Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎97r] (193/644)

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Conscription.
616. A sum of 350,000 rials was provided in the budget under this head.
A similar sum was provided last year.
617. This sum appears inadequate, but it must be borne in mind that in
reality nearly all the work entailed in registration is performed by the
“ Department for the Registration of Documents and Properties,” which has a
4BTbudget provision of its own, and, in the course of its investigations, collects
statistics wanted alike for the purposes of conscription and census.
618. The net of conscription is being more widely thrown ever year, and
evasion, even by bribery, is becoming more difficult.
619. Conscription has not, as yet, been applied to the tribes, the necessary
preliminaries to which must be their subjugation, their disarmament and the
functioning of the Central Government in their areas. At the present rate of
progress several years must elapse before the tribesmen can be conscripted.
Armament and Equipment.
620. Over 200 motor transport vehicles have been sold to the Persian army
by the Ford Motor Company during 1933.
621. There have been frequent reports from the southern ports of the
arrival and despatch to Tehran of lorry loads of arms and ammunition.
622. It is known that the Eastern and Western Azerbaijan Armies have
been re-equipped with the Brno rifles and twenty shot automatic rifles purchased
in Czechoslovakia.
623. Heavy machine guns have been issued to the cavalry of the Tehran
garrison, their light automatics being transferred to the artillery.
624. An officer of the Persian army is at present in India inspecting
arsenals with a view to purchasing military stores, mostly artillery equipment.
625. An unconfirmed report states that orders for 20,000 automatic pistols,
model 902, and 5,000 rounds per pistol have been placed with the Uncete Company
of Guernica, Spain.
626. The Persian army has discarded the pahlavi hat. For field service a
soft khaki felt hat is worn, and for drill order a stiff hat of more or less British
army pattern, with a coloured band denoting the arm of the service.
Training and Manoeuvres.
627. The annual manoeuvres of the Tehran garrison were much curtailed
in scope and duration. Originally planned for the 20th October, they were
postponed until the 31st October. They only lasted twenty-four hours. The
ground selected was in the vicinity of Kerej (26 miles west of Tehran). Two
brigades of infantry and six aeroplanes took part. No invitations to attend were
issued to foreign military attaches, nor was any report published in the press.
628. The usual review of troops of the Central Garrison was held on the
22nd February, the anniversary of the coup d’Etat of 1921. The review was very
much on the same lines as those held in previous years, when, after a military
display, some 10,000 troops marched past the Shah.
629. During the review eighteen of the recently acquired “ Tiger Moth ”
aeroplanes flew over, three of which gave an exhibition of aerobatics much in
advance of last year’s performance. No invitations were issued to members of the
Diplomatic Corps, nor were military attaches invited to attend.
630. Six French military instructors were engaged, on private contracts, for
the Ecole militaire in Tehran. They were due to arrive early in 1934.
631. Training in the Central Garrison is carried on intensively. Though
weapon training and elementary tactical training are not neglected, most of the
time seems to be spent on squad drill, presumably the elementary recruit training
of the conscripts.
632. From what could be seen from a distance the standard of drill is
reasonably good, but the turn out and bearing of the men when off duty is very
slovenly. The turn out of the officers is uniformly good.