sians involved. However, in Qarabagh, about 2,300 European-style
troops defeated nearly 900 Russians at Soltanbud, within fifty miles
of Shusha. Christie and Lindesay led the infantry's advance on the
Russian position, while Major D'Arcy (the commander-in-chief of the
new army) directed the artillery, which made the most important
contribution by blowing up the Russian magazine. Christie and Linde-
say won the Iranians' admiration by putting themselves in the thick
of the fighting, thus proving that they would not shrink from fighting
their fellow Christians. The Russians lost more than 300 killed, in-
cluding their commandant and 12 other officers, and suffered about
an equal number wounded. (The Iranians lost 140 killed, including
2 British sergeants.) After a day of battle, the surviving Russians sur-
rendered. The Iranians raided the surrounding area and returned to
a position south of the Aras with their prisoners and booty.
Although the new army's victory was as heartening to the Iranians
as it was humiliating to the Russians, there were clear signs that the
new army had serious flaws. There were as yet no Iranians with suf-
ficient training to lead the troops. Furthermore, centuries of military
tradition could not be unlearned in a few years. The new army had
made undeniable progress, but it was still in an unsatisfactory transi-
tional stage between two methods of warfare. A striking example of
this is the way the new infantry performed satisfactorily in the first
wave of attack on the Russian position at Soltanbud and then broke
ranks when victory was imminent in order to plunder. This enabled
The Russians to regroup and drive off the attackers. At the time, no
one guessed that the inexperienced new army would soon face a
critical test.^21
The year of 1812 ought to have been a good one for the Iranian
war effort in light of the early victories, the anti-Russian uprising in
the Caucasus, and the French invasion of Russia, but instead it be-
came a time of disaster. The invasion began in June, when Napoleon
sent more than 600,000 soldiers to force Russia into submission. As
Russia marshalled its military resources for the defense of the nation,
it also strengthened its international position by concluding an alliance
with Britain in August. In October, when Ouseley finally learned of
the Anglo-Russian rapprochement, he realized that the anti-Napo-
leonic cause required that Russia be freed of its Caucasian distraction.
Therefore, he recalled the British officers from the Iranian army. Fath
'Ali and 'Abbas were extremely upset and after much pleading per-
suaded Ouseley to let Christie, Lindesay, Dr. Cormick (the prince's
physician), and 13 drill sergeants remain with the prince's army in
the event of any fighting with the Russians. Raids following the well-
France and Britain in Iran^137