At long last, a single volume account of the fascinating campaign in Mesopotamia. For many years, the only really good work on Mespot was A. J. Barker's masterly "The Neglected War", published by Faber and Faber in 1967. It still stands up to examination today, but is terribly hard to find. Other than that, there is only the Official History and a number of memoir: the short bibiliography in this new book is testament to the lack of coverage of the campaign.

I've often wondered why the Mespot camapign is so badly covered in literature terms. No Boy's Own tales of landings, bungled and heroic attacks and meticulous withdrawal at as Gallipoli? A force mainly comprised of Indian army units? I don't know. It certainly deserves more attention - as it did at the time, for lack of attention at the highest levels was a significant aspect of its costly nature. So Ron Wilcox's "Battles on the Tigris" is especially welcome.

This book covers the campaign at a high level, seldom delving down to unit level or individuals, but covers the ground extremely well. Ron provides us with an account of the early landings aimed at securing British oil interests in the Basra region; the optimistic and foolhardy advance up the river to Baghdad and defeat at Ctesiphon; the siege and ultimate ignominy of the surrender of Kut; the costly effort to relieve the Kut garrison and the build up of sufficiently strong and organised forces that eventually did capture Baghdad and then fought a mobile war in the north. That's all standard "Mespot" stuff and in itself would have provided a good account. But he also blends into it the complex stories of what was happening in nearby Persia, intrigues with spies and the local arab factions. The latter parts of the book deal with the "Dunsterforce" foray into the Caucasus and the difficult political aftermath of the war. The book is well written and as a simple to digest work on the campaign, I rate it highly.

There is a small selection of photographs - in the main, portaits of the key players - and, much more importantly and impressively, an excellent set of maps woven into the text. Ron also provides a useful order of battle.

Taken in the round, well worthy of your money and a good read and reference.

Now, who is going to provide us with a view of the campaign at the tactical, operational or individual level?