Norperforce

[North Persian Force]

Operations of the British forces in North Persia between 1918 & 1921
Account by Chris Woods.

Introduction

To set the scene it might help to give a very brief history of the previous political situation in Persia. Loosely speaking, Persia was traditionally ruled by a Shah and an often weak central government in Tehran (the Majlis or National Assembly). The country is large and divided into districts, each with its own governor or Khan, who are often the local tribal chiefs and amongst whom there were endless shifting loyalties. Because of the lack of strong policing there was much banditry.

Britain and Russia had both been deeply involved in Persia for trade since the 16th century although Russia also had early expansionist policies, and by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russia was seeking expansion into the Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia and Azerbaijan, annexing lands previously controlled by Persia, and looking towards a port on the Persian Gulf, and also towards India via Persia and Afghanistan. The supposed interest of Russia in British India led to the endlessly Machiavellian shenanigans of ‘The Great Game’.

Britain’s interested was still in trade, latterly in exploring for oil, and for having Persia as a buffer for India. There was considerable piracy in the Persian Gulf and Britain was allowed by the countries bordering this sea to use its navy to suppress the pirates and to police the waters. This required some land forces and led to the Persian Government accepting the establishment of some British troops in military bases in southern Persia.

Persia then was effectively split in two with northern Persia under Russian influence and southern Persia under British influence

As the First World War approached, Germany sent many emissaries into Persia with a view to establishing loyalties towards Germany and also hoping to reach into Afghanistan for the same purposes. Turkey wanted to expand its empire into Mesopotamia and Persia where both allies also wanted a port in the Persian Gulf. The Persian Government wanted to remain neutral but the Shah, the Government, and the various Khans were independently swayed to different loyalties throughout the war.

The Persian Government had a Gendarmerie which was re-organised in 1911 by Swedish officers who later developed anti-Russian, and possibly pro-German sentiments while at the time being paid by H.M.G. In 1914 it consisted of about 36 Swedish officers and 6,000 mounted and dismounted Persians organised in 6 regiments, 3 of which had 2 battalions. Their duty was to maintain internal security and to collect the revenue.

1914 to 1920

In 1914 the Persian regular infantry numbered about 13,000, scattered and in many detachments, were generally unpaid, untrained, badly clothed and required to eke out a living by casual labour. The officers usually bought their appointments and were generally inefficient. The cavalry, numbering about 38,000 was organised entirely on tribal basis and apart from small numbers protecting some roads, were only called upon as required, and were unlikely to serve outside their own districts.

The Persian Cossack Brigade was created by Russians and in 1914 numbered about 3,500 with about 30 Russian officers and N.C.O.s. It consisted of:

• 4 Regiments,
• 4 Infantry Companies,
• 1 Horse and 12 Mountain batteries,
• 1 Machine Gun detachment.

All arms were modern, fairly well disciplined and drilled but with little field training and no transport. They were primarily created by the Russians as a political force, used by the Shah as a personal bodyguard and subordinate to him rather than the Government, but disliked by the Persian politicians for its Russian influence. The influence of these Persian Cossacks was more noticeable in northern Persia.

Initially the Turkish advances into Persia were resisted by Russian forces.

By 1915 the approaches being made by these German infiltrators caused H.M. Government to create an East Persia Cordon (force) based between Meshed and Seistan, initially to prevent the enemy entering Afghanistan which was then loyal to Britain and later to support our forces in Trans-caspia.

1916 - the South Persia Rifles were established with British and Indian, and a few Persian officers and N.C.O.s, and with mostly Indian and Persian troops who later showed a marked leaning towards Germany, with the result that the Persian element were little trusted by the British or the Persian Government as being loyal troops.

During combined Russo/British operations, the Russian Lt. Kolominiski was awarded the British Military Cross

1917 - The Russian Revolution had major repercussions in Persia and H.M. Government quickly realised it would have to replace the Russian forces in north Persia as they withdrew into their own country. This did not happen immediately. However, by the end of the year Britain established a need to secure the route from Mesopotamia to Enzeli, which was the major Persian port on the Caspian Sea, in order to stiffen Georgian and Armenian resistance to the Turks. General Dunsterville set off with initially a small force and by February 1918 his ‘Mission’ was based at Hamadan, about 180 miles to the west of Tehran on the route from Baghdad to Enzeli

1918 - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and Russian participation in the Great War ends. In June, the Armenian-Bolschevik alliance brought together Armenians and loyalist (White) Russians against the Turkish Caucasus army. By July, British forces in Hamadan were building up, and General Marshall in Baghdad extended his sphere of influence to include the whole of the Caspian littoral including Krasnovodsk and naval control of the Caspian and operations at Baku. He was also made responsible for the whole of N.W. Persia, the Bakhtiari, and Arabistan. General Bicharakoff was on his way to Baku with 1,500 troop and 4 British armoured cars.

July: 2,500 Janglis, with Germans & Austrians (ex PoWs released from captivity in Russia by the Bolsheviks), attacked the small Dunsterforce detachment at Rasht, but were severely beaten and this resulted in a peace treaty with their leader.

2nd August: a Commodore David Norris R.N. arrived unexpectedly at Dunsterville’s head quarters along with an initial 2 officers, 22 men, 1x 4” breach loader, 2x 12-pounder quick fire cannons and some naval launches in pieces. More officers and ratings were to follow and, after ‘acquiring’ some field artillery, Norris set about arming some merchant ships and creating a fleet to support Denekin’s White Russian fleet on the Caspian.

During August, after their defeat, the Jangalis switched allegiance from the Germans to the British and Dunsterville offered to support their idea of independence, later….

16th August: Dunsterville left Enzeli with ‘Dunsterforce’ for Baku to support the Bolshevik Russians and Armenians against the advancing Turkish army. For various reasons, this well documented action was, on the face of it, unsuccessful, with Dunsterforce retreating back to Enzeli by 14th September. But, from a wider point of view, their defence of the town caused two much needed divisions of the Turkish army to be diverted from Palestine.

‘Dunsterforce’ was disbanded but some officers and troops transferred into the larger North Persia force or NORPERFORCE, including 3 of Dunsterville’s famous armoured cars.

16th Sept. Maj. Gen. W.M. Thomson appointed commander of Norperforce, with instructions to stop the Bolsheviks reaching the High Plateau. Gen. Dunsterville was recalled to India.

Constitution of NORPERFORCE 16th Sept 1918

• 14th Hussars; 1 section 15th Machine Gun Squadron;
• 21st Mountain Battery;
• 1 section 72nd Field Company, R.E.;
• 36th Infantry Brigade (1/4th. Hampshire, 1/2nd Gurkhas, with 36th Sikhs and 1/6th Gurkhas under orders from Mesopotamia);
• 39th Infantry Brigade (9th Royal Warwickshire, 7th Gloucestershire, 9th Worcestershire and 7th North Staffordshire);
• 6th Light Armoured Motor Battery (less 1 section) and Dunsterforce Armoured Car Brigade.

By 25th September, the whole Turkish army in Palestine & Syria was in disarray; their army in Mesopotamia was ready to evacuate, Arabia was lost to them - with the fall of Medina imminent - and they were preparing to retreat from the Balkans. The Turkish evacuation of Persia was expected daily.

Commodore Norris had instructions to “take immediate control of the Caspian, by drastic measures if necessary”, and he continued to increase his fleet of armed merchant vessels. The Caspian fleet under General Bicharakoff was at that time available for sale but while inactive was of little interest to Norris.

3rd October: a reconnaissance by NORPERFORCE showed that the Turkish force in Mianeh area had decreased

Distribution of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force on 19th October 1918 North Persia Force

Headquarters at Kazvin

• 36th Infantry Brigade
• 39th Infantry Brigade
• 13th Brigade, R.F.A. (2nd, 8th, 44th, and C/69th Battery) = 22 guns
• 21st Mountain Battery = 6 guns
• 72nd Field Company, R.E.
• “A”, “B” and “C” Squadrons, Dunsterforce Armoured Car Brigade.
• North Persia Force Signal Company.
• No 20 Combined Field Ambulance.
• No 40 British Field Ambulance.
• Dunsterforce Armoured Car Brigade Medical Unit.
• “L” Company, Supply and Transport

Attached:

• 1 flight, 30th Squadron, R.A.F.
• 1 ½ flights, 72nd Squadron, R.A.F.
• 1 wagon & 1 pack station, 1st Wireless Signal Squadron.
• 3 packs & 4 lorry stations, 2nd Wireless Signal Squadron.
• 1 station, No 5 Wireless Signal Squadron R.E.
• 6th Light Armoured Motor Battery (less 1 section).
• 15th Light Armoured Motor Battery.
• Detachment, No. 16 Casualty Clearing Station.
• Detachment, No. 33 Motor Ambulance Convoy.

