THE RELIEF OF CHITRAL
[Illustration: Colophon]
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
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[Illustration:
COLONEL KELLY AND HIS OFFICERS. [_Frontispiece_
Lieutenant Peterson. Lieutenant Jones. Lieutenant Moberly.
Surgeon-Captain Luard. Surgeon-Captain Browning Smith.
Lieutenant Stewart, R.A. Lieutenant Beynon.
Colonel Kelly. Captain Borrodaile.
Lieutenant Cobbe. Lieutenant Bethune. Sergeant Reeves.
]
THE
RELIEF OF CHITRAL
BY
CAPTAIN G. J. YOUNGHUSBAND
QUEEN'S OWN CORPS OF GUIDES
AUTHOR OF "EIGHTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON A BURMESE TAT"; "FRAYS
AND FORAYS"; "THE QUEEN'S COMMISSION," ETC., ETC.
AND
COLONEL SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND
K.C.I.E.
INDIAN STAFF CORPS
(LATE POLITICAL OFFICER IN CHITRAL)
WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1910
_All rights reserved_
_First Edition_ October 1895.
_Reprinted_ October and December 1895; April 1896; 1897.
_Shilling Edition_ 1910.
RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED,
BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND
BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
PREFACE
This book is the joint production of two brothers, who are constantly
being mistaken for one another, who happened to be present together
in the same campaign and to both act as correspondents of the _Times_
in that campaign. The chapters (III. IV. and V.) on Sir Robert Low's
advance are by Captain George Younghusband, who was present throughout
the operations on General Low's Staff. The remaining chapters are by
Captain Francis Younghusband, who from his two years' residence in
Chitral was better acquainted with the country through which Colonel
Kelly marched his troops, and with the place in which the defence was
made.
This record of the Chitral campaign is based on the official
despatches published in the Gazette of India and in the Blue Book on
Chitral affairs lately presented to the Houses of Parliament, and the
management of the _Times_ have kindly allowed that use should be made
of the letters which the authors wrote to the _Times_.
The illustrations are from photographs taken by Sergeant Mayo, of
the Photographic Section of the Bengal Sappers and Miners, which
accompanied General Low's column; and from sketches very kindly
furnished by Surgeon-Captain Browning-Smith and Lieutenant Beynon, who
served with Colonel Kelly's Column.
_October 1895._
A few verbal corrections and some slight additions have been made to
bring this book up to date.
_July 1910._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I PAGE
THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 1
CHAPTER II
CAPTAIN ROSS AND LIEUTENANT EDWARDES 30
CHAPTER III
GENERAL LOW'S ADVANCE 71
CHAPTER IV
ACTIONS AT THE MALAKAND AND PANJKORA 83
CHAPTER V
THE RELIEF OF CHITRAL 115
CHAPTER VI
THE DEFENCE OF CHITRAL 129
CHAPTER VII
COLONEL KELLY'S MARCH 175
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
_To face page_
COLONEL KELLY AND HIS OFFICERS (_Frontispiece_)
MAP OF CHITRAL EXPEDITION, 1895 x
THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY OF CHITRAL 15
LIEUT. B. E. M. GURDON, D.S.O. 16
DIAGRAMMATIC SKETCH OF THE KORAGH DEFILE 34
THE LOWARAI PASS 66
THE LOWARAI PASS IN MAY 76
THE MALAKAND PASS 84
CONSTRUCTING A SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER THE
PANJKORA RIVER 110
DIR FORT 116
HEAD-QUARTER CAMP, DIR 124
SIR R. LOW AND STAFF ON THE JANBATAI PASS 128
CHITRAL FORT, FROM THE SOUTH 142
MAJOR TOWNSHEND, C.B. 144
LIEUT. H. K. HARLEY, D.S.O. 166
SKETCH OF SOUTH (GUN) TOWER, CHITRAL FORT 169
NATIVE LEVY 176
SEPOY 32ND PIONEERS 182
CAPTAIN J. MCD. BAIRD 226
COMPANY OF THE 14TH SIKHS, WHICH FORMED PART
OF THE GARRISON OF CHITRAL DURING THE SIEGE 228
HOUSE OCCUPIED BY SHER AFZUL DURING THE SIEGE
OF CHITRAL FORT 231
[Illustration: CHITRAL EXPEDITION 1895. (Map)]
THE RELIEF OF CHITRAL
CHAPTER I
THE CAUSES OF THE WAR
In the middle of March of the year 1895, people in England were
suddenly made aware that grave trouble had arisen upon the northern
frontier of India; that the representative of the British Government
was besieged in the heart of a mountainous country, hundreds of miles
from the nearest support; and that operations on a large scale were
contemplated by the Government of India to effect his release, and
restore British prestige. Some account of how this trouble arose is
required, and of the causes which necessitated this campaign by which
the honour of the British name was saved, and British officers were
rescued from an untimely end.
