British Occupation
On January 12, 1919 the British expeditionary forces landed at Batumi to replace the Turkish troops. The Council for Batum Region — chaired by the Russian cadet P. Maslov — was created to govern Adjara as a provisional authority from 21 December 1918 to 28 April 1919. The Committee of the Liberation of Muslim Georgia, headed by Memed Abashidze during the years 1918–1919, had repeatedly spoken of the establishment of autonomy on religious principles within the borders of Georgia. To work towards this, on September 13, 1919 a prototype parliament, the Mejlis, was convened in Batum. Though Abashidze's faction strongly advocated the union with Georgia, the drive towards autonomy was strong, even among the pro-Georgian Adjarians. Another, less numerous group known as Seday Mileth (in Turkish: "voice of people") propagated pro- and pan-Turkish ideas.
On August 15, 1919, the withdrawal of British Troops began from the Caucasus. The divisional headquarters at Batum left for Constantinople, handing over to the military governor of Batum—Br.-Gen. W. J. N. Cooke-Collis. On March 4, 1920, Cooke-Collis as appointed to command the Inter-Allied Force at Batum. This force was withdrawn from Batum by July 14, 1920.
Read more about this topic: History Of Adjara
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