File 3516/1914 Pt 9 'German War: Persia' [‎113r] (230/618)

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[This Document is the Property of Hie Britannic Majesty’s Govemmeni]
PERSIA AND CENTRAL ASIA.
COAPIDENTIAL
T
4 "'
A5
[September 28. J
Section 1.
[140219]
.i.
(No
Sir,
110 .)
No
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received September 28.)
Tehran, August 30, 1915.
I HAVE the honour to inform you that the Persian gendarmerie, under the
personal command of Swedish officers, have recently sustained two not inconsiderable
defeats at the hands of the tribesmen.
In the first instance a branch of the Shahseven tribe attacked a column of
gendarmes under Captain Hierta on the Kazvin-Hamadan road, and during the
engagement Captain Hierta was killed. This is the fourth Swedish officer who has
lost his life since the formation of the gendarmerie under Swedish control.
Detailed reports of this encounter are not as yet available, but it seems clear
that the gendarmerie suffered considerable loss and that a native officer with some
200 men and two guns deserted to the attacking tribesmen. A punitive expedition
was despatched from Tehran, and the officer in command here informs me that steps
are being taken to restore order and to bring the offenders to justice.
Such information as is available in regard to the second instance would point to
its having been of a much graver nature than the above-mentioned fight.
For some time past the Governor-General of Luristan had ceased to exercise any
control over the turbulent tribesmen in his province and has been unable to collect
the taxes for several years, and the efforts of the young Swedish officer in command
at Burujird resulted a few days ago in the complete defeat of his force of 800
gendarmes with the loss of some 200 men and four guns and the whole of the Governor-
General’s baggage, tents, &c. Captain de Mare, the officer in question, and Nizam-ul-
Sultaneh barely escaped with their lives.
These defeats have somewhat shaken the prestige of the gendarmerie and would
seem to prove that the Swedes, apart from their open pro-German propaganda, are
quite incapable of fulfilling their more obvious duties of safeguarding the peace of
the roads.
Colonel Ed wall, the chief officer commanding, somewhat naively admitted m a
letter to a member of my staff that “ pour le moment 800 gendarmes sont disparus et
je n’en sais rien de leur avenir, mais j’espere en retrouver la plus part (sic).
Colonel Ed wall even went so far as to put forward this tragic disappearance of
his gendarmes as an excuse for not complying with the orders of the Persian
Government to furnish an escort for the British and Russian consuls to Kermanshah.
1 have already reported to you by telegraph that the two consuls were forced to
return to Hamadan by the action of Herr Schunemann, an ex-carpenter from Paoriz,
who is nominally the German consul at Eermanshaln
1 personally always doubted the wisdom of allowing His Majesty s consul to return
to Kermanshah, but as you will remember, Sir, it was decided at the request of the
Russian Legation that Mr. McDouall should be permitted to accompany the new
Russian consul thither when it should be possible for the latter to take up his post.
Kermanshah being in the Russian zone, I have deferred largely to the views of my
Russian colleague as to the question of the re-establishment of the two consulates
there and informed Mr. McDouall that he should conform his movements to those of
Baron Chirkassof. On the 6th instant I heard from Mr. McDouall that their
departure from Hamadan was fixed for the next day but one, and I informed II. de
Etter of this intention, expressing the opinion that the consuls should wait until
proper arrangements had been made for their reception at Kermanshah, a question
which had been under discussion with the Persian Government for some days. M. de
Etter replied that he agreed with me and was telegraphing to Baron Ghirkassol to
remain at Hamadan until further instructions. He appears, howevei,to have forgotten
to send the message, and the consuls started. i i • j
As the Russian Legation has at its disposal in the shape of the Gossack brigade
and the troops at Kazvin far better means of coercing the Persian Government m this
matter than myself, I left further arrangements in M. de Ette, ls.. hands^Jjut h. ( -...,LG J t_
me informed of the course of events and of his own action.
[2485 ee-
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