CHOKALWAT
At 5 A.M. the next morning, my orderly, Gammer Sing Gurung, woke me. It
was still dark, and I dressed as quickly as possible, so as not to
disturb the others, who were snoring peacefully around me. Dressing
consisted of putting on my coat, putties, and some canvas shoes with
rope soles. I knew the ground I should be going over would be pretty
bad, and with rope soles you can skip about rocks like a young lamb,
whereas shooting boots would send you flying over the cliffs. By the
time I had had some poached eggs and a cup of tea, the Hunza Levies were
waiting outside, so I got into my sword and trappings and went. As I
passed out, Colonel Kelly wished me good luck, and I said, "_Au revoir_
till twelve o'clock." The others snored peacefully.
Gammer Sing and the fifty Hunza Levies were ready, and I had put some
chupatties into my haversack overnight, so off we went. By the time we
were clear of the village, it was getting light, so, keeping close to
the edge of the hills, we struck up a side nullah, took a slant across
it, and then began the climb. By this time it was broad daylight. We
kept climbing and gradually working round the face of the hill to the
right, until we struck the snow line, and I calculated we were pretty
well as high as any sangar the enemy might have on the hill. My idea was
to get above them, and I didn't want my party swept into space by a
stone avalanche. Still, to make matters secure, I detached ten men to go
higher up still, and I had five minutes' halt to give them a start.
It was now about 7.30 A.M., and I wanted to push on, so as to be well on
the right rear of the enemy by nine o'clock. Once there, we could time
our attack at our leisure. Events, however, worked out somewhat
differently. The ground now got very bad, and presently we came to a
stone shoot which extended high up above us, while ending in a cliff a
little below. This we crossed carefully, one man going at a time. Each
step set the whole slide in motion and brought stones bounding down from
above. The best way was to take it at a rush. We got safely across that,
and the ground got worse and worse, and finally we were brought to a
halt. I sent men to find a path above and below, the remainder sat down
under cover, while I examined the ground in front with my glasses. It
was eight o'clock now, and I was congratulating myself in having got so
far, as another half-mile would bring us on to a spur which ran down on
the right flank of the enemy's line.
As I was looking at this spur, I noticed that there was a nice grassy
slope just about level with us, and below that the cliffs went almost
sheer down into the river. Once on that slope, we could pretty well play
skittles with the sangars below, as we could even now see clearly into
them. Unfortunately, the ground between looked frightful, a series of
ridges like the teeth of a saw, the northern faces being covered with
snow, which made the going particularly treacherous. I had hardly
noticed this when there was a puff of smoke and a report, and I saw to
my disgust that on the edge of my nice grassy slope were a few clusters
of innocent-looking rocks, which I now saw to be sangars, evidently
occupied. Just at this moment a man ran across the slope and began
waving his coat to someone below, and more men showed themselves among
the rocks.
The Levies were still looking for a path, and Humayun wanted to return
the enemy's fire; but as the Levies were armed only with carbines, and I
hadn't heard the whistle of the enemy's shot, I judged it would be a
waste of ammunition. To get the distance, I told Gammer Sing, who had
his Martini, to try a shot at the man waving his choga, with his sights
at eight hundred yards. I saw the bullet kick the dust to the right of
the man, who jumped for a rock, so I knew carbines were no good at that
distance.
A path was now found a little lower down, so I ordered an advance and on
we went. Our appearance was the signal for the enemy to open fire, but
as only one or two bullets sang over us, I knew they couldn't have many
rifles. We worked on steadily forward to about five hundred yards, when
shots began to drop among us, so under cover of a ridge I divided the
men into two groups, and sent the first group forward under cover of the
fire of the second, until the first group reached the next ridge, when
they covered the advance of the second group.
The ground was shocking bad, and what made it more annoying was that, as
we were attacking towards the north, and the snow lay on the northern
slopes, we had to test our way every step, and keep in single file just
when our advance was most exposed. I had to have a man in places to help
me along. I don't mind bad ground when after mahkor, as you can take
your own time, but I strongly object to taking the place of the mahkor.
Our advance never stopped, but by ten o'clock we had only gone some two
hundred yards, and I could see our force crossing the river on to the
plain below.
The enemy in our front now began to get excited, and we saw several of
them run back and make signals to those below. There was now only one
ridge between us and the enemy, and we made for it. As we rose, the
enemy's fire became pretty warm, but we were soon under cover again, and
as our advanced men gained the ridge, they began firing and yelling as
hard as they could go. I thought something was up, so made a rush, a
slip, and a scramble, and I could see over the ridge as the rear party
came scrambling along. I soon saw the cause of the yelling. About a
hundred yards in front of us was the grassy ridge, and across this the
last of the enemy was bolting, and in a few minutes had disappeared amid
the most appalling yells from the Levies. That was the last our party
saw of them, for we now found our path again blocked up by a precipice
and again I had to send men above and below to find a practicable way. I
then called for a return of casualties, and found we had escaped scot
free (I expect the enemy had too). So thus ended our bloodless battle.
