File 1341/1921 Pt 1 'Khorassan Intelligence Summaries 1921-1922' [‎691v] (1030/1080)

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and Jamshadis included. The cavalry numbering some 600 is mainly
composed of Turkman and Jamshadis. 2 airplanes, 8 field guns, 2 armoured
cars.
Merv. —19th January. 5,000 troops. Musulmans and majority and 400
cavalry included. Original garrison had been recently increased by about
2,000 troops from the direction of Tashkent of whom the ultimate destination
was not yet, known. 2 field batteries with 6 field guns in addition. 1 airplane,
2 armoured cars. •
The following movements occurred between 13th and 19th January :—•
Westimrds .—4 troop-trains.
JEastwards .—1 troop-train.
Charjui to Kushk .—2 troop-trains.
Kushk to Charjui.—\ troop-train.
Askhahad .—Latest reports to hand 6,000 to 7,000 troops.
An informant gives the following movements during the first 3 weeks
of January whicli illustrate the piece-meal manner of transferring troops.
5th January .—300 Russians and 200 Sarts of 2nd Turkistan Regiment from
Tashkent passed westwards.
11th January .—250 mixed troops detrained from Tashkent. On following
day together with 150 men of the 15th Karaulnyi Regiment and some other
details they passed to Krasnovodsk.
15^ Jawwary.—300 Russian and Armenian troops from Tashkent passed
westwards.
18th January .—50 Russians of the Kazan Regiment left westwards.
According to this informant some soldiers have already been released but
it is not so far confirmed from other sources.
Krasnovodsk.—20th January. 2,000 to 2,500 troops. Mixed races and
garrison includes the Persian detachment.
On above date a transport with 450 troops arrived. They were stated to
have corce from Enzeli and to be the advance party of troops withdrawino- from
the Resht a,rea in accordance with the Rolshevik undertaking brouoht^about
by the Soviet-Persian agreement.
«
Three hundred troops left for Baku on January 19th
46. Ferghana.—An intelligent arrival who left Andijan on the 19th
January states that the place was reoccupied by the Bolsheviks about 6 weeks
previously and that there is little likelihood of their again losing it The
gamson numbered 4,000, mostly Russians and Tatars, and included ' about
1,000 cavalry. At the time of reoccupation it had been still larger but with
the improvement of conditions large drafts had been sent westwards. Guns
were estimated at 4 heavy and 10 field. 2 airplanes and some 40 motor
vehicles of sorts. ^ Two troop-trains with armoured engines were kept in
constant readiness in addition to the garrison, as was an armoured train. Any
reguar fighting had been rendered impossible by climatic conditions, but
sniping in the outskirts of the towns still obtained.
ai, ' B f 1 V ideS Were t i! 0r0Ugbl5r . sick of fi S lltin S and a Sart mullah, Kazi
hmad Khwaja, vas acting as an informal go-between for peace negotiations.
tPp^ e i deS -u a ^V f Sa r\?. e l eg ? teS , may fol]ow but informant did not believe
the Bolshevik statement that they had already been sent. The Bolsheviks have
With SWr Muhammad as first
Their propaganda mainly took the form of assuring the Sarts of the
eacTwiBo^WI S r yh f lpf ^ m ‘^British who had in turn abandoned
eacn anti-Boishevih leader whom they had promised to help.
to 3 000 oatfh-V -1 p th JaEU ? ry - Gar . ri . son estimated at 22,000 including 2,000
lir dmultZoL. t 1 ammunition plentiful. 3 airplanes seen 1n the
been'dSpatehed 8 towards TMis? 1 * 1068 ^ ' nUmberS ° f tr0 °P S haTe