CC BY
32Gadzhieva T.Sh.
Institute of history, National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan
h.turkan.s@gmail.com
AZERBAIJAN ISSUE IN GREAT BRITAIN-IRAN RELATIONS (1914-1920)
Keywords: Azerbaijan, England, Iran, cooperation.
Ключевые слова: Азербайджан, Англия, Иран, сотрудничество.
In the beginning of the XIX century Iran found itself in the middle of quarrels between Russia and Great Britain. Russia bordered Iran to the North. India, to the south and east, was ruled by Great Britain. At that time, the land that is now Pakistan was also part of Britain's Indian Empire. Both Russia and Great Britain vied for influence in Iran and attempted to control the country1.
In November 1914, the war on the west Asian front escalated when the British forces marched toward Mesopotamia and landed in Basra. The British now aimed to control Mesopotamia to secure the route to Baghdad as a way station to the Russian army already stationed in northern Iran and to establish a line of defense against incursions by the Central Powers in Central and South Asia.
Additionally, the British wanted to secure the flow of oil from Persia, which had evolved as a cornerstone of their geopolitical and military strategy. Khuzestan's oilfields and the Abadan Oil Refinery were a mere sixty kilometers from Basra, and only Shat al-Arab River separated Khuzestan from Ottoman Mesopotamia. From this point of view, Persia was very important for Great Britain. The great chance for Great Britain from this side appeared in the end of World War I.
The national-liberation movement in Iran in the beginning of the 1918 year resulted with the withdrawn of the Russian troops from Iran. Using this situation Britain began to replace its troops in South Azerbaijan. From this time, Britain tried to get access to Baku oil.
Since the early XIX century, Britain had sporadically involved itself in Iranian attempts at military modernization. During the years of the constitutional period and the First World War this involvement deepened and became more complex and received fundamental significance for the country's political future2.
The principles of British policy towards Iran, despite divergence of interpretation over their definition and scope have remained generally the same for the century since enunciated by the Foreign Secretary, the Marquis of Salisbury, in February 1888, "it is to the interest of this country that the integrity of Persia should be maintained, that its resources should be developed and that its government should be strong, independent and friendly".
In the XX century, government relations with a relatively quiescent Iran were primarily conditioned by the imperial importance of India. For most of the XX century, relations have dominated politically by the modernization and revival of Iran under the stimulus of Reza shah and his son.
I would like to notice that the national liberation movement in Iran expanded in the beginning of the 1918 year. It is in turn influenced to the political situation in Iran. After this one Russian troops began to leave the territory of Iran. They considered that suitable conditions for the implementation of their plans of final enslavement of Iran and for capture of Caucasus were created.
In the fall of 1917, contradictions between ethnic groups began to aggravate the situation in the South Caucasus. The Transcaucasian Special Committee, which emerged after the February Revolution, ceased its activities. The political freedoms of the South Caucasian people, the strong tendency toward autonomy, the realization of the activities of national parties and organizations, the growing international interest in the region and other important factors have made the Southern Caucasus more manageable3.
By collecting comprehensive information on the situation in Baku from the summer of 1918, the British mission helped to determine the political forces that the UK could cooperate with in the Caucasus. Although British intelligence, which was unable to take advantage of the Armenians' offer of favor, actually did not care about this issue, it was possible to come to An-zali from the other side and take control of the Caspian fleet together with the Armenians and the Bolsheviks. The British intelligence service was primarily engaged in preparing the ground for the arrival of the Dunsterville mission4.
1 Piddock C. Iran. - New York, 2010.
2 Vanesssa M. Anglo-iranian relations since 1800. New York 2005
3 Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Great Britain archive documents.
4 Qhmsdova F. Azsrbaycan Xalq Cumhuriyystinin yaranmasi srafssinds regionda geosiyasi vsziyyst. Xalq qszeti 2017, 27 may N 110, s. 7.