India is bounded on the north by successive ranges of mountains of
great height, and among these mountains is the State of Chitral, a
country somewhat larger than Wales, and supporting a population of
70,000 or 80,000 rough, hardy hillmen. Both the capital and the state
itself are called Chitral, and the principal place, where is the fort
of Chitral, is situated at a distance of about forty-seven miles from
the main water-shed of the range of the Hindu Kush, which divides the
waters flowing down to India from those which take their way into the
Oxus, and on to Turkestan and Central Asia. Chitral is an important
state, because of its situation at the extremity of the territory over
which the Government of India exerts its influence, and for some years
past, it had been the object of the policy of the Government of India,
to control the external affairs of Chitral, in a direction friendly to
our interests; to secure an effective guardianship over its northern
passes; and to keep watch over what goes on beyond those passes. With
these objects in view, Major Biddulph was sent to the country in 1877,
and the first attempt was made to enter into relations with the Ruler
or Mehtar of the country. No very definite arrangement was come to
at this time, but in 1885, when war between Russia and England was
imminent, Lord Dufferin despatched Sir William Lockhart at the head of
an important mission to enter into more definite and complete relations
with the Mehtar, and to report upon the defences of the country.
Colonel Lockhart spent more than a year in Chitral and the neighbouring
states on the north, as well as on the south side of the Hindu Kush
range, and from that time to this the relations of the Government of
India with the Rulers of Chitral have been of a close and intimate
nature. Chitral was then governed by old Aman-ul-Mulk, a strong,
astute ruler, who, by the force of his character, by intriguing, by
murdering those of his rivals whom he could ensnare with his wiles, and
by fighting the remainder, had consolidated a number of small states
incessantly at warfare with one another into the Chitral of the year
of the campaign. Under his firm rule, the country was held together,
and, so long as he lived, no one dared to rise against him, or dispute
his authority. But he had seventeen sons, and those who knew the
customs of Mohammedan countries foresaw that, on his death, these must
infallibly commence a fratricidal struggle for the throne.
At the end of August 1892, old Aman-ul-Mulk died, and the long-expected
scramble for the Mehtarship immediately commenced. Of the seventeen
sons, there were two who by reason of the rank of their mother, were
regarded as having the strongest claims to the Mehtarship. These two
youths had been invited down to India on a visit to the Viceroy some
years before, and they were in receipt of small subsidies from the
Government of India. Nizam-ul-Mulk was the name of the elder, and the
younger was named Afzul-ul-Mulk. At the time of the old Mehtar's death,
the second son happened to be in Chitral, while his elder brother was
away in Yasin, 160 miles distant, carrying out his duties as Governor
of that outlying province. Afzul-ul-Mulk immediately seized the arms
and treasure in the fort, attached a large following to himself, for he
was decidedly the more popular of the two brothers, and then proceeded
to murder all those of his other brothers who, in spite of their lower
birth, might certainly be expected to make a bid for the throne. He
killed a number of these, and then set off with an army to fight his
elder brother, Nizam-ul-Mulk, in Yasin. Afzul was a bold and daring
leader, while Nizam was never noted for his courage, and had none of
his brother's personal popularity. He was therefore only able to make
a very feeble show of resistance, and he then fled to Gilgit, to the
head-quarters of the political agent, and of the troops stationed there
for the protection of this part of the Indian frontier, to seek refuge
under British authority.
