Letters received by Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood, 3 January 1917 – 14 December 1917 - Part 15

General Headquarters.
Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force.
16th October, 1917.
  
My dear friend 

I wrote to acknowledge your last letter to me on
September 5th and to give you any scraps of news that we
may have here. But I hear now that the ship which was
conveying our letters written about that date has been
burnt at sea and therefore my missive alll not reach you. 
We have been fairly grilled this summer, and especially
in July there was a very severe heat wave which carried off
quite a large number even of the strongest. But that is all
now past history and the weather is becoming daily cooler
and more enjoyable, and we shall soon have an almost perfect
climate till the rains come. 
In consequence of the great heat operations were
generally speaking impossible during the summer months,
although we had to read just from time to time owing to the
Russian vagaries and at first the Arab tribesmen were
troublesome  and had to be punished. So the troops were
able to have a rest which they had well earned after all
their strenuous work last winter, and by settling them down
Into camps in good time we avoided much of the sickness
which we had last year. In fact except for the heat wave in
July when we had so many cases of heat stroke and heat
exhaustion our sick list was extraordinarily low all through
the summer and we have had no epidemics such as cholera,
scurvy, plague, etc. 
But though the troops have been resting, behind the
Army and here at headquarters things have been busier if
possible than before. There has been so much to reorganise,
develop and prepare for the future, and especially as
regards 

-2-
regards our inland water transport and railways work has
been most strenuous.  A very low river has been somewhat
a source of anxiety but the way it has been tackled by the
river fleet has been little short of marvellous. The river
is now beautifully buoyed and groundings have been few and
far between, although we have had to lighten our barges to
accommodate them to the amount of water in the river. Then
the railways too have gone ahead like wildfire and the way
that all have worked through this intense heat has been most
praiseworthy. The benefits which have accrued to the Army
in consequence are obvious. 
Here at Headquarters we have had an immensity to do,
first taking in hand Baghdad both from the civil and military
aspect, then getting things straight behind,  then reorganising
the troops and arranging for new formations, then systematising 
the supplies throughout the country - and in connection with
this we have placed a large area under cultivation which ought
to supply us with all the grain and forage which we require
next year. It meant a big outlay but it was a good businesslike
proposition and the relief to the Empire and to our
communications inasmuch as we shall be self-supporting in
this respect is obvious. It took some time to get sanction
for the scheme and so I went ahead on my own responsibility
and belated sanction came eventually. Then plans for the
future have been absorbing one's interest, for and though the
troops were resting we have had to get a certain amount of
work out of them during the summer months.  First of all I
went round all the fronts and we designed a multitude of
strong positions which we shall be able to use as pivots
during the forthcoming operations. The troops worked on
those during the evenings and early mornings and at night
during the great heat so as to keep them fit, and now I have
been round them all and they are very strong. 
We 

-3-
We got a considerable number of all ranks off to India
during the summer on leave and this has helped to keep up
the efficiency of the Force considerably, especially in the
case of those who have been on service a long time and who
needed a rest and change. Then the troops too during the
summer seemed quite different to last year, when they could
hardly put one foot before the other. This year they were
cheery and full of spirits all the time and games and
recreations of all  sorts continued throughout the summer.
Football competitions, fishing, athletic sports, cinemas,
concert parties, etc. all helped all helped to keep them
amused and interested, and they are now in tearing spirits
and ready for anything. 
The other day we began our second innings successfully
by an attack on the Turkish troops at Ramadie, where we got
the whole lot, only a few escaping by swimming the river.
It was a big success and the troops were splendidly handled.
It meant a lot of preparation as Ramadie is 70 miles from
Baghdad and communications are vile, but we had been working
at it for a long time getting everything ready and our
exertions were amply repaid, for we surrounded the whole
force, and this initial success is bound to have a good effect
on the forthcoming operations.  Altogether we got 13 guns,
12 Machine guns, and some 3,400 prisoners, besides masses of
ammunition, arms, equipment, railway material, engineering
stores, 2 1aunches, 2 barges, etc., etc. 
I was much interested in all you told me about your own
doings in France, and I can assure you that we watch your
movements with very great interest here. Lately you seem to
have been doing splendidly and what is so satisfactory is
that it is always a record of progress, even though slight,
and this must in time wear down the enemy and make him feel
that it is a hopeless task.  
The 

