CHAPTER 16
‘I have received this information from the Foreign Office about what is happening in the Caucasus. I think it might cause us problems. Here is a copy.’ Clarke handed Colonel Routledge a sheaf of papers which the colonel scanned quickly and then he looked up at Clarke who began to read his version out loud.
‘A new country was created out of the three of Russia’s Imperial Territories Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The country is called the Democratic Republic of Transcaucasia and its officials signed a peace treaty with the Ottoman Turks. The Turks are ignoring that treaty because they are continuing to invade and occupy parts of this new country. We understand that the Georgians and the Armenians are understandably unhappy about this for the simple reason that they are Christians and the Turks are known to have massacred Armenians in the last couple of years – anywhere between five hundred thousand and a million and a half people it is claimed by Armenian sources. Armed resistance by both Georgians and Armenians has been continuing against the Turks but it has been ineffectual. The Turks have used this resistance as an excuse to continue to acquire territory in the region, exactly as the Germans are doing in Eastern Europe. The Azerbaijanis being Muslim are happy for the Turks to be the occupiers of this new state and have been offering no resistance. The Foreign Office thinks that the chances of this new state lasting are slim at best.’ Clarke stopped and put his paper on the desk.
Routledge sat back in his chair with his lips pursed. ‘This almost certainly means Baku is the Turk’s goal which is exactly, as we predicted. Baku is in the hands of Armenian Bolsheviks loyal to Moscow and quite what this means we have to wait and see. We have to congratulate the War Office on having the sound idea of sending Brigadier Muncerville and the troops under his command up into that area to try and prevent the Turks seizing this vital oil town and potential gateway to India.’
Clark rubbed his finger along his nose, ‘Muncerville's job is to train the locals to oppose the Turks but will they fight? Baku may be in the hands of Armenians, colonel, but it is in Azerbaijan where the largest tribe - the Azeris - speak a Turkic language and, as you have said their support is for the Turks. If the Bolos, in Moscow, send help to Baku then that might prevent the Turks seizing the town.’
‘Which means, if the Bolos do not send help then, do we need to do something from India? We cannot rely on the War Office and Muncerville's efforts being able to stop the Turk reaching Baku. We have to assume that if the Turks get to that town they will then cross the Caspian, move into Russian Turkistan. India then becomes the target as it was in the early days of the war.’
‘I agree. The railway from Krasnovodsk is the key as we have said before. Leave this problem with me and I'll come up with a plan.’ The men exchanged glances before Routledge spluttered, ‘I will do this quickly.’
The two men move on to discuss the deafening silence from Kabul, where the Emir of Afghanistan had still not given its support for the Edrich Mission. Neither man could come up with a reason. Routledge suggested that it had been unnecessary to have told the Emir about it in the first place as the mission was not going through Afghanistan. Not informing the Emir said Clarke would not have been a sensible thing to do. Clarke re-iterated the point that the Emir needed to know what the tribes who spanned the Afghanistan and Turkestan borders were doing because they might have been imbued with revolutionary spirit by the Bolsheviks – he’d not want that crossing the border.