Discussion in the British government on the issue of intervention in Transcaucasia in December 1918 – march 1919

The article is devoted to the events in Transcaucasia after the defeat of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. The discussion in the Military Council and the Imperial Military Council on the development of British policy in Transcaucasia in December 1918 – March 1919 is shown. At the end of 1917, Great Britain and France divided their spheres of influence on the territory of the former Russian Empire, and Transcaucasia began to enter the sphere of Britain's geopolitical interests. The situation in Transcaucasia was complicated by the outbreak of Civil War in the territory of the former Russian Empire and the need for the former Entente allies to determine their attitude towards supporting Russian anti-Bolshevik forces. The main disputes in the British government over military involvement in the anti-Bolshevik struggle in Russia unfolded between Prime Minister D. Lloyd George, who envisioned a joint solution to this problem at peace conferences, and Secretary of State for Military Affairs appointed by him in January 1919. Churchill, who defended the position of immediate assistance to the White Movement. Against the background of complex internal relations between various political forces in Transcaucasia and the presence of problems in Great Britain itself, the Entente's policy in Transcaucasia was indecisive, contradictory and inconsistent, which resulted in the decision to withdraw British troops from the region in March 1919.. Soviet Russia benefited from this, having managed to defeat its opponents on all fronts and restore the borders of the former Russian Empire in Transcaucasia