Page 35 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

FOE THE YBA.B 1911 25
died by His Majesty’s Government to the improvement in the state of {£*■
ILds that was to be expected so soon as the schemes of the 8wedish gendar­
merie officers had developed, that no apology is needed for devoting some
Jtnount of space to a narrative of their plans and doings.
The Commandant of the gendermerie submitted his scheme to the British
and Russian Legations early in February: it was estimated to cost 700,000
rrigniaus during 21 months, at the end of which time the force would be com-
dctcly organized. The scheme included a force of 1,450 men for the Bushire-
Ispahan road at a cost of 254,000 Tomaus for 21 months: this force was to be
stationed along the roads, but the Commandant hoped tnat he would be able
later on to organize a mobile column in addition, whose operations would not
Ijc coufined to the roads : the hope was expressed that the scheme would be in
full swing on the Bushire-Ispahan road a year after the arrival Of 3 Swedish
officers at Shiraz, and on half the Bushire-Yazdikhast road within 6 months.
The Resident in this connection urged that it was essential that the
Bushire-Shiraz road should be dealt with en Hoc: until this had been done
no practical advantage would accrue to our trade. The first Swedish officer
arrived at Shiraz in February and 2 more arrived a month or so later.
It was not until August, however, that any attempt was made by the
Swedish officers to put the force, which they were engaged in raising, to any
practical test, and then the occasion was ill-chosen, and the outcome disastrous.
Major Siefvert and Captain Nystrom with 80 mounted and 180 unmounted
gendarmes and one mouutain gun marched towards Diringun, about 20 miles
south-south west of Shiraz, where they encountered a force, said to be acting
under or under the instructions of the Sowlet-ed-Dowleh. # The great part of
the infantry gendermerie fled without firing a shot, and were surrounded and
captured with their arms. The rest of the force noth the Swedish officers
fought for some time but ineffectually: the breech block of the gun blew out
and it was soon out of action.
There were a number of casualties and nearly all the gendarmerie’s rifles
appear to have beea captured; some of them, however, were afterwards re­
turned by the Sowlet.
This unfortunate incident, which necessarily attactcd considerable atten­
tion throughout Persia and in England, did not tend to engender very san-
euiue hopes of the ultimate success of the gendarmerie, a feeling which the
Eckford incident served to accentuate. Meanwhile the attitude of the Swe­
dish officers towards local authorities in Shiraz was not as satisfactory as it
niisht have been. Whilst necessarily without experience in dealing with
Orientals, they alienated the sympathy of ti e Governor-General and of
entourage by an unfortunate measure and highhandedness and tactlessness.
Major O’Connor was driven to the view that they were not entirely fitted for
the task imposed upon them, and urged that in the event of a proposal, then
under discussion for the formation of a small regular force of picked men under
the Governor-General materialising it should be controlled by British officers
of the Indian Army. He anticipated no serious friction with the Swedes, and
pointed to the paraUel of the Russian Cossack brigade in Northern Persia work-
iae side by side with the Swedish gendarmerie, and to the fact that the eraploy-
weafc of Indian officers under the Persian Government in Fare had been, sug­
gested! before, notably in the British note of October 14th, 1910. The proposal
.Tras, sfcill a* she end of the yejir.
On December 18th two Swedish Officers, Major Brandei and Captain
^ vstrom, arrived at Bushire from Shiraz for the purpose of selecting recruits, a
number of whom had been brought together by the Governor some three weeks
before, at the request of the Governor-General. The association of these officers
Jtith the Darya Begi, who had come from Tehran with Mukhbir-es-Sultaneh as
bis Military Commander, and the fact that two or three of his old Bushire ad­
herents were in their suite gave rise to a good deal of suspicion and unpleasantness
?* between them and Muwaggar-ed-Dowleh. In fact they arrived thoroughly
^bued with the conviction that the Muwaggar-ed-Dowleh as a friend of Kawam-
v ■Hu associationwith the incident was afterwards denied both by hlmaelf and by tba Governor-General, Vsk
** *wms to hare been rrspouaUe for,if not actually (beleader of the band in qoertaoa.