The Seistan Force, originally called East Persia Cordon, was a force of British Indian Army troops set up to prevent infiltration by German and Ottoman agents from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(Iran) into

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

during World War I. The force was established to protect British interests in Persia from subversion by German agents, most notably

Wilhelm Wassmuss Wilhelm Wassmuss (1880 – November 29, 1931; German spelling: Waßmuß) was a German diplomat and spy and part of Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition, known as "Wassmuss of Persia". According to British versions of history, he "attempted to fome ...

. The force was also tasked to intercept and destroy the Turco-German expedition to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

that sought Afghan alliance in the Central war effort and Afghan assistance to wartime revolutionary conspiracies in India.

Unit history

In August 1914 (at the start of World War I) a small force, under the orders of the 2nd Quetta Brigade, was maintained in Western Balochistan to suppress arms traffic. In July 1915 this force was expanded and became the East Persia Cordon to prevent enemy infiltration from

into Afghanistan. A similar Russian Cordon was established to prevent infiltration into north-west Afghanistan. From March 1916 the force became the Seistan Force under the commander-in-chief in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Following the Revolution in Russia, the

Malleson mission The Malleson mission was a military action by a small autonomous force of British troops, led by General Wilfrid Malleson, operating against Bolshevik forces over large distances in Transcaspia (modern Turkmenistan) between 1918 and 1919. Backg ...

was sent to Trans-Caspia and the Seistan Force became the Lines of Communication for the Mission from September 1918 under the orders of the

4th (Quetta) Division The 4th (Quetta) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army. It was formed by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, General Kitchener while he was Commander-in-chief of British Raj, India. During World War I the division rema ...

. With the withdrawal of the force from Trans-Caspia, the troops in Persia were withdrawn and the last elements left in November 1920.

Despatches

The following is part of the text of a despatch by General Sir Charles Monro, Commander-in-Chief, India, on military operations in the Indian Empire from March 1916 to March 1917, published in the '' London Gazette'' on 31 October 1917:

Commanding officers

* Lt Colonel J. M. Wikely, August 1915 * Brig-General Reginald Dyer, March 1916 * Brig-General C. O. O. Tanner, October 1916 * Lt Colonel (later Brig-General) G. A. Dale, May 1917

Footnotes

References

* *

Unit history

Despatches

Commanding officers

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading