'Military Report on Persia' [‎52r] (108/134)

85
In 1902 the cartridge factory An East India Company trading post. at Teheran was re- Cartridge
organised by an ex-non-commissioned officer of the factory An East India Company trading post. .
Austrian Army. New machinery was ordered from
Austria, and it is expected that cartridges will be turned
out at the rate of 12,000 per diem v/ith European, and
2,000 per diem with Persian, workmen.
The central office of the Clothing Department is at Clothing
Teheran, whence issues are made to the governors of Oepart-
provinces, all receipts, &c. being checked by the Pay- ment '
master-Gfeneral.
Commissariat and Transport departments do not exist Commis-
in the Persian Army. Troops, when required to change sariat and
stations, provide their own transport as best they can, transport,
donkeys being generally used for the purpose. The Shah
alone has a permanent camp transport establishment
of about 1,500 mules and camels.
The Medical Department is at present in a very
rudimentary condition.
Further particulars concerning the Army will be ment -
found in the “ Report on the Persian Army,” by Lieut.-
Colonel H. P. Picot.
According to information supplied by their chiefs, Fighting
the Bakhtiaris are capable of putting 30,000 fighting strength
men in the field, of whom some 7,000 or 8,000 would be
well mounted and armed with breechloading rifles; of
the remainder, about half would be mounted, and all
armed with native guns. A general levy of the tribes
men, between the ages of 20 and 60, would produce
70,000 to 80,000 men.
The above estimate is doubtless an exaggeration, and
it is probable that the force which could be raised in an
emergency would not exceed 20,000 fighting men, of
whom from 2,000 to 3,000 would be mounted.
There are from 7,000 to 8,000 Martini rifles in the
Bakhtiari country, the remaining firearms being smooth
bore muskets of Persian manufacture. As it is difficult
for the tribesmen to obtain fresh supplies of ammunition,
they refill old cartridge cases with country-made black
powder. The tribesmen are always ready to fire at any-