82 WARBYREVOLUTIONsecuretheirloyalty.Finally,Niedermayerwarned,althoughmanyof
thetribesofwesternandcentralPersia-theKurds,Arabs,Bakhtiaris,
andQashgais-supportedtheTurksandGermans,thelatterfaced
seriousobstaclesinprovisioningthetribeswithweapons,munitions,
andmoney."Fromwheredotheycome,"heasked,"ifRumaniapre-
ventstransit?"5^6
Also, theGermansawakenedmistrustamongboththeYoung
TurksandPersiansbyproposingtosendthroughTurkey,toincite
thetribalrevolutionin Persia, awhollydisreputableanduntrust-
worthyPersianprince,Salarud-Daula(in 1914 livingin exile in Swit-
zerland).Thechoiceoftheprince,madeprimarilybyOppenheim
andtheInformationService for theEast,was animprovisedand
uninformedone. Beforethewar,theprince,amemberoftheruling
dynastyin Persia, hadinvolvedhimselfinthestrugglesforpower
thereandintriguedunsuccessfullyagainsttheshah.TheGermans
paidforSalarud-Daula'stravel toConstantinople,wherehemetwith
YoungTurkleaders,whomistrustedhim.WhenthePersiansdeclared
theirneutralityon 1 November,evenKardorff,theGermancharge
d'affairesinTeheran,urgedthattheprincenotbesentto Persia; to
do so,Kardorfffeared,mightangertheTeherangovernmentand
persuadeittojointheAllies.TheTurkseventuallyimprisonedSalar
ud-Daula."
AsecondGermanexpeditionto Persia,organizedduringSeptem-
berandOctober,alsobeganslowly.On 22 September,arepresenta-
tiveoftheHamburg-basedWoenckhausshippingandtradingcom-
pany,whichhadoperatedsince 1897 inthePersianGulf,proposedto
theforeignministryandGeneralStaffthatGermanydestroytheoil
tanksandrefineryoftheBritish-controlledAnglo-PersianOilCom-
panyatAbadan,attheheadoftheGulfalongthePersiansideofthe
Shattal-Arab."Pipelinesconnectedtherefinerytotheoilfieldsalong
theKarunRiver,whichrannortheastthroughthePersiantownsof
AhwazandShushtar.SincetheBritishfleethadrecentlychangedits
fuelfromcoal topetroleum,Persianoilhadassumedconsiderable
significancefortheBritishadmiralty.
As early as 22 AugusttheGermanconsulin Bushire,Helmuth
Listemann,hadreportedtotheforeignministry,erroneously,that
theBritishhadmovedtwohundredtroopsoftheIndianarmyto