In February 1915, Arabs in southwest Persia attacked an Indian Army battalion and cut the British oil pipeline. The Indian government responded by sending troops, the so called Indian Expeditionary Force D.
A battle followed soon, at Shaiba, April 12th 1915. The Turks lost. After that, the British had their eyes on Baghdad, so they launched a major expedition into Mesopotamia. After taking Amara, their next objective was Kut al-Amara. The first battle of Kut was fought on september 28th. The Turks fought with tenacity but eventually they were defeated.
Politics intervened. The British needed a big victory since the bloody debacle of Gallipoli and reinforcements arrived. One thing was clear: time was of the essence. Eventually the British was pushed back. They retreated in good order, and they were back in Kut on December 3rd. Turkish troops arrived on December 12th and started attacking. Soon, some 25,000 Turks surrounded the town. They dug in, and a started a siege.
Despite attempts to relieve them, the encircled British surrendered by April 29th 1916 after a siege which had lasted 143 days.
