The Cotton Spies
By
Simon Glyndwr John
Copyright © 2014 by Simon Glyndwr John
All rights reserved.
The events in this book are fictitious though inspired by actual events. The characters are fictitious and any similarity to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN 9781311426598
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Lynn Blake-John
www.simongjohn.com
Table of Contents
Author’s Introduction to the Historical Background of “The Cotton Spies”
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
About the Author
Other Writing
Queen of Clubs
What the First World War Means to me
Author’s Introduction to the Historical Background of “The Cotton Spies”
Characters
Every character in the book is fictional including characters inspired by major historical figures like the Prime Minister of Britain. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
In March 1918, Russia signed the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers and dropped out of the war. This act left Russia’s former Allies to contend with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey, and Bulgaria): militarily on the Western and other fronts; economically.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: allowed the Bolsheviks to concentrate on maintaining their power in government as the Russian Civil War began; gave Germany the opportunity to buy cotton, oil and food from the, desperate for money, Bolsheviks. The Allies who often thought that the Bolshevik Government were German agents still hoped however that Russia could be persuaded to re-join the war despite signing this treaty.
Over the spring and summer of 1918 the Central Powers ignored the terms of Brest-Litovsk and invaded Russia in search of its metals, food, oil and cotton and to take them rather than buy them.
Britain and France
Two nations were given the task of trying to prevent the Central Powers from gaining access to Russia’s natural resources.
France’s role was to try to stop German access to wheat and other foods found in the Ukraine, Bessarabia and the Crimea.
Britain’ role was further east and its’ tasks were: to prevent cotton from Russian Turkistan being acquired by Germany; stopping Ottoman Turkey and Germany conquering the countries of the Caucuses where oil and metals were found; ensuring that the freed Central Powers’ Prisoners of War (POWs) did not become a potential invasion army bound for India.
NB: The Freed POWs, e.g. the Czechs, switched sides to join the Allies, other POWs joined the Bolsheviks or the Counter-revolutionary “Whites,” and would switch sides if and when necessary.
Natural Resources
Cotton was a major natural resource of which the Central Powers were desperately short during the Great War. Cotton was used in explosives (as gun cotton) and the major suppliers were the USA and Russia. In 1913 the British Board Of Trade estimated, in 1913, that Germany imported circa 310,000 tons of cotton or of which about 300,000 tons was used in armaments; in 1916 it was estimated Germany acquired 50,000 tons of cotton from the USA. 1917 saw America enter the war on the Allied side so that cotton source disappeared. The lack of cotton forced Germany to use the less effective and efficient alternative, wood pulp. In the summer of 1918 neutral Russia had cotton, lying unsold in Russian Turkestan, and needed to sell it and Germany needed to buy it.
Oil was of interest to both Ottoman Turkey and Germany because of its uses and as a trading resource. With Russia in disarray there was a chance of one of the above seizing control of the centre of the Caucasian oil fields – Baku. The two countries were so competitive in getting to Baku that in August 1918 troops from each country fired on each other.
The Ottoman Empire and its Allies
The Caucuses is one of the places where Christianity meets Islam. The small Christian countries in the area, Georgia and Armenia, sought protection from Germany and Austria-Hungary respectively, against the Turkish threats of invasion. In 1918 as Russia was falling into Civil War with revolutionaries fighting counter-revolutionaries, Moslem tribes in Central Asia fought either or both the above, as they sought to free themselves from the Russian Christian Empire.
The Ottoman Turks it would seem were prepared to lose parts of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East (Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon) and concentrate instead on acquiring a Pan-Turkic Empire. This Empire would start on the eastern shores of the Caspian traverse Russian Turkestan to the Chinese border, or even into Chinese Sinkiang (Chinese Turkestan).
Protecting British India
India was still Britain’s “Jewel in the Crown.” On different occasions prior to 1918 both Germany and Ottoman Turkey had sought to foment insurrection via jihad in India but had failed. Now Indian revolutionaries had a new route into India - from Russia as the latter’s Bolshevik Government supported anti-imperialism and world revolution.
The British Management of the War in the Middle East and Central Asia
The war in the Middle East and Mesopotamia was run by different military departments. The Palestine Front was run by the War Office in London. The Mesopotamian Front was initially run by the Government of India’s Military Department from Delhi/Simla with little input from the War Office in London. NB: The War Office in London did become more involved in Mesopotamia (and in the Caucuses) in 1918.
Politically too, different departments had dissimilar responsibilities in Central Asia and the Middle East. In Persia for example the British Ambassador in Teheran was appointed by the Foreign Office but the political officers who exercised consular duties in Southern Persian towns were appointed by the Government of India’s Political Department. In the Arabia Peninsular the Foreign Office supported Hussein of the Hejaz (titula
r head of the Arab Revolt) and the Government of India supported Ibn Saud.
Because of these different departmental responsibilities and viewpoints co-ordination of the war by Britain was difficult. A shortage of information, men and money for use in Central Asia and the Caucuses further restricted what action Britain could take.
My Approach to Place Names
The book’s events take place in London, India, Russian Turkistan, Chinese Turkistan, Persia/Iran, and Trans-Caspia. I have used a mixture of the old and new names for some countries and towns.
Modern names used e.g. Azerbaijan (formerly a collection of khanates) and Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire); Old names used e.g. Persia (Iran) and Krasnovodsk (Türkmenbaşy).
Parts of the Government of India moved from Delhi to Simla only in the summer but I always use Simla to avoid confusion.