"تاريخ الحرب الكبرى استنادًا إلى وثائق رسمية: العمليات في بلاد فارس ١٩١٤-١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎١‎٧‎٤] (٥٦٦/٣٥٣)

304
OPERATIONS IN PERSIA
Operations which had been evacuated the previous evening when Haji Baba
in Northern had arrived * But the third fort was still occupied by thirty
Pars ; r ifl emen w ho refused to surrender till fire had been opened on
May 1918 . thdr lo 0 p holes an( i till an attempt on their part to break out
had been beaten back. Some of them, however, managed to
escape through a covered water channel with the greater part
of the arms and ammunition. The tribesmen's total losses
were 5 killed or wounded and 27 captured. All three forts
were demolished the next day.
At midday on the 9th, the remainder of the column arrived
after a long march That evening Colonel Grant learnt that
Haji Baba and the Labu Muhammadis were evacuating their
forts at Herat-i-Khurreh and were moving their possessions
into the mountainous country to the west, but that they had a
large camp at Buru-i-Herat. Deciding to move against this
camp at once, Colonel Grant started off soon after midnight
(9th/10th) with the Burma Mounted Infantry and a Persian
guide. The remainder of the column was to remain at Chah
Haq on the 10th and move direct to Herat-i-Khurreh so as to
reach there by 4 a.m. on the 11th.
Reaching and surrounding the camp at Buru-i-Herat early
on the 10th May without difficulty, Colonel Grant found that
the bulk of the tribe had already moved off to a camp at Chenar-
i-Naz, to the north-west, in which vicinity a large band of Chehar
Rahi robbers, returning from the Yezd road, were also said to
be encamped. Colonel Grant decided to move to Chenar-i-Naz,
guided by one of the few men he had just captured.
From a point about a mile to the north-east of Chenar-i-Naz,
the Labu Muhammadi camp was seen, at 10.45 a.m., lying abou
2J miles to the south-east of the village ; and Major Dyer witn
five troops Burma Mounted Infantry and four Lewis t was
at once detached to move against it. A deputation of vl J~^ rs ’
coming out to meet Colonel Grant, then pointed out the C e ar
Rahi camp, lying about three miles beyond the village 0 e
south-west, and said that it was occupied by about 300 ^ '
some thirty of them being mounted. Captain W. C. H. 1 &
with the remaining two troopsJ Burma Mounted 1^ )
was then directed to push on and engage these Chehar a ^
Major Dyer encountered some opposition from me
Muhammadis, but two of the troops with him, ad vancin gj^
* Haji Baba, a chief of the Labu Muhammadis, had escaped from Niri
the news of the British advance.
t Two of these belonged to the Baluchis. y
t The eighth troop was escorting the transport and had lost its > •