Key Facts
- Garrison size
- ~8,000 British Indian troops
- Siege duration
- 143 days (7 Dec 1915 – 29 Apr 1916)
- Distance from Baghdad
- 160 km south of Baghdad
- Town population (1915)
- ~6,500 civilians
- Survivors' fate
- Marched to imprisonment at Aleppo
Strategic Narrative Overview
Ottoman forces tightened their encirclement of Kut while the British garrison endured dwindling food and supplies. Three separate British relief expeditions fought their way up the Tigris but were repulsed at Shaikh Sa'ad, the Wadi, and Hanna. A last-ditch attempt to resupply the garrison by river steamer failed. Efforts by British negotiators, including T.E. Lawrence, to bribe Ottoman commanders into releasing the garrison also came to nothing.
01 / The Origins
During World War I, British India forces advanced up the Tigris River toward Baghdad in an ambitious offensive against the Ottoman Empire. After early successes, the British column under General Townshend overextended its supply lines and was repulsed at Ctesiphon in November 1915. Retreating to the town of Kut, 160 km south of Baghdad, Townshend's force of around 8,000 men was encircled by Ottoman forces beginning 7 December 1915.
03 / The Outcome
On 29 April 1916, General Townshend surrendered the garrison — one of the largest British capitulations in the war. Survivors were marched hundreds of miles to imprisonment at Aleppo, and many died en route. Historian Christopher Catherwood called it 'the worst defeat of the Allies in World War I.' Ten months later, a rebuilt British Indian Army retook Kut and captured Baghdad.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Halil Pasha.
Side B
1 belligerent
Charles Townshend, Fenton Aylmer.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.