World War I in Mesopotamia: The British and the Ottomans in Iraq (Library of Middle East History)

"The Mesopotamian campaign during World War I was a critical moment in Britain's position in the Middle East. With British and British Indian troops fighting in places which have become well-known in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, such as Basra, the campaign led to the establishment of the British Mandate in Iraq in 1921. Nadia Atia believes that in order to fully understand Britain's policies in creating the nascent state of Iraq, we must first look at how the war shaped Britons' conceptions of the region. Atia does this through a cultural and military history of the changing British perceptions of Mesopotamia since the period before World War I when it was under Ottoman rule. Drawing on a wide variety of historical and literary sources, including the writing of key figures such as Gertrude Bell, Mark Sykes and Arnold Wilson, but focusing mainly on the views and experiences of ordinary men and women whose stories and experiences of the war have less frequently been told, Atia examines the cultural and social legacy of World War I in the Middle East and how this affected British attempts to exert influence in the region."--Bloomsbury Publishing. The Punjab region of India sent more than 600,000 combatants to assist the British war effort during World War I. Their families back home, thousands of miles from the major scenes of battle, were desperate for war news, and newspapers provided daily reports to keep the local population up-to-date with developments on the Western Front. This book presents the first English-language translations of hundreds of articles published during World War I in the newsapers of the Punjab region. They offer a lens into the anxieties and aspirations of Punjabis, a population that committed resources, food, labour as well as combatants to the British war effort. Amidst a steadily growing field of studies on World War I that examine the effects of the war on colonial populations, War News in India makes a unique and timely contribution. Cover Author Bio Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Mesopotamia in the British Imagination, 1907 – 14 2. The Mesopotamian Campaign 1914 – 16 3. The Siege of Kut and its Aftermath in Britain 4. The Mesopotamian Campaign 1916 – 18 5. From Armistice to Coronation: 1918 – 21 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Introduction -- Mesopotamia In The British Imagination, 1907--14 -- The Mesopotamian Campaign 1914--16 -- The Siege Of Kut And Its Aftermath In Britain -- The Mesopotamian Campaign 1916--18 -- From Armistice To Coronation : 1918--21 -- Conclusion. Nadia Atia. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 247-261) And Index. A military and social history of the British involvement in Iraq in World War I, which has both topical and historical appeal.