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A British Military Mission was established with instructions to ‘frustrate enemy penetration in North West Persia’ with the help of Russian Cossack General Bicharakoff.
The 14th Hussars, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel EJ Bridges, was ordered to Persia (now Iran) to link up with a White Russian (non-revolutionary) force of 600 Cossacks under General Bicharakoff. Commanding ‘Bridges Column’, he eventually made contact with the Cossack general a month later. Employed principally in restoring law and order in the country, the 14th Hussars were involved in many skirmishes with the Turks throughout the summer and autumn of 1918. The Regiment was deployed in squadrons working with the Cossacks, spread across Persia from Tabriz to Kazvin, close to the Caspian Sea; some 300 miles (480 kms) from each other. The Turkish defeat at Sharqat in Iraq on 28th October was quickly followed by an armistice with the Turks.
