Charles Townshend (British Army officer) - Revision history

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	[[Major general (United Kingdom)\|Major General]] '''Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend''', {{post-nominals\|country=GBR\|size=100%\|sep=,\|KCB\|DSO}} (21 February 1861 – 18 May 1924) was a soldier who during the [[First World War]] led an overreaching military campaign in [[Mesopotamia]]. His troops were besieged and captured at the [[Siege of Kut]] (December 1915 to April 1916), which was possibly the worst defeat suffered by the Allies ~~during the war~~.		[[Major general (United Kingdom)\|Major General]] '''Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend''', {{post-nominals\|country=GBR\|size=100%\|sep=,\|KCB\|DSO}} (21 February 1861 – 18 May 1924) was a soldier who during the [[First World War]] led an overreaching military campaign in [[Mesopotamia]]. His troops were besieged and captured at the [[Siege of Kut]] (December 1915 to April 1916), which was possibly the worst defeat suffered by the Allies.

	In contrast to the miserable captivity endured by his men, Townshend was held on [[Büyükada\|Prinkipo]], where he was treated like an esteemed guest until his release in October 1918. He was briefly a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1922.		Controversially and In contrast to the miserable captivity endured by his men, Townshend was held on [[Büyükada\|Prinkipo]], where he was treated like an esteemed guest until his release in October 1918. He was briefly a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1922.

	==Early life==		==Early life==
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	In 1884, Townshend was part of [[Nile Expedition\|the relief expedition]] to rescue the besieged army of General [[Charles George Gordon\|Charles Gordon]], better known to the British public as "Chinese Gordon", at [[Khartoum]].<ref name="auto2">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005, page 264.</ref> As a Royal Marine officer, he strictly speaking should not had been part of an Army expedition, but he wrote to General [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley\|Garnet Wolseley]] asking if he could go, and his request was granted.<ref name="auto3">Knight, Paul ''The British Army in Mesopotamia, 1914–1918'', Jefferson: McFarland, 2013, page 27.</ref> The way that Gordon had defied the orders of the government to leave Khartoum, knowing full well that the government could not abandon a national hero like himself and would have to send out a relief expedition to save him made a great impression on Townshend.<ref name="auto2"/> Even though Gordon had flagrantly and repeatedly ignored orders to evacuate Khartoum, the British press had generally portrayed "Chinese Gordon" as a Christian hero and martyr who had died heroically resisting the Islamic army of the Mahdi, and attacked the government of [[William Gladstone]] as abject cowards whose efforts to save Gordon were too little, too late.<ref name="auto2"/> The power of the press and its ability to rouse public opinion in favour of heroic generals besieged by Islamic fanatics was noted by Townshend at the time.<ref name="auto2"/> In January 1885, he fought at the [[Battle of Abu Klea]], which was his first battle and the first time he killed a man.<ref name="auto3"/> In 1886, he transferred from the Royal Marines to the British Army, largely because he felt it offered better prospects of promotion.<ref name="auto"/> The American historian [[John Semple Galbraith]] wrote that "Townshend was an inveterate self-advertiser, constantly and actively promoting his own brilliance in the hope of recognition by a grateful country, preferably in the form of a [[Order of the Bath\|KCB]]."<ref name="auto4">Galbraith, John "No Man's Child: The Campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914–1916" pages 358–385 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 6, Issue # 3, August 984 page 359.</ref>		In 1884, Townshend was part of [[Nile Expedition\|the relief expedition]] to rescue the besieged army of General [[Charles George Gordon\|Charles Gordon]], better known to the British public as "Chinese Gordon", at [[Khartoum]].<ref name="auto2">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005, page 264.</ref> As a Royal Marine officer, he strictly speaking should not had been part of an Army expedition, but he wrote to General [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley\|Garnet Wolseley]] asking if he could go, and his request was granted.<ref name="auto3">Knight, Paul ''The British Army in Mesopotamia, 1914–1918'', Jefferson: McFarland, 2013, page 27.