While a path was being looked for, Humayun and I sat down in a quiet
corner and shared chupatties, and watched the fight below, which was
just beginning. First we saw the advance guard get on to the plain and
extend, and presently they were joined by the main body, and the whole
formed up for attack; then the firing line extended and the advance
commenced. Presently we saw the sangars open fire, answered by volleys
from our men. Then came a larger puff of smoke and a murmur from the men
round me, as a shell pitched across the river and burst over a sangar.
It was as pretty a sight as one could wish for, and I felt as if I
should have been in a stall at Drury Lane. I could have stopped and
watched the show with pleasure. It was quite a treat to see how steadily
the 32nd Pioneers worked across the plain; but just then the men below
shouted that they had found a path, while I could see those above
working their way on to the grassy slope. These latter now shouted that
there were no enemy left on the hill, so we chose the lower road, and
gradually worked our way down, joining the grassy spur lower down--only
it wasn't grassy here at all, but chiefly precipice. We got down
somehow, chiefly on all fours, but by the time we had reached the
sangars, the enemy had bolted, and they were occupied by our men. It had
taken us nearly an hour to get down. Here I came across Colonel Kelly,
and after shaking hands, I looked at my watch and found it was just
twelve, so I had made a good shot at the time of our meeting when we
parted in the morning.
Now I will give you an account of the attack carried out by the main
body. It is the official account, so I can back its correctness.
The action at Chokalwat on the 9th April is thus described: "On the
morning of the ninth April I advanced to the attack of the enemy. In the
early morning Lieutenant Beynon, with the Hunza Levies, ascended the
high hills on the left bank of the river to turn the right of the
position and attack in rear. The Punyal Levies were sent up the hills on
the right bank to turn out the men above the stone shoots.
"I advanced in the following manner:--
Half Coy. 32nd Pioneers, advanced guard.
Kashmir Sappers and Miners --
Half Company 32nd Pioneers |
Two guns 1st Kashmir Mountain |= Main Body
Battery, carried by coolies |
One Company 32nd Pioneers --
"The baggage, under escort of the rearguard, remained in Gasht till
ordered forward after the action.
"An advance was made to the river, where the bridge had been broken, but
sufficiently repaired by the Sappers and Miners for the passage of the
infantry. The guns forded the river, and the force ascended to the fan
facing the right sangars of the enemy's position.
"The configuration of the ground was as follows: The road from the river
after leaving Gasht brought us on to an alluvial fan, the ascent to
which was short and steep; it was covered with boulders and intersected
with nullahs; the road led across this fan and then along the foot of
steep shale slopes and shoots, within five hundred yards of the line of
sangars crowning the opposite side of the river bank, and totally devoid
of any sort or description of cover for some two miles; it could also be
swept by avalanches of stones set in motion by a few men placed on the
heights above for that purpose.
"The enemy's position consisted of a line of sangars blocking the roads
from the river up to the alluvial fan on which they were placed. The
right of the position was protected by a snow glacier, which
descended into the river bed, and furthermore by sangars, which extended
into the snow line up the spur of the hills.
"The course of the action was as follows: The advanced guard formed up
at about eight hundred yards from the position and the main body in
rear. The 32nd Pioneers then advanced to the attack. One section, 'C'
Company, extended (left of line). One section, 'C' Company, extended in
support. Two sections, 'C' Company, 'A' Company, in reserve. The guns
now took up position on the right and opened on 'A' sangar at a range of
eight hundred and twenty-five yards. As the action progressed, the
supporting section of 'C' Company advanced and reinforced. The remaining
half of 'C' Company advanced, and, leaving sufficient space for the
guns, took up their position in the firing line on the extreme right.
Volley firing at first was opened at eight hundred yards, but the firing
line advanced one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards as the action
progressed. At a later stage, one section of 'A' Company was pushed up
to fill a gap on the right of the guns in action in the centre of the
line. The enemy, after receiving some well-directed volleys and
correctly played shells, were seen to vacate 'A' sangar by twos and
threes until it was finally emptied. During our advance to the fan,
shots were heard in the direction of the hills, Lieutenant Beynon having
come into contact with the enemy in their sangars up the hillside, who
were driven from ridge to ridge. When 'A' sangar was vacated, attention
was directed on 'B' sangar, and the same course adopted, with the same
result; at the same time those driven down from the hills above streamed
into the plain, and there was then a general flight. Six shrapnel were
fired into the flying enemy at ranges of a thousand, twelve hundred, and
thirteen hundred and fifty yards (three rounds per gun).
"A general advance was then made down precipitous banks to the bed of
the river, covered by the fire of the reserves, the river forded, and
sangars 'A' and 'B' occupied. The guns were then carried across, and,
the whole line of sangars having been vacated, the column was re-formed
on the fan; the line taken in crossing enabled the enemy to get well on
their way to Mastuj; the advance was then continued to a village a mile
and a half farther along the river, where a halt was made. The
casualties consisted of one man of the 32nd Pioneers severely wounded,
and three Kashmir Sappers slightly. The action commenced at 10.30 A.M.
and lasted one hour. The position was of unusual natural strength, and
the disposition of the sangars showed considerable tactical ability,
being placed on the edge of high cliffs on the left bank of the river.
