German Soldiers Cemetery

If you have seen the 1987 film The Lighthorsemen about the Australian Light Horse regiment's cavalry charge against the Ottoman forces in the Battle of Beersheba during World War I, you will have noticed German Officers as part of the Ottoman forces.

World War I Context:

During WWI, the Ottoman Empire controlled Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Germany was allied with the Ottomans, supplying military advisers, engineers, medical staff, and other personnel. German military and technical personnel served in Ottoman territories; some died from accidents, disease, or conflict while attached to Ottoman operations. Several WWI stones in the cemetery carry Iron Cross motifs and German inscriptions, including one noting death "zu Mossul" (at Mosul) in 1917.

Post-War Consolidation:

After the war, German dead who had been buried locally remained in situ rather than being repatriated, especially in regions where removal was impractical. Over time, Germany (through the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) consolidated German war graves abroad into more central cemeteries. This included gathering isolated graves from across Iraq and reinterring them in this German cemetery in Baghdad. The transfer of some graves from a civilian cemetery in Basra to Baghdad in 1953 was part of this consolidation process.

The cemetery is located in the Al-Rusafa district (Waziriyah/Sheikh Omar vicinity) on the east bank of the Tigris, near the broader military-cemetery cluster that includes the CWGC's Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery a short distance away.

German officers and technicians serving with Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia. Died from battle, disease, or accidents.