The battle of Basra was a battle of World War 1, that took place in the city of Basra (which is now in modern day Iraq), on December 10, 1914. the battle resulted in the british capture of Basra

Background

The British had captured Fao in november and secured the surrounding area, but had not advanced into Mesopotamia. when the Ottomans began massing troops at Basra, the British feared that the Ottomans would attack them at Fao, and decided to strike at Basra first.

The Battle

On December 7, 1914 British troops began the march from Fao to Basra. the Turks sent cavalry to stop the British advance, and there were many battles between the British infantry and the Turkish cavalry, between December 7 and 9. despite the cavalry the British arrived outside Basra on December 10. The Ottomans retreated from Basra, leaving only a couple hundred troops to guard Basra. The British attacked Basra and within an hour the remaining Turkish troops were defeated and the British occupied Basra.

Aftermath

Even though the British captured Basra, they did not accomplish their goal of destroying the main Turkish army, which had now retreated to Kut. The failure of the British to win a decisive battle would result in many more campaigns in Mesopotamia.