The enemy were computed at four to five hundred, and were armed with
Martini-Henry and Snider rifles. Several dead were found in the sangars,
and the losses I estimate to have been from fifty to sixty."
By the time I had joined Colonel Kelly, the Pioneers had re-formed and
were advancing, so I had very little time to take a look at the sangars.
I saw one or two bodies lying around, and the shells seemed to have
knocked sparks pretty successfully out of the stone breastworks. I also
noticed the neat little cooking places the enemy had made behind their
sangars, showing that they had been there for some time.
The advance was carried on without a check for about one and a half
miles, when we came to a cluster of huts near the termination of the
plain, the river here making a slight sweep towards the left side of the
valley. An advance guard was thrown out well to the front, and under
their protection the column halted and the men fell out. I had a
first-class thirst by this time, and Gammer Sing made several trips to
the river before it was quenched. Gammer Sing and I always share the
same tin mug on the march. It is his mug, but he always gives me first
go. In return I supply Gammer Sing with tobacco, so it is a fair
division of labour. Here I finished my chupatties, and some kind man--I
think it was Borradaile--gave me a stick of chocolate, my own store
having run out, but I managed to get it replenished at Mastuj.
Good old Stewart came up as pleased as Punch at having had his first
fight. Said he, "And d'ye think now that me shells killed many of the
beggars? sure and their corpses ought to be just thick." He was pained
to hear that in all probability we should not catch up the enemy again
that day, I really think nothing less than twelve hours' hard fighting
every day, with short intervals for refreshments, would satisfy him.
One of the guns, when being brought up the cliff, had slipped off the
coolies and fallen down to the bottom again, breaking off the foresight,
but Stewart mended it during the halt.
At the same time, the Sappers were hard at work pulling down a house for
materials to build a bridge, but before it was actually begun, we heard
that the river could be forded again lower down, so the bridge was not
built. By this time the men were sufficiently rested, the whole column
had closed up, and orders sent back for the baggage to come on.
Off we started, the Punyal Levies working down the right bank, the
Hunzas on the left, the main column following the left bank of the
stream. By 4 P.M. we reached the ford and crossed to the right bank, the
water not being much above our knees. And almost immediately after, we
saw some men drawn up on the spur we were approaching; they turned out
to be the Mastuj garrison, who, on finding the besieging force halting,
had come out to find out the reason. If they had only heard our guns and
turned out at once, they would have cut the line of retreat of our
opponents, and the whole crew must have been wiped out. Unfortunately
the fort of Mastuj is built far down the reverse slope of a fan, and
although some of the sentries reported they heard firing, it was thought
they must be mistaken.
By 5 P.M. we had got on to the spur, and found Moberly, with part of the
garrison, all looking very fat and fit; evidently the siege had not
worried them much so far. A detachment of the 14th Sikhs (the remains of
Ross's company) were left on the spur to cover the baggage coming in,
while our column trotted down to the fort, getting there by 5.30 P.M.
Here we found Jones with his arm in a sling. Our force bivouacked in a
garden attached to the fort, the trees of which had been lopped to
deprive the enemy of shelter, and the farther wall destroyed. This we
precious soon built up again, and within an hour our force was
comfortably entrenched and cooking its dinner.
What a blessing it was to be down again in a decent climate! Fires were
still pleasant at night, but in the daytime the bright, cool weather was
splendid.
Moberly's servant soon had some tea and chupatties ready, and while we
were eating them, Bretherton, who had been out clearing some village on
the other side of the fort, came in.
There was lots of news, both to hear and relate, and we were hard at it
when there came the sound of a volley from the direction in which we
were expecting the baggage.
Somebody said, "Cuss those niggers! why can't they let us have our tea
in peace?"--it wasn't Stewart,--and there was a general scramble for
swords and belts. A company of the Pioneers was soon doubling off, while
the rest of us strolled up the road to see what the row was. We met the
baggage coming in, and heard that the 14th Sikh picket had heard some
people moving in the river bed, and had let drive a volley at
them--result unknown. As soon as the last of the baggage had passed, we
followed it, and the picket was withdrawn. Later that night we sent back
a messenger with an account of the day's fighting and the relief of
Mastuj to Gilgit, but the messenger--a levy--shortly returned, having
been fired on, and returned the fire, so it was evident that a good
many of the enemy were still sneaking about.
We officers slept in the fort that night, four or five of us in a room.
Mastuj is of the ordinary type of country fort, square, with a tower at
each end and one over the gateway, curtains between each tower about
eighteen to twenty feet high, and the towers another fifteen feet higher
still. The whole place is built of layers of stones and wood plastered
together with mud, while there is generally a keep or citadel inside
which commands the rest of the fort, and in which are the governor's and
women's quarters. In Mastuj, of course, we used these as officers'
quarters. The whole fort is a horribly dirty and tumble-down old place;
the roof of the officers' quarters had to be propped up, as it was
considered unsafe, and I quite believe it. The rooms had the usual hole
in the roof for the smoke to get out at, but Moberly had erected a stove
in his room, which was a great improvement.