‘Military report on Persia Volume I 1930’ [‎8v] (21/154)

4
across the Caspian, but failed to stem the tide of Bolshevik
aggression, and in July 1919 were ejected from Askhabad.
Aiter various vicissitudes Krasnovodsk was captured by the
Bolsheviks in February 1920. The remnants of the Trans-
Caspian force fled to Petrovsk and all organised resistance
to Bolshevik arms in Trans-Caspia was at an e*id.
. During 1919, the protection of Khurasan from Bolshevik
inroads was the main mission of our force, and with this
object, as also to afford moral assistance to the Trans-Cas,
pians, Bajgiran, the frontier point on the Askhabad-Meshed
road, w T as held by our advanced troops, with supportino'
bodies at Kuchan and Meshed. By the outbreak of the
Afghan war in May the British force was placed in a poten-
tialiy precarious position, but, as events proved, the
Bolsheviks _were occupied in their offensive againsfl the
1 rans-Caspians, and Afghan troops at Herat remained in
active.
A mounted levy of 300 men was raised at Kuchan from
Kurds by the Military Mission, a levy of Hazaras, mainly
infantry, but with a proportion of mounted men, in
Khurasan, and the numbers of the existing Seistan levy
(cavalry camelry, and infantry) were increased. The two
latter formations Wfere raised under the orders of the
Consular authorities of the provinces concerned.
fn the autumn of 1919-21, Indian units who had been
serving for- nearly 5 years in East Persia returned to India
on relief by others, and at the end of 1919, regular troops
at and north of Meshed consisted of 1 cavalry regiment, 2
infantry battalions, a mountain battery, with medical and
supply details. Troops were accommodated in a hutted
encampment which was completed by the winter.
The final defeat of the Trans-Caspians in February 1920
allowed the Bolsheviks to turn their undivided attention
to Khurasan, and although the presence of the British
force (much exaggerated in strength by their intelligence
reports) inspired a wholesome respect, more insidious
measures were not excluded.. The success of propaganda
®, nd the distribution of arms among the Turkomans within
the Korth-East Persian border was rendered nugatory by
the continual inter-tribal squabbles among these sections^
A more promising field was found among the Kurds to the
of Kuchan, and a well-known and determined ex-
oivtiaw, Khuda Verdi Khan- (Kbuddu,), was induced by gifts,
ox money ana arms, and by the- loan of expert machine-