'History of the Great War based on Official Documents: Operations in Persia 1914-1919' [‎176r] (356/566)

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PUNITIVE OPERATIONS IN EARS 307
gradually worked south driving the enemy, who fought hard,
first off the hill immediately behind Ziarat and then up the
rocky slopes as far as the snow-line. At 6.15 p.m. in accordance
with orders from Colonel Grant, Major Dyer started his retire
ment to camp at Ziarat, which he reached, after leaving piquets
on the hills, at 8 p.m. The enemy followed up the retirement,
but the heavy loss he was believed to have sustained*
evidently had had its effect and during the night he made no
attempt to attack. Our own casualties during the day
amounted to three killed and six wounded in the Burma Mounted
Infantry, and two wounded in the 15th Lancers. The greater
part of the Indian infantry with the guns from Khunsar reached
Ziarat at 8.30 p.m.
Next morning (14th May) parties of infantry, covered by the
fire of the guns, searched the mountain slopes, securing some
abandoned animals and a few more rifles. During the day Colonel
Grant received information that many of the Chehar Rahis,
abandoning their forts and taking their possessions with them,
had betaken themselves to the main tribal stronghold on the
Kuh-i-Khan, which was about twelve miles west of Ziarat.
Here, in a position which they deemed impregnable, they were
said to be prepared to fight. Colonel Grant took steps to verify
this information, and also on the 15th May carried out a personal
reconnaissance of the position which enabled him to frame
orders for an attack on the 16th.
A peak in the mountain range lying to the south of the road
to Arsinjan and rising nearly 4,000 feet above the valley, the
Kuh-i-Khan fell steeply to the north in slopes which were
intersected by several narrow and precipitous ravines and which
terminated in cliffs several hundred feet high. Astride the
Tang-i-Zard, the largest of the ravines, the enemy's position
lay along the top edge of the cliffs, his main body holding a
line of sangars about six hundred yards long on the western
side of the Tang-i-Zard. The cliffs here were about seven
hundred feet high and everywhere the steep hill slopes were
strewn with great boulders and were partly covered with
bushes, while the ravines and foot hills were generally thickly
wooded with dwarf oak and wild olive. Altogether a very
strong position against a direct attack.
Colonel Grant's plan was to move the mounted troops under
cover of darkness so as to get round both flanks of the enemy's
* It is not known how Colonel Grant arrived at his estimates of enemy
losses, but the figures given in all his reports on the fights of this period seem
to be unduly high. For instance, on this occasion he estimated the enemy’s
losses to have been 185 killed and wounded out of 400 engaged.
Affair of
Kuh-i-Khan;
16 th May
1918.