'Muscat Rising, from April 1917 to January 1918 & resumed from April 1920 to Oct 1920' [‎94r] (198/558)

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28. The objects in view are from onr standpoint to relieve the regiment
whioh at present gerrisons Maskat and from that of the Sultan to give him
streugth to govern and ultimately to recover his lost territory.
29. The Sultan's preliminary object, or perhaps it is actually his final
object, is to have a force which will maintain his strength at Maskat and
which will supply detachments at his Wilayats. Such an object would
probably be served by a regiment of from 600 to 800 men. It is however
essential that he should regain possession of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Semail and it is for this
that preparation must be made.
30. The previous suggestion made in Colonel Benn's time of a corps on
the lines of the Mekran Levy Corps was I think too detailed and would have
been prohibitive in cost since its upkeep would have entailed an expenditure
of two lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees per annum for a regiment of 600 men, in addition to an initial
expenditure of Rs. 50,000.
31. I would recommend that we should raise a regiment of 1,000 men
composed as follows ;—
Infantry ... ... 700, with two machine guns.
Camel Corps ... ... 100, „ „
Camel Artillery ... 100, with two mountain guns.
Artillery ••• ••• 100,
I. attach an estimate of the cost of this corps. It may be necessary as a
temporary measure that more than 2J lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees be expended, but by running the
corps very much on the lines of irregular troops much expenditure will be
avoided, and for this reason I would leave arrangements as elastic as possible
to be dealt with on the spot.
32. The chief difficulty, I anticiplate, will be competition with the high
rates of pay given for all labour in Basrah and Mesopotamia at the present
moment and the consequent difficulty of obtaining the Baluchis the Sultan is
desirous of enlisting, should the scheme be approved of.
33. It will be noted that I am asking for five British officers as
follows
1 Commandant.
1 Adjutant.
2 Officers.
1 Artillery officer (who may be a promoted non-commissioned officer
knowing Hindustani).
It is not, however,'necessary that these officers should be fit for service in the
field since their duties would, for the best part of a year, be confined to
training their men.
34. I propose that these officers should, for the first year, be paid by
Government receiving the allowances indicated from the Sultan.
35. v I should also require, if they can be spared, 10 Native officers and
60 non-commissioned officers. These men also need not be fit for active
service and a proportion of them might well be pensioned men. (I include
in this 60 the men required for training the Militia mentioned below.)
36. In addition to the above I propose enlisting a force of 500
Militia, who would be trained to be fit to . fight behind walls and to shoot.
These men I would recruit from the local residents of Maskat and Muttra,
Baluch, Negro or Arab. They would be paid five or six rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. per mensem
and would be trained for some two hours in the mornings and would thus be
enabled to pursue their normal avocations. One of the officers of the corps
would be nominated as Militia Commandant, the whole being under the orders
of the Commandant of the Corps,
37. It would, I think, be possible for the Officer Commanding the troops
at Maskat to detail a certain number of non-commissioned officers to assist