A Turkish cohort of perhaps 1,500 infantry, 100 cavalrymen, 2 field guns, and 3,000 Arab auxiliaries crossed into Iran in late January 1915 to get behind the British position. The Sheikh of Muhammarah, with London’s backing, ruled most of oil- rich Khuzestan (or Arabistan as the British and local Arabs called it) and was supposed to defend the region.
The sheikh, however, pleaded that the tribes were unwilling to fight their Muslim brothers on behalf of the infi del British. The British Indian command could spare only a platoon- sized detachment with two mountain guns to stiff en the sheikh’s resolve, but this force was ambushed during a reconnaissance shortly after entering Iran and was severely mauled. The loss forced the British to send reinforcements, which, after the Turks withdrew because of defeats in Iraq, spread out to establish a protective ring around Abadan, its oil refi nery, and adjoining oil installations with the help of local Arab and Bakhtiari tribesmen.
The British also set up a base of operations in Ahvaz to help protect the Mesopotamian (Iraqi) theater’s communications. Farther south, a British contingent landed at Bushehr and, along with a cavalry detachment already in Shiraz, moved to establish control over Fars Province. London’s main objective was to arrest German offi cials and their networks of agents, but the Tangistani tribe, which had att acked Bushehr in August and September, resisted the British forces and was soon joined by mutinous gendarmes.
British concern focused on the security of its oil, the Iraq theater’s rear areas, and communications to India through telegraph stations at Bushehr and at Jask in far southeastern Iran. These worries were aroused by German att empts to incite the tribes, sabotage oil installations, bring Afghanistan into the war on the Central Powers’ side, and destabilize Iran. The Germans sponsored a major anti- British propaganda campaign and encouraged the assassination and kidnapping of pro- British and pro- Russian Iranian politicians.
Wilhelm Wassmuss, sometimes called the German “Lawrence of Arabia,” and other German and Turkish agents in Iran engaged in espionage, sedition, and sabotage. The Germans were successful in the early months of the war in gett ing the Qashqai and other tribes hostile to the British to attack and rupture the southern oil pipelines in several areas. The British response was harsh, and punitive operations suppressed the tribes and allowed the pipelines to be repaired. The cost was increased anti- British sentiment and a further decline in the Iranian government’s reputation.
Supreme Leader: Arrogant powers delighted by suffering of Iranian people
