The Seistan Force, originally called East Persia Cordon, was a force of

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

troops set up to prevent infiltration by German and Ottoman agents from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(Iran) into

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

during World War I. The force was established to protect British interests in Persia from subversion by German agents, most notably

Wilhelm Wassmuss Wilhelm Wassmuss (1880 – November 29, 1931; German spelling: Waßmuß) was a German diplomat and spy and part of Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition, known as "Wassmuss of Persia". According to British versions of history, he "attempted to fome ...

. The force was also tasked to intercept and destroy the Turco-German expedition to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

that sought Afghan alliance in the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

war effort and Afghan assistance to wartime revolutionary conspiracies in India.

Unit history

In August 1914 (at the start of World War I) a small force, under the orders of the

2nd Quetta Brigade The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India. Its composition was: Formation 1914 ...

, was maintained in Western Balochistan to suppress arms traffic. In July 1915 this force was expanded and became the East Persia Cordon to prevent enemy infiltration from

into Afghanistan. A similar Russian Cordon was established to prevent infiltration into north-west Afghanistan. From March 1916 the force became the Seistan Force under the commander-in-chief in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Following the Revolution in Russia, the Malleson mission was sent to

Trans-Caspia {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Trans-Caspia is an old name for the region lying to the east of the Caspian Sea in Central Asia. It can mean either Turkmenistan in particular, or the Central Asia region in general. Histor ...

and the Seistan Force became the Lines of Communication for the Mission from September 1918 under the orders of the

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of India. During World War I the division remained in India. Its composition was: Formation 191 ...

. With the withdrawal of the force from Trans-Caspia, the troops in Persia were withdrawn and the last elements left in November 1920.

Despatches

The following is part of the text of a despatch by General Sir

Charles Monro Charles Monro may refer to: *Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet, (15 June 1860 – 7 December 1929) was a British Army General in the First World War. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief, India in ...

, Commander-in-Chief, India, on military operations in the Indian Empire from March 1916 to March 1917, published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 31 October 1917:

Commanding officers

* Lt Colonel J. M. Wikely, August 1915 * Brig-General

Reginald Dyer Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was an officer of the Bengal Army and later the newly constituted British Indian Army. His military career began serving briefly in the regular British Army before tra ...

, March 1916 * Brig-General C. O. O. Tanner, October 1916 * Lt Colonel (later Brig-General) G. A. Dale, May 1917

Footnotes

References

* *

Unit history

Despatches

Commanding officers

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading