Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War: Difference between revisions

 

===Caucasus===

In 1917, [[Dunsterforce]], an Allied military mission of under 1,000 Australian, British, and Canadian troops (drawn from the [[Mesopotamian campaign|Mesopotamian]] and [[Western Front (World War I)|Western]] Fronts), accompanied by armoured cars, deployed from [[Hamadan]] some {{convert|350|km|abbr=on}} across [[Greater Iran|Qajar Persia]]. It was named after its commander General [[Lionel Dunsterville]]. Its mission was to gather information, train and command local forces, and prevent the spread of German propaganda.<ref>Audrey L. Altstadt [https://books.google.com/books?id=sZVN2MwWZVAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule] Hoover Press, 1992, {{ISBN|978-0-8179-9182-1}}</ref>

 

Later on, Dunsterville was told to take and protect the city of [[Baku]] and its oil fields. During the early stages of the Russian Civil War the [[Caucasus]] region was governed by three de facto independent states, the Menshevik-dominated [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]], the [[First Republic of Armenia|Republic of Armenia]] and the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]], and the main White Russian forces had no real control.<ref>Kenez, pp. 202-203</ref> The British feared that Baku could be captured by the [[Ottoman Empire]], since their forces in the area were advancing, and if they gained control of the fleet in the port they could transport troops to the city of [[Krasnovodsk]] directly across the [[Caspian Sea]] from Baku. This action would open Central Asia to the Turks and give them access to British-controlled [[India]] through [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Moffat|first=I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5eu_CQAAQBAJ|title=The Allied Intervention in Russia, 1918-1920: The Diplomacy of Chaos|date=2015-02-26|publisher=Springer|page=85|isbn=978-1-137-43573-6|language=en}}</ref>

 

The British landed in Baku on 17 August 1918.<ref>Moffat, p. 93</ref> The British force was at this time 1,200 men strong.<ref>Winegard, p. 202</ref> Dunsterforce was initially delayed by 3,000 Russian Bolshevik troops at [[Bandar-e Anzali|Enzeli]] but then proceeded by ship to Baku on the [[Caspian Sea]]. This was the primary target for the advancing [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces and Dunsterforce endured a [[Battle of Baku|short, brutal siege in September 1918]]. The British held out for the first two weeks of September, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. A final Turkish attack on 14 September lasted until sunset, and, facing an overwhelmingly larger force, the British were forced to withdraw. The troops escaped from the port on three waiting ships on the same day.<ref>Moffat, pp. 93-94</ref> In total, the battle for Baku had resulted in around 200 British casualties, including 95 dead.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Missen | first =Leslie | title = Dunsterforce. Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I | publisher = Marshall Cavendish Corporation | year =1984 | pages= 2766–2772| isbn =0-86307-181-3 | ref=CITEREFMissen1984}}</ref><ref>Winegard, p. 208</ref>