Lower Mesopotamia between Baghdad and the Persian Gulf

A detailed wartime survey of Southern Iraq, formerly Lower Mesopotamia, between Baghdad and the Persian Gulf. Parts of neighbouring Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are also included. Published by the Geographical Section General Staff (GSGS) of the War Office during WWI to support the Mesopotamia Campaign against the Ottoman Empire.

The map focuses heavily on terrain features, especially rivers, marshes, and smaller water courses. Hills are also marked, and the terrain type is indicated wherever it is known by small annotations, such as "steep sandstone range 50' to 100' high" and "sandy hills with brushwood & pasturage". In several places, the names of local Arab tribal groups are marked on the map as well. All of these features would have been critical for the movements of armies and for tactical planning.

The map's sources are listed in lower-right corner of the map. These include maps of the Euphrates by Willcocks, Lynch, Teesdale, and Holdich, a map of Kuwait by Shakespear, and information supplied by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

Printed colour. [MEAST4554]