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World War 1, Dunsterforce, Caucasus,1918

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Overview

Dunsterforce, officially called the British Military Mission to the Caucasus, was a secret force of 450 to 1,000 imperial soldiers commanded by Major-General Lionel C. Dunsterville. Its mission was to safeguard the immense oil installations at Baku from the Ottomans and the Germans, while organizing local groups of Armenians, Georgians, and anti-Bolsheviks to safeguard the railways and approaches to Afghanistan and India. A Dunsterforce armoured car on a bridge on the Kermanshah-Hamadan Road, 1918

Historical information

Dunsterforce was formed in December 1917, to organise local replacements for the Russian Caucasus Army, that had collapsed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the Bolshevik October Revolution and the Armistice of 15 December 1917. About 100 officers and 250 NCOs were raised by quota from the various national and Dominion contingents in France, the largest number coming from the Australians. From 12 to 20 officers and about twenty NCOs each, was requested from the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and the Canadian Corps, twelve officers and about ten NCOs from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and several South Africans.
A feature of the force was the fleet of vehicles including armoured cars and Model Ts which in spite of the lack of logistic support, served the force well.. After many adventures, successes and disappointments from Basra to Baku, the War Office disbanded Dunsterforce on 22 September 1918. Most of the surviving men returned to their original units.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-99-829

Geotag

34.635244196622, 48.04774504997

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