</ref> The way that Gordon had defied the orders of the government to leave Khartoum, knowing full well that the government could not abandon a national hero like himself and would have to send out a relief expedition to save him made a great impression on Townshend.<ref name="auto2"/> Even though Gordon had flagrantly and repeatedly ignored orders to evacuate Khartoum, the British press had generally portrayed "Chinese Gordon" as a Christian hero and martyr who had died heroically resisting the Islamic army of the Mahdi, and attacked the government of [[William Gladstone]] as abject cowards whose efforts to save Gordon were too little, too late.<ref name="auto2"/> The power of the press and its ability to rouse public opinion in favour of heroic generals besieged by Islamic fanatics was noted by Townshend at the time.<ref name="auto2"/> In January 1885, he fought at the [[Battle of Abu Klea]], which was his first battle and the first time he killed a man.<ref name="auto3"/> In 1886, he transferred from the Royal Marines to the British Army, largely because he felt it offered better prospects of promotion.<ref name="auto"/> The American historian [[John Semple Galbraith]] wrote that "Townshend was an inveterate self-advertiser, constantly and actively promoting his own brilliance in the hope of recognition by a grateful country, preferably in the form of a [[Order of the Bath\|KCB]]."<ref name="auto4">Galbraith, John "No Man's Child: The Campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914–1916" pages 358–385 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 6, Issue # 3, August 984 page 359.</ref>

	A passionate [[Francophile]] who spoke fluent French, Townshend preferred to be addressed as "Alphonse" – something which often annoyed his colleagues, who regarded his "Frenchified" manners as extremely snobbish and off-putting.<ref name="auto5">Regan, Geoffrey ''Great Military Blunders'', Oxford: PastTimes, 2000 page 97.</ref> An intensely ambitious man, he was constantly writing letters to friends, relatives and anyone who might be able to help him achieve promotion, saying that he desperately needed one and asking them to "pull some strings" to help him.<ref name="auto"/> Townshend's biographer, the British historian A. J. Barker noted, "Anybody who could further his career was invariably called up to help, often in the most pleading of terms".<ref name="auto"/> Sean McKnight, the Deputy Head of War Studies at Sandhurst, called him "just about the most dramatically ambitious senior officer I think I've ever come across. He's never content, he's always looking for the second or third job down the line, and one of the most irritating facets of him is, even when he's got something he should be very happy with, he's not content".<ref name="auto5"/> Townshend's endlessly ambitious streak, together with his tendency to view whatever position he held as insufficient for him, and a penchant for writing letters attacking whomever was his commanding officer as incompetent to their commanding officer, made him very unpopular with other officers, who viewed him variously as a treacherous intriguer forever scheming for promotion, a pathetic whiner who was never happy with what he had, and a dangerous megalomaniac whose vainglorious quest for yet another promotion led him to take gratuitous risks.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005, page 246.</ref> The British historian [[Geoffrey Regan]] described him as an officer whose high intelligence and abilities were marred by his egomania.<ref name="auto6">Regan, Geoffrey ''Great Military Blunders'', Oxford: PastTimes, 2000, page 98.</ref>		A passionate [[Francophile]] who spoke fluent French, Townshend preferred to be addressed as "Alphonse" – something which often annoyed his colleagues, who regarded his "Frenchified" manners as extremely snobbish and off-putting.<ref name="auto5">Regan, Geoffrey ''Great Military Blunders'', Oxford: PastTimes, 2000 page 97.</ref> An intensely ambitious man, he was constantly writing letters to friends, relatives and anyone who might be able to help him achieve promotion, saying that he desperately needed one and asking them to "pull some strings" to help him.<ref name="auto"/> Townshend's biographer, the British historian A. J. Barker noted, "Anybody who could further his career was invariably called up to help, often in the most pleading of terms".<ref name="auto"/> Sean McKnight, the Deputy Head of War Studies at Sandhurst, called him "just about the most dramatically ambitious senior officer I think I've ever come across. He's never content, he's always looking for the second or third job down the line, and one of the most irritating facets of him is, even when he's got something he should be very happy with, he's not content".