Part 10/12:
As the campaign wound down, Dunsterville summarized the tragic complexity: revolutionary governments could overthrow existing order with ease, but building stable, functioning alternatives was arduous and slow, often resulting in disorder and chaos. His comments underscore the tragic cost of these operations—not just in soldiers’ lives but in the chaos and suffering left in the wake.
Though the Dunsterforce’s campaign in Baku was ultimately a retreat, their resistance—fewer than 1,000 men holding off a much larger enemy—was an unexpected feat of resilience and discipline. Their efforts delayed the Ottoman advance and temporarily preserved a fragile hold over a crucial region.