24th October: Constantinople ordered the evacuation of Persia. Norperforce carried out continued reconnaissance and some aeroplane attacks, but did not force the retreat. 30th October: Turkey signs an Armistice with the Allies. However, with the imminent dissolution of its empire, some Turkish forces are instructed to be absorbed into local allied forces with a view to maintaining some semblance of their old empire to the east of Turkey.

By the end of this month, Norperforce and the R.N. have established fitting-out bases for their expanding fleet at Enzeli and Krasnovosdk.

A British force operating initially from Meshed in north east Persia, but with support through Krasnovodsk, was fighting in support of the Trans-Caspian Government against encroachments by the Bolsheviks.

A certain Reza Khan of the Persian Cossacks – then referred to as Brigadier General, was campaigning in the Kashan area against bandits.

1st November 1918: G.O.C. Norperforce: Major General W. M. Thomson. G.O.C. 36th Infantry Brigade Brig-Gen H.F.B Champain

11th November: Germany signs unconditional surrender

17th November: Gen. Thomson re-occupies Baku with Norperforce, supported by Gen. Bicherakov and an armed British flotilla.

November: Royal Navy, with a detachment of 160 Royal marines, set up coastal guns at Petrovsk (Machachkala], 160 miles north of Baku.

December: Royal Navy flotilla prevents the Bolsheviks gaining an ice-free port in the Caspian. The naval flotilla, initially flying the Imperial Russian ensign, consisted of ‘VENTURE’, ‘FOX’, ‘EMILE NOBLE’, ‘ALLA VARDI’, ‘SALVA’ & ‘BIBI-ABAT’, each of which had a R.M.A./R.M.L.I. detachment consisting of 11 marines commanded by sergeants or corporals. Other ships had British gunners: ‘KRUGER’ with R.F.A. guns, and ‘ZORASTER’ & ‘ASIA’ with R.N. seamen gunners. R.N. crews operated the flotilla, which also included the ‘WINDSOR CASTLE’, the improvised seaplane carrier ‘ORLINOCK’, and the ‘SERGEI’ which carried 12 R.N. Coastal Motor Boats.

1918/19 - During this winter, a major influenza pandemic killed 21 million worldwide and severely incapacitated the British and Indian troops, although deaths amongst the Persians was proportionally much higher

By the end of 1918, H.M. Government was spending £30,000,000 per annum in Persia, and there were strong moves to withdraw our troops, not only by our Government, but also by the Government of India which was providing much of the army personnel.

Military operations and policy in Persia were run from Mesopotamia by London where it involved the India Office, the Foreign Office and the War office, and also with major input from the Government of India, all of which led to much disagreement and delay in finalising policies. Proposals for an Anglo-Persian agreement were sought, but it was not until August 1919 that they were agreed and signed.

1919 - January: Southern Persia. The Bushire Force was engaged in clearing up local rebellions and making the Bushire-Shiraz road secure.

Several Bolshevik attacks on the R.M. detachment in Petrovsk were repelled after street fighting.

The Peace Conference opened at Versailles but, as a neutral country, Persia was not invited to attend. Britain agrees to represent their interests.

19th February: The Afghan leader assassinated and replaced by his son who declares a jihad and calls on Indian Muslims to rise against the British, resulting in the 3rd Anglo-Afghan war. But the Afghans had misread the situation in India and were defeated. This resulted in the Treaty of Rawalpindi (8th Aug.) which granted independence to Afghanistan, and the cessation of subsidies from Britain to Afghanistan

March: The Caspian flotilla flies the White Ensign.

31st March: The British ‘Malleson Mission’ to Trans-Caspia withdraws through lack of local support. The Trans-Caspian government collapses

21st May: An engagement between British and Bolshevik ships off Alexandrovsk (Fort Shevchenko), with the support of 40 R.A.F. planes, resulted in 9 enemy ships being sunk and the rest being kept back in Astrakhan on the Volga.

9th August: The Anglo-Persian Agreement was signed by the Persian Cabinet, with the support of the young Shah. Unfortunately, a subsequent collapse of the signatory of the Persian Cabinet resulted in this agreement being put into suspension where it remained until the palace coup in 1921.

19th August: The British flotilla was handed over to the White Russians.

2nd September: Royal Marines evacuated Petrovsk, but British troops continued to support covert operation in southern Russia.

1920 - March: Norperforce occupied Resht and subdues a revolt by the Janglis who had hoped for independence

20th March: Petrovsk falls - General Denekin’s Volunteer Army is defeated by the Bolsheviks. Denekin and his troops sought shelter in Enzeli and handed over his fleet to the British. Denekin, leader of the White Russian forces, handed over command of the south Russian White forces to Gen. Peter Wrantel.

H.M. Government advised that the Persia situation causes ‘much anxiety’ and planned, with Churchill’s agreement, a substantial garrison in Mesopotamia with the ability to support Norperforce if the Bolsheviks march on Persia

28th April: The Bolsheviks captured Baku

18th May: The Bolsheviks land at Enzeli and seize the White Russian fleet. The Persian Cossacks withdrew. Brief skirmishes with Gurkha troops of Norperforce. Then Maj. Gen. H.B.F. Bateman-Champain, having taken over the command of Norperforce, ordered the withdrawal of his local forces with the Persian Cossacks to Kazvin [Qazin]. Gen. Bateman-Champain had asked for but received no guidance in how to deal with this situation, and decided that it was better to withdraw than create a diplomatic incident. Retrospectively, this was considered a major error of judgement.

The Bolsheviks established the ‘Soviet Republic of Gilan’ which remained in power until October 1921.

The Persian National Democrats considered the British their enemy. The Bolsheviks attempted to subvert them but the National Democrats were routed by Norperforce, with the support of the Persian Cossacks.

23rd August: Maj. Gen Sir Edmund Ironside relieved Bateman-Champain of command of Norperforce. Bateman-Champain goes into retirement.

Ironside had orders to prepare for the withdrawal of all British forces from Persia. He had approximately 6,000 British & Indian troops with the main body at Manjil, holding the head of the pass to prevent further advances by the Bolsheviks. There is also a battalion at Zanjin, some troops patrolling the Manjeel-Kazvin road, with the remainder at Kazvin. Ironside found that his communications division was able to tap into the wireless and telephone communications of the Bolsheviks who, unable to trust their own codes, transmitted all messages in the clear, including operational messages.

The Persian Cossacks did battle with the Bolsheviks but were defeated. Ironside helped to re-organise the battalion for future operations and realised the need to remove the Russian officer and N.C.O. element to allow the battalion to be a solely Persian force. October: Persian Cossacks again did battle with the Bolsheviks at Rasht, but were defeated and withdrew. With the agreement of the Shah, the 100 Russian officers and NCOs were tricked by Ironside into being detached from the Persians of the Persian Cossacks during this withdrawal through the Manjeel Pass. Ironside proceeded to re-equip the remaining all-Persian Cossack Brigade, supported payment of their salary, and selected Col. Reza Khan as their commander.

Disposition of Norperforce (Gen Ironside) 26th Sept 1920

• ‘A’ Batt R.H.A. (Chestnut troop)
• The Guides Cavalry
• 2 Battery, Indian Mountain Artillery.
• Armoured Car Company (16 cars)
• 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion York & Lancs. Regiment
• 2nd Gurkha
• 122nd Rejput Regiment
• 42nd Deoli Regiment
• Flight of RAF
• (plus a specialist unit under an Artillery Lieutenant who intercepted wireless messages, and carried out taps of Bolshevik telephone calls)

Total of 6,000 British & Indian troops.

The main body was at Manjeel, holding the head of the Pass, preventing advance by Bolshevik forces.

A battalion was stationed at Zanjin. Some troops were patrolling the Manjeel-Qazvin Road, The remainder were at Qazvin.

26th October: Norperforce down to 3,600 men

14th November: The White Russians were finally defeated and the Russian counter-revolution was over: the Bolsheviks are unopposed.

December: Ironside ordered to complete withdrawal of Norperforce within 4 months but was severely hampered by extreme winter weather (40ft. snow drifts)

The Bolsheviks were defeated by the Deoli Regiment when they attacked the ‘iron bridge’ on the Siah road. This was as a result of Ironside having had a week’s notice of their intent through telephone intercepts of the Bolshevik’s plans.

1921 to 1925

30th January: The Bolsheviks were defeated at Menjel by Gurkhas and a troop of Guides cavalry

14th February: Ironside handed over command of Norperforce to Maj. Gen. Sir George Cory

20th - 21st February: There was an almost bloodless palace coup by Reza Khan with his Cossacks (possibly supported ‘unofficially’ by Perfidious Albion!)

25th February: The Soviet-Persian Treaty: All Russian troops were to leave Persia; Lenin granted equal access to the Caspian Sea.

16th March: An Anglo-Persian Trade agreement.

21st April Norperforce was completely withdrawn into Mesopotamia, leaving all small-arms, artillery, ammunition and draft animals to the Persian Cossacks.

