Chapter 20: Persia Campaign (1)
Chapter 20:
Persia is currently ruled by the Qajar dynasty characterized by the rule of dozens of prince-governors; Britain's and Russia's influence on Persian politics; the opening of the Suez Canal, which led to the rapid increase in the flow of commodities to the ports of Persia; continuation in local autonomy of tribal Khans and influential landowners; semi-autonomy of urban notables; the increasing role of the ʿulamāʾ in provincial politics; and several urban disturbances which, combined with tribal unrest, caused frequent disorder in Persia.
* Ulamā are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam, including Islamic doctrine and law.
* Governors and viziers. The Qajar provincial administration was arranged on two sets of temporary and permanent positions.
The governor-general often served as the commander of the provincial army, whereas the vizier was primarily in charge of tax administration. The second set comprised the local administrators
Shiraz located in south Persia, it's an important cultural city with beautiful gardens and exotic buildings but the usually beautiful and peaceful city now it's under huge turmoil.
"Mirza this rebellion, you're rebelling against the..."
The vizier couldn't finish his last words as his head was separated from his body.
Mirza the newly appointed governor-general of Shiraz looked coldly as his troops eradicated all resistance. He was contacted a year ago by a European kingdom promising him huge rewards and a good position in the Persian Colonial government when they conquered Persia.
'It doesn't matter to me the so-called good position as with the 500.000 pounds even if I don't get any official position I can live comfortably in Cairo' Mirza Thought
Mirza is a rare case when a nonprince serves as governor-general. The reason is simple, Mirza is an illegitimate child and he had made great contributions to the Shah rule but after the coronation of the new Shad, his position and even his life are in danger.
Mirza is a patriotic man but after watching how decadent the Qajar dynasty has turned and the ascension of an inept and foolish Shah, he took the opportunity to abandon the ship early on before it sank.
On May 19th, Romanian colonial troops disembarked in Bandar-Abbas city's port and successfully established a supply route. With the help of local collaborators, the city fell in a day without alerting the Persian government.
On May 29th, 6 regiments of Romanian troops arrived at Shiraz. Mirza rebellion happened just a few weeks ago, the inept and corrupt Qajar Dynasty found out just when military trucks were entering Shiraz and the news spread all over Persia.
"Mr. Dumitru now can you repeat the number of arms and artillery the Persian army owned?"General Radun asked
"General, our spies in Tehran and Tabrit reported the number of 1866 Chassepot rifles at 20,000 and the 1864 Tabatière rifles at 30,000, and the artillery included around 500 smooth-bore and 60 rifled guns,"
Florin Dumitru is an agent of the royal secret service, he had been working in Persia for almost a year.
"Hmph, those defective arms from the French army when they fought the Franco-Prussian war! And that smooth-bore cannons it's unreliable against our artillery, I bet they bought them decades ago." The General Radun commanding officer of the general staff said with disdain.
The Romanian colonial army is armed with the Mauser Model 1871 / Gewehr 71 and the newly imported artillery type RML 13-pounder 8 cwt gun from the UK. Regrettably, the Romanian Arms industry couldn't develop better weapons for now as they are still learning from Germany.
The Romanian troops could reach Tehran in a month before they could even mobilize their army thanks to the high mobility of Daimler Military trucks as Persia's lands and hot climate are perfect for trucks to transport supplies and troops but that would be charging blindly against the Persian army, the crown prince Frederick clearly ordered to secure all the south-east of Persia without affecting too much the local population.
"It took 10 days to establish a good supply chain with the help of the rebels. Now we just need to take Ahwaz and Esfahan and wait for the next batch of reinforcements to arrive" a staff officer said.
"From Ahwaz, we can open another supply point with the Ottoman Empire and fortify Estafahan, the 10,000 rebel army are taking over the east of Persia as it's easier to control those regions with the help of locals" the commander Radun explained the next course of actions.
"Also from Ahwaz, we can suggest the central government negotiate with the Ottomans to let our reinforcements pass throughout their country as reinforcements could reach here in 5 days." another staff officer suggested.
Everyone kept discussing strategies enthusiastically meanwhile in Tehran, "The Shah"(monarch) Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar and the grand vizier Abdul Majid Mirza (the grand vizier held the imperial seal and could convene all other viziers to attend to affairs of the state).
The Shah Mozaffar had just preceded the last Shah who died 3 weeks ago. He couldn't grasp the general situation of the dynasty well for now so he had to rely a lot on the Grand Vizier.
