Persian Cossack Brigade

The Persian Cossack Brigade was an elite military unit in the armed forces of Persia (Iran) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The military historian John Keegan describes the Brigade as being the ancestor of the modern Iranian Army.

Origin

The Persian Cossack Brigade was formed by Nasir al-Din Shah in 1882 using as a model the Caucasian Cossack regiments of the Imperial Russian Army, which had impressed him when travelling through southern Russia in 1878. Together with a Swedish officered and trained gendarmerie, the Cossack Brigade came to comprise the most effective military force available to the Iranian crown in the years prior to World War I.

History and makeup

In spite of its name the Brigade was never a genuine cossack force. Neither did it have the status of a guard unit. Late nineteenth century photographs show that Russian style uniforms were worn, in contrast to the indigenous dress of other Persian forces at the time. The rank and file of the Brigade were always Persian but until 1917 its commanders were Russian officers who were also employed in the Russian army, such as V. Liakhov. Such secondments were encouraged by the Imperial Russian Government who saw the Cossack Brigade as a means of extending Russian influence in a key area of international rivalry. After the October Revolution in 1917, many of these Russian officers left the country to join the "White" forces. The command of the Persian Cossack Division was subsequently transferred to Iranian officers. Most notable among these officers was General Reza Khan, who started his military career as a private soldier in the Cossack Brigade and rose through its ranks to become a Brigadier General.

Over the years, the Cossack Brigade had expanded to became a separate division-sized force of 10,000. As such it played a significant role in the Constitutional Revolution, the turmoil of World War I, and the 1921 coup d'etat, which saw the overthrow of the Qajar dynasty. After the coup, the Brigade was merged with smaller military forces by Reza Shah to form Iran's new national army.

Commanders

Notable Senior Officers

*Mirza Madrus Khan
*Hamzeh Khan Pesyan
*Tadfel Molouk Ayrumlu
*Mahmoud Khan Ayrum
*Mohammad Khan Nakhchevan
*Ahmad Khan Nakhchevan
*Jafar Quli Amir-Beglari
*Reza Quli Amir-Khosravi
*Jan Mohammad Khan Davallu
*Mahmoud Khan Amir-Vaziri
*Khodayar Khodayari
*Mohammad Shahbakhti
*Colonel Mamonov
*Ismail Khan Amir-Fazli
*Hossein Aqa Khuzai
*Mahmoud Aqa Ansari
*Ismail Khan Shafaei
*Morteza Khan Yazdanpanah
*Amir Abdollah Tahmasebi
*Sar Lashgar Buzarjomehri
*Amanullah Jahanbani
*Sepahbod Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi
*Mohammad Hosein Airom
*Fazlollah Zahedi

tations

Major
*Tabriz, Rasht, Mashhad, Tehran, Esfahan

Minor
*Hamedan, Bandar Anzali, Kermanshah

Military Ranks and non-Military Titles

*Commandant
*Second-in-Command
*Chief of Staff
*Intendant
*Atriyad Commander
*General (regimental commander)
*Major (battalion commander)
*Captain (company commander)
*Lieutenant
*Second Lieutenant
*Sergeant-major
*Platoon Sergeant
*Section Sergeant
*Corporal
*Drummer, Trumpeter, Cossack
*Medical Officer, Accountant, Assistant Accountant, Clerk, Armourer

References

*Keegan, John. "World Armies." Macmillan Press, 1979. ISBN 0-333-17236-1
*Atkin, Muriel "Cossack Brigade" [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v6f3/v6f3a030.html Iranica]
*Cronin, Stephanie. "The Army and the creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910-1926", Tauris Academic Studies, 1997. ISBN 1-86064-105-9