WesWorld

While the reasons of the dismissal of the Persian Army by his Royal Highness Koroush IV in late 1935 will never be know, India embarked themselves into a way to resolve the problem while trying not to alienate the British near by. The initial fears of a complete dismissal of the army and the related problems were somewhat mitigated by the news received by private channels in the middle of November that a sizable part of the Persian Army was being transferred to the Gendarmerie. Still a very large force was freshly unemployed; a decision was made by India to use the funds made available by Persia to pay for the presence of Indian troops in their country to be used instead to fray the cost of a “private” support force for the Persian Gendarmerie, these units composed of Persian ex-soldiers.

While Philippines announced early in December 1935 that they could allocate a battalion of Lt-33(1) tanks to the Bandar Abbas area, India announces they have hired the first of many “Security Units” to help to garrison different parts of Persia. The first one, aptly named the 1st Security Bn, was created in the port of Bandar Abbas in December 10th 1935 followed by the 1st Security Composite Bn to protect the Persian oilfields near the Iraqi border.

The 1st Security Bn was composed of 1500 men; including officers, noncoms and soldiers. They were designed to protect the port and airfield near by and show in their organization. The unit was armed with eight 150mm Jabalpur 150 guns, twelve 105mm Jabalpur 105J (2) AA guns, eighteen 75mm Jabalpur 75J (3) AA guns, forty 25mm Jabalpur 25J (4) AA guns and thirty five 15mm Bhandara 1920 HMGs. The unit was subdivided in Artillery, AA and Machinegun groups.

The 1st Security Composite Bn was larger in scope than the 1st Bn due to the terrain and mission involved. It was composed of 2000 men; including officers, noncoms and soldiers. While having the same subunits as the original the 1st Composite also included an armored car company, a tank platoon, an AT group and an infantry company. The unit was armed with eight 100mm Skoda M30 guns, twelve 105mm Jabalpur 105J AA guns, eighteen 75mm Jabalpur 75J AA guns, forty 25mm Jabalpur 25J AA guns, thirty five 15mm Bhandara 1920 HMGs, four Gaada tanks, sixteen Ajgar II armored cars and twelve 35mm Jabalpur 28 AT guns. The infantry company was designed following the more modern German 1931 organization utilized by the Indian New Model Divisions, using the standard Indian 7.92mm Mauser round.

The raising of the units was somewhat rushed so in reality the units suffered the growing pains expected of units being created in a hurry but served as the model for the units that entered service during 1936 in different parts of Persia to free the Gendarmes of the task of garrison duty. While these units entered service thousands of new employees were being trained in how to use the equipment being allocated and how to integrate into the new TO&E.


(1) the most modern vehicles of the Filipino Army.

(2) I forgot to include AA guns in the Indian Army so I guess I just build license of the Japanese

(3) same as the above.

(4) same as the above

1936 saw an increase on the size of the PDF, with two more composite battalions of 2000 men being raised early on the year for service in coastal regions. While similar to the original 1st Composite Bn, they lacked the armored vehicles assigned to the original unit, instead the number of artillery pieces being increased on the later two units.

On the summer of 1936 the largest unit so far on the PDF entered service, the 1st Reinforced Regiment, with headquarters in Tabriz. The unit was composed of over 5,000 men organized as an infantry battalion following the Indian New Model organization, a horse mounted cavalry regiment (1), a motorized infantry company, an armored car company of sixteen Ajgar II cars, an artillery group and an air defense group. The artillery and air defense groups were allocated eight 150mm Jabalpur 150 guns, sixteen 75mm Cossipore 75 guns, eighteen 105mm Jabalpur 105J AA guns and forty 25mm Jabalpur 25J AA guns. Most significant of the unit was that it was mainly composed of soldiers of Kurdish extraction and were commanded by Ihsan Nuri Pasha with the rank of Colonel. Nuri Pasha was recommended by the Shah himself to the Indian authorities responsable for the administration of the PDF, so it was decided to indeed give the position to the Kurdish leader.

By the end of the summer of 1936 the 2nd,3rd and 4th Reinforced Regiments were established in the cities of Quetta, Birjand and Mashhad. Organized in a similar manner to the Kurdish manned 1st Regiment, many Foreign observers considered the way this units were raised from nothing in less than a month as a reaction to the Bharat-Afghani 1936 Border Dispute. By the end of 1936 close to 40000 men were serving in the PDF; either in the Security Battallions, the Reinforced Regiments, the Fast Brigade or the Support Fighter Squadron in Bandar Abbas.

(1) based in German cavalry order of battle and TO&E. A battalion in size.

The last unit to be raised in 1936 was the Fast Brigade, a mobile reserve for the PDF. The unit was officially organized on December 1936 but didn't received their complete equipment until the middle of 1937. Manned by over 5,000 men, it was about the same size in manpower to the Reinforced Regiments but the unit was designed to be a firebrigade.

