File 18/1919 Pt 2 ‘Persia: Expenditure payments for maintenance of Cossack Division’ [‎207r] (45/70)

[Thss
Docu ment Is the Property of His Britannic MaSesty’s Gov ernment, and should
be returned to the Foreign Office iff not required for official use.]
Decypher.
POLITIC^.
Mr. Norman (Teheran)
November 25th« 1920.
Do 11*50.a.m* November 25th. 1920*
lu 12,15.p.m* November 26tho 1920.
No. 755.
Your telegram No* 560.
Paragraph 4 of your telegram No. 532 certainly led me
to suppose that His Majesty’s Government were prepared to
assume whole cost of reorganisation of Cossack Division
for words do not appear to me to be susceptible of any
other interpretation and when the Persian Government learn
that this is not the case I cannot blame them if they accuse
me of a breach of faith.
In the meantime G.O.C. Norperforce and General
Dickson have reached conclusion that Russian officers have
reduced it to such a state of indiscipline and inefficiency
that it would be much harder to rid officers and men of
their bad Mbits then to form a complete new force from
better elements of division and Central Brigade*
Accordingly, immediately after new Government had
been formed General Dickson, the Military Aotachd arid I
put military situation plainly before Bipahdar and Minister
of War.
reasons
showed that for financial and parliamentary
and owing to pressure of public opinion it was
useless to hope that British troops would remain in Persia
for