Battles of Ramadi (1917)

The two Battles of Ramadi were fought between the forces of the British and Ottoman Empires in July and September 1917 during World War I. The two sides contested the town of Ramadi in central Iraq, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad on the south bank of the Euphrates River, where an important Ottoman garrison was quartered. The town's strategic position on the road between Aleppo and Baghdad made it a key British target during the Mesopotamian campaign, but the hostile climatic conditions meant that it took two attacks over the course of three months for the town to fall.

The first battle in July 1917 resulted in a British defeat. This was caused by a combination of factors, including extreme heat that caused more casualties than enemy fire, bad weather, faulty British communications, and an effective Turkish defence. The lessons learned were utilised in the second battle two months later: the British adopted different tactics and trapped the garrison against the Euphrates, cutting off their lines of escape. It was consequently captured almost in its entirety with large amounts of ammunition and supplies.