With the Persian Expedition

by Martin Henry Donohoe

There had been a good deal of unrest amongst the disbanded followers of Kuchik Khan. Men had gone back to their villages to brood over their reverse of fortune. The hotheads amongst them were not at all satisfied at the easy way in which they had been beaten out of their entrenchments on the Manjil road. Various pretexts were put forward with a view of explaining away the sharp reverse they suffered on that occasion. Further, there was a recrudescence of propaganda activity amongst them, carried on by Turkish agents and sympathizers who came and went in the jungle country on the shores of the Caspian.

Bicherakoff and his Russians had gone off to Baku, and a small force of British alone was holding Resht. Admirable for the Jungalis' plan, thought their leaders! This time they would be able to settle their account with the British without any intervening Russian mixing himself up in the business.

Early on July 20th a large force of Jungalis made a surprise attack on Resht. Aided by armed partisans within who, once the attack developed, brought hitherto concealed rifles into play from window and roof-top, the enemy achieved a distinct measure of success. The street fighting was desperate and severe. The attacking force fought with great bravery, determination, and skill. They dug themselves in, and threw up barricades the better to aid them to hold ground they had won.

But, although the greater part of Resht passed into their hands, following their first impetuous dash, the Jungalis were never able to make themselves masters of the south-western section of the town which was held by British troops. They knocked their heads against this in vain. It was left to the armoured cars, moreover, once more to demonstrate their great value in street fighting. The heavy cars of the Brigade and the 6th Light Armoured-Motor Battery were rushed into action, and although the streets had been dug up by the enemy in order to impair the mobility of the Brigade, the latter made short work of the Jungalis, driving them from point to point, and from street to street, until the town was once more in our possession. The enemy found themselves at a complete disadvantage when facing armour-plated fighting machines. The moral effect of these alone, apart from their fire efficiency, proved disastrous to Jungali nerves, and spread panic and disorganization in the ranks of the foe. Profiting by the bitter example of treachery that the Jungali attack had furnished, the British this time were less lenient when it came to imposing terms upon the beaten enemy.

Towards the end of July signs of dissension showed themselves amongst the Bolshevik militants who controlled the political and military destinies of Baku, a matter of which I wrote in the previous chapter. The Turks were without the gates. Bicherakoff had gone north, and the Bolshevik military machine had helplessly broken down. It could neither organize any scheme of defence, nor evolve any offensive plan for relieving the city from the gradually tightening grip of the Turk. The people of Baku found that mediocrity and mendacity were but poor and unsatisfactory weapons with which to attempt to arrest the march of a modern army, and these were about all the Bolsheviks possessed in their mental arsenal. Above the chaos and welter of discordant opinion arose the murmurings of a discontented, fear-stricken people. They had suffered much from Bolshevik oppression and from Bolshevik ineptitude, and clamoured for a new set of dramatis personæ and the recasting of the principal roles in the Baku tragedy. So these political farceurs, the Bolsheviks, were figuratively hissed off the boards, and disappeared down the stage trap-door to an oblivion which, alas! was but temporary. They were baffled, but not beaten.

Their places were taken by men holding saner and less violent political views. One of the first official acts of the new Baku Government was to summon the British to their aid.

It was the chance for which Dunsterville had lived and waited, and he lost no time in grasping it. At Enzeli he embarked a mixed force of about two thousand, made up of unattached Imperial and Dominion officers of the original Dunsterforce, a battalion or so of the North Staffords, a detachment of Hants, howitzer and field gun sections, two armoured cars, two sections of the motor machine-gun company, and other sundry units and details which had been commandeered from Resht for the move upon Baku.

The advanced guard disembarked at the Caspian oil port on August 5th, and the remainder speedily followed.

The position in Baku was not one to inspire confidence. There were Bolshevik troops in the town who did not attempt to conceal their displeasure at the arrival of the British. The "Red Committee," too, was gathering fresh strength and planning the overthrow of its successors in office—the Government that had invited Dunsterville to Baku. Muddle and confusion prevailed everywhere. Jealousy, distrust, and bickering were rife amongst the heterogeneous, ill-disciplined mass of Russians and Armenians which passed for an army in Baku. It was computed that there were about 20,000 Russians of various political hues, ranging from bright Bolshevik red to sober Imperial grey, in and around the town, while the number of Armenian auxiliaries was estimated at 5,000. Yet the brunt of the fighting had to be borne by the British infantry, chiefly the North Staffords, for it was rarely that over 5,000 of our more than doubtful allies could be rounded up to assist in holding the far-flung defensive line of Baku.

Despite the stiffening of British troops in the front line, the moral encouragement of British officers, and the active material support of British artillery and British armoured cars, it was found impossible to infuse any real or lasting enthusiasm into the Baku army. It had its own ethics of fighting and stuck to them. War, it was felt, was a job not to be taken too seriously, and must never be allowed to interfere with one's customary distractions, nor with one's business or social engagements. Russians and Armenians would leave a "back to-morrow" message, and casually stroll out of the front-line trenches, whenever they felt in the mood, to go off to attend some political meeting in Baku, or seek refreshment and questionable enjoyment at some of the local cafés.