'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. [‎40r] (86/168)

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PART II.
I.—General.
1 During my stay in Quetta in April 1920, on my way to take up
'ointment of Inspector-General of Communications, East Persia, I was
• farmed bv the General Officer Commanding, 4th (Quetta) Division, that
mv nrincipal task would probably be the evacuation to India of the Meshed
TWpo and the closing down of the Lines of Communication in East Persia
nd further though definite orders had not actually issued on the sub]ect,
I was, on arrival in East Persia, to draw up and submit a scheme for the
withdrawal that was contemplated. .
2 On arrival at Headquarters, Lines of Communication, in Birjand on the
23rd April 1920, I was given by General W. B. Lesshe, C.B., C M G., the
officer P I was relieving, letter No. L.-31, of the 1st April 19^0, from ^ rl S a ’
dier-General-in-Charge, Administration, 4th (Quetta) Division, to his address,
containing the orders to formulate the scheme referred to m
Bv the 9th May 1920 I had drawn up the scheme, which was despatched
f/o ptta on the 11th May by the hand of Major D. Thompson, G .S. O.-II,
Into covet of my W.8 date/the 8th-9th May 1920. This letter, whrle being
actually a reply to letter No. L.-31, dated the 1st April 19-0, refe " e ^‘® d °“
nrepave, was, with its enclosures, in effect an appreciation ol the task I had to
perform, with definite proposals showing how I proposed to car y'£ out - „ .
1 On the 8th May I received information from General
(Her-General-in-Charae, Administration, 4th Quetta) Division, that the with
drawal had been definitely ordered, and was to be speeded up as much as
P08 t' e On the 17th May I was informed by General J “ ks0 “
had with one or two minor exceptions, been approved by the General Officer
Commanding, 4th (Quetta) Division, and it now only remained for me to
PUt i'lhatltas unable to put my plans into execution at once was due
to circumstances beyond Transport Co/pany is dealt
parts, tubes, and covers for No. 5 ALecnamca . , .p ]a , lsDO rt'), but
with under the heading Supply and Transport ^echamcal rtansport)
the main cause of the delay in fixing /“Va d e/4m regarding the
tination of the Persian Government m coming to a dec.sion re|a ^
purchase of certain surplus w d “ a ^ e ^^^/^ructions to wire to General
information was despatched to Tebeian on e 0 f a ll surplus stores,
siderable correspondence w^h India reading ^posa^of ^ ^
^ISr^Hn^ald d^
& ^/h? mh^A'l helrd a defioUely that the Persian Government
declined to take the stores. i i definitely decided on I was
5. Once I drew the withdrawal h^l been detmite.^ had been
able to got out my actual orders based on the senem
previously submitted and approved. Brigadier -General-in-Charge,
Pour copies of tie orders were ^nttothe ^^ iei dated lhe 22nd j une
Administration, 4tb (Quetta) Divismn, ma i n lv administrative, were pub-
1920 ; as explained therein, the orders being ^ aU conC e rn ed time to
lished well in advance of zero day m necessary in view of the fact
consider them thoroughly a precau 10T V ‘ distributed over some 800 miles
that officers who were to act on t ie ™ delav in the execution of the orders,
of the Lines of Communication, an 1 * ^Lonardized the success of the
once zero day was announced, would have jeopardize
whole undertaking. . . • ^^nnAction with the withdrawal
6. The work of the various services in co musfc here ar ^
is gone into in detail under the . services, I have much felt
that, with regard to the Supply f aa * or ^ or Trall sport. Able and hard-
the want of a Deputy Assistan and TrailS porfc is, no one man can
working as my Assistant D i rect ^ 01 0 , J a P n Lort without a Deputy Assistant
possibly run supplies and animal c p