Kut: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 32°30′20″N 45°49′29″E / 32.50556°N 45.82472°E / 32.50556; 45.82472
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m →‎World War I: Added Townshend's first name the first time Townshend is mentioned.
No edit summary
 
(32 intermediate revisions by 25 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Kut
| official_name = Kut
|native_name = الكوت
| native_name = ٱلْكُوت
|settlement_type = [[List of cities in Iraq|City]]
| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Iraq|City]]
|nickname =
| nickname =
|motto =
| motto =
|image_skyline = File:MosqueAlKutIraqDOD.JPG
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = سدة الكوت.jpg
|imagesize =
| photo2a = مدينة واسط الاثرية.jpg
|image_caption = Mosque in Al Kut
| photo2b = Al kut doom.jpg
|image_flag =
| photo3a = Al-kut sunset.JPG
|image_seal =
| photo3b =
|image_shield =
| photo4a =
|image_map =
| photo4b =
|mapsize =
| photo5a =
|map_caption =
| spacing = 2
|pushpin_map = Iraq
| size = 280
|pushpin_label_position = left
| foot_montage =
|pushpin_relief = yes
}}
|pushpin_mapsize =
| imagesize =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location Iraq
|subdivision_type = Country
| image_caption =
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Iraq}}
| image_flag =
|subdivision_type1 = Governorate
| image_seal =
| image_shield =
|subdivision_name1 = [[Wasit Governorate|Wasit]]
|subdivision_type2 =
| image_map =
|subdivision_name2 =
| mapsize =
|government_type =
| map_caption =
|leader_title =
| pushpin_map = Iraq
| pushpin_label_position = left
|leader_name =
|leader_title1 =
| pushpin_relief = yes
|leader_name1 =
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location Iraq
|leader_title2 =
|leader_name2 =
| subdivision_type = Country
|leader_title3 =
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Iraq}}
|leader_name3 =
| subdivision_type1 = Governorate
| subdivision_name1 = [[Wasit Governorate|Wasit]]
|established_title =
|established_date =
| subdivision_type2 =
|established_title2 =
| subdivision_name2 =
|established_date2 =
| government_type =
|established_title3 =
| leader_title =
|established_date3 =
| leader_name =
|area_footnotes =
| leader_title1 =
|area_magnitude =
| leader_name1 =
|area_total =
| leader_title2 =
|TotalArea_sq_mi =
| leader_name2 =
|area_land =
| leader_title3 =
|LandArea_sq_mi =
| leader_name3 =
|area_water =
| established_title =
|WaterArea_sq_mi =
| established_date =
|area_water_percent =
| established_title2 =
|area_urban =
| established_date2 =
|UrbanArea_sq_mi =
| established_title3 =
|area_metro =
| established_date3 =
|MetroArea_sq_mi =
| area_footnotes =
|population_as_of = 2019
| area_magnitude =
| area_total =
|population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Geonames |url=https://www.geonames.org/99131/al-kut.html |website=geonames.org |accessdate=30 September 2019}}</ref>
|population_note =
| TotalArea_sq_mi =
|population_total = 315,162
| area_land =
| LandArea_sq_mi =
|population_density = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
| area_water =
|population_density_mi2 = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
| WaterArea_sq_mi =
|population_metro = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
| area_water_percent =
|population_density_metro_km2 =
| area_urban =
|population_density_metro_mi2 =
|population_urban =
| UrbanArea_sq_mi =
|timezone =
| area_metro =
|utc_offset =
| MetroArea_sq_mi =
|timezone_DST =
| population_as_of = 2019
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Geonames |url=https://www.geonames.org/99131/al-kut.html |website=geonames.org |access-date=30 September 2019}}</ref>
|utc_offset_DST =
| population_note =
|coordinates = {{coord|32|30|20|N|45|49|29|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
| population_total = 315,162
|elevation_footnotes =
| population_density = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
|elevation =
| population_density_mi2 = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
|elevation_m = 23
| population_metro = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
|postal_code_type =
| population_density_metro_km2 =
|postal_code =
| population_density_metro_mi2 =
|website =
|footnotes =
| population_urban =
|twin1 =
| timezone =
| utc_offset =
|twin1_country =
| timezone_DST =
| utc_offset_DST =
| coordinates = {{coord|32|30|20|N|45|49|29|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation =
| elevation_m = 23
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| website =
| footnotes =
| twin1 =
| twin1_country =
}}
}}


