South Persia Rifles

South Persia Rifles
Active	1916- 1921
Country	Persia
Allegiance	British
Type	infantry with mounted detachments
Size	approved establishment of up to 11,000
Equipment	British Indian
Disbanded	1921
Commanders
Notable commanders	Percy Sykes

The South Persia Rifles also known as SPR was a Persian military force recruited by the British in 1916 and under British command. They participated in the Persian Campaign of World War I.

The British formed the South Persia Rifles in response to German influence in southern Iran in 1915 and early 1916. The German agents influenced tribal groups who were already in rebellion against the British. As a result, the British had to divert troops to Iran rather than Ottoman Iraq. The South Persia Rifles was a measure to use locally raised troops rather than British or Indian units, so that the latter could be sent to the main campaign against the Ottomans in Iraq. With the assent of the Shah’s government, the British were allowed to form a military force of up to 11,000 men to quell the resistive tribes and maintain order.

Sir Percy Sykes was selected by the British to command the new force. In March 1916 he landed in Bandar-Abbas with a few British officers and non-commissioned officers, a company of Indian soldiers, and quantities of weapons and ammunition to equip the troops he recruited. Most of his early recruits came from pro-British tribes. Sykes and his men spread out to cities in southern Iran such as Yazd, Esfahan and Shiraz, as well as Bandar-Abbas. Through the summer and fall of 1916 the South Persia Rifles conducted what to the British were mopping up operations. Sykes also gained formal recognition for the Rifles from the Iranian government.

By December 1916, the South Persia Rifles had brigades located at Shiraz, Kerman, and Bandar-Abbas. Sykes had about 3,300 infantry and 450 cavalry, as well as a few artillery pieces and a machine gun. Training, equipment and organisation was along the lines of the British Indian Army. Winter closed many roads and brought the Rifles relief from tribal attacks. Sykes used the time to train his forces. In 1917, Sykes reached an agreement with the Qashqai tribe, ending their raids, allowing him to focus on other resistive tribes. The Rifles went after the tribes in their strongholds as well as their crops and livestock, crippling them logistically so they could not continue to raid British supply lines and garrisons.

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