Dunsterforce

[marksimner]

Hi all

Can anyone tell me (or point me in the right direction) about the part played by the 7th Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment and its involvement with Dunsterforce?

Thanks in advance!

Mark

[kloughnane]

Mark,

From The History of the 7th (Ser.) Bn. Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) 1914 - 1919, by L.R. Missen, M.C.

"Our column now came under the the orders of the Dunsterforce. This force consisted of officers and N.C.O's selected to proceed as a British mission to the Caucasus. They were assembled at Baghdad in the latter part of 1917, and the advanced guard of the force, with Generl Dunsterville in command entered Persia in January 1918. For some time progress was slow, owing to roads being rendered impassable by snow. Hamadan was reached, but the state of the inhabitants was so wretched that time had to be spent in relief work. Posts were established all along the road, and work was commenced in training Persian levies. Kasvin was reached later, and General Dunsterville himself puhed on alone to to Enzeli, the Persian port on the South Caspian."

I hope that the above is of use to you.

Regards,

Kev Loughnane

[marksimner]

Thank you Kev for your information, much appreciated.

I think the 7th North Staffords were sent later to support Dunsterforce rather than some of its members being handpicked for the orginal expedition.

Does anyone know if the entire battalion went to aid Dunsterforce? Or was it just elements of it?

Thanks again.

Mark

[Ron]

Thank you Kev for your information, much appreciated.

I think the 7th North Staffords were sent later to support Dunsterforce rather than some of its members being handpicked for the orginal expedition.

Does anyone know if the entire battalion went to aid Dunsterforce? Or was it just elements of it?

Thanks again.

Mark

The 7th North Staffs, commanded by Major Ley, fought at the battle of Baku, September 13th and 14th 1918 which was followed by the evacuation of Dunsterforce. The whole battalion was involved in the action.

Ron

[Potter]

Mark,

Missen's history (published in 1920) is available on cd from http://www.midlandshistoricdata.org. It includes a map of the battalion's movement in the region.

7NS moved into Persia in January 1918 and went to Hamadan.

On 21 July, they marched to Kasvin, marching by night because of the heat. They then moved on through difficult terrain to Enzeli and boarded ships to Baku.

On 26 August, they were involved in the Battle of Dirty Volcano against the Turks, suffering over 100 casualties, and in fighting over the next few days and weeks as the Turks sought to capture Baku.

On 14 September, they were evacuated from Baku (the third evacuation in their history!) back to Enzeli.

After the armistice with Turkey, they returned to Baku on 18 November and supervised the removal of Turkish forces. They stayed there until the battalion was disbanded on 14 June 1919.

Phil

[marksimner]

Ron / Phil

Thank you very much for your information and help - much appreciated. I have obtained a copy of the Battalion's history which will be arriving soon.

I am interested in Dunsterforce because I have three medal groups to the 7th North Staffords who served with it.

One of these groups contains a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) to a North Staffords soldier who won it on the 26th August 1918 on Stafford Hill during the Battle of the Dirty Volcano (Battle of Baku).

Mark