'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. [‎16r] (36/168)

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VII. —Supply and Transport Services.
The position in April 1920 (with explanatory reference to other periods).
(J) Supplies .—The normal method of obtaining and distributing supplies
is descjibed in Appendix (1) by means of a graph and explanatory notes.
In April 1910, however, the conditions had varied from the normal, for
the supply of cereals from Sistan, owing to previous heavy drains upon it,
had since the beginning of 1910, ceased for the time being, so that the rela
tively barren Area of the Kainat was dependent entirely on India and on
Khorasan. On the olher hand the supplies from Khorasan had exceeded
expectation and compensated for the suspension of contributions fiorn Sistan.
The drain upon India had not therefore became any greater.
*
The period from March to July of the year before had been an anxious
one, owing to the then increasing scarcity of forage aid atta in Khorasan.
This was due to the very poor harvest of 1918. The harvest of 1919 itself
had not been prolific, and therefore, in April 1920, it was still uncertain
whether the supply of cereals would m t fail before the middle of July, wdien
the new harvest would be available. It vas, therefore, decided at the beginning
of the year 1920. to buy up enough of the local produce of Kborasan by the
1st of April to stock all Supply Depots on the Main Line of Communications,
that were dependent on l^cal produce with atta, grain and bhoosa sufficient to
last till 15th July, by which date produce from the new harvest wmuld be
available. Bv the’third w r eek in March this programme had nearly been
completed, and this was a very favourable circumstance, in view of the
forthcoming withdrawal, for the reserves that had thus been laid in to meet
a possible shortage in Khorasan (which never actually occurred) were available
subsequently to meet the extra demands of the troops that were to march
down the line from Meshed. In the lower part of the line, where the posts
were fed almost entirely from India, the reserves did not in April 1920, exceed
on the average the eight weeks’ stock that was prescribed. The system of
replenishing supplies was still the same had originally been instituted. Those
that came from India were delivered from Railhead at each Post in weekly
instalments based on w r eekly consumption. They were given a weekly
maundage allowance in the Table of Transport allotment. In the case of
articles supplied exclusively from India the upward flow was fairly uniform
and for the most part varied only with occasional changes in the feeding
strengths.
It w as much harder to maintain a uniform flow in the case of articles that
were purchased either wholly or partly in Persia, since it was seldom possible
in dealings with Persian traders to count upon deliveries of fixed quantities
at fixed intervals. For instance, with Shusp and Birjand partially ^ dependent
on Sistan for forage, a sudden cession of deliveries from Sistan might result
in a sudden demand for extra transport to bring forage from Railhead to Shusp.
Or again, if the supply from Sistan remained constant, and meanwhile some
hitherto reluctant Persian trader in Turbat suddenly released the stocks which
he had hitherto been withholding, there would be a greater influx of forage
into Birjand from the North and this w'ould at once decrease the demand for
supplies from Railhead, and for transport to carry them.
On the lower half of the line from Du/dap to Shusp, and sometimes as
far as Birjand, the upward flow largely preponderated. In the upper half the
reverse was the case and a far greater weight of supplies was habitually back-
loaded than was uploaded, since, as shown in the graph in Appendix 1 there
was usually a large flow from Meshed to Birjand of the bulkier articles namely
atta. grain and fodder. The downward flow was, however, intermittent depending
on the seasons and on the caprice of the traders, but since the transport in the
North was mainly local and not imported, it w r as comparatively easy to improvise
extra transport when required and reduce it when the requirement became
less. It was the function of Major A. E. Byrch, Deputy Assistant Director,
Supply and Transport (Purchases), to purchase supplies at Meshed and
regulate the purchases made by Supply Officers at Turbat, Jumin and
Khaf, and so arrange for the downward flow of supplies from