It is a tale of intrigue, heroic bravery, unlikely odds, violence, upheaval, dastardly deeds, travel, adventure and tragedy – a daring campaign and impossible war time mission in Central Asia’s forgotten corner of the Great War, where all hell broke loose.
Welcome to Nick Higham‘s vibrant account of The Battle of Baku and the Dunsterforce Campaign as depicted in his book ‘Mavericks – Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One‘, which he will be discussing at Oxford Literary Festival on Saturday March 28.
Because while WW1 exploits are too often confined to the blood baths of the Western Front and Gallipoli, Higham here unveils a new frontier far removed from the mud of Flanders, after British officials sent a miscellaneous group of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies on a mission to stop the Turks overwhelming India, hold back the Bolsheviks, and secure a vital oil supply.
Higham’s riveting account of the colourful, chaotic and equally deadly exploits taking place around the Caspian Sea takes you from the primitive oil fields of Baku from where half the world’s oil supply hailed, to the mountains of Persia and deserts of Turkmenistan.
He sweeps us up in a constantly changing political and lawless landscape where Muslims, Armenians, Bolsheviks, Germans, Persians, Brits, left-wingers, guerrillas, colonials, prospectors and fortune-hunters co-existed and fought in this tinderbox of intrigue, acute violence, turbulence, and immense riches.
‘very few people knew about it in Britain at the time, because it was very hush hush’
A rich vein for Higham to immerse himself in then? “Yes, and yet I literally stumbled across it when researching one its protagonists and was instantly fascinated, because it’s out of kilter with the general impression of WW1 or even Lawrence of Arabia’s achievements.
“But then very few people knew about it in Britain at the time either, because it was very hush hush. What began as a heroic story, six weeks later was buried in the press because it was such a humiliating defeat. But then despite these five extraordinary men leading the mission, it was hugely under resourced and badly organised by the British government,” Higham says.
“So this is about these five men and the huge challenges they faced in a really hopeless situation. I just wanted to ensure that their stories aren’t lost and to make their endeavours as accessible as possible for the reader, to keep people abreast of the true narrative. Because their story is truly remarkable.
Set largely in Baku, now the capital of Azerbaijan, it was a godless place back in the early 20th century – an oil town where Stalin cut his teeth as a gangster and fortunes were made and lost, reflected in its emerging palaces and grand city centre besmirched by the terrible pollution, everything covered in a veil of oil. “It was a ghastly place,” Higham concedes.
‘I just wanted to keep people abreast of the true narrative Because their story is truly remarkable’
But when the Russian Revolution occurred and Russia withdrew from the war, the Turks saw an opportunity to sweep into India relatively unscathed and Britain sat up and took notice.
Their solution while the war on the Western Front raged on was to assemble an ambitious plan to send a makeshift army, headed up by Lionel Dunsterville, the model for one of Rudyard Kipling’s most popular characters, the subversive schoolboy Stalky, to thwart Turkish plans while pushing back the Bolsheviks and ensuring Baku’s important oil fields remained available to the empire.
Complicated by the warring population of Armenians and muslims who slaughtered each other frequently, it was, as Higham points out “a very violent place.”
On his own mission to make sense of it all, Higham spent three years researching The Battle of Baku and the Dunsterforce Campaign. “It’s a complicated narrative which I wanted too make comprehensible for people like me who didn’t know about the background to the story. So yes, it was a steep learning curve, but having got my own head around it, it’s such a great story, and an impossible mission, which has largely been forgotten.
‘it’s such a great story, and an impossible mission, which has largely been forgotten’
So why did the Mavericks undertake it so readily if it was so unlikely to succeed? “Well firstly they were all pretty gung-ho. But they were also men of their time, believing in British Imperialism and wanting to do their bit for the empire. Whether they were likeable or not is another thing, but then nice people don’t usually feature in war stories,” Higham pants out.
A fitting title then? “Well yes, except they were all following orders, had to report back and do what they were told, but they were still largely left to their own devices and had to think on their own two feet.
“But they were also hugely interesting characters – tenacious, engaging, driven and the exception to the mass armies and systems of the western front.
An exciting story to stumble across then? “I realised quite early on that I was onto a goldmine and had to continually suspend my disbelief as their stories unfolded so I kept digging,” Higham says.
Now researching similar tales of deception and escapades in Mesopotamia, Higham, a BBC correspondent for 30 years says; “this is what you do when you retire. I didn’t want to just sit around.”
‘they were also hugely interesting characters – tenacious, engaging, driven and the exception to the mass armies of the western front’
A regular at Oxford Literary Festival, Higham’s a safe bet for interviewing fellow authors on stage, having been the presenter of Meet The Author on the BBC News Channel.
Neither is Mavericks Higham’s first book – ‘The Mercenary River: A History of London’s Water‘ proving, that he’s interested in unusual subjects, both picked up by excellent publishers and garnering hugely positive reviews.
“I’ve been lucky,” he muses, “non-fiction is a difficult sell and not every story has wide appeal, but if I’ve learned anything it’s how pointless and what a terrible waste any war is – so much suffering, misery and death, and yet we seem to have learned nothing.”
‘if I’ve learned anything it’s how pointless and what a terrible waste any war is – so much suffering, misery and death, and yet we seem to have learned nothing’
But the positive has been that reviewers have noted that the book would be brilliantly cinematic, “which would do wonders for sales,” he smiles, “so we will have to see.”
SAS Rogue Heroes eat your heart out. Either way Mavericks is sure to set the record straight.
Nick Higham discusses Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One at The Department for Continuing Education Lecture Theatre on Saturday March 28. BOOK HERE
Oxford Literary Festival runs from March 21-29. Details here https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org