<ref name="auto5"/> Townshend's endlessly ambitious streak, together with his tendency to view whatever position he held as insufficient for him, and a penchant for writing letters attacking whomever was his commanding officer as incompetent to ''their'' commanding officer, made him very unpopular with other officers, who viewed him variously as a treacherous intriguer forever scheming for promotion, a pathetic whiner who was never happy with what he had, and a dangerous megalomaniac whose vainglorious quest for yet another promotion led him to take gratuitous risks.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: Castle Books, 2005, page 246.</ref> The British historian [[Geoffrey Regan]] described him as an officer whose high intelligence and abilities were marred by his egomania.<ref name="auto6">Regan, Geoffrey ''Great Military Blunders'', Oxford: PastTimes, 2000, page 98.</ref>

	==Imperial soldier==		==Imperial soldier==

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	Born in Great Union Street, [[Southwark]], London,<ref>{{cite book\|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 55\|year=2004\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|page=150}}</ref> Townshend grew up in a prominent family, the son of a railway clerk, Charles Thornton Townshend (1840–1889), and Louise Graham, a [[Melbourne]] native who brought no dowry. He was the great-great-grandson of [[Field Marshal]] [[George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend]]. His paternal grandfather, Rev. George Osborne Townshend (1801–1876), was the son of politician [[Lord John Townshend]], the second son of the first marquess.<ref name="burke">{{Cite book \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52621466 \|title=Burke's peerage, baronetage and knightage \|date=2003 \|publisher=Burke's Peerage & Gentry \|others=Charles Mosley \|isbn=0-9711966-2-1 \|edition=107th \|location=Stokesley \|pages=3924–3925 \|oclc=52621466}}</ref>		Born in Great Union Street, [[Southwark]], London,<ref>{{cite book\|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 55\|year=2004\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|page=150}}</ref> Townshend grew up in a prominent family, the son of a railway clerk, Charles Thornton Townshend (1840–1889), and Louise Graham, a [[Melbourne]] native who brought no dowry. He was the great-great-grandson of [[Field Marshal]] [[George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend]]. His paternal grandfather, Rev. George Osborne Townshend (1801–1876), was the son of politician [[Lord John Townshend]], the second son of the first marquess.<ref name="burke">{{Cite book \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52621466 \|title=Burke's peerage, baronetage and knightage \|date=2003 \|publisher=Burke's Peerage & Gentry \|others=Charles Mosley \|isbn=0-9711966-2-1 \|edition=107th \|location=Stokesley \|pages=3924–3925 \|oclc=52621466}}</ref>

	He was very ambitious and nourished high hopes of inheriting the family title and the family estate at [[Raynham Hall]] in Norfolk, as his cousin [[John Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshend\|Viscount Raynham]], the heir to the title, had no children until later in life.<ref name="times">{{cite news \|title=Obituary: Sir C. Townshend – The Defence of Kut \|work=[[The Times]] \|page=9 \|date=19 May 1924 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=248 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> He was educated at [[Cranleigh School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]. On graduation from Sandhurst, he was granted a commission with the [[Royal Marine Light Infantry]] in 1881.<ref name=lh>{{cite web\|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/summary/to60-001.htm\|title=King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives\|access-date=23 April ~~2022~~}}</ref>		He was very ambitious and nourished high hopes of inheriting the family title and the family estate at [[Raynham Hall]] in Norfolk, as his cousin [[John Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshend\|Viscount Raynham]], the heir to the title, had no children until later in life.<ref name="times">{{cite news \|title=Obituary: Sir C. Townshend – The Defence of Kut \|work=[[The Times]] \|page=9 \|date=19 May 1924 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=248 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> He was educated at [[Cranleigh School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]. On graduation from Sandhurst, he was granted a commission with the [[Royal Marine Light Infantry]] in 1881.<ref name=lh>{{cite web\|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/summary/to60-001.htm\|title=King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives\|access-date=23 April 2016}}</ref>