'''Al-Kūt''' ({{lang-ar|الكوت}} ''Al Kūt''), also spelled '''Kut al-Imara''' or '''Kut El Amara''', is a city in eastern [[Iraq]], on the left bank of the [[Tigris River]], about {{convert|160|km|mi|abbr=off}} south east of [[Baghdad]]. {{As of|2018}} the estimated population is about 389,400 people.
'''Kūt''' ({{lang-ar|ٱلْكُوت|al-Kūt}}), officially '''Al-Kut''', also spelled '''Kutulamare''' or '''Kut al-Imara''', is a city in eastern [[Iraq]], on the left bank of the [[Tigris River]], about {{convert|160|km|mi|abbr=off}} south east of [[Baghdad]]. {{As of|2018}} the estimated population is about 389,400 people.
It is the capital of the province long known as Al Kut, but since the 1960s renamed [[Wasit Governorate|Wasit]].
It is the capital of the province long known as Al Kut, but since the 1960s renamed [[Wasit Governorate|Wasit]].


The old town of Kut is within a sharp "U" bend of the river, opposite from the point where the [[Al-Gharraf River|Shatt al-Gharraf]] branches off from the Tigris.<ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref> This "U"-shaped bend almost makes it an island but for a narrow connection to the shore. For centuries Kut was a regional center of the [[carpet]] trade. The area around Kut is a fertile [[Cereal|cereal grain]] growing region. The [[Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility]], looted following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], is located near Kut.
The old town of Kut is within a sharp "U" bend of the river, opposite from the point where the [[Al-Gharraf River|Shatt al-Gharraf]] branches off from the Tigris.<ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref> This U-shaped bend almost makes it an island but for a narrow connection to the shore. For centuries Kut was a regional center of the [[carpet]] trade. The area around Kut is a fertile [[Cereal|cereal grain]] growing region. The [[Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility]], looted following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 US invasion of Iraq]], is located near Kut.

The [[Kut Barrage]] was constructed in the city in the 1930s to provide irrigation water for the surrounding area. The barrage supports a road and includes a lock for boats passing up and down the Tigris. Its purpose is to maintain a sufficiently high water level in the Tigris to provide water for the Gharraf irrigation canal.

In 1952, {{convert|26440|ha|acre|abbr=off}} were irrigated from water provided by the Gharraf Canal. Of this newly reclaimed land, {{convert|14080|ha|acre|abbr=off}} was distributed to small farmers as part of a social land reform program. These farmers received {{convert|10|ha|acre|abbr=off}} per family and were required to live on the land they farmed. In 2005, repairs and maintenance works were carried out at the Kut Barrage and the Gharraf Head Regulator for a total cost of US$3 million.


== Geography ==
== Geography ==
Line 142: Line 150:


== History ==
== History ==
[[File:مدينة واسط الاثرية.jpg|thumb|The ancient city of Kut.]]
The medieval city of '''Madharaya''' was at the site of modern Kut.<ref name=":0">Le Strange (1905), pp. 38, 60</ref><ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref><ref>El-Samarraie (1970), p. 29</ref> It lay at the point where the [[Nahrawan Canal]] flowed out into the [[Tigris]].<ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref> Madharaya has been identified as the hometown of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]]-era [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] religious leader [[Mazdak]].<ref name=":2">Madelung (1988), p. 3</ref> By the early 1200s, however, [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] wrote that Madharaya was in ruins.<ref name=":0">Le Strange (1905), pp. 38, 60</ref>
The medieval city of '''Madharaya''' was at the site of modern Kut.<ref name=":0">Le Strange (1905), pp. 38, 60</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>El-Samarraie (1970), p. 29</ref> It lay at the point where the [[Nahrawan Canal]] flowed out into the [[Tigris]].<ref name=":1" /> Madharaya has been identified as the hometown of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]]-era [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] religious leader [[Mazdak]].<ref name=":2">Madelung (1988), p. 3</ref> By the early 1200s, however, [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] wrote that Madharaya was in ruins.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Al kut doom.jpg|thumb|Kut corniche, 2016]]
Modern Kut owes much of its prosperity to the advent of [[steamboat]] transportation on the Tigris in the 1800s.<ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref>
Modern Kut owes much of its prosperity to the advent of [[steamboat]] transportation on the Tigris in the 1800s.<ref name=":1"/>


