"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية: العمليات في بلاد فارس ١٩١٤-١٩١٩" [و‎‎١‎٥‎٠] (٥٦٦/٣٠٤)

PERSIAN INEPTITUDE
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our action, taken in face of the intrigues and defamatory press
campaign set on foot against us by Ministers and their followers.
Their foreign policy appears to have been governed by the idea
that the new-found Russian democracy would make great
concessions to Persia and that, with the Russian power in the
country broken, we should be obliged to ensure Persian
neutrality by granting great concessions and a heavy money
subsidy. When Russia let it be known that she was not prepared
to discuss concessions till the end of the war, the blame for her
action was cast on us and, when we would not allow ourselves
to be blackmailed. Ministers used every defamatory weapon in
their power against us. But all their efforts could not save
them from the clamour of a hungry population, and, after a
few ineffectual changes in the Ministry in September, they were
forced to resign. It was particularly unfortunate for the
country that the young Shah had neither the experience nor
the courage to deal effectively with the situation. In point
of fact he feared so greatly for his own throne that during
this period he was steadily remitting his personal savings
to Europe.
On the 18th September, Bruggmann, one of the Germans who Bushire;
had escaped from Saidabad thirteen months previously, was Sept.-Nov.
captured at Bushire, where he had come in disguise for medical I917 ’
treatment. One of his companions, Dettmar, had just died at
Ahram, where, according to Bruggmann, Wassmuss was in
constant communication with Germany and with many of the
Persian and tribal leaders, including Saulat and Qawam. One
of Wassmuss’ main objects was to keep the Bushire-Shiraz
road closed, and it was probably owing to this that Farman
Farma was unsuccessful in the negotiations he carried out
during the autumn months with the rebel Khans. A certain
amount of traffic, however, managed to proceed between
Bushire and Shiraz by avoiding the rebel districts and by the
payment of blackmail. The Government of India thought that
we might assist Farman Farma by intervening as peacemakers.
But Sir Charles Marling, Sir Percy Cox and Colonel Gough all
agreed that little benefit would result and that our intervention
would be ascribed by the Persians to weakness rather than to
magnanimity. It appeared certain that nothing short of direct
British military action would clear up the situation, and after
some discussion the matter was allowed to drop.