WesWorld

1st Cavalry Brigade (Nationalist Faction) (2 Units Raised)

Considered one of the elite units of the Nationalist faction; it was composed primarily of the former members of the Persian Army Azadan Brigade with the 2nd Cavalry Brigade formed from the former members of the Grivpanvar Brigade. The original units sided with the Nationalist faction and were instrumental in the early campaigns; used as fire brigades to eliminate resistance in the Eastern part of the country.

The units were further expanded with the arrival of former members of the Baluchistani Defense Force after their defeat by a combined Anglo-Bharati action early in 1938. Also Afghani “volunteers” arrived in force and used to augment the units. The units were composed of three cavalry regiments, an artillery regiment composed of six batteries and one AA battery, an armored car company, a motorized infantry battalion and supporting branches.

• 7,200 x men
• 36 x 77mm guns (1)
• 4 x 20mm antiaircraft guns (2)
• 16 x 25mm antitank guns (3)
• 18 x 81mm mortars
• 72 x 60mm mortars
• 270 x machine guns
• 16 x Ajgar II armored cars (4)
• 300 x motor vehicles (5)
• 6,300 x horses

This and her sister 2nd Brigade were considered fire-brigades and as such received priority in equipment and replacements. Highly motivated by Nationalist standards, they fought well to the end and many of their members escaped to Afghanistan or went into irregular warfare till the General Amnesty.

(1) Calibers vary.
(2) Calibers and numbers vary. By the end of the war the brigade was carrying over 20 guns of varied calibers for air defense.
(3) Calibers and number vary. They used everything they could their hands on.
(4) Some of the former PDF cars were locally modified with 25mm guns.
(5) Majority civilian but many former Persian Army and Baluchistani Self Defense Force vehicles also used.

The International Brigade (Nationalist Faction)

The Persian War brought forward many different characters from around the World seeking either adventure or monetary gain, veterans from the different actions of the recent years making a small mark in this conflict. The same characters that sold weapons to the Nationalist were on the business of getting men with military experience to their clients and they were good on it. Soldiers of fortune that previously served in Latin American and certain European armies formed the bulk of the “volunteers” but also true adventurers joined the fray.

The quality of the “volunteers” varied but their loyalty always was suspect. As such they were given what could be considered as ‘easy” missions and they performed them well during their earlier deployments but as the War turned for the worse their performance suffered accordingly. By the end of the War desertions were rampant, with majority either surrendering or escaping to nearby Baluchistan or Russia.

The unit was organized in the summer of 1938 and could be considered to be a large brigade; organized with two infantry regiment, an artillery regiment, a machinegun battalion, a pioneer battalion, an antitank company and a supply column. The components of the Brigade were tried to be organized by the language spoken by the majority of the soldiers attached to them, with one of the Infantry regiments being called the Spanish Regiment and the other the Slav. The machinegun battalion was composed of many diverse background soldiers but it was found that German was a common language due their former military ties to German instructors or advisors; as such they were called the German battalion. Finally the artillery, pioneer and supply columns were composed of either Persians, Baluchis or Afghanis so they were called the Persians. This of course caused certain problems in the interaction between the different subunits of the Brigade.

• 7,400 x men
• 16 x 77mm guns (1)
• 8 x 100mm guns (2)
• 16 x 20mm antiaircraft guns
• 8 x 25mm antitank guns
• 12 x 81mm mortars
• 54 x 60mm mortars
• 282 x machine guns
• 50 x motor vehicles
• 800 x wagons

(1) unit was issued the oldest artillery possible and calibers abound
(2) same as above.

Independent Tank Battalions (Verdeja Type, Nationalist Faction) (2 organized)

The Nationalist Faction acquired during the chaotic early days of the Civil War part of the gold reserves of the Persian Treasury thanks to shear luck. That capital later on was important for that faction, giving them the resources to purchase weapons abroad. One was a very interesting vehicle, the Iberian Verdeja tank.

150 vehicles were ordered by the Iberian military in 1934 but after construction started the military cancelled the order due to a change in the Iberian Government. The parent company sued the Iberian government but continued ahead with the construction with the idea of selling the vehicles on the open market, finally selling the whole batch to an independent arm dealer (1) who had the intention of selling the vehicles to Brazil during the South American War. However, the war ended before the transaction could be completed and the vehicles sat on an undisclosed location until their purchase by the Nationalist faction in 1938.

