The Dunsterville Mission - from Baghdad to Baku in 1918

[dominic]

I've been reading some interesting things about the Dunsterville Mission in 1918, and found some interesting links.

This little known theatre of operations in WW1 finds British, Commonwealth troops and Gurkhas, allied with Russian Cossacks, fighting hostile tribesmen and Turks in the Back of Beyond!

To summarise, the strategic situation up til 1918 was that the Central Powers and Turkey were being held by the Western allies along a continuous line from France, through Italy, Egypt, Palestine and Baghdad.  The Russians were holding the line on the eastern front and through the Caucasus to the Caspian Sea.

With the fall of the Tsarist Regime, Bolshevik Russia unilaterally pulled itself out of the war.  The result was a power vacuum in the Caucasus which exposed Northern Iran and the Caucasian oil fields to Turkish and German infiltration.

British Major General Lionel Dunsterville was sent from India to Baghdad with a small force of 40 officers and NCOs.  His mission was to travel overland to Tiflis (Tblisi) to organise and train local troops to defend the area against the Turks.

With his small force, he could not get beyond the Caspian port of Enzeli where his advance was blocked by local Bolsheviks.  He therefore returned to Hamadan in Northern Persia and requested reinforcements.

By August 1918, his force totalled:

several hundred Ford cars, trucks
14 armoured cars
4 aircraft (Martinsyde G100 Elephant Bombers)

Battalion of Hants Regt
Squadron of 14th Hussars
Commonwealth detachment (200) of Aussies, NZ, Canadians and South Africans
1000 infantry (1/4 Hampshires, 1/2 Gurkhas) + 2 mountain guns

Meanwhile, Dunsterville won a very reliable ally with Col Bicherovka who commanded 1000 Cossacks.

His force was joined later by 800 troops comprising the Warwicks, North Staffords, Gloucesters and Worcesters.

With this force, Dunsterville commenced operations in Northern Iran against the Turks pushing as far west as Urmieh (Armenia) and captured Baku and Krasnovodsk.

However, he was unable to hold on to Baku, and was finally pushed out by approx 6000+ Turks in October 1918.

Here are some useful links:

http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/20_21_century/3035386.html?page=1&c=y

http://www.gwpda.org/Dunsterville/Dunsterville_1918.html

[Prof.Witchheimer]

very interesting stuff, Dominic, thanks for writing! sounds like a good scenario for our next gaming weekend

[gnu2000]

I'd recommend checking out the Malleson mission too. Similar set up but on the Eastern side of the Caspian.

British regulars, indian infantry and cavalry backing up menshevik and turkoman forces against the Bolsheviks. Both sides had armoured trains.

You'll find a good introduction here:
http://members.fortunecity.com/behindthelines/transcas.htm


cheers
Steve

[sukhe_bator]

I've been casting around for ideas and MallMiss in Transcaspia appealed, though in my case my heresy extends to using 15mm figures. However, I very much like the concept since it was the first time British troops had fired at Russians since the Crimean war and the Punjabis acquitted themselves so well in bayonet charges etc. that they got a fierce reputation amongst the Tashkent Soviet troops

The orbats are interesting
On the British side
19th Punjabis (3 Coys + MGs)
1 Coy 1/4th Hants
2 sqdns 28th Indian LC
a Btty 44th Royal Field Artillery

The Transcaspian forces amounted to
2 armoured trains (one improvised for combat, the other for logistical support)
1000 Armenians and Russians
4 field guns
4 SBMLs
several hundred Turkmen tribesmen

These faced the Tashkent Soviet's forces supplemented by substantial numbers of ex Austro-Hungarian POWs
with three armoured trains and access to the border arsenal at Kushkh.

I can recommend the Conflict Studies Research centre article by Michael Sargent, 'British Military Involvement in Transcaspia (1918-19) April 2004,
se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/87659/.../04_apr.pdf
Also C H Ellis 'The British Intervention in Transcaspia 1918-19'
http://www.archive.org/details/britishintervent002569mbp

Also a google serach of 'railroads' and 'turkmenistan' revealed a cache of photos in New York Public Library showing the construction of the Trans Caspian Railway in the late 1880's. Excellent research material for buildings and recreating the look of the campaign.   http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=100435&imageID=50876&total=38&num=0&word=Railroads%20%2D%2D%20Turkmenistan&s=3&notword=&d=&c=&f=2&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&imgs=20&pos=2&e=w

Using google maps also really gives one a flavour of the terrain if you factor out the rectilinear modern development, though the image resolution is not so hot.

[Mark Plant]

Meanwhile, Dunsterville won a very reliable ally with Col Bicherovka who commanded 1000 Cossacks.

Bicherakov took Dunsterville for a ride. He used him to get close to Russia and then deserted immediately in order to raise the White flag in the Terek. For a while their interests aligned in Persia and the Cossacks were willing fighters, but "reliable" they never were.