-4- 
The Russians here go from bad to worse and we have
had at last to make up our minds not to depend on them
for anything. I tried up to the last moment to get them
to come in even with a small portion of their force and
do something, but I am afraid that however much they may
wish to do so they are quite incapable of any effort.
It is very unsatisfactory, for I feel that if they had
only come along last spring or even if now they would
make a strong offensive we should very soon bring this
campaign to an end. 
We are looking forward to hearing good news from
Gaza before long, where they must be about due now to
make a move.

Yrs sincerely, 
J.T. Maude 
Maude 

To
Lieut.-General Sir W.R. Birdwood,
K.C.S.I., K.C.M.C,. C.B., C.I.E., D.S.0.,
Commanding 1st Anzac Corps,
British Army in the Field,
FRANCE. 

The Residency
Cairo
21st October 1917
Dictated. 

My dear Birdwood  

I have to thank you very warmly for your letters
of the 7th and 10th September and for the very interesting
news you sent me.   Since these letters were written, your
magnificent Corps has again covered itself with glory and I
would like to add my congratulations to the hundreds of
others you must have received on the splendid successes that
have been obtained in Flanders and to which the ANZACS have
so materially contributed. I am afraid it means that you
have lost many good men and true, but they have died in a
great cause and now I hope that the ground you have gained
will enable you to dominate the Huns and pound them incessantly
in their mud-flats below. 
I wish I had time to write to you at greater
length but all the momentous events of the past few weeks
in this part of the world have taken up all my spare time
and my correspondence is hopelessly in arrears:  I wanted, 

however, to tell you what a real sincere affection our
mutual  old friend the late Sultan had for you, and never an
audience passed that he did not refer to his long standing
friendship for you.   I enclose the copy of a Ietter I had
from the new  Sultan in which he refers with gratitude to your
much appreciated telegram on the death of his brother - He
also spoke to me when I saw him and begged me to convey to you
his cordial thanks.  Everything is now shaping fairly well
here and Allenby is full of work in his particular sphere and
I hope it will not be long before some good news comes. 
If  you see my old friend Smyth will you explain
to him the reasons why I have not answered his letter - I am
always putting off the time till I can spin him a yarn of
some length, but that time never seems to come.
With best wishes for continued success and good
Iuck.
Believe me, 
  
Yours Vy Sincerely
RWingate. 

General Sir W. Birdwood, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., &c
Commanding ANZAC Corps, B.E.F.
France. 

In the field.
Nov 17. 
To
General Birdwood.
Com, A.I.F.
France 

Sir
During the time I have been
in the field, I have noticed the
enormous wastage in shells &c
through failure of detonation. 
I am a mechanic and have
designed a devise which will
eliminate that trouble. 
Being well aware that the
solving of this problem has
received and is still receiving
the attention of military experts
apparently without success
I still have every confidence 

of being able to produce a
simple mechanism which will
bring about perfect detonation
in all percussion projectiles.
I feel justified in communicating
this matter direct to you
as a means of placing my
services at the disposal of
the ordnance department,
at the earliest possible
moment. 
Sir,  I beg to remain  
Yours obediently 
6314, Spr.  Greenwald, 
4^th Field Coy., 
Australian Engineers. 
9am or 12 noon tomorrow

Nov 13 17 
To General Birdwood. 
Dear Sir, 
You will excuse me for taking the libety
to write to you, but after serving three
years under your command I feel that
I have a slight  libety in addressing
you and congraulating you on your
promotion and my you always
command us is the wish of all anza’c’s
I am writing you from a hospital in
Eng and will be back in France by
Xymas, but as it is the first spell
I have had away from my unit for
three years you will admit that
I have not done to bad. well, Sir may
you earn further honour's. 
I remain your O bident servent 
Lan Cpr Conner 986 
3^rd Batt

New Zealand House, 
413 Strand 
London, W.C. 
  
My dear General 
My heartiest congratulations
on your well deserved
honour, long may
you be able to
advance on your
distinguished career
Carrying with you
All sincere & heartfelt