- Anglo-Persian War
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict= Anglo-Persian War
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caption= British-Indian forces attacking at the Battle of Kooshab
date= 1856 - 1857
place=Persia (Iran ) andAfghanistan
result=British victory
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casualties2=The Anglo-Persian War lasted between 1 November 1856 and 4 April 1857, and was fought between the
United Kingdom andPersia (which was at the time ruled by theQajar dynasty ). In the war, the British opposed an attempt by Persia to reacquire the city ofHerat , which was nominally part ofAfghanistan (then a very loose entity) but which had been part of Persia under theSafavid dynasty . Persia ultimately agreed to surrender its claims to the city.Origins
In the context of the
Great Game — the Anglo-Russian contest for influence inCentral Asia — the British wished for Afghanistan to remain an independent country friendly to Britain as a buffer against Russian expansion towardsIndia . They opposed an extension of Persian influence in Afghanistan because of the perception that Persia was unduly influenced by the Russians. The Persians had repeatedly attempted to acquire Herat by force, most recently in 1838 and 1852; both times British opposition had convinced them to back down prior to war. They made a fresh attempt in 1856, and succeeded in taking the city on 25 October. In response, the BritishGovernor-General in India, acting on orders fromLondon , declared war on 1 November.Separate from and in many ways prior to the dispute over Herat was a separate incident concerning one Meerza Hashem Khan, whom the British ambassador hoped to appoint as a secretary in the mission in
Teheran . The Persians objected, creating a dispute that escalated when rumours appeared that the British ambassador had improper relations with the man's wife, who was the sister of the Shah's principal wife. The dispute escalated still further when the Persians arrested the woman; the British ambassador broke relations when they refused to release her. Indeed, the initial mobilisation of British forces began in response to this incident, although it is unlikely that the British would have gone beyond the occupation of one or two islands in thePersian Gulf had the issue of Herat not arisen.1856
In the aftermath of the disastrous
First Afghan War , the British were reluctant to send a force through Afghanistan to relieve Herat directly. Instead, they elected to attack the Persians on thePersian Gulf coast. As a first step, a British-IndianNaval squadron, commanded by Commodore Young, landed a force that captured the strategicKharg Island followed by the primary port of Persia atBushire /Bushehr on 10 December 1856 after a short naval bombardment. There was then a delay as the British waited for reinforcements.1857
Once reinforcements arrived, an Army expeditionary force under Major General Sir James Outram advanced on Brazjun/
Borazjan , which the Persians abandoned without a fight. The British appropriated or destroyed the supplies at the site and then, deciding against a risky pursuit into the mountains, began to return to Bushire. During the withdrawal the British force was attacked at Khushab, on 7 February 1857. The Persians caught the British in a potentially dangerous situation, but the British forces ultimately managed to inflict a heavy defeat on the attacking Persians in what turned out to be the largest battle of the war. Pursuit of the defeated army was deemed impracticable, and thus the British returned to Bushire.The British then shifted their focus north up the Persian Gulf to the city of
Muhammarah (futureKhorramshahr ) on theShatt al-Arab waterway. The transfer of forces was delayed by the separate deaths by suicide of two high-ranking British officers, which occasioned a shuffling of commands and forced Outram to leave Brig. John Jacob in command in Bushire.Muhammarah had strong defences and was further protected by the political requirement that the British not violate Ottoman territory, as the city lay right on the border. In the event, however, the Persians abandoned the city to a British force under BrigadierHenry Havelock after naval bombardment. The Persians under the command ofKhanlar Mirza withdrew toAhvaz , a hundred miles up theKarun River , where they were attacked by theRoyal Navy and forces from the 64th Foot and 78th Highlanders. The town fell to the British on 1 April 1857. On returning toMuhammarah on 4 April the force learned that peace had been signed inParis on the 4 March. At the time that news of peace arrived, Outram was planning an invasion into the Persian interior that likely would have significantly escalated the war.Diplomacy
The Persians apparently hoped that the British would not contest their acquisition of Herat — they recognised that they could not expect to win a war against the British army — and thus once British opposition became clear they attempted to back down. Negotiations in
Constantinople between Persian ambassador Ferukh Khan and British ambassadorLord Stratford de Redcliffe ultimately broke down over British demands that the Persians replace their prime minister (the sadr-i a'zam). News of the onset of fighting resulted in a formal rupture of talks, but discussions soon began again inParis , and the two sides signed a peace treaty on 4 March. In the treaty, the Persians agreed to withdraw from Herat, to apologise to the British ambassador on his return, to sign a commercial treaty, and to cooperate in suppressing the slave trade in the Persian Gulf; the British agreed not to shelter opponents of the Shah in the embassy, and they abandoned the demand to replace prime minister as well as one requiring territorial concessions to the Imam of Muscat, a British ally.The Persians faithfully withdrew from Herat, permitting the British to return their troops to India, where they were soon needed for combat in the
Indian Mutiny . Herat returned to more direct Afghan control when it was retaken byDost Mohammed Khan in 1863.Battle Honours Awarded
Three
Victoria Cross es were awarded during the expedition, to Captain J.A.Wood, Captain J.G.Malcolmson, and Lieutenant A.T.Moore.ources
ee also
*
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran - 1941External links
* [http://www.persiawar.com/homepage.htm Persian War]
* [http://www.regiments.org/wars/19thcent/56persia.htm Regiment Site]Books
*English, Barbara. 1971. John Company's Last War. London: Collins.
*Hunt, Capt. G. H. and George Townsend. 1858. Outram & Havelock's Persian Campaign. London: G. Routledge & Co.
*Outram, Lieut. General Sir James. 1860. Lieut.-General Sir James Outram's Persian Campaign in 1857. London: Smith, Elder and Co.
*Walpole, Sir Spencer. 1912. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC04612536&id=-8IBAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=%22correspondence+respecting+relations+with+persia%22 A History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815.] London: Longmans, Green, and Co. (vol. VI, pp. 266-273)
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