There is a little further Persian history after Norperforce left the scene, which may also be of interest:

21st October: The Persian Cossacks suppressed a revolt in Gilan and overthrew the Soviet Republic in Gilan. They also re-established control over southern (Persian) Azerbaijan.

1923 - Reza Khan Pahlevi was appointed Prime Minister

1924 - Reza Khan deposed the young Shah Ahmed Mirza and proclaimed himself Shah

1925 - Shah Reza Khan changed his name to Reza Khan Pahlevi

1942

August: Soviet & British troops entered Persia (Iran)

September: Reza Khan Pahlevi abdicated in favour of his pro-British son Mohammed Reza Pahlevi

1979

16th January: Mohammed Reza Pahlevi appointed his Prime Minister as Regent, and departed Iran for Egypt

1st February: Shiite Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini entered Iran as the spiritual leader of the country.

Notes

Sources are many and varied, mostly from the internet, however, one book which has been of particular importance is the volume of the British government’s ‘Official History of the War’ directly concerning Persia. This was written by Brig’d. Gen. F. J. Moberly and published in 1929, and is a remarkable report, apparently unbiased, digging deeply into the politics as well as the military aspects of British operations in and from Persia. What is perhaps of great interest is that when it was first published, it was classified ‘Confidential’, many copies were destroyed before they left the printer, and it was not de-classified and made available to the public until 1987 because of the sensitivity of the politics during, after and partly as a result of some of these operations:

Operations in Persia 1914-1919 F. J. Moberly. H.M.S.O. 1987 ISBN 0 11 290453 x Complete with fine maps and some photographs. Both the 1929 and 1987 editions are available at the British Library.

Moberly also wrote the 4 volumes of H.M.G.’s ‘Official History of the War’ dealing with Mesopotamia which has a full report on ‘Dunsterforce’ and some references to 'Norperforce’ The Campaign In Mesopotamia 1914-1918 published over several years up to 1927.
End of the account by Chris Woods.
The author Chris Woods may be contacted by email: c.woods45@btinternet.com

Further notes

• The incorrect spelling Norderforce has been seen.
• Operations in Persia 1914-1919 and The Campaign In Mesopotamia 1914-1918 are available online, refer Historical books online, below.
• High Road to Command. The Diaries of Major-General Sir Edmund Ironside 1920-22, ed. Lord Ironside, London, 1972 is available at the British Library UIN: BLL01001820215. Ironside was Commander of Norperforce from mid-late 1920 (both August and October dates have been seen). Ironside, William Edmund iranicaonline.org

The British Salonika Force and the Army of the Black Sea

Immediately after the Armistice with Turkey orders had been issued for British troops to move to the Caucasus, due to the situation there. Troops were sent from the nearest British forces available, from North Persia [Mesopotamia Force], and from the Salonika Force. In January 1919 it was decided all British troops in the Caucasus should be under one command, which at that time was still called the British Salonika Force, subsequently known as the Army of the Black Sea, which was tasked with ensuring that Turkey complied with the terms of the Armistice.

Medals to Indian Army soldiers that are classified as 'Salonika Medals' were mostly awarded for actions by the British Army of the Black Sea against Turkish nationalists, emerging Communist forces or bandits and brigands in Anatolia, the Caucasus and Transcaspia.

Constantinople

Constantinople was the Headquarters of the Army of the Black Sea.

An Official History was written about Constantinople titled The Occupation of Constantinople 1918–1923 by Brigadier-General J. E. Edmonds. Originally written in 1944, it was not finally published until 2010 by Imperial War Museum/Naval&Military Press. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01019675592. Also see the online account below, by General Sir Charles Harington, Commander of the British Forces in Turkey from October 1920.

A postal history and associated military history of the British and Indian occupation forces is also available, The Postal History of the Army of the Black Sea : 1918 - 1923 by John Slingsby. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01013055463

The naval history is included in The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929 edited by Paul Halpern 2011. A publication of the Navy Records Society Volume 158, (with online access for members), also available at the British Library UIN: BLL01015816949 . Sample pages, Google Books.

• HMS Julius was the administrative name given to a naval unit set up in Constantinople that was responsible for running harbour service craft (under the direction of the RN Captain of the Port). This arrangement followed the signing of the Treaty of Mudros (which ended Ottoman participation in the Great War)

Some marriage records for British Army personnel during this period are held by the UK General Register Office. There is an Index of records known as "GRO Army Marriages Within British Lines 1914-1925", part of the British Army Overseas Indexes. It also appears there may be some unindexed marriage records. See Chaplains Returns for details.

The 89th Punjab Regiment, after serving in the Caucasus, then served at Constantinople with the Army of the Black Sea.

Records at the National Archives, Kew

Include

War Diaries

War Diaries at the National Archives, Kew include the category "Part V: Salonika, Macedonia, Turkey Black Sea, Caucasus and South Russia ". The record series ranges from WO 95/4756 to WO 95/4964, the latter being Occupation force in Turkey 1922 Sept 1 - 1923 Aug 31. Includes entries such as Black Sea, or Black Sea Troops, WO 95/4952- 4954.
This series of War Diaries does not appear to have been digitised (at 2017/3).

Orders

• WO 123/294-295 Turkey (British Army of the Black Sea in WO 123 - Ministry of Defence and predecessors: Army Circulars, Memoranda, Orders and Regulations/Subseries within WO 123 - General Routine Orders

Also see

• Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre
• South Persia Rifles
• 28th Light Cavalry

External links

• Transcaucasia. Wikipedia. Also known as Trans-Caucasus or Transcaucasus, or Southern Caucasia or the South Caucasus. Baku (Wikipedia) is the largest city of Azerbaijan and in the region.

Trans-Caspia. Wikipedia. Now known as Turkmenistan. Located east across the Caspian Sea from Transcaucasia.

• "Fighting the Tangistanis: Bushire, Persia, July-September 1915" by Harry Fecitt westernfrontassociation.com, now an archived webpage.
• "The East Persia Cordon and the Sarhad Operations : 1915 – 1917" by Harry Fecitt c March 2018 from Harry's Sideshows, kaiserscross.com
• Article "From Baluchastan to Baku:
 The Significance of the Struggle for Central Asia" by Edwin E. Slosson The Independent, August 31, 1918. jfredmacdonald.com, archive.org link.
• "Imperial Power and Dictatorship: Britain and the Rise of Reza Shah, 1921-1926" (pdf) by Michael Zirinsky International Journal of Middle East Studies, 24 (1992), 639-64. core.ac.uk. Also available to read online on JSTOR.org. Register and read for free, see Miscellaneous tips
• 'Britannia has ruled here' : Transcaucasia and considerations of Imperial defence in Lord Curzon's search for a Near Eastern settlement, 1918-1923 by Sean Kelly. 2003 M.A. Thesis, Simon Fraser University, Canada. Link to a download.
• British Military Involvement in Transcaspia (1918-1919) by Michael Sargent April 2004 Conflict Studies Research Centre Link to pdf download, pdf . Includes the Malleson Mission.
• "Britain's Azerbaijan Policy (November 1917 - September 1918)" by Prof. Musa Qasimly Visions of Azerbaijan Spring 2006, Volume 1.1, pages 38-43.
• "Fighting a Small War during The Great War: British Strategic Planning and Operations in Central Asia, 1917-1919" by Frederick Dotolo. Small Wars Journal, with link to a pdf download of an interim version of the article, February 7, 2008. Direct pdf download which depending on your browser, you may need to locate in your downloads folder.
• "Naval Actions of the Russian Civil War: Part 1" by Simon Stokes (elsewhere referred to as Part 1 and 2), possibly c 2010. Includes a section on the Caspian Sea from page 14 P.T. Dockyard website.
• "The Royal Navy in the Caspian Sea 1918-1920" by John Guard gwpda.org
• The British Intervention in South Russia 1918-1920 by Lauri Kopisto 2011 Academic Dissertation University of Helsinki.
• Red Sand: The Canadian Experience in Persia and Transcaucasia, 1918 by Thomas Stanley Sutton. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The University of New Brunswick, April 2012. slideshare.net
• Dunsterforce and Baku: A Case Study In British Imperial/Interventionist Foreign Policy With Respect To Transcaucasia 1917-1918 by Cengiz Inceoglu. A Master’s Thesis, Department of History, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, Ankara May 2012. (html version), original pdf.
• Empire in the Shadows of the Bolsheviks by Cornor May, 2013 Undergraduate Honors Theses, Paper 549. University of Colorado Boulder. With link to download.
• British Foreign Policy in Azerbaijan, 1918-1920 by Afgan Akhmedov. March 2018 PhD Thesis, University of Lancaster. With link to pdf. Direct pdf link
• At the Limit of Complexity: British Military Operations in North Persia and the Caucasus 1918 by Roland P. Minez, Major, US Army Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . December 2018. Series: Art of War Papers. armyupress.army.mil
• "Independent Georgia (1918-1921)" by David Marshall Lang (excerpt from the book A Modern History of Georgia 1962, see below.) Includes maps which are additional to the text quoted. States that British and Indian troops, highly unpopular with the Georgians, were withdrawn to a British military district based on the port of Batumi (Batoum/Batum) conflicts.rem33.com
• "British Secret Missions in Turkestan, 1918-19" by L. P. Morris Journal of Contemporary History Vol. 12, No. 2 (April 1977), pp. 363-379. jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips.
• Etherton at Kashgar: Rhetoric and Reality in the History of the “Great Game” by Daniel C. Waugh 2007. faculty.washington.edu. The Kashgar consulate was under the supervision of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India.
• "The Illicit Adventures Of Rawlinson: British Intelligence in the Final Phase of the Ottoman Empire" by Bülent Gökay The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations Volume 23 1993 (Research Center for International Political and Economic Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University) academia.edu version Link to pdf download dspace.ankara.edu.tr. Additional/alternative pdf globalfaultlines.
• "Dunsterville's Adventures: A Reappraisal" by Artin H Arslanian, International Journal of Middle East Studies Volume 12, No 2 (September 1980), 199-216 intersci.ss.uci.edu, now archived. Also available jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips.
• "The Battle For Baku (May-September 1918): A Peculiar Episode In The History Of The Caucasus" by Bülent Gökay The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations Volume 25 1995 (Research Center for International Political and Economic Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University) Link to a pdf download dspace.ankara.edu.tr and link to a download dergipark.org.tr. Additional/alternative pdf politics.ankara.edu.tr. Also published in Middle Eastern Studies 34 (1998), pages 30-50.
• "Dunsterforce: A Case Study of Coalition Warfare in the Middle East, 1918-1919" by Timothy C. Winegard Canadian Army Journal Vol. 8.3 (Fall 2005), pp. 93-109. (html version), pdf conflicts.rem33.com
• "British Police in Baku" by Tahir Behbudov Visions of Azerbaijan Summer 2006, Volume 1.2, pages 48-55, archived.
• 'Dunsterforce' On The Caucasian Front In The Great War by Dr David Payne 10 October 2008 “’The Western Front Association”, now an archived webpage.
• "Dunsterforce - part 1" by Harry Fecitt 29 September 2013 "The Western Front Association", now an archived webpage. Includes a set of photographs on flickr.com. Further images on flickr.com sourced by WFA, now an archived webpage.
• "Azerbaijan at War" by Alum Bati Visions of Azerbaijan July-August 2015, archived.