=== World War I ===
=== World War I ===
{{main|Siege of Kut}}
{{Main|Siege of Kut}}


[[File:Townshend, Khalil Pasha after Fall of Kut B.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend|Townshend]], [[Halil Kut|Khalil Pasha]] and other unidentified officers after surrender of the Kut garrison in 1916]]
[[File:Townshend, Khalil Pasha after Fall of Kut B.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend|Townshend]], [[Halil Kut|Khalil Pasha]] and other unidentified officers after surrender of the Kut garrison in 1916]]
Line 153: Line 162:
Kut was the scene of a fierce battle during [[World War I]]. The [[United Kingdom|British]] Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, led by Major General [[Charles Townshend (British Army officer)|Charles Townshend]], marched north from [[Basra]] in September 1915 in what became known as the [[Mesopotamian Campaign]]. They reached Kut on September 26, where after three days of fighting they drove the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces from the town.
Kut was the scene of a fierce battle during [[World War I]]. The [[United Kingdom|British]] Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, led by Major General [[Charles Townshend (British Army officer)|Charles Townshend]], marched north from [[Basra]] in September 1915 in what became known as the [[Mesopotamian Campaign]]. They reached Kut on September 26, where after three days of fighting they drove the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces from the town.


After a halt of nearly nine months, Townshend then headed up river to [[Ctesiphon]]. Following a [[Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)|battle]] there, the British forces withdrew back to Kut. On December 7, 1915, the [[Turkey|Turks]], under their commander, the German Field Marshal [[Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz|Baron von der Goltz]], arrived at Kut and began a [[siege]]. The British cavalry under Colonel [[Gerard Leachman]] succeeded in breaking out, but Townshend and the bulk of the force remained besieged. Many attempts were made to relieve Townshend's forces, but all were defeated. Some 23,000 British and Indian soldiers died in the attempts to retake Kut, probably the worst loss of life for the British away from the European theater. Near the end of the siege, [[T. E. Lawrence]] and [[Aubrey Herbert]] of British Intelligence unsuccessfully tried to bribe [[Halil Kut|Khalil Pasha]] to allow the troops to escape. Townshend, with some 8,000 surviving soldiers, finally surrendered Kut on April 29, 1916. The captured soldiers were divided, where the officers were sent to separate facilities, and many of the enlisted soldiers were impressed into [[hard labour]] until the surrender of the Ottoman Empire; more than half of them died. The British went back on the offensive in December 1916 with a larger and better-supplied force under General Sir [[Frederick Stanley Maude]] and retook Kut on February 23, 1917.
After a halt of nearly nine months, Townshend then headed up river to [[Ctesiphon]]. Following a [[Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)|battle]] there, the British forces withdrew back to Kut. On December 7, 1915, the [[Turkey|Turks]], under their commander, the Colonel Nurettin Pasha, arrived at Kut and began a [[siege]] that lasted 147 days. The British cavalry under Colonel [[Gerard Leachman]] succeeded in breaking out, but Townshend and the bulk of the force remained besieged. Many attempts were made to relieve Townshend's forces, but all were defeated. Some 23,000 British and Indian soldiers died in the attempts to retake Kut, probably the worst loss of life for the British away from the European theater. Near the end of the siege, [[T. E. Lawrence]] and [[Aubrey Herbert]] of British Intelligence unsuccessfully tried to bribe [[Halil Kut|Khalil Pasha]] to allow the troops to escape. Townshend, with some 8,000 surviving soldiers, finally surrendered Kut on April 29, 1916. The captured soldiers were divided, where the officers were sent to separate facilities, and many of the enlisted soldiers were impressed into [[hard labour]] until the surrender of the Ottoman Empire; more than half of them died. The British went back on the offensive in December 1916 with a larger and better-supplied force under General Sir [[Frederick Stanley Maude]] and with steep casualties retook Kut on February 23, 1917.


