Shiraz expedition

The Shiraz expedition (Swedish: Shiraz-expeditionen) was an expedition led by Josef Pousette to link up with the third regiment of the Persian gendarmerie which was stationed in Shiraz.^[1]

Shiraz expedition
Part of the Swedish volunteers in Persia
Date 1913–1915 Location Shiraz, Persia Result Gendarmerie victory The gendarmerie reaches Shiraz Victory at Kazerun
Belligerents
Persian gendarmerie	Insurgents
Commanders and leaders
Josef Pousette	Mohammed Ali and other insurgent leaders
Casualties and losses
At least 1 Swede and several gendarmes	Unknown

Background

Shortly after the arrival of the Swedish officers during the Swedish intervention in Persia, general Harald Hjalmarson chose to split up the gendarmerie into different regiments, one being stationed in Shiraz. Captain Josef Pousette would be the one chosen to be in charge of the regiment in Shiraz, though Shiraz was 800 kilometers away which would be cleared on horseback.^[2][3]

Road to Shiraz

Not much is known about the actual journey to Shiraz, though Pousette stated that at an overnight stay, he became "lifelong" friends with an insurgent.^[4]

Operations in Shiraz and the battles of Kazerun

While at Shiraz, Pousette was to patrol an important stretch of road to the town of Bushir, where they would engage several insurgents under Mohammed Ali in the Battles of Kazerun. The battles were bloody but it did end up being a costly gendarmerie victory, losing several gendarmes and at least one Swede.^[5][6] However Kazerun was not the only battle fought while at Shiraz, as some of the bloodiest battles during the Swedish intervention occurred in and around Shiraz.^[7]

Besides military actions, Pousette met with German leadership in Shiraz.^[8]

See also

• Persian campaign (World War I)