Afzul-ul-Mulk returned to his capital elated and triumphant. He was
recognised by all his people as the Mehtar of the country, and the
Government of India, in accordance with their principle of recognising
as ruler the man whom the people themselves chose, proceeded to
congratulate him upon his accession to the throne of Chitral. The
anticipated troubles seemed to have come to an end in the space of
a very few weeks, and there appeared to be nobody now to oppose
Afzul-ul-Mulk's rule. The British Government saw seated on the throne
of this important state a man for whom British officers who had met
him had considerable admiration, and a man who, having visited India,
and become acquainted with our real strength and resources, and who
was believed to be loyally attached to the alliance with the British
Government, was likely to prove an almost model ruler for the country.
Everything then seemed to have settled down satisfactorily; but
Afzul-ul-Mulk had only just received the recognition of the Government
of India, and had not been two months on the throne, when without
warning, and suddenly as the fall of a thunderbolt, appeared one upon
the scene who, in the space of a single night, upset all these dreams
of peace. Afzul-ul-Mulk had by one means and another ridded himself
of those of his brothers who were likely to cause him trouble. He
was reasonably safe as regards brothers, but there was an uncle who
had been overlooked. This was Sher Afzul, who many years before had
struggled for the throne with the old Mehtar, but who had long since
been driven from the country, and forced to live in exile in Afghan
territory. This prince suddenly appeared before the walls of the
Chitral fort. He had successfully intrigued with a number of men in
Chitral who were inimical to Afzul-ul-Mulk, and so secured an entrance
to the country. The fort of Chitral is situated only forty-seven miles
distant from the pass into Badakhshan, over which Sher Afzul advanced,
and he had ridden rapidly in with a hundred or more of horsemen,
collected a few followers on the way, killed the Governor of the valley
through which he passed, and in the dead of night appeared before the
walls of Chitral itself.
Success or failure now turned upon the action of a few hours. If he
could gain an entrance to the fort, and hold it, he would secure the
throne for himself; but if he were held at bay for even that one night,
he could only expect to be swamped in the morning by the undoubtedly
strong following of Afzul-ul-Mulk. Sher Afzul was making a bold and
daring move, and fortune favoured his audacity. Afzul-ul-Mulk, hearing
from the inside of the fort the clamouring at the gate as Sher Afzul
appeared, rushed out to ascertain what was the matter. In so doing he
exposed himself, was shot down, and died almost immediately.
One king being dead, the Chitralis, with that versatility of
temperament so characteristic of them, immediately proceeded to
recognise as their ruler the man who had killed him. In no other
country is the principle, so dear to the heart of the British
Government, of recognising the _de facto_ ruler, more fully acted upon
than in Chitral. There was now no attempt to turn the invader out of
the country, and no one waited to call in from Gilgit the eldest son of
their old ruler. The Chitralis simply recognised as their chief the man
who was the last to say he intended to rule them. Sher Afzul was to be
their Mehtar. They believed all the promises so utterly incapable of
fulfilment which he made to them, and Sher Afzul, having now seized the
rifles, ammunition, and treasure which had before been taken possession
of by Afzul-ul-Mulk, assumed the reins of government, and by promising
houses, lands, and fair wives to every one who asked for them, and by
liberal gifts of money, speedily made himself the popular idol of the
people. But his lease of power was a short one.
While these events were occurring, Nizam-ul-Mulk, the eldest son of
the old Mehtar, had been living quietly at Gilgit, enjoying a daily
allowance from the British Government. He had seen his younger brother
succeed to the throne, and recognised as Mehtar by the Government of
India, and his fortunes for the time seemed at their lowest ebb, but in
these turbulent countries, where the wheel of fortune turns so rapidly,
no claimant to a throne need despair, however remote his chances of
succeeding may seem for the time. And now Nizam-ul-Mulk, hearing of
the death of his younger brother, at once plucked up courage to make
an attempt to gain the throne of Chitral. He wrote to Colonel Durand,
the British agent at Gilgit, asking him for his support, and saying
that, should he become Mehtar, he would agree to British officers being
stationed in Chitral, and to the establishment of a telegraph line, and
would carry out all the wishes of Government. Nizam also signified his
intention of moving against Sher Afzul; and having come to Gilgit of
his own accord, and being there as our guest and not under detention,
Colonel Durand was unable to refuse him permission to leave Gilgit, and
accordingly allowed him to go, while he despatched 250 rifles, 2 guns,
and 100 levies, into the province of Yasin, in order to strengthen his
own position, in the event of its becoming necessary to treat with Sher
Afzul, and to preserve order in the western part of the Gilgit district
and in Yasin.