	Townshend was a well-known "playboy" officer in his youth, famous for his womanizing, drinking, for playing the banjo while singing very bawdy songs and for spending an excessive amount of his time in the music halls.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=249 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> He was often described by those who knew him as a "ladies' man" who was very popular with the opposite sex owing to his dashing personality and good looks.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book \|last=Knight \|first=Paul \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793581432 \|title=The British army in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918 \|date=2013 \|isbn=978-0-7864-7049-5 \|location=Jefferson, North Carolina \|pages=30 \|oclc=793581432}}</ref> He was also known for his theatrical style, and he liked to associate with actors.<ref name="auto1"/>		Townshend was a well-known "playboy" officer in his youth, famous for his womanizing, drinking, for playing the banjo while singing very bawdy songs and for spending an excessive amount of his time in the music halls.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=249 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> He was often described by those who knew him as a "ladies' man" who was very popular with the opposite sex owing to his dashing personality and good looks.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book \|last=Knight \|first=Paul \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793581432 \|title=The British army in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918 \|date=2013 \|isbn=978-0-7864-7049-5 \|location=Jefferson, North Carolina \|pages=30 \|oclc=793581432}}</ref> He was also known for his theatrical style, and he liked to associate with actors.<ref name="auto1"/>
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	In a letter to his friend in the War Office, Townshend wrote "We have certainly not good enough troops to make ''certain'' of taking Baghdad, which I fear is being fortified..." and went on to warn that a retreat from Baghdad would mean "an instant rising of the Arabs of the whole country behind us", adding that the Persians and the Afghans would likely be swept up by the Pan-Islamic propaganda of the Ottomans to join the ''jihad'' against the Allies.<ref name="auto19"/> Townshend wrote that "We ought to hold what we have got and not advance anymore... All these offensive operations in secondary theatres are dreadful errors in strategy: the Dardanelles, Egypt, Mesopotamia, East Africa!".<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto22"/> Townshend believed the main theatre of the war that would decide its outcome were the operations in France and Flanders, and believed that Britain should be concentrating its strength in Europe, observing that if Germany were defeated, the war would be won, but if the Ottoman Empire were defeated, Germany would still have to be defeated. However, the egomaniac Townshend wrote in a letter to his wife Alice seventeen days later "I told you, darling, that I only wanted my chance! You should have seen the British and Indian soldiers cheering me as I stood on the ''Comet''. I must have the gift of making men (I mean the soldier men) love me and follow me. I have only known the 6th Division for six months and they'd storm the gates of hell if I told them to".<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto22"/>		In a letter to his friend in the War Office, Townshend wrote "We have certainly not good enough troops to make ''certain'' of taking Baghdad, which I fear is being fortified..." and went on to warn that a retreat from Baghdad would mean "an instant rising of the Arabs of the whole country behind us", adding that the Persians and the Afghans would likely be swept up by the Pan-Islamic propaganda of the Ottomans to join the ''jihad'' against the Allies.<ref name="auto19"/> Townshend wrote that "We ought to hold what we have got and not advance anymore... All these offensive operations in secondary theatres are dreadful errors in strategy: the Dardanelles, Egypt, Mesopotamia, East Africa!".<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto22"/> Townshend believed the main theatre of the war that would decide its outcome were the operations in France and Flanders, and believed that Britain should be concentrating its strength in Europe, observing that if Germany were defeated, the war would be won, but if the Ottoman Empire were defeated, Germany would still have to be defeated. However, the egomaniac Townshend wrote in a letter to his wife Alice seventeen days later "I told you, darling, that I only wanted my chance! You should have seen the British and Indian soldiers cheering me as I stood on the ''Comet''. I must have the gift of making men (I mean the soldier men) love me and follow me. I have only known the 6th Division for six months and they'd storm the gates of hell if I told them to".<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto22"/>

