – perhaps greater than they can uphold.
He made a lengthy visit to Canada in 1902. He was supposed to be researching possible invasion routes by which the United States might invade Canada, which led him to travel the length and breath of Canada, but most of his time was spent in the province of Quebec researching the role of his famous ancestor, George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, in fighting the French in the Seven Years' War for a biography he was writing.
Townshend's habit of ceaselessly lobbying his superiors for a promotion and his frequent transfers from various units as he sought to climb the career ladder tried the patience of many, and ironically actually hindered his career, as he earned the reputation of being something of a whiner and someone who never stayed in a regiment for very long. In 1914, he asked to be given a command on the Western Front and was refused.
It was largely the logistical problems posed by the mismanagement of Basra that doomed the relief expeditions sent out to save Townshend and his men at Kut. In February–March 1916 a number of new divisions arrived at Basra, but the supply bottlenecks at Basra meant the British were unable to deploy them in the relief of Kut.
When Townshend learned that Aylmer had been replaced with Gorringe as commander of the relief force, he was heard to say: "But he's junior to me!". This was a mere prelude to Townshend going into a bout of hysteria as he began jumping up and down, screaming and crying his eyes out that it was completely unfair for him to be rescued by a general junior to himself like Gorringe rather than a general of equal rank like Aylmer, saying how he was supposed to come out of this siege a hero if the rescue force was commanded by a general of lower rank than himself. Townshend was gravely offended by the decision to give command of the relief force to Gorringe, sending out a long radio message saying giving the command to Gorringe was "a slight on my record of service.
Townshend grew increasingly desperate as the siege went on, at one time sending off a message claiming that if Kut fell, it would be a worse defeat than Yorktown.
to be continued !!!