After this British government has started placement of its military forces in the Southern Azerbaijan. British government began to show its interest in Baku oil. The government of England in addition has sent to Iran new military forces under command of the general Dunsterville. He has been instructed in capture of Enzeli, Rasht and Baku.
Greater geopolitical space covering the Middle East, as well as Caucasus and Central Asia, was the coordinating center for all military-political activities in Britain at the end of March 1918, and was headed by the «Eastern Committee», chaired by Marc Cherry. The structure includes the Foreign Minister A. Balfur, his Deputy Lord Cecil, the Deputy Foreign Minister Lord Harding, the Chief of the Imperial Headquarters G. Wilson, the Minister for Indian Affairs A. Monteqyu and the Chief of Military Intelligence Major General C. McDonnell.
At the same time, it should be noted that in the British government circles in 1918-1919 years there was no consensus on the Caucasus and Iran. In December 1918, Mr. Curzon said: «As for India's defense, I think that it's not important for us to think about the Caucasus, it is beyond our interests». This was because Montague represented the British constituency that they were in favor of pursuing a more flexible policy in the East in search of allies in the face of indigenous peoples in the conditions of the struggle for independence that began in Cilicia and in British colonies.
Historian Musa Qasimli1 states in his article titled «South Caucasus policy of Entente Countries» that in the complicated military-political and diplomatic environment formed in the region, the British moved into action to implement their plans for the South Caucasus. However, occupation of Azerbaijan had some difficulties. The author explained the difficulties in the following way.
First, it was not necessary to go to Baku during the war, but it needed a certain legal and political foundation. Such a basis was not available. The Bolsheviks in Baku regarded the British as an enemy.
Secondly, it was very difficult to move the military operations zone from Baghdad to Baku. Natural conditions were inconvenient. The 800-mile distance between Baghdad and Baku was full of difficulties. Such a distance made it difficult for Baku to produce enough army.
Third, the composition of the army units sent to Baku was difficult to complement. Because sending even smaller part of the army to Baku weakened the Mesopotamian front.
Fourth, supplying the army with food in Baku was a major challenge for the English command. In addition to Baku, a number of regions of Azerbaijan were in the hands of the Caucasus Islamic Army and there was a shortage of food in the city.
Finally, the local population in South Azerbaijan blocked the movement of the British. They favored the Turkish attack. Here Mirza Small Khan was the main obstacle. Shardini, the chief of the French military mission in the Caucasus, came to Dunsterville. Thus, the march to Baku turned into a joint plan of not only English but also of the allies as a whole.
On this ground, at the London Conference in 1918, the Antanta countries decided to divide the influence circles in Russia. The Southeastern part of Russia fell into the British influence. After that, Britain began to strengthen its position in the region. The inclusion of Azerbaijan into the UK's sphere of influence has strengthened the military-political presence of official London in the whole Caucasus-Caspian region. In particular, it should be emphasized that Baku attracted not only British politicians and economists, but also British intelligence. General Dunsterville wrote in his memoirs «it is necessary to establish a good intelligence system to secure its own security and to benefit all allies»2.
It should be noted that, since the fate of the war was unknown in the spring of 1918, the allies had to prevent any use of the Central Powers of the Caspian Sea oil fields on the shores of the Caspian Sea. For this purpose, a special expedition was created in Mesopotamia in January 1918, under the command of Major-General Dunsterville. Officially, this army was called Dunsterforce. It was announced in London that Dunsterforce was to hinder the German-Turkish troops towards Afghanistan and India. This expedition had to arrive in Tbilisi through the Mesopotamia-Iran border.
The strengthening of the Bolsheviks in Baku in the fall of 1918 influenced the activation of Western states in the intervention in the South Caucasus. The foreign and domestic situation in the Caucasus-Caspian region allowed Britain and Azerbaijan to engage in military intervention. Dunsterville noted in his memoirs that sovereignty in the Caspian Sea is still our main goal3.