Kut suffered heavy damage during the First World War, and was almost entirely rebuilt afterward.<ref name=":1">Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543</ref>
Kut suffered heavy damage during the First World War, and was almost entirely rebuilt afterward.<ref name=":1"/>

=== Modern history ===
The [[Kut Barrage]] was constructed in the city in the 1930s to provide irrigation water for the surrounding area. The barrage supports a road and includes a lock for boats passing up and down the Tigris. Its purpose is to maintain a sufficiently high water level in the Tigris to provide water for the Gharraf irrigation canal.


In 1952, {{convert|26440|ha|acre|abbr=off}} were irrigated from water provided by the Gharraf Canal. Of this newly reclaimed land, {{convert|14080|ha|acre|abbr=off}} was distributed to small farmers as part of a social land reform program. These farmers received {{convert|10|ha|acre|abbr=off}} per family and were required to live on the land they farmed. In 2005, repairs and maintenance works were carried out at the Kut Barrage and the Gharraf Head Regulator for a total cost of US$3 million.
== Contingency Operating Base Delta (COB Delta) ==
Contingency Operating Base (COB) Delta was an American military installation located on the right bank of the Tigris directly across from Kut.


In 2021, a major car crash occurred inside the city in a travel route from [[Amarah]] (a neighboring city) to [[Baghdad]], causing fatalities. The local hospital was reportedly ill-equipped to deal with the incident and could not air-lift victims back to Amarah for treatment and the large hospitals there, resulting in 5 casualties. The driver was pronounced dead from major injuries 4 days afterwoods, the incident rocked the town.
Designated as a [[Forward operating base]] (FOB) in the early stages of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], Delta was centered on a former Iraqi Air Force base, [[Kut Al Hayy Air Base]], which was known after capture as Blair Airfield.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/kut-al-hayy-east.htm|title=Kut Al Hayy Airbase|first=John|last=Pike|publisher=}}</ref> In 2005 Delta was selected to become an "enduring" FOB, remaining open after other FOBs had closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/fob-delta-not-just-enduring-it-s-growing-1.87915|title=FOB Delta not just enduring – it’s growing|publisher=}}</ref> During the U.S.Military's Iraqi Freedom Campaign,FOB Delta was primarily manned by multi-national forces, Polish, Kazakhstan, El Salvadorian, Georgian, Lithuanian, British, and U.S. Forces, with U.S. forces operating as command and control. Sometime after 2009 the FOB was re-designated as a COB.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/72302/saber-squadron-arrives-cob-delta#.VZGUfBtVhBc|title=Saber Squadron arrives at COB Delta|publisher=}}</ref> COB Delta was closed on October 24th 2011 and officially turned over to the IAF in a handover ceremony that afternoon in the main flight line hangar/terminal. Later that evening, approximately 2200, the last Force Pro civilians flew out by helicopter. At that time the last remaining US forces departed the main hangar and drove out of the south gate headed toward Kuwait under cover of darkness.

== Contingency Operating Base Delta (COB Delta) ==
[[File:Delta Tour DVIDS239459.jpg|thumb|229x229px|US Army Maj. Gen. Lanza speaks with Iraqi journalists during a tour of FOB Delta, Jan.11, 2010]]
In the early 21st century, the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Delta was an American military installation located on the right bank of the Tigris southwest from Kut. Designated as a [[Forward operating base]] (FOB) in the early stages of [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], Delta was centered on a former Iraqi Air Force base, [[Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base]]. In 2005 Delta was selected to become an "enduring" FOB, remaining open after other FOBs had closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/fob-delta-not-just-enduring-it-s-growing-1.87915|title=FOB Delta not just enduring – it's growing}}</ref> During the Operation Iraqi Freedom, FOB Delta was
manned by Polish, Kazakhstan, El Salvadorian, Georgian, Lithuanian, British, and US [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|Multi-National Forces]]. Sometime after 2009 the FOB was re-designated as a COB.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/72302/saber-squadron-arrives-cob-delta#.VZGUfBtVhBc|title=Saber Squadron arrives at COB Delta}}</ref> COB Delta was closed on October 24, 2011 and officially turned over to the IAF in a handover ceremony that afternoon in the main flight line hangar/terminal. Later that evening, approximately 2,200, the last Force Pro civilians flew out by helicopter.{{cn|date=July 2022}}


