ملف ١٩١٦/٣٣٦٠ الجزء ١ "مراسلات بلاد فارس (١٩١٦-١٩١٧)" [و‎‎١‎٨‎٦] (٨٠٤/٣٧٦)

3. The Kazerun Column will proceed to Dasht-i-Arjan, where it will re*
connoitre the Mian Kotal position and report by telegraph for orders to the
General Officer Commanding, Shiraz.
Troops.— Mountain Battery 1 Section (2 guns); 150 all ranks 125th
Baluchistan Infantry; 1 Section 3rd South Persia Rifles Mountain Artillery
* C ” Company 3rd South Persia Rifles Infantry ; Tofangchis.
The Kazerun Column will march at 10 a.m. on 22 nd December line to
Cmnarahdar.
Supply arrangements by the Convoy System will be in charge of Lieute
nant Hales, Supply and Transport Corps, who will remain at Shiraz.
Detailed orders will be issued by Officer Commanding, Kazerun Column.
A. N. J. LILLY, Captain,
for Lieutenant-Colonel, Staff Officer.
Dated Shiraz, 1st January 1917.
From— Lieutenant-Colonel F. F. Hunter, 21st Lancers, Staff Officer, Com
manding South Persia Rifles, Kazerun Column,
To—The Officer Commanding, Kazerun Column.
I have the honour to report as to the operatious of the South Persia Rifles
under my command in the action at Pir-i-Zan on Xmas day, 1916.
At 9 a.m. I gave the following orders to Captain Weldon:—
One Section Indian Infantry,
One Company South Persia Rifles,
will march at once to take the ridge above the road leading to Kaleh Mushir,
using the first good way up.
2. Guns, if necessary, will support you from below.'
3. On arrival at top move along parallel with main force below in plain
to high hump circumstances will dictate further orders.
4. The whole force will endeavour to reach Mian Kotal to-night.
At 10 a.m., whilst extending at the foot of the low hills two miles
south-west of Dasht-i-Arjan, Captain Weldon’s Detachment was fired on.
After starting them up the hill through the woods I reported the incident to
you.
At 11-30 a.m. Captain Weldon’s party not having appeared and as consi
derable firing could be heard behind the 1st ridge I took the South Persia
Rifles guns into action on hill near the old ruined caravansarai, 5 miles from
Dast-i-Arjan and endeavoured to splatter the cliffs above with shrapnel; all of
the shells fell short, the range being 3,000 yards.
At 12 noon Captain Weldon returned and reported that owing to having
run up against a most difficult piece of ground strongly held by the enemy he
was quite unable to get sufficient of the South Persia Rifles Infantry to face
the task. Time and again he tried to get them to advance but failed.
At 1 some 40 or 50 South Persia Rifles Infantry having been
collected Captains Wittkugel and Weldon volunteered to try and get up to the
top by a feasible path which we could see. I then asked you for artillery
support and brought up the South Persia Rifles maxims to replace the
useless guns.
At 1 p.m., after you had establishedf your Headquarters on “ Caravasari
hill,” I started forward with machine guns to support the South Persia Rifhs
Infantry and the section of 124th Baluchis, all of whom had disappeared in
the forest or nullahs, and in order to clear the 1st Peak Ridse from which a
few bullets were being directed at your Headquarters. At 1-40 Captain