Finally, on August 4, 1918, the first group of English expedition headed by Stokes arrived in Baku. Thus, the first military intervention of the British in Azerbaijan began and continued until September 17. On August 17, General Dunsterville arrived in Baku with a new English group. British sources note that the number of Dunsterville's brigands in Baku has not exceeded 1,000. The first English intervention lasted only 41 days and resulted in failure.
In archival documents4, the following are the main reasons of the British occupation of the Transcaucasia:
1. Ensure the fulfillment of the conditions of peace between the Allies and Turkey;
2. Restoration and protection of the rule until the disputed territory issues are resolved at the peace conference.
However, of course, all this was actually an excuse. The main goal was to strengthen the region, to prevent the interference of other states and to restore control over the Caucasus-Caspian region.
It should be emphasized that the study of relations between Azerbaijan and Great Britain in the early XX century has revealed several features. The economic relationships that began in the Middle Ages, were continued in the independent statehood of 1918-1920.
1 Qasimli M. Antanta olkelerinin Guney Qafqaz siyaseti.
2 Qhmsdova F. Azsrbaycan Xalq Cumhuriyystimn yaranmasi srsfssinds regionda geosiyasi vsziyyst // Xalq qszeti. 2017. - 27 may, N 110. - S. 7.
3 Юсифзаде С. Азербайджано-Британские отношения в начале ХХ века. - Баку, 2008. - С. 62.
4 ARMDA f 970 siy 1, i§ 80.
On the other hand, the government of Azerbaijan, which faced serious challenges in introducing itself as an independent state in the international arena, received moral support from the UK. On November 17, 1918, British troops entered Baku on behalf of the Antanta Force. Thus, the second military intervention of the British began in Azerbaijan and continued until 1919. After lengthy talks General Tomson accepted the government as the sole effective government and stated that the UK government recognized the Azerbaijani government as the only legitimate authority in the country.
In the middle of 1918, the British had seized control of all Iran. Early August in Tehran an English-speaking government was organized under the leadership of the state. The English general was sent to the Cossack brigade at the request of Ayronsaydin.
White Russian officers were replaced by English. In 1919, the rebel Iranian government submitted a memorandum to the Paris Peace Conference with territorial claims. The memorandum claimed that the Azerbaijani state, which proclaimed its independence, had never existed, and these lands historically belong to the Iranian state. According to the Treaty of Gulustan in 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaties of 1828, the Russian state has severed these lands from Iran. This demand was so surprising that the conference refused even to look at it. The government of Vusukuddovle was preparing to sign an agreement with Britain on extremely difficult conditions for Iran. Negotiations began in the autumn of 1918, but it was very slow. The British spent a great deal of money on the handling of Iranian officials. Vusukuddovle and other members of the government had received £ 130,000. The United Kingdom-Iran agreement was signed in Tehran on August 9, 1919, without the consent of the parliament. According to the treaty, England sent consultants with extensive rights to all government agencies at the expense of Iran. Iranian Army it was supposed to create a commission consisting of English and Iranian officers for the reconstruction. For this purpose, officers, trainers, ammunition from England were to be brought. These measures would be financed by the British government's 2 million pound sterling allowance for the British government. Thus, the 1919-year treaty imposed Iran to dependence on Britain. The country's population met the signing of an extremely heavy contract for Iran with protests. The British began to implement its terms without waiting for the agreement to be approved by the Iranian Majlis1.
After the Turkish military forces have been forced to leave the Southern Azerbaijan, British army conquered all Southern Azerbaijan, including Tabriz. Thus, the territory of Iran has completely passed under the control of the English interventionists. On 9th August 1919 under pressure of conquerors, the agreement between Iran and England has been concluded. Based on conditions of this agreement Iran turned into the country dependent on England.
Azerbaijan issue was very important in Great-Britain Iran relations. As before, mentioned Iran after World War I was under the occupation of Great Britain. From this time, England paid special attention to Azerbaijan. Baku's oil was very important for Britain government. That is why Britain government sent different missions to Azerbaijan. In the result of these missions, they tried to strength their positions in Azerbaijan.
1 Azsrbaycan Xalq Cumhuriyysti II cild 2005