Part 2 "1918 - Azerbaijan at War" by Alum Bati Visions of Azerbaijan September-October 2015, archived. With a slide show of photographs.

• Desert Column: The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
  • The Battle of Baku Azerbaijan, 26 August - 14 September 1918: Contents. Includes Outline, Maps and links to Accounts
  • Karawaran, Persia, 6-7 August 1918
  • The Desert Column Forum thread "Dunsterforce" is no longer directly accessible, but page 1 is available from archive.today (page 2 is not accessible)
    • some links and transcripts which are also available as follows
      • "Dunsterforce" by Lisa Smedman Vancouver Courier newspaper. A pdf version with photographs is available here and also a html version (lacks photographs) (www.conflicts.rem33.com). Article about the Canadians in Dunsterforce, including, Lieutenant Colonel John Weightman Warden, whose diary is available below.
        • Refers to “Canadians in Dunsterforce,” by Captain W.W. Murray, Canadian Defence Quarterly. The three-part series begins in the January 1931 issue, [Volume VIII, and appears to continue to Volume IX, January 1932]
      • The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Appendix V. The Dunsterforce Expedition. Alternative version available online from Victoria University of Wellington Library, see below.
      • Stalky’s Forlorn Hope by Captain S.G. Savige, see below.
  • Photographs from the associated website "Desert Column Forum Pix"
    • Photograph: Dunsterforce in Baku
    • Photograph: Dunsterforce in Birkandi
    • Article from the Western Mail Thursday, 2 January 1930, p. 2 about Dunsterforce. Original article trove.nla.gov.au
• "Little Known Campaign. British Army In Caucasus" Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW ) Sunday 13 April 1919 p 25. Account of Capt. J. M. Sorrell, M.M., a Sydney officer. trove.nla.gov.au
• "The Dunster Force Expedition To The Caspian Sea. Captain McVilly's Reminiscences" The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) Thursday 8 July 1926 trove.nla.gov.au
• "With General Dunsterville in Persia and Transcaucasia. Memoirs of Captain Cecil G. Judge", from Russia-Australia Connections, now archived.
  • Some photographs taken by Captain Judge Australian War Memorial.
• A 1/4th Hampshire Regiment Signallers Diary November 1916 To September 1919 by Arthur James Foster
(1899-1973) (Ex Corporal Of The Hampshire Regiment), Edited by his son Richard Carfax-Foster. The author was in Mesopotamia, and then took part in Dunsterforce.
• "Anatolian Incident: The 24th Punjabis at Ismid, Turkey, 15 June 1920" from Harry’s Sideshows by Harry Fecitt (kaiserscross.com). In January 1919 the 24th Punjabis joined the Allied Army of The Black Sea.
• "Over the Balkans and South Russia", the latter in 1919. Flight article page 22, January 10, 1924 about No. 47 Squadron, RAF. Archive.org

"Biplane Battle: Flying Against the Bolsheviks During Russia’s Civil War" by Derek O'Connor. historynet.com. Originally published in the September 2007 issue of Aviation History Magazine. Four Sopwith Camels of B Flight, No. 47 Squadron, Royal Air Force,

• Grandpa’s Journal, 18 December 1921, scroll to 19 December 1921 refers to the troops which were employed on the Persian Lines of communication up to April 1921… 500 miles long extending through Persia to the Caspian Sea from Grandpa’s Journal, now an archived website. Harry James Goulter Pearman was with the Army Audit Staff in Mesopotamia.
• Podcast "Failed Intervention: Britain in the Trans-Caucasus 1918-20". Lecture by Dr. Alex Marshall 22 March 2006. Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. “Why British intervention in this region failed, and the roles and attitudes of key political and military personnel”. Although on YouTube, this is an audio presentation only (44 minutes).
• Download a video With the Dunster Force, Persia and Baku Australian War Memorial. Also on YouTube (appears to be shorter version)
• Video Baku - The Occupation By 'Dunsterforce' 17th August To 14th September 1918 Imperial War Museums
• Group photograph of Officers of the 5th Party of the Dunsterforce. Baghdad. April 1918. Left side: numbered, Right side: numbered Australian War Memorial
• Photograph: Persia. 1918. A convoy of over ten Ford vans formed up ready for departure Australian War Memorial.
• Photographs; British and French Troops in Constantinople levantineheritage.com

Use the Levantine Heritage website Search to locate other information within this website, which perhaps may not be accessible from the main categories, and is only locatable through the Search.

Haidarpasha explosion on 6 September 1917 when the armoury exploded, possibly due to a clandestine operation conducted by a [British] Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) volunteer agent.

• Expeditionary Intelligence in a Time of Crisis. The USS Scorpion in Constantinople 1914-1918 by Michael Imbrenda 1 June 2020. Direct pdf link. An Essay submitted to the Faculty of the United States Naval War College. Defence Technical Information Centre dtic.mil.
• Occupation of Constantinople articles, including photographs, on Mavi Boncuk website.

"1920: British Fleet at Ismid" 12/02/13 and "1920: Ismid-Black Sea Line and Rebels" 12/02/13. Scroll down page 11; "Turkish Actions of USS Sands" 01/10/14 and "RHN Averoff Fighing Turks" 01/10/14 scroll down page 15; "Averoff's Deployment to Constantinople" 01/10/14, "Turkish Action of USS McFarland" 01/10/14 and "Turkish Action of USS Sturtevant" 01/10/14 scroll down page 16.

