As featured on History of War

History of War

...a concise and engaging telling of the siege from the British perspective.

Read the complete review here.

WFA, Timothy Heck

A most welcome second coming of a book describing the debacle of the Mesopotamia campaign.

Military Historical Society

The narrative of the book contains frequent vivid detail, bringing to life the fighting that took place. One such example is the description of the battlefield:

'Turkish soldiers hung like dummies. Occasionally one flapped his arm, showing he was still alive. One with his jaw shot away made a brittle rattling noise. It would be quiet for an hour or so, then the rattling would begin again. The British troops attempted to bring in a few of the seriously wounded Turks who lay immediately in front of the fort but this activity was stripped by Turkish snipers who had obviously been ordered to stop their comrades being taken prisoner'.
A brutal description of the awful hot conditions the men experienced, and the other battle against nature:-

'The lice lasted until the spring, and then, with the coming of the warmer weather they vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. Hard on their heels came armies of fleas which, though not as number as their predecessors, far exceeded in agility and biting power. After the fleas came the sand-flies with a sting reminiscent of a hot needle thrust into the flesh'.

Overall, this is an important book to all students of the First World War, and particularly to anyone who wished to learn more about this siege which the British Army and her Imperial forces endured. It is complimented by outstanding illustrations and maps.

Jon Sandison, Freelance

This is a detailed, well written account of the tragic five-month-long siege by the Turks, with all its terrible hardships and deprivations, until the eventual surrender of the garrison on 29th April 1916.

Highly recommended. 10/10

The Great War magazine, May 2017 - reviewed by Mark Marsay