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]
* [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]
*[[List of places in Iraq]]
*[[List of United States Military installations in Iraq]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 170: Line 188:
== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Le Strange |first=Guy |title=The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia, from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1905 |oclc=458169031 |url=https://archive.org/details/b2935321x}}
* {{Cite book |last=Le Strange |first=Guy |title=The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia, from the Moslem Conquest to the Time of Timur |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1905 |oclc=458169031 |url=https://archive.org/details/b2935321x}}
* {{cite book |last=Madelung |first=Wilferd |title=Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran |date=1988 |publisher=Bibliotheca Persica |location=Albany |isbn=0-88706-701-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehrk8ckWNYoC&source=gbs_navlinks_s}}
* {{cite book |last=Madelung |first=Wilferd |title=Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran |date=1988 |publisher=Bibliotheca Persica |location=Albany |isbn=0-88706-701-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehrk8ckWNYoC}}
* <ref>{{cite book |last1=El-Samarraie |first1=Husam Quam |title=Agriculture in Iraq During the 3rd Century, A.H. |date=1970 |publisher=University of London |location=London |url=https://core.ac.uk/display/161528248?recSetID= |accessdate=12 March 2020}}</ref>
* <ref>{{cite book |last1=El-Samarraie |first1=Husam Quam |title=Agriculture in Iraq During the 3rd Century, A.H. |date=1970 |publisher=University of London |location=London |url=https://core.ac.uk/display/161528248?recSetID= |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commonscatinline|Al Kut}}
{{Commons category-inline|Al Kut}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090917144042/http://www.iraqimage.com/pages/browse/Al_Kut.html Iraq Image - Al Kut Satellite Observation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090917144042/http://www.iraqimage.com/pages/browse/Al_Kut.html Iraq Image - Al Kut Satellite Observation]



{{Districts of Iraq}}
{{Districts of Iraq}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Kut| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Wasit Governorate]]
[[Category:Populated places in Wasit Governorate]]
[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]
[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]
[[Category:Cities in Iraq]]
[[Category:Cities in Iraq]]
[[Category:Kut| ]]

Latest revision as of 11:31, 25 April 2024

Kut
ٱلْكُوت
Kut is located in Iraq
Kut
Kut
Location Iraq
Coordinates: 32°30′20″N 45°49′29″E / 32.50556°N 45.82472°E / 32.50556; 45.82472
Country Iraq
GovernorateWasit
Elevation
23 m (75 ft)
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • Total315,162

Kūt (Arabic: ٱلْكُوت, romanizedal-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres (99 miles) south east of Baghdad. As of 2018 the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It is the capital of the province long known as Al Kut, but since the 1960s renamed Wasit.

The old town of Kut is within a sharp "U" bend of the river, opposite from the point where the Shatt al-Gharraf branches off from the Tigris.[2] This U-shaped bend almost makes it an island but for a narrow connection to the shore. For centuries Kut was a regional center of the carpet trade. The area around Kut is a fertile cereal grain growing region. The Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility, looted following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, is located near Kut.

Geography[edit]

Climate[edit]

Kut has a hot desert climate (BWh) in the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Kut is 23.4 °C (74.1 °F). About 138 mm (5.43 in) of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Kut
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)
19.6
(67.3)
23.6
(74.5)
29.4
(84.9)
36.2
(97.2)
41.3
(106.3)
43.5
(110.3)
43.6
(110.5)
40.5
(104.9)
34.5
(94.1)
25.8
(78.4)
18.8
(65.8)
31.2
(88.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2)
6.6
(43.9)
10.1
(50.2)
14.9
(58.8)
20.4
(68.7)
23.6
(74.5)
25.7
(78.3)
25.2
(77.4)
21.6
(70.9)
16.6
(61.9)
11.1
(52.0)
6.4
(43.5)
15.6
(60.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26
(1.0)
32
(1.3)
19
(0.7)
12
(0.5)
5
(0.2)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.0)
17
(0.7)
26
(1.0)
138
(5.4)
Source: climate-data.org

History[edit]

The ancient city of Kut.

The medieval city of Madharaya was at the site of modern Kut.[3][2][4] It lay at the point where the Nahrawan Canal flowed out into the Tigris.[2] Madharaya has been identified as the hometown of the Sasanian-era Zoroastrian religious leader Mazdak.[5] By the early 1200s, however, Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote that Madharaya was in ruins.[3]

Kut corniche, 2016

Modern Kut owes much of its prosperity to the advent of steamboat transportation on the Tigris in the 1800s.[2]

World War I[edit]

Townshend, Khalil Pasha and other unidentified officers after surrender of the Kut garrison in 1916

Kut was the scene of a fierce battle during World War I. The British Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, led by Major General Charles Townshend, marched north from Basra in September 1915 in what became known as the Mesopotamian Campaign. They reached Kut on September 26, where after three days of fighting they drove the Ottoman forces from the town.