Nizam-ul-Mulk on crossing the frontier, was joined by a large number of
men from the upper valleys of Chitral, with whom he had been brought
up as a youth, and who were always much attached to him, A force of
1,200 men, which Sher Afzul sent to oppose him, also went over to
him, and he immediately marched on Mastuj, which he occupied without
difficulty. Drasan fell into his hands on the 1st of December, and Sher
Afzul, seeing the game was up, fled as rapidly as he had appeared, back
into Afghan territory; where he remained, till at the commencement of
the present year he again appeared upon the scene to set the whole of
Chitral once more in a ferment.
Nizam-ul-Mulk felt that his success had been very largely due to the
countenance which had been given him by the British authorities, and
his first act on ascending the throne was to ask that a British officer
might be sent to remain by his side. The Government of India directed
that a mission under the charge of Surgeon-Major Robertson, and which
consisted of Lieutenant The Honourable C. G. Bruce, Lieutenant J. H.
Gordon, and myself, with fifty men of the 15th Sikhs should be deputed
to proceed to Chitral to congratulate the new Mehtar on his succession,
and to promise him the same subsidy and support as were given to his
late father.
In the middle of January 1893, we crossed the Shandur Pass, 12,400 feet
high, since rendered famous by the march of Colonel Kelly's column
across it, and, in spite of the severity of the weather and the extreme
cold, reached Chitral without mishap on the 25th of January. Here the
mission remained till May, giving to the Mehtar that support which
he so much required in the consolidation of his rule. Dr. Robertson
and Lieutenant Bruce returned to Gilgit at the end of May, while
Lieutenant Gordon and myself, with the whole of the escort, remained on
in Chitral. As the months went by, the Mehtar gradually strengthened
his position, and at the end of September, we were able to withdraw to
Mastuj, a place sixty-five miles nearer Gilgit, which the Government of
India desired should in future be the head-quarters of the political
agent. During the following year, no event of importance occurred
upon this frontier, though the restless Pathan chief, Umra Khan, the
Mehtar's neighbour on the south, was constantly causing trouble by
attacking the villages considered by the Mehtar to belong to Chitral.
In the autumn of last year the Honourable George Curzon, M.P. (now Lord
Curzon) entered Chitral territory from the direction of the Pamirs. He
and I rode down together to the Mehtar's capital, and were received by
him with every mark of hospitality. We had long conversations together,
we dined with him and he with us, and we played polo together; and when
on the 11th of October we rode away from Chitral, no one would have
supposed it possible that in a few months' time the country, which
then seemed so quiet, should be the scene of the bloody conflict which
raged there in the first months of the ensuing year.
Nizam-ul-Mulk was by no means a pattern ruler, but, though deficient
in courage, and unpopular with many of his people on account of his
avaricious habits, was in many respects a good ruler, and he was
certainly a firm ally of the British Government. He had been to India,
had mixed with British officers, and had suffered adversity. At the
same time he had no wild ambitions to lead him astray. His ruling
passion was love of sport; and as long as he had the support of the
Government of India to guard him from outside troubles, he felt that he
could indulge his inclinations in that respect to his heart's content.
The result, both to ourselves and to the Chitralis, was certainly
satisfactory. The Chitralis were free from any gross oppression or
misgovernment, they could enjoy life in their easy-going way as they
would wish, and they could be ruled by their own ruler. At the same
time, we had never to fear that the Mehtar would not be guided by us in
any matter relating to his external affairs.
When, therefore, on the first day of January of the following year
Nizam-ul-Mulk was shot dead while out hawking, by the directions
of his half-brother, Amir-ul-Mulk, a characterless youth of about
nineteen, every one who knew the country felt that a grave misfortune
had occurred. At a stroke this miserable boy was able to sweep away
the good results of two years' careful thought on the part of the
Government and of their local officers, and to transform a peaceful
state into the scene of a desperate struggle. The youth who had
shattered the promising fabric, which had slowly been set up, was
a son of the old Mehtar by one of his four legitimate wives, and
Nizam-ul-Mulk would have liked to have murdered him, knowing that if he
did not do so he ran the risk of himself being murdered by the youth.