• Photographs: J.A. Sadler Collection, Royal Air Force Museum Collection on flickr.com. They are from a series of albums, which are believed to have been produced and compiled by Gp Capt John Archer Sadler RAF, and which date from 1919. Include photographs captioned "Ark Royal", Dardanelles, 1922-23. HMS Ark Royal was a seaplane carrier and it appears Gp Capt Sadler was then in a Seaplane Squadron. In addition to aerial photographs of Constantinople, includes (as examples) HMS "Ark Royal", Dardanelles, 1922-23, My Fairey and crew aboard HMS "Ark Royal" 1922, RAF base, San Stefano, Constantinople undated but likely to be 1922-3. San Stefano (now Yeşilköy ) is a part of the Bakırköy district of Istanbul.
• Ernest Hemingway Articles. Some of the articles (scroll down) written by the author Ernest Hemingway who was in Constantinople as a journalist late 1922. historicjournalism.com
• Listen to the 1975 interview, with transcript 1 and transcript 2, with Colonel J.S. Lord, Indian Army Officer, 124th Baluchistan Infantry. s-asian.cam.ac.uk. Colonel Lord tells of his experiences of the Army in India and Persia during the First World War, including an anecdote of the infamous influenza. He refers to actions around Bushire which involved Wassmuss, the “German Lawrence” [who was the German Consul at Bushire], see "Where Is Wassmuss ?" paperspast.natlib.govt.nz Auckland Star, 28 June 1919.
• Listen to the 1979 Audio recording by Mrs Agnes Moffatt, wife of an officer 1st Kumaon Rifles with Typescript Part 1. s-asian.cam.ac.uk. She first joined her husband in Constantinople in 1921 where the Battalion was guard to the Allied Headquarters.
• Interviews. Imperial War Museums
  • Listen to the 1990 interview with Henley Charles Claxton British seaman. Includes service aboard HMS Swallow in Black Sea, 1919-1920. Reels 4-6. Catalogue number 11945. In most of the reels there is a delay before the sound commences, of up to approximately one minute.
  • Listen to the 1984 interview with William Frank Howard British boy seaman and seaman served aboard HMS St George in Mediterranean based at Imbros and Salonika, Greece, 1916-1918; served in Greece and Turkey, 1922-1924. Catalogue number 8275.
  • Listen to the 1979 interview with Jack Briscoe Masefield British officer served with 7th Bn Gloucestershire Regt at Gallipoli, 1915, and in Mesopotamia and Persia, 1917-1918; served with South Russian Mission, 1919-1921; served with Allied Police Commission in Turkey, 1921-1923 4609 Catalogue number 4609
  • Listen to the 1983 Interview with Lendon Fitz Payne British NCO served with Royal Engineers Signal Service and Royal Corps of Signals on Western Front and in Russia, 1915-1923. Includes posting to Constantinople. Catalogue number 7256
• Presentations from the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, on YouTube video. Note audio only.
  • "Failed Intervention: Britain in the Trans-Caucasus 1918-20" by Dr Alex Marshal (should be Marshall) 22 March 2006. (44 minutes)
  • "The Bolshevik Revolution and the North Caucasus, 1917-30 A Clash of Civilizations?" by Dr Alex Marshall 31 October 2007. (53 minutes)
• Bibliography of Memoirs and other First Hand accounts page 284 The Russian Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921: An Annotated Bibliography by Jonathan Smele Google Books.
• Haidar Pasha Cemetery, located in a suburb of Istanbul. cwgc.org. ( Also see Maps below, in particular the map of the Skutari area). Includes a Memorial and Addenda panel erected to commemorate Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War who died fighting in South Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, and in post Armistice operations in Russia and Transcaucasia, whose graves are not known, together with others buried in cemeteries in South Russia and Transcaucasia whose graves can no longer be maintained. Those commemorated include Lieut.-Colonel Geoffrey Davis Pike, head of the ‘Caucasus Military Agency’, killed, probably executed, by the Bolsheviks in August 1918.
• Indians in the Middle East: The forgotten soldiers of the First World War by Vedika Kant. Mentions Indian Soldiers buried in Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa English Cemetery. Although the text says these are POW deaths, a comment by Adil dated August 17, 2015 says “The Haidar Pasha Memorial largely commemorates Indians who died post the Armistice and most casualties are from the Army of the Black Sea”. LSE South Asia Centre, London School of Economics.
• "British Policy on the Fate of Constantinople and the Allied Occupation of the City on March 16 [1920] by Dr. Neşe Özden. Scroll down to English version. Ataturk Research Centre.atam.gov.tr, now archived.
• Tanks In Russia During The Civil War Tank Museum news item 24th March 2017. The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset contains a a collection of documents and photographs belonging to Major H S Sayer, relating to the Tank Detachment sent, for training purposes, by Britain during the Russian Civil War, which set up base at Taganrog, South Russia in 1919. Includes a Nominal Roll of Officers, NCO's and Men of the South Russian Tank Detachment.
• "Churchill's Private War: British Intervention in South Russia, 1919" hubpages.com. An extract from Stamping Out the Virus: Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1920 by Perry Moore 2002. Google Books ( sample pages only). Original source for Holman's report not available, but possibly TNA WO 33/971 Final report of the British Military Mission, South Russia by Major-General Sir H.C. Holman.
• British Military Operations 1919-1939 by Graham Watson is a selection of orders of battle of various operations carried out by the British Army. Scroll to the sections "South Russia & Black Sea 1919" and "Turkey 1922". orbat.com, now archived.

Maps

• Map of parts of Iraq, Persia & Kurdistan to illustrate movements of squadron wireless stations compiled and drawn by Henry J. Russell. Map originally published as endpapers in With Horse and Morse in Mesopotamia : the Story of Anzacs in Asia editor Keast Burke 1927. nla.gov.au
• Maps of the Balkan Peninsula HMSO 1920. Number 15 in a series of studies prepared by the British Foreign Office as background information for British delegates at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The maps are of regions around seven major cities in or near the Balkans including Istambul (Istanbul, Turkey), digital page 7. World Digital Library, Library of Congress.
• Maps of Constantinople
  • 1922 Plan general de la ville de Constantinople Feuille 1: Stamboul; Feuille 2: Skutari; Feuille 3: Pera-Galata maps.princeton.edu
  • 1922 Plan d'ensemble de la ville de Constantinople maps.princeton.edu. Same map, published by Guédik-Pacha, library.yale.edu
  • 1923-24 Maps of sectors of Stamoul, part of Constantinople Author : Jacques Pervititch. Publisher : S.P.I. Fratelli Haïm (Constantinople). Other maps from the same author, including other parts of Constantinople. All from gallica.bnf.fr.

Historical books online

• History of the Great War based on Official Documents: Operations in Persia 1914-1919. A confidential publication compiled, by arrangement with the Government of India, under the direction of the Historical Section of The Committee of Imperial Defence, by Brigadier-General FJ Moberly in 1929. British Library India Office Records IOR/L/MIL/17/15/28 on Qatar Digital Library. Download also available.

Also available in a reprint edition, which in turn is available online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3 as Operations in Persia (located in Military Books-located by the Search/Iran).

• Eden to Armageddon : World War I in the Middle East by Roger Ford 2010. Includes Part II "The Caucasus, Armenia, Anatolia and Persia page 119. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• "The 12th Pioneers Machine Gun Section in Eastern Persia" by Major E P Yeats. Appendix 9, page 404 History Of The Bombay Pioneers 1777-1933 by Lieut. Colonel W B P Tugwell 1938. Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection. Covers the period from July 1915 and includes participation in Brigadier General Dyer's 1916 campaign, see next book.
• The Raiders of the Sarhad being the account of a Campaign of Arms and Bluff against the Brigands of the Persian-Baluchi border during the Great War by Brigadier General REH Dyer 1921 Archive.org. This campaign took place in 1916.
• War and Revolution in Asiatic Russia by M Philips Price (Special Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian) 1918 Archive.org.
• British Library India Office Records on Qatar Digital Library. Read online (book reader is somewhat slow) or download. A selection includes
  • German War, Persia. Multiple digitised files IOR/L/PS/10/478 to IOR/L/PS/10/493. Many are c 1915. Probably the easiest way to locate all these files, is to use the search term IOR/L/PS/10/478 in the British Library Archives and Manuscripts Search, then for the record displayed, click on Browse this collection. Then navigate, using the left hand side of the webpage to the other record items, which include links to to the digital versions.
  • Despatch by Brigadier-General Sir P. M. Sykes, K.C.I.E., C.M.G., Inspector-General, South Persia Rifles and Commanding British Mission Escort in Persia on Minor Operations in Southern Persia. From 7th November 1917 to 31st March 1918 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/29
  • Reports On Minor Operatons In South Persia Under Brigadier-General Sir P. M. Sykes, K.C.I.E, C.M.G., from May to July 1918 by General Staff India. IOR/L/MIL/17/15/30
  • Report by H. E. General Lord Rawlinson of Trent, Commander-in-Chief in India, on the Minor Military Operations undertaken from 1917 to 1921 in North and North East Persia IOR/L/MIL/17/15/31
  • Report by H. E. General Lord Rawlinson of Trent, Commander-in-Chief in India, on the Minor Military Operations undertaken by the South Persia Rifles from November 1919 to November 1921 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/32
  • Report on minor operations undertaken by the South Persia Rifles from the 28th March to the 25th June 1917 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/33. A despatch from Brigadier-General Sir Percy Sykes, Inspector General, South Persia Rifles, to the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, Simla, which provides details of five minor military operations undertaken against tribes in southern Persia. Five sketch maps appear at the end (ff 9-11).
  • Despatch by Lieutenant-General R. Wapshare, C.B., C.S.I. on the Organization and Working of the East Persian Line of Communications. From 1st April 1918 to 15th January 1919 IOR/L/MIL/17/15/34
  • Report on the Working of the Line of Communication and on the Withdrawal of the British Military Mission in East Persia, 1919-20. General Staff India. 1921, IOR/L/MIL/17/15/35
  • Expenditure on Malleson Mission and troops in East Persia, 1918 to 1921 (1921) IOR/L/MIL/17/15/36
  • pages 9-16 Central Asia, Persia, Afghanistan, &c. Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic Movements and connected information. Issue No. 3. Supplement. 1st to 31st December 1919 IOR/L/PS/18/A186 . Note that currently (2019/02/12) digital images are in reverse order. Includes Transcaspia and Trans-Caucasia.
  • Persian Baluchistan (including the Sarhad and Persian Mekran) The Quetta-Nushki extension railway. File created 8 May 1922. IOR/L/PS/18/C208. It includes a brief description of these regions and outlines local British activities during the First World War to counter threats to their interests.
• History Of The Great War: The Campaign In Mesopotamia 1914-1918: Volume IV by F J Moberly 1927 Contents, Index Hathi Trust Digital Library.(For Volumes I-III, and an alternative online version for Vol IV, see Mesopotamia Campaign)
• "Despatch from General Sir G.F. Milne Commanding in Chief, the Army of The Black Sea dated 11 August 1920" The London Gazette Supplement 7 January 1921 Supplement: 32184 pages: 159-175. From the date of the signature of the Armistice with Turkey to the date of the signature of the Turkish Peace Treaty (10th August 1920). Indian Army regiments mentioned: 28th Light Cavalry, 19th Punjabis, 1/21st Punjabis, 1/25th Punjabis and 1/54th Sikhs.
  • List of those mentioned for distinguished and gallant services The London Gazette 11 January 1921 Issue: 32192 page: 368 with an addition bottom of page 2583 29 March 1922 Supplement:32655 Page:2583

