Loftus Australia: AMHP Australian Military History Publications, 2006. 177 pages index biblio b/w photos - Dunsterforce was the name given to a small multinational force of just under 1,000 elite troops (British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand) who were commanded by the Russian-speaking General Lionel Dunsterville (1865-1946). It was put together quite late in the war - in late 1917. It was intended to prevent an invasion of India by a combined German and Turkish force, and to secure control of Persia. Dunsterforce's area of operation was in what is now north and west Iran, and the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, what is now in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Dunsterforce left Baghdad in late January 1918 with the intention of securing the oil-producing part of western Persia. General Dunsterville's aim was also to support the local opposition to the Turkish forces and to protect the Ukraine against the Germans. Crossing the country using armoured cars was quite a feat but there were reverses. Following the Russian revolution, that country had split into several factions. The Bolsheviks forced Dunsterforce to withdraw from Enzeli, and later, when Dunsterville advanced to occupy the oil port of Baku on the Caspian Sea, he had to withdraw in the face of overwhelming Turkish forces, though he reoccupied Baku by the time the war ended. The post-war assessment of the Dunsterforce's achievement was mixed; the expedition was certainly underfunded.. First Edition. Buckram. New/New.