'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎35r] (74/610)

The revolt in the South required the early attention of the Brents in the '*
new Cabinet. The Indian Government had collected a force at P r ^ , X.| nc ®® dTirlEg
Bushire for relief of the Shiraz garrison. The Cabinet now DauleVs "
accepted the friendly co-operation of this British column in the Cabilie t<
work of opening up the Bushire-Shiraz trade route, and of
restoring order in Bars, with a view to terminating, as soon as
possible, the need to retain Indian troops there in support of
the South Persia Rifles.
The command of the South Persia Rifles had already been In Bars,
separated, in the end of June, from that of the Indian troops
in Pars, and the officers and men of the Pars brigade, suspected
of disaffection had been gradually weeded out, and it was now
recognised as a Persian force, working under the instructions of
the Governor General. The British and Indian Governments,
however, continued to pay the cost of maintaining this force.
General Douglas was in command of the Bushire column.
A light railway was constructed to Borasjun, and operations
commenced in the end of October. The column advanced
slowly, as the object gimed at was to restore order with as little
use of violence as possible. One or two chiefs of the Bushire •
hinterland joined with Zair Khiddar in refusing to make submis
sion, and had to be driven out of their strongholds, but by the
time the column had established communication with Shiraz
the revolt was broken; and, on May 3rd, Saulat-ud-Dauleh,
who had held out against the attacks of the new Ilkhanl and the
South Persia Rifles, surrendered to the Persian Government, and
gave security for his future good behaviour.
Wassmuss and his companion, Oertel, had fled from Ahram
during these operations, and were arrested at Qum, handed
over to the British military authorities at Kazvin whence they
escaped back to Tehran, but were finally evacuated via Baku
to Germany in the end of May.
The British Indian troops were gradually withdrawn during
the summer and autumn. But two truculent chiefs of the
Bushire hinterland, Zair Khiddar and Shaikh Husain, were
still recalcitrant, and it was decided that complete evacuation
must be deferrred until the South Persia Rifles should be strong
enough to maintain order on the Bushire-Shiraz route. The
British Indian troops were ultimately withdrawn from Shiraz
on March 21st, 1920.
Another pressing question was suppression of brigandage
in the central provinces of Isfahan and Yazd. The robber bands
of Riza Juzdani and Ja’far Quli levied blackmail on the trade