The vehicles reached the port of Chabahar on April 1938 and were found to be in somewhat derelict state. A “volunteer” foreign technical mission worked on the vehicles and after close to a month of work 96 of them were made available for duty, with others being used for parts or needed further repairs. Those 96 tanks were used to create two independent tank battalions composed of three tank companies and a support column. Those two units fought constantly from the Nationalist Winter Offensive to the end of the conflict. They gave a good account of themselves with their small mounts, lightly protected but well armed by the standards of the region with 45mm guns.

457 x men
48 x Verdeja tanks
4 x 20mm antiaircraft guns
12 x Machineguns
16 x motorcycles
52 x vehicles

(1) Suspected to be the Argentine D’Silva.

Independent Light Tank Companies (FT-17 Type, Nationalist Faction) (Six organized)

The Persian Civil War was a bonanza for certain nations trying to acquire capital to upgrade their own armored corps; Poland was one of them. A deal was reached with the Polish government to sell their complete inventory of 111 FT-17 tanks to the Persian Nationalist faction as “tractors”, with a similar deal reached for 50 TKS tankettes. The vehicles reached Mashhed on the late winter of 1938 and allowed the Nationalist faction to raise six independent Light Tank Companies during that time period. The units were composed of three tank platoons and a supply column; the tanks carrying machineguns being modified locally to carry 25mm guns instead of their original machineguns. The main problem for the Nationalist was the lack of trained personnel. The arrival of a foreign “technical mission,” that helped in the training of personnel, helped at least the faction to have somewhat trained crews to man the vehicles on the companies. The units served on the Corps level and suffered terrible casualties during the Nationalist Winter Offensive, their surviving members being consolidated into a tank battalion.

96 x men
16 x FT-17 tanks (Nine armed with 37mm guns, seven with 25mm guns)
12 x vehicles

Independent Tankette Companies (TKS Type, Nationalist Faction) (Three organized)

50 TKS were acquired from Poland at the same time as the FT-17 tanks and were organized into three independent tankette companies. The units were composed of two tankette platoons and a supply column; with the vehicles being modified locally and armed with a 25mm gun replacing their machineguns. The main problem for the Nationalist was the lack of trained personnel. The arrival of a foreign “technical mission,” that helped in the training of personnel, helped at least the faction to have somewhat trained crews to man the vehicles on the companies. The units served on the Corps level and suffered casualties during the Nationalist Winter Offensive; survivors were consolidated into one unit that fought very well during the Final Offensives.

53 x men
12 x TKS tankettes
8 x vehicles

Faqih Mixed Brigades: (Fundamentalist) (18 raised)

During the early months of 1938 the Fundamentalist faction began to recruit heavily from the Local Defense Force members and from former Avenging Lions militia members in the areas under their control. By April 1938 the first of the so-called Mixed Brigades were created. The realities of the situation of the Fundamentalist faction are noted in the size and organization of the units. The small size of the attached cavalry, the lack of motorized vehicles and the almost criminal lack of artillery, antitank or antiaircraft support demonstrated their lack of military professionals or supplies. These units still fought gallantly against the Loyalists’ Shiraz Offensive in late 1938 and many surviving members when on to wage an irregular campaign against the government until the General Amnesty finally convinced the majority to lay down their weapons.

• 4,195 x men
• 12 × 100mm cannons (1)
• 6 × 81mm mortars
• 12 × 50mm mortars
• 4 × 25mm antitank guns/antiaircraft guns (2)
• 146 x machineguns (3)
• 390 x wagons (4)

(1) In many cases the artillery support was lacking altogether or older calibers like 75mm AA guns utilized instead of artillery.
(2) In many cases the AT/AA support was lacking altogether.
(3) Only advantage of the Mixed Brigades was the liberal use of machineguns at even the smallest level thanks to the capture of the small arms depots in Shiraz and Esfahan early during the conflict.
(4) Majority of the cases horse drawn. Many civilian vehicles were confiscated but not enough to cover all needs.