	Having argued for another extension of the mission, and obtained approval for it from the British Government, Townshend's counsel was over-ridden by Nixon and he was ordered to continue with an advance upon Baghdad without reinforcement.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=bio>{{cite web\|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/townshend.htm\|title=First World War.com – Who's Who – Sir Charles Townshend\|access-date=23 April ~~2022~~}}</ref> Furthermore, the Tigris had become too shallow for the Royal Navy boats that had provided such useful fire support and Townshend would have to do without their services as he set out for Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=258 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> Even through Townshend had advised against a further advance, his aggression and ambitions soon started to press him otherwise, especially as he had nothing but contempt for the enemy.<ref name="auto12" /> Townshend claimed in ''My Campaign in Mesopotamia'' to have been opposed to advancing on Baghdad after receiving the orders from Nixon, but at the time he expressed no opposition and was all for advancing onto Baghdad.<ref name="auto12" />		Having argued for another extension of the mission, and obtained approval for it from the British Government, Townshend's counsel was over-ridden by Nixon and he was ordered to continue with an advance upon Baghdad without reinforcement.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=bio>{{cite web\|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/townshend.htm\|title=First World War.com – Who's Who – Sir Charles Townshend\|access-date=23 April 2016}}</ref> Furthermore, the Tigris had become too shallow for the Royal Navy boats that had provided such useful fire support and Townshend would have to do without their services as he set out for Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite book \|last=Perry \|first=James M. \|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61105015 \|title=Arrogant armies : great military disasters and the generals behind them \|date=2005 \|publisher=Castle Books \|isbn=0-7858-2023-X \|location=Edison, NJ \|pages=258 \|oclc=61105015}}</ref> Even through Townshend had advised against a further advance, his aggression and ambitions soon started to press him otherwise, especially as he had nothing but contempt for the enemy.<ref name="auto12" /> Townshend claimed in ''My Campaign in Mesopotamia'' to have been opposed to advancing on Baghdad after receiving the orders from Nixon, but at the time he expressed no opposition and was all for advancing onto Baghdad.<ref name="auto12" />

	At the time, Townshend reported meeting some stiff resistance from the Ottomans, but predicted that his men would advance rapidly once they had broken into the open country, which he stated would happen soon, further adding that a KCB was the greatest military honour that would please both himself and his family.<ref name="auto12" /> Townshend was encouraged in his optimism as he had seriously underestimated the Ottoman numbers, believing he was faced with less than 10,000 Ottomans when in fact he was going up against more than 20,000.<ref name="auto12" /> After [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle\|Neuve Chapelle]], [[Battle of Loos\|Loos]] and Gallipoli, the British Government was desperately seeking a success and after seeing Townshend's advance, Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]] was more than inclined to believe the reports of Nixon and Townshend that they would soon take Baghdad, giving his approval out of the hope that taking Baghdad would at long last give his government a victory.<ref name="auto12"/> As the general in charge of the only victorious campaign for the Allies in the autumn of 1915, the campaign in Mesopotamia had acquired a massive degree of media attention that tended to overrate the importance of taking Baghdad, and with journalists writing articles predicting the coming fall of Baghdad, Townshend found himself "riding a wave" that he "could not get off".