Memoranda and papers by General Herbert Vaughan Cox, Military Secretary to the India Office, regarding British military strategy in Central Asia and the Middle East [46r] (91/460)
The record is made up of 1 file (223 folios). It was created in 19 Feb 1918-8 Jan 1920. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Hot* on tho ilof^mawnt of Ii^iia ( forvitai D 9 ])art^ 0 iit) tel«igraufi
dated 17tii 1918.
(1) Hie (.oveminent of India are rijfijit in oonaidering present
a suitable time to examine situation-fuid tne importance of
providing dir P.Cox with a dear ait policy is great. It is
just this that has been wanting in ti;e past.
The Government of laiia go on to state the measures they consider
essential.
(1) Is outside their sphers-bui tiiey are mucii oonceraed init,
tiicu,?h i/directly. lliis measure is beii^^; ta^en alreadyand it
is doubtful whether the power to "impress transport” is
desirable or would be much use-There is probably not now much
to impress.
(2) Is already complete with the exception that tiie Government
of India no doubt include their scheme of railway extension to
near Neh- now under discussion.
(3) hay be agreed to as re^irds the road Bunder Abbas-
t
Kerman-and communication from nuahire to tiie foot of the hill
at any rate.
(4) Is under diacussicn.and should one may hope present no
difficulties as things are at present.
(2) f rhe reasons that the Government of Indii ur^ in favour
of giving up tiie B.r.’l.and withdrawing^ our troops froii. tiie
interior of Persia are very strong* and if tiie Persian Govermuent
o?ui be brou^t by the promise of these concessionsto accept the
conditioned) (2) (3) and (4) in a really friendly spirit I
t jink tlie concessions are -well wortJi rraking^fiur commitments and
vulnerability in Persia vrould tiien be confined to ttie two
cordona;the Bunder Abuas-Kemui road and tlie ro^ui tmin line
from Buahire to tiie foothills- All Military necessities. Useful
troops would be released.ani the expenditure on that broken
reed the G.P.d.would be rapidly reduced. Ho doubt the
reduction of J.P.G.and tiie withdraml of our troqjs from tiie
interior provinces uaast be gradually effected .and fill possible
/warrantees
About this item
- Content
The file chiefly comprises typescript and some manuscript copies of letters, memoranda, notes and minutes by General Herbert Vaughan Cox. There are three letters to Cox from external correspondents, some printed memoranda and one cutting from the Morning Post .
Folios 1-2 comprise a list of the file documents, numbered 1-55, including type of document, addressee, date, and normally an indication of the subject. The fifty-five documents are numbered in blue pencil in the top right hand corner of the first page. Note that the contents list is not exhaustive and there are sometimes related documents between those marked with blue pencil. (There is duplication of some memoranda in the file; duplicates contain very minor differences).
The content comprises information, advice and opinions of General Cox to the War Cabinet, War Office and other government and military officers, mainly relating to British military strategy in Afghanistan, Persia [Iran], Trans-Caspia [Central Asia], the Caucasus, Mesopotamia [Iraq] and India, including:
- Securing British interests in Persia, Afghanistan, the Caspian Sea and British India, against Turco-German threats, prior to the November 1918 Armistice
- Fall of Baku (in modern Azerbaijan) to Turkish forces in September 1918 and the role of commanding officer Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville
- Strategic importance of the Siestan [Sistan] railway (part of the Trans-Baluchistan railway)
- British policy regarding interests in ‘the East’ at the Paris Peace Conference 1919, notably North West Persia, Mesopotamia, the new republics west of the Caspian Sea, new Armenia, Syria and Palestine
- The Malleson Mission, led by Major General Sir Wilfrid Malleson, whose role after the Armistice was to protect North East Persia (or Trans-Caspia, modern Turkmenistan), from Bolshevik incursions and influence
- British military and diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, notably frontiers after the Armistice and following the assassination of Habibullah Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, in February 1919
- Turbulent situation in Waziristan, October 1919 and impact on Indian Army
- Indian Army organization, command, military requirements, training and instruction, and composition
- Command structure of the British Imperial Army in the East, senior appointments, organization and military requirements.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (223 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the back of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 230; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 79-229; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Memoranda and papers by General Herbert Vaughan Cox, Military Secretary to the India Office, regarding British military strategy in Central Asia and the Middle East [46r] (91/460), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/5/806, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100093239022.0x00005c> [accessed 18 January 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/5/806
- Title
- Memoranda and papers by General Herbert Vaughan Cox, Military Secretary to the India Office, regarding British military strategy in Central Asia and the Middle East
- Pages
- 1r:91v, 93r:153v, 155r:157v, 158v:165v, 167v:230v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence