After capturing Baghdad, British General Frederick Stanley Maude believed the British position was threatened by the Ottoman forces of Khalil Pasha, who possessed 10,000 troops to the north of Baghdad, and Ali Ishan Bey's force who commanded 15,000 troops entering the region from Persia.[1] In order to protect British gains in the region, in particular Baghdad, General Maude ordered the Samarrah Offensive.[2] To maintain British control of Baghdad, Maude outlined four objectives that needed to be met: Pasha's 6th Army needed to be driven north, the 8th Corps moving to join the 6th Army must be driven away or destroyed, the rail yard at Samarrah must be captured to prevent an Ottoman buildup of troops and munitions, and the British must secure the dams around Baghdad so that the Ottomans could not break them and flood the area.[2]