1st Infantry Division (Nationalist Army) (Six raised)

The core of this division was members of the former PDF 2nd and 3rd Reinforced Regiments augmented with conscripts, members of the Local Defense Force and former members of the Avenging Lions militia. This unit during the conflict would prove to be of dubious quality and loyalty. At the beginning of the conflict the soldiers would fight like lions but by the final offensives the members assigned to the unit would desert or surrender en masse. This could be explained somewhat by the lack of experienced NCO’s and officers, complicated even more by the Nationalist Winter Offensive that decimated both ranks in the divisions.

From the very beginning, the Nationalist faction military was plagued by a lack of equipment and weapons, especially heavy weapons. Artillery battalions had, for example, only 2 batteries, instead of the usual 3-4 batteries. As such the division was organized with three infantry regiment of three battalions each, an artillery regiment of four battalions, a heavy weapons/AA battalion and supporting units. While all the six infantry divisions raised by the Nationalist were following this model in reality the heavy weapons battalion was missing in some of the later raised divisions and artillery wasn’t uniform; with different calibers abound and units having to do with was at hand.

• 16,000 x men
• 16 x 100mm towed howitzers (1)
• 8 x 130mm towed cannons (2)
• 40 x 25mm antitank/antiaircraft guns (3)
• 27 x 81mm Mortars
• 128 x 60mm Mortars
• 460 x Machineguns
• 80 x motor vehicles (4)
• 1,400 x Wagons

(1) Different calibers abound and not uniform from division to division.
(2) Same as above.
(3) Missing altogether or replaced by other calibers or weapons. For example, the 1st used old 75mm antiaircraft guns as antitank guns during the final offensives with good results. Of course in the majority of the cases divisions were forced to do without any AA/AT protection.
(4) This is being optimist at best. Majority of vehicles were confiscated civilian vehicles used for towing artillery.

Independent Light Tank Companies (CI-32L Type, Nationalist Faction) (Three raised)

The Nationalist purchasing agents’ actions (1) on the summer of 1938 allowed the Nationalist faction to raise three independent Light Tank Companies during that time period. The units were composed of three tank platoons and a supply column. The main problem for the Nationalist was the lack of trained personnel. The arrival of a foreign “technical mission,” that helped in the training of personnel, helped at least the faction to have somewhat trained crews to man the vehicles on the companies. The units served on the Corps level and being pretty much exterminated during the Nationalist Winter Offensive, their surviving members being consolidated into one unit.

96 x men
16 x CI-32L tanks
12 x vehicles

(1) China “sold” some of their older equipment to the Afghani Government, who then when around and donated a part of the equipment they just received to the Nationalist Faction during the late winter of 1938. Total numbers are not know but are considered to be around 50 to 75 tanks.

Independent Armored Cars Companies (Ajgar Type, Nationalist Faction) (Four raised)

The remaining ex-Bharati former PDF armored cars in the hands of the Nationalist faction were organized in similar fashion the other armored cars companies. The units were composed of two armored car platoons and a supply column. The main problem for the Nationalist was the lack of trained personnel. The arrival of a foreign “technical mission,” that helped in the training of personnel, helped at least the faction to have somewhat trained crews to man the vehicles on the companies. The units served on the Corps level and suffered casualties during the Nationalist Winter Offensive; survivors were consolidated into one unit that fought very well during the Final Offensives.

53 x men
12 x Ajgar I or II armored cars
8 x vehicles

Independent Armored Cars Companies (FAI Type, Nationalist Faction) (Two raised)

The Nationalist purchasing agents’ actions (1) on the winter of 1938 allowed the Nationalist faction to raise two independent armored car companies during that time period. The units were composed of two armored car platoons and a supply column. The main problem for the Nationalist was the lack of trained personnel. The arrival of a foreign “technical mission,” that helped in the training of personnel, helped at least the faction to have somewhat trained crews to man the vehicles on the companies. The units served on the Corps level and suffered casualties during the Nationalist Winter Offensive; survivors were consolidated into one unit that fought very well during the Final Offensives.

53 x men
12 x FAI armored cars
8 x vehicles

(1) China “sold” some of their older equipment to the Afghani Government, who then when around and donated a part of the equipment they just received to the Nationalist Faction during the late winter of 1938. Total numbers are not know but are considered to be around 20 to 30 armored cars.