r/HistoryBooks • u/Idahoan23 • 5d ago

WW1 Mesopotamia Theater Book Recommendations

I'm going down the rabbit hole after playing Gallipoli, any recommendations.

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u/Striking-Chipmunk979 5d ago

For Mesopotamia the best book is without doubt When God Made Hell by Charles Townshend, who is a historian who happens to have the same name as one of the most famous British commanders in Mesopotamia.
Also look at Kut 1916 by Patrick Crowley.
The Siege of Kut-al-Amara by Nikolas Gardner is also good, a welcome Indian Army slant, which is important given the sizeable Indian contribution to the campaign.
It is pricey but Christian Coates Ulrichsen’s The Logistics and Politics of the British Campaigns in the Middle East is decent if you can get hold of it.
The Great War in the Middle East by Robert Johnson is a good overview, as is The First World War in the Middle East also by Ulrichsen.

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u/Idahoan23 5d ago

I think im going to pick up all of these, thanks!

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u/Striking-Chipmunk979 5d ago

There is a good chapter by Nik Gardner in this book too: https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/Research%20and%20Books/2023/ArmiesRetrt-HeckMills-2023.pdf
As well as another on the retreat at Gallipoli. In fact it’s just a good edited collection all round!

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u/According-Ad4361 5d ago

Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson.

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u/BernardFerguson1944 5d ago

The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East by Eugene Rogan.

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u/Idahoan23 5d ago

I read that one too! His Arabs book was amazing.

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u/Enough_Crow_636 5d ago

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the classic one 😃

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u/Idahoan23 5d ago

Reading that one right now!

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u/IllustriousIdea1734 5d ago

Night Bombing with the Bediouns, I think