<ref name="Knight 1918, page 52" />		At the time, Townshend reported meeting some stiff resistance from the Ottomans, but predicted that his men would advance rapidly once they had broken into the open country, which he stated would happen soon, further adding that a KCB was the greatest military honour that would please both himself and his family.<ref name="auto12" /> Townshend was encouraged in his optimism as he had seriously underestimated the Ottoman numbers, believing he was faced with less than 10,000 Ottomans when in fact he was going up against more than 20,000.<ref name="auto12" /> After [[Battle of Neuve Chapelle\|Neuve Chapelle]], [[Battle of Loos\|Loos]] and Gallipoli, the British Government was desperately seeking a success and after seeing Townshend's advance, Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]] was more than inclined to believe the reports of Nixon and Townshend that they would soon take Baghdad, giving his approval out of the hope that taking Baghdad would at long last give his government a victory.<ref name="auto12"/> As the general in charge of the only victorious campaign for the Allies in the autumn of 1915, the campaign in Mesopotamia had acquired a massive degree of media attention that tended to overrate the importance of taking Baghdad, and with journalists writing articles predicting the coming fall of Baghdad, Townshend found himself "riding a wave" that he "could not get off".<ref name="Knight 1918, page 52" />
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	On 24 May 1915, after learning of the "Great Crime" as Armenians call the [[Armenian genocide]], the British, French and Russian governments issued a joint statement accusing the Ottoman government of "crimes against humanity", the first time in history that this term had been used.<ref name="auto48">[[Taner Akçam\|Akçam, Taner]] ''[[A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility]]'' New York: [[Henry Holt and Company]], 2006 page 2.</ref> The three Allied governments further promised that once the war was won, they would put the Ottoman leaders responsible for the Armenian genocide on trial.<ref name="auto48"/> After the war, the British government made a serious effort between 1919 and 1922 to organise trials for the leaders of the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] for crimes against humanity and war crimes. In particular, the British wanted to arrest General Enver Pasha, [[Talaat Pasha]] and General [[Djemal Pasha]] in order to bring them to trial. The main focus on the planned trials was the Armenian genocide, but the British also wanted to try those responsible for the death march and mistreatment of the POWs captured at Kut. During his captivity, Townshend had become very friendly with Enver Pasha, and made it clear that he would testify for the defence if Enver were brought to trial, denying that the death march had even occurred.<ref name="auto46"/> As it was, politics prevented the trials from happening, but Townshend's willingness to testify for the accused did not help his image in Britain.		On 24 May 1915, after learning of the "Great Crime" as Armenians call the [[Armenian genocide]], the British, French and Russian governments issued a joint statement accusing the Ottoman government of "crimes against humanity", the first time in history that this term had been used.<ref name="auto48">[[Taner Akçam\|Akçam, Taner]] ''[[A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility]]'' New York: [[Henry Holt and Company]], 2006 page 2.</ref> The three Allied governments further promised that once the war was won, they would put the Ottoman leaders responsible for the Armenian genocide on trial.<ref name="auto48"/> After the war, the British government made a serious effort between 1919 and 1922 to organise trials for the leaders of the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] for crimes against humanity and war crimes. In particular, the British wanted to arrest General Enver Pasha, [[Talaat Pasha]] and General [[Djemal Pasha]] in order to bring them to trial. The main focus on the planned trials was the Armenian genocide, but the British also wanted to try those responsible for the death march and mistreatment of the POWs captured at Kut. During his captivity, Townshend had become very friendly with Enver Pasha, and made it clear that he would testify for the defence if Enver were brought to trial, denying that the death march had even occurred.<ref name="auto46"/> As it was, politics prevented the trials from happening, but Townshend's willingness to testify for the accused did not help his image in Britain.

