One of the dangers to be guarded against was that of German missions to Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Efforts were made to intercept such parties, but it took time to make the necessary arrangements, and it was not until 1916 that the Eastern Persian cordon was in working order with the Russians patrolling the frontier as far south as Kain, from which centre the British, with some regular troops and a number of locally raised levies, were responsible to the borders of Baluchistan. Persia being a land of vast distances, it is not surprising that a German mission was able, by means of very long marches, to reach Herat in safety. It was received with every honour, but displayed ex traordinary lack of tact by openly decrying everything of Afghan manufacture, the arms manufactured at the arsenal at the capital, for instance, being criticised contemptuously. At Kabul too, the same behaviour brought the mission into trouble. The Amir, who had received it courteously, played for time by summoning a council representative of all the tribes and by lengthy meetings with the mission and his own advisers. The Germans gradually realised that, without a Turkish force, their efforts were wasted. They were fina3ly dismissed, the Amir pointing out that he could hardly break with the British until a large, well-equipped army reached Kabul from the west. The mission broke up into small parties, most of which successfully evaded the cordon.
In 1916 the ebb and rlow of the struggle were very marked. At first the Turks, shortly after the retreat of the British from Ctesiphon, bccupied Kermanshah and pushed forward towards Hamadan. The Russians in their turn, advanced and drove the enemy off the plateau, while a second force swept the hostile Bakhtiaris out of Isfahan and brought back the British and Russian communities. The capture of Kut again transformed the military situation and, in the summer, the Turks, 16,000 strong with 54 guns, gradually drove back the Russians who could only oppose them with 12,000 men and 19 guns. Kermanshah was evacuated and then Hamadan, the retreat continuing as far as the Sultan Bulaq range which covered Kazvin and threatened a force marching on Tehran. This situation remained unchanged until December.
The South Persia Rifles.—In 1916 it was decided, in con sultation with the Persian Government, to organise a force of Persian troops to restore order in Southern Persia and take the place of the Swedish gendarmerie. This force was to be i i,000 strong, and the Cossack brigade was to be raised to a similar strength. Brig.-Gen. Sir Percy Sykes, who had spent many years in Southern Persia, was appointed to undertake this task, and landed at Bandar Abbas in March, with three other British officers and a few Indian instructors. The state of affairs was most unfavourable as, apart from the defeat of Qawam, the British agent and his escort were assassinated at Lingeh, and two British officers were assassinated in Makran about the same time, and finally this terrible month of April saw the grave disaster of Kut al 'Amara. Many experienced officials expected a wave of fanaticism to sweep across Persia and there was certainly cause for deep anxiety, especially in Makran, but British coolness un doubtedly saved the situation. Recruiting operations at Bandar
Abbas were started immediately after landing and, in spite of a strong anti-British party, mcn were rapidly enlisted, and, before the end of a month, the Persian flag was hoisted with ceremony over a camp. The force, handled with much tact and patience by its British and Indian instructors, never looked back, and was soon able to protect Bandar Abbas and an important section of the caravan route from the raiding tribesmen.
Qawam was aided by the British with money and munitions, and an exaggerated report of the means placed at his disposal led to the rebel Arab headmen kissing his feet. With their aid he defeated the Swedish gendarmerie, and was marching in triumph to Shiraz when he was killed by a fall from his horse. His son, a man of 28, was, however, able to restore Persian authority in Fars. The success of Qawam and the landing of the mission at Bandar Abbas made the position of the German parties at Ker man decidedly insecure. They fled to two parties, and after suffering some losses from attacks on the road, they were all captured by Qawam and imprisoned at Shiraz. The little band consisted of 6o Germans and Austrians, a dozen Turks and a few Afghans.
A small force of Indian troops, consisting of a section of mountain guns, a squadron of cavalry and Soo rifles, was sent to Bandar Abbas, and Sir Percy Sykes marched inland a distance of 280m. to Kerman, where he was received with much cordiality. The various pro-German elements who had created a state of insecurity fled, the bank and telegraph offices were reopened, and the normal state of affairs was quickly re-established. The column then marched to Yezd, where the British colony had just returned.
News being received of the Turkish advance and of a probable attack on Isfahan, the column made a forced march to that city where it joined the extreme left of the Russian Army, represented by 600 Cossacks. The Turks, hearing of the arrival of the British at Isfahan, stopped at a village some six miles distant, and then retired. When it became evident that the danger had passed, the column marched south to Shiraz, which it reached in November, thereby completing a march of i,000m. through the heart of Persia.
At Shiraz the question of the gendarmerie had to be settled. The Persian Government had not actually given its consent to its being incorporated in the South Persia Rifles, but it was unable to pay or equip the force. Spread over the route for a distance of 200M. from the borders of Fars in the north, to Kazerun in the south, and numbering some 3,00o men, the problem which confronted Sir Percy Sykes was one of extreme difficulty. He had no staff to administer or train such large numbers, and he was aware that it was this force which had seized the British consul only a year previously and that many of the officers were pro-German in sentiment. But he also realized that, if the gendarmerie broke up into well-armed bands of robbers and devastated the country, few supplies would reach Shiraz. He consequently decided to take over the entire body, and the force gradually developed and helped to restore order in South Persia. (See WORLD WAR; WORLD WAR: BIBLIOGRAPHY.)