But knowing how averse the British authorities were to these murders,
he had refrained from carrying out what he knew to be a prudent measure
of self-defence, and he had now suffered for his leniency and his
loyalty to the wishes of his allies.
[Illustration: THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY OF CHITRAL
_Where the Mehtars are buried_]
At the time of this unfortunate occurrence, Lieutenant B. Gurdon, who
had succeeded me a few weeks before in the political charge of Chitral,
was on a visit to the capital with an escort of eight Sikhs: the
remainder of his escort of 100 men being posted at Mastuj, sixty-five
miles north-east of Chitral. Amir-ul-Mulk immediately sent a deputation
to him asking to be recognised as Mehtar; and it is significant of the
prestige and authority which we then enjoyed, that a reckless youth, in
the very excitement of his impetuous action, should have come cringing
in to a young British officer with only eight native soldiers at his
back, asking for his countenance and support. Lieutenant Gurdon told
him that he could merely refer the matter to the Government of India
and await their orders. This Lieutenant Gurdon now did, but it may be
imagined that his position at this time was one of considerable anxiety
which required all the tact and coolness which he now proved himself to
possess. He had at once sent for a reinforcement of fifty Sikhs from
his escort at Mastuj, and these reached him on the 8th; and that they
were able to do so, and were not hindered or molested on the way, is
another sign that at that time there was no defined spirit of hostility
to the British.
[Illustration:
_Photo A. Esmé Collings._ _W. Brighton._
LIEUTENANT B. E. M. GURDON, D.S.O.]
In anticipation of trouble, however, 100 men were sent to reinforce
Mastuj, 200 men were marched to Ghizr, and in the middle of January
Surgeon-Major Robertson, the British agent at Gilgit, started for
Chitral to report on the situation. Mr. Robertson arrived in Chitral
at the end of January, and afforded timely relief to Mr. Gurdon, who,
in the meantime had, in the words of the despatch of the Government
of India on the subject, acted with admirable coolness and judgment,
occupying a house in an excellent position for defence, if necessary,
and quietly laying in supplies in case of trouble.
Meanwhile Umra Khan, chief of the Jandul State, immediately bordering
Chitral on the south, had taken the opportunity which the troubles
which were occurring in Chitral afforded to invade the country,
ostensibly with the object of supporting Amir-ul-Mulk, but with the
real intention of annexing it to his own dominions. This enterprising
chief was the son of the ruler of the little Pathan State of Jandul,
who, on the death of his father in 1879, had made an attempt to seize
the throne from his eldest brother, but not being successful had
prudently retired on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Having plucked up heart
again two years later, he murdered his brother, seized the throne, and
then commenced a series of wars against his neighbours, which only
culminated in the disasters of the present year. Valley after valley
he annexed to his country. Scarcely a month passed by without a fight,
and with each success his ambitions only grew wider and stronger. His,
indeed, was one of those uncontrollable spirits which feed upon high
adventure, and tire of nought but rest.
He now thought he saw his opportunity of acquiring the more important
and larger state of Chitral. He had dreamed one night that this should
be his, and, to the excitable imagination of an Oriental, it seemed
that his dream was a prophetic inspiration from on high. He was,
undoubtedly, an accomplice with Amir-ul-Mulk in the murder of the late
Mehtar; but it is not so certain whether he had done more than give
that youth a general assurance that if he would murder the Mehtar he
should be supported. Umra Khan at the time of Nizam's murder was
preparing for an expedition elsewhere, and, had he been in direct
communication with Amir-ul-Mulk as to the precise time of the murder,
it is questionable whether he would have chosen the season of the year
when the high pass between his own and Chitral territory was blocked
with snow. However, seeing that the murder had occurred, and knowing
that all the leading men in Chitral had previously been made away with,
that the country had now no leaders, and must of necessity be split up
into a number of opposing factions, he, without a moments hesitation,
seized the opportunity, and in spite of the heavy snow on the pass,
10,000 feet in height, which separated him from Chitral, marched with
3,000 men into that country.