  Additional Indian Army regiments mentioned: 1/10th Jats, 2/39th Garhwal Rifles, 1/95th Russell's Infantry, 119th Infantry and 67th Punjabis

• The White Armies of Russia: A Chronicle of Counter-Revolution and Allied Intervention by George Stewart 1933 Archive.org. Includes four chapters on South Russia.
• "The Advance to the Caspian" pages 24-44 Loyalties: Mesopotamia; a personal and historical record, Volume II 1917-1920 by Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson 1931. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available as a download from Kurdipedia.org 1936 edition. Also published under the title Mesopotamia, 1917-1920; a Clash of Loyalties.
• "The Road from Baghdad to Baku" by G. S. F. Napier The Geographical Journal Vol. 53, No. 1 (Jan., 1919), pp. 1-16. jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips
• The Adventures of Dunsterforce by L C Dunsterville 1920 Archive.org

The Diaries of General Lionel Dunsterville 1911-1922 from Primary Sources www.gwpda.org

Stalky's Reminiscences by L. C. Dunsterville published c 1928. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India.

• The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org.
  • "Persia" chapters commence page 207.
  • "The Dardanelles, Salonika and Constantinople 1915-1919" page 103.
  • Page 89 mentions the Indian Army in Anatolia, after the war.
• For Indian Army regimental histories, see 24th Punjabis; 45th Rattray’s Sikhs; 127th Baluchis on fold3 (Ancestry owned pay website).

For other Indian Army regimental histories, see The Guides (Cavalry); 2nd King Edward's Own Goorkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles); 2nd Bombay Pioneers; Bombay Sappers and Miners.

• “The Caucasus" page 503 ‪Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War, Volume 2‬ by Capt H. FitzM. Stacke, reprint edition, originally published 1928. Google Books.
• With the Persian Expedition by Martin Henry Donohoe 1919 Archive.org. The author was a Special Service Officer with 'Dunsterforce'
• Stalky’s Forlorn Hope by Captain Stanley George Savige (Australian Army Officer) 1919 is available as a pdf download from the National Library of Australia. It is also available as a transcription from Chapter 1 from the website "Desert Column: The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre". (Also on the archived website First AIF. Includes the Foreword). Lionel Dunsterville was the model for Kipling's character 'Stalky'.
• "Further Adventures of the Armoured Cars: Persia and Baku" pages 285-297 Blackwood's Magazine Volume 205, January-June 1919. Archive.org. The author elsewhere is stated to be A. H. Ruston, who was Temp. Major, Machine Gun Corps (Motor). Allpress (Alpress/Alpres) Harold Ruston was awarded the DSO for actions near Baku on 26 August 1918, London Gazette entry.
  • Ruston had previously been Temp. Lieut-Cdr R.N.V.R, Naval Armoured Car Squadron, during the Russian retreat in Galicia in July and August 1917. Ruston’s Naval commission was terminated 31.1.18 when he transferred to the Army , along with other personnel. The Dunsterforce Armoured Car Brigade (known as the Duncars) was formed at the end of January 1918 from personnel from the Russian Armoured Car Division who were transferred from the Admiralty (or, more precisely, the Royal Marines, under whose control they were from November 1917) to the Machine Gun Corps (Motors). Duncars were equipped with a mixture of Austin armoured cars and Ford Model T vans armed with machine guns.
  • 'With British. Armoured-Cars in the Caucasus' told by a Petty-Officer, from The War Illustrated, 3rd February, 1917 with photographs from an earlier edition. These photographs were republished in pages 2720-2721, Volume 8 The War Illustrated Album de Luxe Archive.org
• With Horse and Morse in Mesopotamia: The Story of Anzacs in Asia edited by Keast Burke 1927. Includes Pack Wireless Signal Troops from Australia and New Zealand, including Dunsterforce and the Campaign in Kurdistan 1919. Also includes nominal rolls at the back of the book. NZsappers.org.nz has two digital files/series, the first contains some digital pages which are of very poor quality. The second series of files from nzsappers.org.nz: Pages 1-70, pages 71-132; pages 133-206 . Also see Maps above, for a better quality map from this book.
• "Epic of the Dunsterforce" Reveille December 1931, published by The Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch. Contains List of AIF members (Officer and NCOs) of Dunsterforce. Limited extracts from With Horse and Morse in Mesopotamia. Pages 3-4 (digital pages 5-6), page 32 (digital 34) reveille.dlconsulting.com.
• "East Persia: Aussie’s Experiences" Reveille July 1932, page 21 (digital page 25) published by The Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch.

"East Persia and the War: An Australian’s Experiences". No 2 by RH Bedingfield Reveille April 1935 pages 48-49 (digital 49-50) reveille.dlconsulting.com.

• "With the Dunsterforce Irregulars" by Captain E W Latchford Reveille, Volume 5, No 11- Volume 6, No 3, August-November 1932. Published by The Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch

August, page 25, August, pages 74-76 , August page 80, September page 15, September, page 32, October, page 15 October, page 25 (scroll down), November, page 6 reveille.dlconsulting.com. The Irregulars were Armenians, Assyrians etc, and Captain Latchford was from the Australian Army.

• "Memories of the "Hush Hush" Force" by Captain Tom Kelsey, Connaught Rangers and Dunsterforce. Reveille, Volume 9, Nos 8-11, April-July 1936. Published by The Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch

April, page 36, continuing on page 38 (RHS of page), 39 (bottom of page), May, page 18, 19, June, page 18, 19, July, page 18 reveille.dlconsulting.com.

• The Diary of Lieut.-Colonel John Weightman Warden 1918-1919 - France, Dunsterforce, Vladivostok. From 1918 Documents www.gwpda.org. Transcribed from the Public Archives of Canada
  • "I call them Dunsterfarce & Napoofarce... Nobody with ability to organize." [October 20th, 1918]
• "Australians In Transcaucasus" being extracts from "Australians in Mesopotamia" Appendix No.5. The Australian Imperial Force In France During the Main German Offensive. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Volume V by C W Bean, pages 703-784. Complete version "Australians in Mesopotamia", pages 703-784 awm.gov.au
• "The Dunsterforce Expedition" Appendix V, pages 536-541 The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade compiled by Lieut.-Col. W. S. Austin 1924. New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington Library.
• From the Gulf to the Caspian : being the souvenir booklet of the 33rd. Motor Ambulance Convoy which served in Mesopotamia and North Persia, 1916 to 1919 written by various members of the unit who remain anonymous. [1920?] State Library of Victoria. This Unit consisted of Army Service Corps personnel, together with Royal Army Medical Corps personnel.
• "Medical History of Trans-Caucasia in so far as It Affects an Army in the Field" by Lieutenant-Colonel P. H. Henderson Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1921;36:2 pages 101-108.

"Caucasian Excursion" by Captain L G H Girling pages 297-307 USI [United Service Institution Of India] Journal Vol. LXX 1940. Archive.org. With 27th Division to Batum, and Tiflis, Georgia from October 1918.

The British in Georgia, page 216, Chapter X, "Independent Georgia 1918-1921" from A Modern History of Soviet Georgia by David Marshall Lang 1962 HathiTrust Digital Library. Page 216 Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library version. See External links above for this text plus maps which are not from the text.

