Battle of Hanna

First Battle of Hanna
Part of the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I
Date 21 January 1916 Location Hanna defile, present-day Iraq Result Ottoman victory.
Belligerents
British Empire British India	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Fenton Aylmer	Khalil Pasha, Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz
Strength
10,000 men (remnants of 2 divisions)	30,000 men
Casualties and losses
2,741 casualties	503 casualties
Location within Iraq

British Empire

The First Battle of Hanna (Turkish: Felahiye Muharebesi) was a World War I battle fought on the Mesopotamian front on 21 January 1916 between Ottoman Army and Anglo-Indian forces.

After the Ottoman Empire's entry into the First World War, Britain dispatched Indian Expeditionary Force D to seize control of the Shatt al Arab and the port of Basra in order to safeguard British oil interests in the Persian Gulf. Eventually, the Anglo-Indian force's mission evolved into the capture of Baghdad. However, despite victories at Qurna, Nasiryeh, and Es Sinn, the primary offensive component of I.E.F. "D", the 6th (Poona) Division withdrew southwards after the Battle of Ctesiphon. The Ottoman forces in the region, reinforced and emboldened by the withdrawal from the gates of Baghdad, pursued the Anglo-Indian force to the town of Kut-al-Amara. Strategically situated at the confluence of the Shatt al-Hayy and the Tigris River, the commander of the Poona Division decided to defend the town.

On 15 December 1915, Ottoman troops had surrounded the Anglo-Indian force of about 10,000 men at the town of Kut-al-Amara. The British commander Major General Charles Townshend called for help, and the commander of the Mesopotamian theatre General Sir John Nixon began assumbling a force of 19,000 men to relieve the besieged forces. This relief force, designated as the Tigris Corps, initially consisted of 2 divisions: 3rd (Lahore) Division and 7th (Meerut) Division, as well other units available in the region.