With a fully motorized infantry regiment (1), a fully motorized artillery regiment, a tank battalion(2), an armored car company (3) and support units this unit was originally stationed in Bandar Abbas. Foreign observers were shocked by the creation of the unit, especially by the tanks used, the next batch of Kachhuaas that came out of the factory.

(1) Using commercial trucks.

(2) 48 Kachhuaas received by the middle of 1937.

(3) 16 Ajgar I armored cars.

The announcement in early September 1937 heralded the end of the short experiment called the Persian Defense Force. The later history of the units that composed the PDF are examined here:

1st Security Battalion: Formerly stationed in Bandar Abbas. After the initial fighting for the city the heavy equipment was kept in place to help protect the port facilities with the majority of the personnel being amalgamed with the former Fast Brigade to form the core of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Persian Army. The new unit loyalty and reliability was considered suspect by the Majlis’ War Council but was forced into combat during the Winter of 1938. The unit also saw operational combat during the offensives of 1939.

1st Security Composite Battalion: Formerly stationed near the Iraqi border. Served together with the other two Composite Battalions as an ad-hoc Demi-Brigade during the early part of the conflict and were instrumental in the defense of the oil producing facilities and the eventual capture of Yasuj. Still their loyalty was considered suspect by the Majlis War Council and during the lull the artillery, antiaircraft and antitank weapons and personnel assigned to manning them were dispersed to create defensive perimeters around the valuable oilfields. The four old Gaada tanks were sent to the tank school to serve for training while the armored cars were sent utilized to create an independent armored car company. The remaining personnel was separated and used to create new units; the individual training of the men still valuable to create a core for Regular Army units.

2nd Security Composite Battalion: Formerly stationed in Abadan. Served together with the other two Composite Battalions as an ad-hoc Demi-Brigade during the early part of the conflict and were instrumental in the defense of the oil producing facilities and the eventual capture of Yasuj. Still their loyalty was considered suspect by the Majlis War Council and during the lull the artillery, antiaircraft and antitank weapons and personnel assigned to manning them were dispersed to create defensive perimeters around the valuable oilfields. Lacking the armored component of the 1st Composite; the remaining personnel was separated and used to create new units; the individual training of the men still valuable to create a core for Regular Army units.

3rd Security Composite Battalion: Formerly stationed near the Iraqi border. Served together with the other two Composite Battalions as an ad-hoc Demi-Brigade during the early part of the conflict and were instrumental in the defense of the oil producing facilities and the eventual capture of Yasuj. Still their loyalty was considered suspect by the Majlis War Council and during the lull the artillery, antiaircraft and antitank weapons and personnel assigned to manning them were dispersed to create defensive perimeters around the valuable oilfields. After hostilities the unit suffered the same fate as the other Composite battalions; artillery personnel and equipment were utilized in the protection of the oil facilities while remaining personnel was disbanded thru the Army.

1st Reinforced Regiment: Formerly stationed in Tabriz. Composed mainly by Kurds the unit differed of the others as being assimilated as a complete unit into the Persian Army, forming the basis for the 1st Mountain Brigade. They continued to use their PDF issued artillery and equipment until replaced with Persian standard equipment; their old equipment used for border fortifications. Also they kept their Indian armored cars but changed the main armament to Persian standard calibers. They performed with elam in the early campaign operations in the North and was an instrumental unit in the capture of Mashhad during the 1939 offensives.

2nd Reinforced Regiment: Formerly stationed in Quetta and later in Birjand after the independence of Eastern Baluchistan. Disbanded with members and equipment being distributed thru the Nationalist Faction Army and used as core for the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions that fought till the end of the conflict. Attached armored cars were utilized to create independent armored car companies in the Nationalist Army.

3rd Reinforced Regiment: Formerly stationed in Birjand. Disbanded with members and equipment being distributed thru the Nationalist Faction Army and used as core for the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions that fought till the end of the conflict. Attached armored cars were utilized to create independent armored car companies in the Nationalist Army.

4th Reinforced Regiment: Formerly stationed in Mashhad. Disbanded with members and equipment being distributed thru the Nationalist Faction Army and used as core for the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions that fought till the end of the conflict. Attached armored cars were utilized to create independent armored car companies in the Nationalist Army.

Support Fighter Squadron: Formerly stationed in Bandar Abbas. 32 Italian built fighters being assigned to the Naval Branch for base defense.

Fast Brigade: Formerly stationed in Bandar Abbas. After the initial fighting for the city the heavy equipment was kept in place to help protect the port facilities with the majority of the personnel being amalgam with the former 1st Security Battalion to form core of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Persian Army. The new unit loyalty and reliability was considered suspect by the Majlis’ War Council but was forced into combat in the Winter of 1938. The unit also saw operational combat during the offensives of 1939.The 48 Kachhuaas amphibious tanks were assigned to the Persian Marine Brigade.