The Chitralis at first opposed this Pathan force. They had always
looked upon the Pathans as their hereditary enemies, and had on many
previous occasions resisted invasions by them. Had they now had any
leader to keep them together, and to encourage them, the Chitralis
would have been able to repulse the invaders. Could the British have
supported them in their resistance, as Lieutenant Gurdon did with a
few men in one of the preliminary skirmishes, they would have gained
heart, and, with the spirit which they are capable of showing when
once they are fairly aroused, would have beaten back Umra Khan's men;
but Amir-ul-Mulk, their would-be leader, was incapable of exercising
authority. He had not been recognised by the British officers as
Mehtar, and it was doubtful whether he ever would be; and his hope lay
therefore more with Umra Khan than with the British, and the British
officers were unable to support the Chitralis in a quarrel of their own
with this neighbouring chief without the direct instructions of their
Government.
The resistance of the Chitralis therefore collapsed, Umra Khan
succeeded in capturing Kila Drosh, the principal fort on the southern
frontier of Chitral, and this he immediately commenced to strengthen,
so as to form of it a firm "pied-à-terre" on Chitral territory. And
just as affairs had taken this unfavourable turn, just when the
Chitralis were divided and leaderless, when their country had an
invader in its midst, once more appears upon the scene that evil
spirit of Chitral and persevering aspirant for its throne, Sher Afzul.
Scarcely more than two years previously he had killed one Mehtar, ruled
the country for a month, and then been ousted by the elder brother, and
now, after a further sojourn of two years in Afghan territory, in a
confinement which the Amir of Kabul had most solemnly declared to the
Government of India would be permanent, so that he might never again
be allowed to disturb the peace of Chitral, he was allowed to escape
from Afghan territory and join Umra Khan at Drosh in the latter half of
February.
Mr. Robertson did not receive reliable information of his arrival in
Chitral territory until the 24th of February, when he at once entered
into communication with him. On the 27th of February, Mr. Robertson
received from Sher Afzul a demand that he should go back to Mastuj at
once. Sher Afzul promised to be friends with the Government on the
same terms as previous Mehtars of Chitral, that is to say, that he was
to receive subsidies from the Government, but that no British officer
should reside in the country. But his promise was coupled with the
threat that if his terms were not accepted, Umra Khan would at once
advance. The two princes had, in fact, made an alliance, the basis
of which was really hostility to the British Government. They were
to induce or force the British officers from Chitral territory, and
after that had been effected, they could then decide who should rule
the country, one thing only being certain, that whoever should be the
nominal Mehtar, Umra Khan would be the ruler practically. Mr. Robertson
replied to Sher Afzul that the Maharajah of Kashmir was the Suzerain
of Chitral, and that neither Umra Khan nor any one else could impose a
Mehtar on Chitral without the permission of the Government; he added
that Sher Afzul was wanting in respect to the Government of India, that
he was informing the Government of Sher Afzul's demands, and would
communicate their instructions to him, and that if in the meantime he
attempted any overt act of hostility, he must take the consequences on
his own head.
At the end of February, the Chitralis were still holding a position
a dozen miles below Chitral, and Umra Khan was rapidly completing his
preparations for the defence of Kila Drosh against an attack from the
Chitralis, which he believed to be imminent. A few Chitralis of the
lower class had gone over to Sher Afzul, but the principal men, though
suspected of being partisans of Sher Afzul, did not openly defect.
Suddenly, however, they now changed their minds and went over in a body
to Sher Afzul. In that versatile and impulsive way so characteristic
of them, they turned completely round, and, in place of joining the
British and opposing Umra Khan, they now, under the impression that
Umra Khan was the stronger, because the nearer power, and that the
British were the weaker, because the more distant, joined the Pathan
chief, and came surging on in a wave towards the fort of Chitral, which
Mr. Robertson, with the escort of 400 men, which he had brought with
him, had now occupied.
Amir-ul-Mulk had been deposed and was under the custody of the British
officers, and Mr. Robertson had formally recognised Shuja-ul-Mulk,
an intelligent, trustworthy little boy, nine or ten years old, as
provisional Mehtar of Chitral, pending the orders of the Government of
India.
On the 3rd of March, the combined Chitrali and Pathan forces appeared
before Chitral, an action took place in which one British officer was
mortally wounded, and another severely wounded, in which a General and
a Major and twenty-one non-commissioned officers and sepoys of the
Kashmir Infantry were killed, and twenty-eight wounded. The British
force was then shut up within the walls of the fort, and no further
news of them reached the Government of India for many weeks to come.