• "Chapter XLI The Turkish Invasion of Transcaucasia, 1918" pages 457-496 Caucasian Battlefields: A History of Wars on the Turco-Causian Border 1828-1921 by W E D Allen and the late Paul Muratoff [Pavel Pavlovich Muratov] first published 1953. conflicts.rem33.com. Contains some references to the British at Baku.
• Further correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia. Presented to both Houses of Parliament April 1914 1914 Archive.org
• "Persia and the Great War" page 154 Persia by Brigadier General Sir Percy Sykes 1922  Archive.org

"The British Flag on the Caspian: A Side-Show of the Great War" by Percy Sykes Foreign Affairs Vol. 2, No. 2 (Dec. 15, 1923), pp. 282-294. jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips.

• The German spy Wassmuss in South Persia page 200 Chapter V, The Secret Corps : a Tale of "Intelligence" on all Fronts by Captain Ferdinand Tuohy 1920 Archive.org
• The British "Intervention" in Transcaspia 1918 -1919 by C H Ellis 1963. This is the USA title. Archive.org. Original UK title The Transcaspian Episode. 1918-1919 (1963). The author was part of the Malleson Mission, 'Malmiss'

"The Battle of Dushak" 1918 pages 126-127 Turkmenistan by Paul Brummell 2005 Google Books. The 1/19th Punjabi Infantry and the 28th Light Cavalry took part in this action, part of the Malleson Mission in Transcaspia.

• "The British Military Mission to Turkestan 1918-1920" by Major General Sir Wilfred Malleson Journal of the Central Asian Society Volume 9 1922 No 2 pp 96-110. Archive.org
• "Military Operations in Transcaspia 1918-1919" by Lt.Col.D E Knollys Journal of the Central Asian Society Volume 13, 1926 no 2 pp88-110. Archive.org. The author was in charge of the 19th Punjabi Regiment.
• "Bolshevism as I saw it at Tashkent in 1918" by Sir George MacArtney Journal of the Central Asian Society Volume 7 1920 Nos 2-3 pp 42-58. Archive.org. Includes comments on the missions of Colonel Bailey and Captain Blacker (see following).
• Mission To Tashkent by [Lt Col] F M Bailey 1946. Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. ….”the astonishing adventures of a British intelligence officer working in Central Asia, and his escape from the Bolsheviks”. This Mission is also referred to as the Mission of Lt-Col F. M. Bailey to Kashgar, Jul 1918-Jan 1921 (in a British Library document)

"In Russian Turkestan under the Bolsheviks" by F. M. Bailey Journal of the Central Asian Society Volume 8, 1921, No 1, pp49-69. Journal pdf download, Pahar Mountains Of Central Asia Digital Dataset.

"A Visit to Bokhara in 1919" by F. M. Bailey The Geographical Journal Vol. 57, No. 2 (Feb., 1921), pp. 75-87, and "A Visit to Bokhara in 1919: Discussion" pp. 87-95. A sequel to the mission sent to the Soviet Government of Turkistan. jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips. Also available as a pdf download, Pahar: Mountains Of Central Asia Digital Dataset.

1971 Beyond The Frontiers–Biography Of F M Bailey by Swinson. Pdf download, Pahar: Mountains Of Central Asia Digital Dataset. Full Title: Beyond the Frontiers: the Biography of Colonel F. M. Bailey, Explorer and Special Agent by Arthur Swinson 1971.

• Like Hidden Fire : the Plot to bring down the British Empire by Peter Hopkirk 1994 Archive.org Lending Library. Published in the UK with title On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Great Game and the Great War.

Setting the East Ablaze : Lenin's Dream of an Empire in Asia by Peter Hopkirk 1985 Archive.org Lending Library. 1920s-1930s. Includes chapters about Frederick Bailey.

Peter Hopkirk was with The Times of London for nineteen years, as chief reporter and Middle and Far East specialist.

• On Secret Patrol in High Asia by L V S Blacker, Captain, The Guides 1922 Archive.org. The author spent three years in Turkistan and Khurasan. The Introduction mentions the exploits of the 19th Punjabis and the 28th Light Cavalry.
  • Partial Map, R H S only.

This book is also available as a pdf download, Pahar: Mountains Of Central Asia Digital Dataset.

Sir Arnold Wilson, (page 26 above) states Blacker has given an account “in which fiction blends agreeably with fact” and that Blacker was the assistant of Lt Col Bailey, although this is never mentioned in Blacker's account.

"Travels in Turkistan 1918-20" by L. V. S. Blacker, Captain , QVO Corps of Guides.The Geographical Journal Vol. 58, No. 3 (Sep., 1921), pp. 178-197 and "Travels in Turkistan 1918-20: Discussion" pp. 197-198. jstor.org. Read online for free, but first you must register, and limits apply, see Miscellaneous tips. Also available as a pdf download, Pahar: Mountains Of Central Asia Digital Dataset.

"The Forbidden Fortress of Khurasan" by L V S Blacker page 824 Blackwood’s Magazine, no 210 July-December 1921 Archive.org.

"Wars and Travel in Turkestan 1918-1920" by L V S Blacker Journal of the Central Asian Society Volume 9 1922 pp 4-20. Archive.org.

• Adventures in the Near East, 1918-1922 by A Rawlinson, New York edition 1924 (Originally published 1923) Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available Archive.org, new and revised edition 1934, mirror from Digital Library of India. The author's Wikipedia page. Also see Western Front for a book about the author's experience there.
• "Antranik" by Liason page 441 Blackwood’s Magazine, no 206 July-December 1919. Archive.org. Includes brief mention of LAMs (probably Machine Gun Corps). Mission to Zangezeur to the Armenian leader Antranik.
• Despatch by Lieut-General Sir W R Marshall on the operations of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force from 1st October 1918 to 31st December 1918, dated 1st February 1919. Mesopotamia and NW Persia (page 4743) The London Gazette 8 April 1919 Supplement: 31287 Page: 4739

Despatch from Major General Sir George F MacMunn, officiating Commander-In Chief, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, describing events since 1st January 1919, including North Persia, and Southern and Cental Kurdistan, for various operations between March and September 1919. The London Gazette 5 March 1920 Supplement: 31813 Page: 2877. The actual pages are dated 8 March 1920.

Four Despatches from the Commander-In Chief, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force: Despatch No 1, dated 17th January 1920 from MacMunn, covering the period November 1919 to 17th January 1920. Despatches from Lieutenant-General Haldane, covering the periods: 18th January 1920 to 30th June 1920 in Mesopotamia and NW Persia.[Despatch No 2 dated 23rd August 1920. Page 5323]; 1st July 1820 to 19th October 1920 [Despatch No 3 dated 8th November 1920, page 5329] Despatch No 4, dated 8th February 1921 (page 5347) The London Gazette 1 July 1921 Issue: 32379 Page:5321.

• Russia and the West in Iran 1918-1948: A Study in Big-Power Rivalry by George Lenczowski 1949. Chapters One and particularly Two, include the British involvement. Archive.org
• "The Anglo-Russian Rivalry in the East", page 315 Anglo-Soviet Relations, 1917-1921, Volume 3: The Anglo-Soviet Accord by Richard H. Ullman 1972. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. Includes "Persia" Chapter IX page 349.
• "Persia and Mesopotamia" Chapter 8 page 133 The British Army and the Crisis of Empire, 1918-22 by Keith Jeffery 1984. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• "Turkey. The story of Mudania and Chanak" Chapter XII page 100 Tim Harington Looks Back by General Sir Charles Harington 1941 reprint, first published 1940. Archive.org Also including "Appendix I. Extract from my Despatch", (which was never officially published) page 244. 2nd file, images slightly better Archive.org. General Harington commanded the British Forces in Turkey from October 1920 for three years (following on from General Milne).
• "Constantinople" [1922] page 110 A Man at Arms : Memoirs of two World Wars by Francis Law 1983. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. The author was born 1897.
• RASC and the Army of the Black Sea pages 215-220 The Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army, Volume II by Colonel R H Beadon 1931. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• "An Unofficial History of the Signal Service with the British Salonika Force 1915-1918" by Capt C C S White The Royal Engineers Journal. Part 2 Scroll to pages 97-108 Vol XLI No 1 March 1927. Includes the Occupation of Constantinople. (Part 1 Scroll to pages 647-658 (the digital file commences page 537) Vol XL No 4 December 1926) nzsappers.org.nz.
• Online articles from The Naval Review. Update Now only available to members, or "Time limited access to the archive is open to researchers and historians after 10 years from an article’s original publishing date for a small administration charge". See Royal Navy for further comments.
  • 1919, Volume 7, Issue 4 "A Narrative from the Caspian Sea- (a) Reconnaissance of Fort Alexandrovsk" pages 520-523 and "A Narrative from the Caspian Sea- (b) Specimens of Bolshevist Propaganda" pages 525-531. By Cdr E L Grieve RN.
  • 1920 Volume 8, Issue 1 "The Royal Navy on the Caspian, 1918-1919". Pages 87-99

  1920 Volume 8, Issue 2 "The Royal Navy on the Caspian, 1918-1919" pages 218-240. By Capt D T Norris RN.

  • 1920 Volume 8, Issue 2 "Baku During the British Naval Campaign on the Caspian in 1919" pages 241-269. By Capt G L Purnell RN.
  • 1921, Volume 9, Issue 3 "Operations in the Crimea, 1919" pages 467-474. By Capt B S Thesiger RN.
  • 1921, Volume 9, Issue 4 "Narrative of HMS Caradoc 1917-1920" by Surgeon Lt G D Markham. "Part I" page 641; "Part II" 1922, Issue 1 p116; "Part III" 1922 Issue 2 p 290. Black Sea.