"What should we do? The rebels are advancing rapidly towards Tehran! " the Shah said with panic.
The rebels took almost all of south and eastern Persia, and it seems they got support from a European country. The whole government panicked as they realized that half of the dynasty had already fallen.
"First we need to wait for the response of the British Empire since they helped us before to repel the Russians." The grand Vizier said with confidence.
"As if they would help us! They will only send a diplomatic delegation to mediate. The British main concern is not to allow the Russians to reach India or own a port in the Persian Gulf." said the governor-general of Tabriz.
The governor-general of Tabriz came as soon as he knew about the invasion of a European country. He's a pro-Russian and a prince of the Qajar dynasty.
"The Persian Cossack Brigade trained by the Russians can help us in driving back the Europeans and take back our cities"
"Impossible, you want to use the Cossack Calvary Brigade led by a Russian? How can we guarantee that they'll leave after driving back the invaders?" Grand Vizier Abdul.
"That's right, surely they would take advantage and annex us while we fight the rebels!"
"What are you proposing then? Wait until the rebels reach here?"
"We might end up attacked by the British as soon as the Russian empire interferes or even worse our country will become the battlefield of a war between them!."
The two political factions, pro-Russian and pro-British, were fighting instead of gathering troops as soon as possible.
June 10th, by the time the Qajar dynasty gathered troops, eastern and southern Persia had fallen into the hands of the rebels and Romanian troops.
The rebels conscripted new people and the rebel army reached a staggering number of 30.000 recruits.
Romanian troops after 3 batches of reinforcements a total of 21.653 well-trained troops were deployed. The next objective is to occupy Tehran as soon as possible since the diplomatic pressure back in Romania is greater than expected.
Before Russia or UK intervention, it would be for the best to reach an agreement with the Persian Shah.
Back in Romania, the Romanian Royal Palace.
"British and Russian ambassadors are constantly asking us to withdraw from Persia. It seems that German help is not as effective as we expected" Prime Minister Nicolae
"The German empire interference even put us in a dire diplomatic situation as neither Russians nor British wanted German influence grown in central Asia, we obtained support from the Ottoman embassy but just a few empty words." The minister of foreign affairs said.
"Should we reach out Russian or British empire to compromise with them? If this escalates further it'll be more detrimental for us as we are the weakest party." The minister of Defense warned.
King Carol I kept silent since the beginning of the discussion.
Crown Prince Frederick is thinking about what to do next.
'is there any different way? even if we managed to negotiate with the Persian shad it would be meaningless since Russia and Britain are against our occupation.
While Frederick was in deep thought, King Carol I spoke:
"We can negotiate with the British Empire, one of the candidates for Romania's crown princess is Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh. Since a marriage alliance with the British royal family can instantly dispel our current predicament."
Everyone in the room quieted down at the king's suggestion.
"Your majesty, although Princess Marie is a good candidate why not Grand Duchess Olga sister of the Russian tsar? I had heard rumors of Tsar's interest in finding a good match for his little sister" the Deputy Prime minister suggested.
"That's not prudent! Last time we provoked the Austro-Hungarian empire too much and accused us of being Russian Allies even the German ambassador to Bucharest asked me privately if it was true!
We will surely strain our relationships with the two empires if the crown prince marries Grand Duchess Olga, even the Ottoman Empire will change their diplomatic approach with us! " Minister the foreign affairs warned loudly.
"That's right, our current policy is to be close with the two central empires and cooperate closely with the Ottoman Empire. Currently, we are not hostile to the Russian Empire but neither we are their allies, just a commercial relationship. Since Russia selling us its coal, iron, and other ores, it's better for them than selling to any of the other great powers." Chancellor of the exchequer.
His statement got the support from various ministers and disapproval from others.
King Carol I now is in a dilemma. He is convinced that Princess Marie is the best option but his son for unknown reasons it's inclined to Grand Duchess Olga.
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Author note: Persia is a civilized country but regretfully its government and internal division are perfect for colonists to take advantage of. After thinking about it, Persia might pose a threat if their reaction speed was fast enough to gather troops and fight but at the petition of Frederick, Romanian troops are using locals to govern locals. For Persian people, if this doesn't affect them why resist? Romania is even purchasing supplies from local businesses and respecting local customs.
The Late Qajar dynasty wasn't a government worthy of dying or fighting for.