With this force, Dunsterville commenced operations in Northern Iran against the Turks pushing as far west as Urmieh (Armenia) and captured Baku and Krasnovodsk.

They let him in. After he took an age to get there.

However, he was unable to hold on to Baku, and was finally pushed out by approx 6000+ Turks in October 1918.

He deserted his Baku allies, disgracefully, with no warning.

Dunsterville had been a bit of a high flier up to this point - which is why he was given such an independent mission. He was never given a command again.

He wrote his book ("The Adventures of Dunsterforce") to show he had been poorly treated. People have taken it at face value and his reputation has remained high. The Army wasn't so easily fooled.

The Dunsterville mission could make for a good campaign, but the first step is to give it a competent commander. That way they get to Baku in lots of time, without promising a miracle to the inhabitants, and can organise a decent defence of the city.

"Dunsterville's Adventures: A Reappraisal", Artin H. Arslanian.
International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2. (Sep., 1980), pp. 199-216.

[Wirelizard]

I can recommend the Conflict Studies Research centre article by Michael Sargent, 'British Military Involvement in Transcaspia (1918-19) April 2004,
se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/87659/.../04_apr.pdf
Also C H Ellis 'The British Intervention in Transcaspia 1918-19'
http://www.archive.org/details/britishintervent002569mbp

Working link to the Michael Sargent paper (sukhe_bator, your original link was elided and lead to a 404 page)

Both that, the Archive.org link to the Ellis book and the Dunsterforce links look fascinating. I think I've just found the RCW theatre(s) I'm going to concentrate on for gaming!

[sukhe_bator]

I think this campaign has lots of potential both in 15mm and 28mm. The scale of operations lends itself to BOB while the scenic element is what you care to make of it.
I'm considering modelling a station building and engine shed in 15mm, as the most substantial buildings at any given locality, with possibly a water tower. Interestingly looking at the Askhabad photos from the New York Public Library archive it would seem from the oil storage tank and adjacent delivery tower that there is a strong possibility the locos were oil fired. Makes sense given the relative proximity to oil fields and dearth of timber...   

[Mark Plant]

Makes sense given the relative proximity to oil fields and dearth of timber...   

Timber was only a fall-back (admittedly used a bit in the RCW). Russia has lots of coal.

[sukhe_bator]

Been doing some research on Russian Steam Locos used on the Trans Caspian Railway and most photos show them with spark arrestors on the funnels - a sure sign they were regularly wood burning...

[Ignatieff]

I fancy putting on the MallMiss battle, for as you say Sukhe, a very interesting orbat.  I'm travelling at the moment (in Samarkand) so can't get into the interweb much, however are there battle plans anywhere showing deployment and terrain???

[juergen c. olk]

two good books on Dunsterforce,are"The Adventures of Dunsterforce"by Major-general L.C.Dunsterforce,and'With the Persian Expedition",Major M.H.Donohoe.Both should be available on Amazon.It is a Great story of a small elite expedition,with a plot of characters,Bolsheviks,armenians,renegade turkish corps,Azerbejani's.white russians,oil,and possible germans oh yeah Goergians,It is a totall cluster with the Brits in the middle ...again.   

[sukhe_bator]

There's not much beyond the bare bones descriptions of the encounters in MallMiss, but the dust up at Dushak is perhaps the best described and can be approximated on the wargames table. A jaunt on Google Maps is always interesting - just type in Turkmenistan and zoom in following the main road/rail link W-E between Ashkabad and Merv. Lord Curzon's reoprt in the Graphic Magazine in 1889 on the construction of the Trans Caspian is also well worth a look with some good photos. These are available online in various archives. In gaming terms there may also be a lot of off table artillery fire from the various armoured trains involved. It depends on how much the rules compress artillery ranges and the size of the gaming table being used. I'd have to consult my notes to post more.
ATM I'm finishing off the British forces for MallMiss in 15mm.

[Ignatieff]

There's not much beyond the bare bones descriptions of the encounters in MallMiss, but the dust up at Dushak is perhaps the best described and can be approximated on the wargames table. A jaunt on Google Maps is always interesting - just type in Turkmenistan and zoom in following the main road/rail link W-E between Ashkabad and Merv. Lord Curzon's reoprt in the Graphic Magazine in 1889 on the construction of the Trans Caspian is also well worth a look with some good photos. These are available online in various archives. In gaming terms there may also be a lot of off table artillery fire from the various armoured trains involved. It depends on how much the rules compress artillery ranges and the size of the gaming table being used. I'd have to consult my notes to post more.
ATM I'm finishing off the British forces for MallMiss in 15mm.

Many thanks. Watch this space!

[giles the zog]

Try also: "The Spy who Disappeared", Reginald Teague-Jones aka Ronald Sinclair. He was with both Malleson and visited Baku when Dunsterville was there.

[juergen c. olk]

Bridge to cross for Dunsterforce