Editions of The Naval Review are available at the British Library, which however does not appear to hold a complete set, and at the University of Oxford Library.

• "The Caspian Naval Force" Chapter 23 page 271 Britain's Sea Soldiers. A Record of the Royal Marines during the War 1914-1919. Compiled by General Sir H. E. Blumberg, Royal Marines 1927. Hathi Trust Digital Library.

Other chapters from this book containing deployments in the region Chapter 22 page 259 and Chapter 35 page 430. Also see First World War-Historical books online-Naval for other online versions.

• Account of "Seaman Gunner Stan Smith", page 161 The True Glory : the Royal Navy, 1914-1939 by Max Arthur 1996. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. Smith was held as a prisoner at Baku by the Bolsheviks in very harsh conditions, also referred to as the "Black Hole of Baku". "Obituary: Stan Smith" by G K Johnson 9 Dec. 1995. independent.co.uk

1920 Royal Navy mission to Enzeli Wikipedia.

• War in the Air: being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force, Volume VI by H A Jones 1937. Archive.org. Part of the series History of the Great War based on Official Documents. Includes Persia.

Over the Balkans and South Russia, being the history of no. 47 Squadron, Royal Air Force by H.A. Jones 1923. HathiTrust Digital Library, available to those in areas such as North America. Contents details. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01001895421 . Also reprinted in 1987.

• Turkey in Travail: the Birth of a New Nation by Harold Armstrong (Lately Assistant and Acting Military Attache to the High Commissioner , Constantinople; Special Service Officer in War Office and on Head-quarter Staff of Allied Army of Occupation, and Supervisor of Turkish Gendarmerie) 1925 Archive.org/DLI. HathiTrust version where images are better and can be rotated. The author left Turkey in 1923.
• "Germany’s Ally" Chapter 15, page 221 The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire by Alan Palmer 1994. The political situation during the WW1 period until 1923 when the Allied occupation of Constantinople came to an end. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• The Fall of The Ottomans: The Great War In The Middle East by Eugene Rogan 2015. Contents. Archive.org.
• "Constantinople and the Crimea" Chapter Twenty, page 185 Memories Of A Doctor In War And Peace by Isabel Hutton 1960. Archive.org. In mid 1920 the author, then Isabel Emslie, joined Lady Muriel Paget’s Mission for Children in the Crimea. She was evacuated from Sebastapol in November and became involved with the large numbers of Russian refugees, until she left Constantinople in late December 1920.
• "Grief and Glamour of the Bosphorus" by Lieut- Colonel P R Butler page 203 Blackwood’s Magazine, no 209 January-June 1921. Archive.org
• In Denikin's Russia and the Caucasus, 1919-1920: being the record of a journey to South Russia, the Crimea, Armenia, Georgia and Baku in 1919 and 1920 by C. E. Bechhofer (full name: Carl Eric Bechhofer Roberts). Reprint edition, originally published 1921. Hathi Trust Digital Library. The author was a British free-lance journalist.

"Russia in Ruins" Chapter VIII, page 155 A Wanderer's Log: being some memories of travel in India, the Far East, Russia, the Mediterranean & elsewhere by C. E. Bechhofer 1922 Archive.org

• "Southern Campaign" pages 30-32, "Chapter Vi The War of Intervention", The Great Conspiracy Against Russia by Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn 1946 Archive.org
• The Volunteer Army and Allied intervention in South Russia, 1917-1921; a study in the politics and diplomacy of the Russian Civil War by George A Brinkley 1966. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• The Russian Civil War by Evan Mawdsley 2007, first published 2005. File 1, File 2 Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Fiction based on actual experiences. Naval Odyssey by Thomas Woodrooffe 1938, first published c 1936. HathiTrust Digital Library. Toby Warren, on the (fictitious) British cruiser HMS "Cassiopeia", participates in the events in Turkey during the 1920s, and the Royal Navy's involvement in the crises there. One of the chapters is titled "Constan., 1923". A publisher's note about the book and the author says "After the war he saw service …in the Mediterranean…is thus eminently qualified to write a book about things actually seen and experienced while in the Navy".
• "Struma Valley 1919" [Southern Macedonia] page 166 USI [United Service Institution Of India] Journal Vol.lxxii Jan to Oct 1942. Archive.org. Hunting wild fowl, on leave in December 1919 from the author’s regiment in Constantinople.
• Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal An Intimate Study of a Dictator by H C Armstrong 1935, first published 1932. Archive.org. The post armistice period commences page 108. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Wikipedia. He became President of Turkey in 1923.
• Letters from Cilicia by Alice Keep Clark 1924. Northwestern University Libraries Digitized Collection. Catalogue record. The author was an American, Near East Relief worker 1919-1920, working in Hadjin. The plan was to carry on relief largely in “occupied” territory where the Allies were in control, but in time it proved to be less dangerous in the “unoccupied” regions. Hadjin (Adana Province), where most of the population were Armenian, suffered a Turkish Nationalist siege of the city in 1920, and subsequently fell. Cilicia (Wikipedia), bounded to the north and east by the Taurus Mountains. 3 Maps of an Armenian Town that Exists No More midafternoonmap.com.

Hand Book : Near East Relief 1920. Archive.org. An American charitable organisation.

The Medical Work of the Near East Relief; A review of its accomplishments in Asia Minor and the Caucasus during 1919-20 edited by Geo. L Richards 1923 Archive.org

• My War Experiences in Two Continents by S MacNaughtan [Sarah] 1919 Archive.org. Based on her diaries. A press cutting states “she is a well-known authoress, whose works have attained a world-wide reputation” (page 167). She worked as an orderly with a Unit in Belgium headed by Mrs St.Clair Stobart, then went as a volunteer to Russia, ending up in the Caucasus, where she fell ill.
• KV 1/17 Imperial Overseas Intelligence 1915-1919: Eastern Mediterranean Special Intelligence Bureau. Link to a free record download from the National Archives, Kew. KV 1/16-19 Includes KV 1/18 Cyprus and KV 1/19 Summary which may also contain related material. Unclear if this record series contains any information in respect of Turkey etc.
• Spies in Arabia: The Great War and the Cultural Foundations of Britain's Covert Empire in the Middle East by Priya Satia 2008. Archive.org.
• Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939 First Series Volume XII HMSO 1962. HathiTrust Digital Library. Certain areas only, may not be viewable in USA.
  • Chapter IV "Transcaucasia February 3, 1920-April 20, 1921". Contents page lvii, Chapter IV page 557
  • Chapter V "Russia February 28, 1920- March 19, 1921".Contents page lxxi, Chapter V page 679

HathiTrust Digital Library editions for this series (viewing conditions differ- some may not be available in USA). Details of the volumes (diplomatic-documents.org, archived page)

• Series Peace Handbooks: Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office: No 54 Caucasia HMSO 1920. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available World Digital Library a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, contributed by Library of Congress.
• A Handbook of Asia Minor: Volume I General. July 1919 by [Great Britain] Naval Staff Intelligence Department. Archive.org. Note, maps at the end of the book are not included.
• Vocabularies: English, German, Magyar, Serbian, Bulgarian, Roumanian, Greek, Turkish Compiled by the Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division, Naval Staff, Admiralty. HMSO. 1920 Archive.org
• Turkish Official Histories, Turkish language: Birinci Dünya Harbi Serisi / World War I Series from Ministry of National Defence, Republic of Turkey. Includes maps. If required use Google Translate for the website (not histories). In addition to the Army histories, there is also item 15 Birinci Dünya Harbi, Türk Hava Harekatı C.9 Air Operations, and item 16 Birinci Dünya Harbinde Türk Harbi, Deniz Harekâtı C.8 Naval Operations. Although in respect of another theatre of war the following article discusses the scope and extent of some of the Turkish Official Histories from page 49 "Wasp or Mosquito? The Arab Revolt in Turkish Military History" by Edward J. Erickson British Journal for Military History, Volume 4, Issue 3, July 2018, pages 44-59. A download to your computer.