Information of the serious turn which affairs had taken in Chitral was
received by the Government on the 7th of March, and they immediately
decided that preliminary arrangements should be undertaken, in order
to be prepared if necessary to operate against Umra Khan from the
direction of Peshawur. It was believed that the garrison in the Chitral
fort could resist an attack from Umra Khan and Sher Afzul's forces,
and hold out as long as their ammunition and supplies lasted; but as
communications were all interrupted, and as retreat was cut off, it
appeared imperative that no effort should be spared to effect their
relief by the end of April, if the investment was not otherwise removed
before that date. On the 14th of March, in order that Umra Khan might
have distinct notice of the decision to which the Government of India
had thus come, a final letter of admonition was sent to him recounting
the various warnings given to him against interfering with Chitral
affairs, mentioning his various acts of aggression, directing him to
at once quit Chitral territory, and telling him that if by the 1st of
April he had not withdrawn, the Government of India would compel him to
do so. The letter went on to say that the Government were making fresh
preparations to send forward their forces for that purpose, and that he
would only have himself to blame for any evil results that might fall
upon him. At the same time a proclamation in the following terms was
issued :--
_To all the people of Swat and the people in Bajaur who do not side
with Umra Khan._
Be it known to you, and any other persons concerned, that--
Umra Khan, the Chief of Jandul, in spite of his often repeated
assurances of friendship to the British Government, and regardless
of frequent warnings to refrain from interfering with the affairs
of Chitral, which is a protected state under the suzerainty of
Kashmir, has forcibly entered the Chitral valley, and attacked the
Chitrali people.
The Government of India have now given Umra Khan full warning that,
unless he retires from Chitral by the 1st of April, corresponding
with the 5th day of Shawal 1312 H., they will use force to compel
him to do so. In order to carry out this purpose, they have
arranged to assemble on the Peshawur border a force of sufficient
strength to overcome all resistance, and to march this force
through Umra Khan's territory toward Chitral.
The sole object of the Government of India is to put an end to the
present, and prevent any future, unlawful aggression on Chitral
territory; and as soon as this object has been attained, the force
will be withdrawn.
The Government of India have no intention of permanently occupying
any territory through which Umra Khan's misconduct may now force
them to pass, or of interfering with the independence of the
tribes; and they will scrupulously avoid any acts of hostility
towards the tribesmen so long as they on their part refrain from
attacking or impeding in any way the march of the troops. Supplies
and transports will be paid for, and all persons are at liberty to
pursue their ordinary avocations in perfect security.
Orders were also now issued for the mobilisation of the 1st Division of
the Field Army under Major-General Sir Robert Low.
While preparations were in progress of this force, news reached the
Government of India of the disaster to a detachment of troops under
Captain Ross on their way to Chitral, when Captain Ross had himself
been killed, his Lieutenant, Jones, been wounded, and fifty-six
men killed out of a total of seventy-one; another detachment under
Lieutenants Edwardes and Fowler was also known to be surrounded; and
finally communication with the supporting post of Mastuj was severed.
This intelligence materially altered the situation again. It was now
known to the Government of India that before they had taken the action
described above, Umra Khan and Sher Afzul had actually waged war upon
British Indian and Kashmir troops.
The necessity for relieving the little garrison in Chitral was more
imminent than had been supposed, while the reason for giving Umra
Khan a period of grace within which he might withdraw from Chitral
had now disappeared. Colonel Kelly, commanding the 32nd Pioneers, the
senior military officer in the Gilgit district, was placed in command
of the operations in the Gilgit district. His orders permitted him to
make such dispositions and movements as he might think best, provided
he undertook no operations which did not offer reasonable prospects
of success. It was, however, felt that the relief of Chitral from
the side of Gilgit was probably impossible. Gilgit is 220 miles from
Chitral, and at this season of the year was cut off from all support
from India, by passes 13,000 feet in height, which were now covered
deep in snow, and which would not become available for the passage of
troops till June. On the other hand, the road from Peshawur to Chitral
was less than 200 miles in length, and on it there was only one pass
of 10,000 feet which would still have snow upon it. This pass was not
altogether impracticable for an army. Orders were therefore issued for
the despatch of the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low, as soon
as it could be made ready.
Before describing General Low's advance it is necessary to relate
the circumstances under which the detachments under Captain Ross and
Lieutenant Edwardes had, as mentioned above, suffered such signal loss.