Battle of Wadi (1916)

Battle of Wadi
Part of the Mesopotamian campaign of World War I

A 1924 British map showing action at the Wadi
Date13 January 1916
Location
Hanna defile, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Sheikh Sa'ad, Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq
Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents

 British Empire

 Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Fenton Aylmer
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland George Younghusband
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland George Kemball		 German Empire Colmar von der Goltz
Ottoman Empire Halil Pasha
Strength
19,000 20,000
Casualties and losses
1,600 dead or wounded,
numerous captured[1]		 527 casualties[1] unknown, estimated minor

The Battle of Wadi, occurring on 13 January 1916,[2] was an unsuccessful attempt by British forces fighting in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) during World War I to relieve beleaguered forces under Sir Charles Townshend then under siege by the Ottoman Sixth Army at Kut-al-Amara.[3][4]

Pushed by regional British Commander-in-Chief Sir John Nixon, General Fenton Aylmer launched an attack against Ottoman defensive positions on the banks of the Wadi River.[5][6] The Wadi was a steep valley of a stream that ran from the north into the River Tigris, some 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream towards Kut-al-Amara from Sheikh Sa'ad.[7] The attack is generally considered as a failure, as although Aylmer managed to capture the Wadi, it cost him 1,600 men. The British failure led to Townshend's surrender, along with 10,000 of his men, in the largest single surrender of British troops up to that time. However, the British recaptured Kut in February 1917, on their way to the capture of Baghdad sixteen days later on 11 March 1917.[8][9]

  1. ^ a b Edward J. Erickson, Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I: A comparative study, Routledge, 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-77099-6, p. 93.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barber was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Battles: The Battle of the Wadi, 1916". 27 February 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  4. ^ Candler, Edmund (1919). The Long Road to Baghdad. Baghdad: Cassell. pp. 311.
  5. ^ "Battle of Wadi this day in history 1916". history.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  6. ^ Gilbert, Martin (2004). The First World War: A complete history. Henry Holt and Co. pp. 688. ISBN 0-8050-7617-4.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference WWInet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "The long long trail". 1914-1918.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  9. ^ Esposito, Vincent Joseph (1964). A Concise History of World War I. Praeger. p. 414.