The Swedish volunteers in Persia were a small group of military officers active in Persia between 1911 and 1916. The goal was to quell regional uprisings and modernize the Persian army, but as a result of pressure from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

decided to call back most of their officers during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Background

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

was rather unstable in the early 1900s, making the roads difficult to traverse due to frequent raiding by insurgents. Because of this (and fearing British intervention), the Persian government searched for a neutral power that could help modernize and create a

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

able to fight off the insurgents. Sweden was considered suitable for the task and the first military officers were deployed under general

Harald Hjalmarson Harald Ossian Hjalmarson (14 July 1868 – 15 December 1919) was a Swedish military officer and mercenary. During the First World War, he fought on the side of Qajar Iran in the Persian campaign, serving in the Iranian Gendarmerie. Following the ...

in 1911.

1911–1914

The gendarmes were put in charge of patrolling around 1,700 kilometers of road and steadily grew in number. They had several run-ins with clan members and insurgents and scored many victories, even killing a local chieftain. The bloodiest battles occurred in

Kazerun Kazerun () is a city in the northwest of Fars Province in Iran and the center of Kazerun County. This city has an ancient history, numerous ancient and historical monuments, and numerous tourist attractions. Kazerun is the largest and most p ...

in 1914 when several gendarmes died fighting under Josef Pousette (who had been injured fighting against insurgents in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

). The Swedes also conducted several expeditions throughout Persia, such as the Boroudjerd expedition and the

Shiraz expedition The Shiraz expedition () was an expedition led by Josef Pousette to link up with the third regiment of the Persian gendarmerie which was stationed in Shiraz. Background Shortly after the arrival of the Swedish officers during the Swedish inter ...

. Even though the battles were bloody and Swedish officers were at serious risk in Persia, many decided to join the gendarmes attracted by better pay and opportunities than in Sweden.

1914–1916

The United Kingdom and Russia decided to invade Persia in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I. The opinions of the Swedes reflected those popular back home, namely that they were pro-German. The Swedish officers decided to help the Persians and engaged in numerous battles with the Allies, including the Kermanshah operation, Battle of Qom,

British occupation of Bushehr The British occupations of Bushehr or Bushire under British occupation refers to the three times British forces entered Bushehr and occupied this area in Iran during the rule of the Qajar dynasty, before and during World War I. Background Accord ...

and

Battle of Robat Karim The Battle of Robat Karim (, ) was fought by the Iranian people, around Robat Karim (near Tehran, Iran) during the First World War under the command of ''Heydar Latifiyan'' against the occupation of Iran by Russian forces. Although the result ...

. In 1915 the Russians and British therefore pressured Sweden to call back their officers. The Swedish government complied and started steadily calling their deployed officers back until none remained in 1916. However, the hostilities with the Allies did not hamper the fight against the insurgents. Several Swedes and Persians died in combat with the insurgents between 1914 and 1916 in conflicts such as the Battle of Bouin and that of

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

when the gendarmes captured 8,000 sheep. The gendarmes also persecuted and captured all clan members of Abba Khan (who was shot by Boris Möller).

Aftermath

After Sweden decided to call back their soldiers, five Swedes decided to stay serving as volunteers under German leadership, and the leadership of the

Persian Gendarmerie The Iranian Gendarmerie (Persian: ژاندارمری ایران), also known as the Government Gendarmerie (), was the gendarmerie, and subsequent modern highway patrol, in Iran. A paramilitary force, it also played a significant part in politics ...

continued to be Swedish until 1921. The Swedes in

greatly contributed to the modernization and the formation of the gendarmerie, although, the previously Swedish-led gendarmerie would cease to exist when it merged into the

Shahrbani ''Shahrbani'' ( ; ), formerly called ''Nazmiyeh'' ( ; ), was a law enforcement force in Iran with police duties inside cities. Founded during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era, it was eventually merged in 1991 with the Iranian Gendarmerie and the Islam ...

in 1992.

References

{{Reflist Qajar Iran Great Game Military units and formations of Iran Military history of Qajar Iran Battles involving Qajar Iran Military history of Sweden Iran–Sweden relations

Background

1911–1914

1914–1916

Aftermath

See also

References