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 [71r] (141/460)
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.
( 2 )
6 )
opinion that,having regard to the man of work now
/pi;: O'i in connection ith th^ an XMg re
organization of the Indian Army t the tomnorary C-ir-G
there should be an Indian Amy Officer, It a earns to
be essential that he should be known to Sir Charles
lonro.and that he should be well acquainted with the
organization and situation of the higher command and
of the nolitical Government in l.ondon.and up-to-date
in current developments as re^mrds both. A possible
appointment might be the nresent Ghief of the General
Staff in Simla. ! a would fill the next regards in
timate knowledge of Sir Charles onro** wishes,etc.,
but not otherwise. General Sir A.Parrett,Commandinr
the Northern Anny.is the next senior soldier to ' ir
Charles onro now in India,and might well be appointed
to act as Co; wander-in-!hief,though he not in im
mediate touch with the situation at home.
As regards Mesopotamia,there anorar to me to be
two choices - first,Lieut-General Sir A.Cobbe and
second,hajor-General Sir 7.Brooking,who have both
done consistently ^od work throughout. 7he former
is a very highly trained Staff Officer,with a thorough
knowledge of the Indian Army,and is well known to Sir
Charles Ponro. Be would do equally well as Deputy
Chief of the lamarial General Staff for the iddl*
aat in London,and,if selected for the latter armoint-
m^nt,I believe that bajor-Oeneral Sir r .} rooking
^ould be found perfectly suitable for the cor^nand in
esopotamia.
It does not neiri likely that General Sir illiarn
Birdwood would wish to leave the command of the bth
Army in Franco to proceed to India as only Temporary
Oonmandar-iii-Chief. Be is very distinctly marked for
consideration as the next permanent successor to Sir
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 [71r] (141/460), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/5/806, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100093239022.0x00008e> [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