After a halt of nearly nine months, Townshend then headed up river to Ctesiphon. Following a battle there, the British forces withdrew back to Kut. On December 7, 1915, the Turks, under their commander, the Colonel Nurettin Pasha, arrived at Kut and began a siege that lasted 147 days. The British cavalry under Colonel Gerard Leachman succeeded in breaking out, but Townshend and the bulk of the force remained besieged. Many attempts were made to relieve Townshend's forces, but all were defeated. Some 23,000 British and Indian soldiers died in the attempts to retake Kut, probably the worst loss of life for the British away from the European theater. Near the end of the siege, T. E. Lawrence and Aubrey Herbert of British Intelligence unsuccessfully tried to bribe Khalil Pasha to allow the troops to escape. Townshend, with some 8,000 surviving soldiers, finally surrendered Kut on April 29, 1916. The captured soldiers were divided, where the officers were sent to separate facilities, and many of the enlisted soldiers were impressed into hard labour until the surrender of the Ottoman Empire; more than half of them died. The British went back on the offensive in December 1916 with a larger and better-supplied force under General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude and with steep casualties retook Kut on February 23, 1917.

Kut suffered heavy damage during the First World War, and was almost entirely rebuilt afterward.[2]

Modern history[edit]

The Kut Barrage was constructed in the city in the 1930s to provide irrigation water for the surrounding area. The barrage supports a road and includes a lock for boats passing up and down the Tigris. Its purpose is to maintain a sufficiently high water level in the Tigris to provide water for the Gharraf irrigation canal.

In 1952, 26,440 hectares (65,300 acres) were irrigated from water provided by the Gharraf Canal. Of this newly reclaimed land, 14,080 hectares (34,800 acres) was distributed to small farmers as part of a social land reform program. These farmers received 10 hectares (25 acres) per family and were required to live on the land they farmed. In 2005, repairs and maintenance works were carried out at the Kut Barrage and the Gharraf Head Regulator for a total cost of US$3 million.

In 2021, a major car crash occurred inside the city in a travel route from Amarah (a neighboring city) to Baghdad, causing fatalities. The local hospital was reportedly ill-equipped to deal with the incident and could not air-lift victims back to Amarah for treatment and the large hospitals there, resulting in 5 casualties. The driver was pronounced dead from major injuries 4 days afterwoods, the incident rocked the town.

Contingency Operating Base Delta (COB Delta)[edit]

US Army Maj. Gen. Lanza speaks with Iraqi journalists during a tour of FOB Delta, Jan.11, 2010

In the early 21st century, the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Delta was an American military installation located on the right bank of the Tigris southwest from Kut. Designated as a Forward operating base (FOB) in the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Delta was centered on a former Iraqi Air Force base, Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base. In 2005 Delta was selected to become an "enduring" FOB, remaining open after other FOBs had closed.[6] During the Operation Iraqi Freedom, FOB Delta was manned by Polish, Kazakhstan, El Salvadorian, Georgian, Lithuanian, British, and US Multi-National Forces. Sometime after 2009 the FOB was re-designated as a COB.[7] COB Delta was closed on October 24, 2011 and officially turned over to the IAF in a handover ceremony that afternoon in the main flight line hangar/terminal. Later that evening, approximately 2,200, the last Force Pro civilians flew out by helicopter.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Geonames". geonames.org. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Naval Intelligence Division guidebook (1944), p. 543
  3. ^ a b Le Strange (1905), pp. 38, 60
  4. ^ El-Samarraie (1970), p. 29
  5. ^ Madelung (1988), p. 3
  6. ^ "FOB Delta not just enduring – it's growing".
  7. ^ "Saber Squadron arrives at COB Delta".

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related to Al Kut at Wikimedia Commons

  1. ^ El-Samarraie, Husam Quam (1970). Agriculture in Iraq During the 3rd Century, A.H. London: University of London. Retrieved 12 March 2020.