	Townshend entered politics, standing as an Independent Conservative candidate (''i.e.'' not supporting [[David Lloyd George\|Lloyd George]]'s Coalition Government), and was elected in [[The Wrekin by-election, 1920 (November)\|a by-election]] in 1920 as the [[Member of Parliament]] for [[The Wrekin (historic UK Parliament constituency)\|The Wrekin]].<ref name=lh/> In the House of Commons, he spoke occasionally on matters of Middle East affairs and ex-servicemen.<ref name=odnb2>{{cite book\|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 44\|page=151}}</ref> However, post-war reports surfaced regarding how badly the troops under his command had suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Army as POWs after their capture at the fall of Kut, thousands of them having died in Ottoman captivity, many having been brutalised and murdered.<ref name=":1" /> Townshend's daring Imperial hero reputation lost much of its lustre. Post-war military commentators and historians{{who\|date=April ~~2022~~}} were increasingly critical of his failure to defeat the Ottoman Empire's force at Ctesiphon, and his apparent passivity during the siege of Kut.{{citation needed\|date=April ~~2022~~}} He stood down at the [[1922 United Kingdom general election\|1922 general election]].<ref name=odnb2/>		Townshend entered politics, standing as an Independent Conservative candidate (''i.e.'' not supporting [[David Lloyd George\|Lloyd George]]'s Coalition Government), and was elected in [[The Wrekin by-election, 1920 (November)\|a by-election]] in 1920 as the [[Member of Parliament]] for [[The Wrekin (historic UK Parliament constituency)\|The Wrekin]].<ref name=lh/> In the House of Commons, he spoke occasionally on matters of Middle East affairs and ex-servicemen.<ref name=odnb2>{{cite book\|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 44\|page=151}}</ref> However, post-war reports surfaced regarding how badly the troops under his command had suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Army as POWs after their capture at the fall of Kut, thousands of them having died in Ottoman captivity, many having been brutalised and murdered.<ref name=":1" /> Townshend's daring Imperial hero reputation lost much of its lustre. Post-war military commentators and historians{{who\|date=April 2018}} were increasingly critical of his failure to defeat the Ottoman Empire's force at Ctesiphon, and his apparent passivity during the siege of Kut.{{citation needed\|date=April 2018}} He stood down at the [[1922 United Kingdom general election\|1922 general election]].<ref name=odnb2/>

	He offered to mediate between the UK and Turkey in the post-war settlement but the British government declined his services, although on his own initiative he visited [[Kemal Atatürk]] at [[Ankara]] in 1922 and 1923. After wintering in the south of France, he died of [[cancer]] at the Hotel d'Iena in Paris in 1924 and was buried, with military honours, in the churchyard of St Mary's, East Raynham.<ref name=odnb2/>		He offered to mediate between the UK and Turkey in the post-war settlement but the British government declined his services, although on his own initiative he visited [[Kemal Atatürk]] at [[Ankara]] in 1922 and 1923. After wintering in the south of France, he died of [[cancer]] at the Hotel d'Iena in Paris in 1924 and was buried, with military honours, in the churchyard of St Mary's, East Raynham.<ref name=odnb2/>
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	* {{cite book\|last=Braddon\|first=Russell\|title=The Siege\|publisher=Viking Adult\|date=1970\|isbn=0-670-64386-6\|url-access=registration\|url=https://archive.org/details/siege00brad}}		* {{cite book\|last=Braddon\|first=Russell\|title=The Siege\|publisher=Viking Adult\|date=1970\|isbn=0-670-64386-6\|url-access=registration\|url=https://archive.org/details/siege00brad}}
	* {{cite book\|last=Dixon\|first=Norman\|title=[[On the Psychology of Military Incompetence]]\|publisher=Random House\|place=London\|date=1976\|ref=95–110}}		* {{cite book\|last=Dixon\|first=Norman\|title=[[On the Psychology of Military Incompetence]]\|publisher=Random House\|place=London\|date=1976\|ref=95–110}}
	* {{cite book\|last=Nash\|first=N.S.\|title=Chitral Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Major-General Charles Townshend\|publisher=Pen & Sword Military\|date=~~2022~~}}		* {{cite book\|last=Nash\|first=N.S.\|title=Chitral Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Major-General Charles Townshend\|publisher=Pen & Sword Military\|date=2010}}
	* {{cite book\|last=Townshend K.C.B., D.S.O\|first=Major General Sir Charles\|title=My Campaign in Mesopotamia\|place=London\|publisher=[[Thornton Butterworth]] Ltd\|date=1920}}		* {{cite book\|last=Townshend K.C.B., D.S.O\|first=Major General Sir Charles\|title=My Campaign in Mesopotamia\|place=London\|publisher=[[Thornton Butterworth]] Ltd\|date=1920}}
	* {{cite book\|last=Townshend\|first=Charles\|title=Desert Hell: The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq 1914–1921\|publisher=Faber & Faber\|date=2011\|isbn=978-0571237210}}		* {{cite book\|last=Townshend\|first=Charles\|title=Desert Hell: The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Iraq 1914–1921\|publisher=Faber & Faber\|date=2011\|isbn=978-0571237210}}