War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

THEGERMANTHREATONTHEPERIPHERY 143

cordonthatstretchedalongthePersian-Afghanborder.Butwhen
Seiler'sgrouppushedeastwardthroughthedesert,theDasht-i-Lut,
itfellvictimtorobbersandwasforcedtoretreattoKerman."
ThetideinPersiahadclearlyturnedin favoroftheBritishand
Russians.Von derGoltz'sappointmentandhissubsequentvisitto
PersiainJanuary 1916 didnothingtohalttheRussians'advancedeep
intowesternPersia, ortheiroccupationofKermanshah,Isfahan,and
Qum.This,as well astheAnglo-RussiantriumphinTeheran,had
isolatedtheGermanagentsineasternandsouthernPersiafromtheir
westernsupplyandcommunicationsbases."
InShiraztootheGermanpositionhadcrumbled.LocalPersian
governors,gendarmerie,andtriballeaderswhohadoncesupported
theGermansnowjoinedtheBritish,whoseconsulsandotheroffi-
cialsreturnedtotheirpoststhroughouttheregion.Muchlater,on 21
April1916,whenSeilerandtheremnantsofhisravagedcaravanstag-
geredintoShiraz,unawarethattheBritishhadgainedcontrolofthe
city,theywerearrestedandimprisoned.A few weekslater,theBritish
capturedZugmayerand Griesinger,whohadbeeninPersian
Baluchistanorganizinganti-Britishrevoltsamonglocaltribes,asthey
retreatednorthwesttowardShiraztojoinSeiler.f
OftheGermanswhohadoperatedinsouthernPersia,only
Wassmuss(whomapostwarlegendlabeledthe"GermanLawrence")
remainedfree.ButwiththeRussianoccupationofIsfahan,bywhich
theReichlostitsmainsupplybaseandtelegraphstation,Wassmuss
foundhimselfcompletelycutofffromfurtherGermanassistance.
Hecontinued,nevertheless,to moveandagitateamongtheTangistani
tribes,usingthemto closetheroadbetweenShirazandBushireto
Britishmilitarytraffic,andavoidingcapturebytheAnglo-Indian
policeforcecreatedinJanuary1916.Onlyin1918,followingthearmi-
stice,didtheBritishapprehendhim."
DespitetheircollapseinPersiatheGermanspersistedthroughout
thefinalmonthsOf1915,placingtheirhopesfor amassiverevolution
eastofTurkeyontheNiedermayerandHentigmissions.Theyhad
arrivedinOctoberin Kabul.DuringtheirfirstaudienceHabibullah,
theamirofAfghanistan,seemeduneasytowardhisguestsandshowed
littleenthusiasmeitherforjoiningthejihadproclaimedbyTurkey
andattackingIndiaorfor establishingdiplomaticrelationswith