British Empire Ottoman Empire Halil Pasha The First Battle of Hanna (Turkish: Felahiye Muharebesi) was a World War I battle fought on the Mesopotamian front on 21 January 1916 between Ottoman Army and Anglo-Indian forces.

After the Ottoman Empire's entry into the First World War, Britain dispatched Indian Expeditionary Force D to seize control of the Shatt al Arab and the port of Basra in order to safeguard British oil interests in the Persian Gulf.

Strategically situated at the confluence of the Shatt al-Hayy and the Tigris River, the commander of the Poona Division decided to defend the town.

[2] This relief force, commanded by Lieutenant General Fenton Aylmer, suffered two setbacks during its initial January 1916 offensive (see the Battle of Wadi).

After these defeats, the relief force (now reduced to around 10,000 men) was ordered once again to attempt to break through the Ottoman lines and continued its movement up the Tigris until it encountered 30,000 men of the Ottoman Sixth Army, under the command of Khalil Pasha, at the Hanna defile, 30 miles downriver of Kut-al-Amara.