In 1915, an Anglo-Indian attempt to capture Baghdad from the Ottoman empire ended in disaster. Thousands of British and Indian troops spent five months besieged in the small town of Kut, south of Baghdad, until they were forced to surrender to Ottoman forces. Only half of those taken prisoner survived their captivity. Hear archive recordings of those who took part in Britain's Mesopotamia campaign.

(Photo: Troops of the Ottoman Empire on their way to Kut, Mesopotamia, September 1915. Credit: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)