Chitral Expedition
Chitral Expedition | |||||||
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A skirmish during the Chitral expedition | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Pro-British Chitralis |
Afghans (Ethnic Pashtuns) Chitrali | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
George White Robert Low Shuja ul-Mulk |
Umra Khan Sher Afzul Khan Amir ul-Mulk | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
15,249 (Low Force) 1,400 (Fort & Gilgit force) | unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
21 killed, 101 wounded (Low force) 165 killed, 88 wounded (Fort & Kelly force) | unknown but heavy |
The Chitral Expedition (Urdu:چترال فوجی مہم) was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral, which was under siege after a local coup following the death of the old ruler. An intervening British force of about 400 men was besieged in the fort until it was relieved by two expeditions, a small one from Gilgit and a larger one from Peshawar.
Background to the conflict
In the last phase of
From 1857 to 1892 the ruler (Mehtar) was
Siege of Chitral
The
On 3 March a party was sent out to determine the enemy strength. Its loss was 23 killed and 33 wounded.
Relief
When the British heard of
Meanwhile, the British had assembled 15,000 men at Peshawar under
Aftermath
British and Indian Army forces who took part received the India Medal with either the clasp Defence of Chitral 1895 or Relief of Chitral 1895.[12]
Chitral remained at peace after 1895 and Shuja ul-Mulk, the 12 year old installed as Mehtar by Robertson, ruled Chitral for the next 41 years until his death in 1936.[13]
Appraisal
The Chitral Expedition is a much celebrated event, remembered in British history as a chapter in gallantry and valour, which has drawn wide appraisal[clarification needed].[14][15][16]
The valour and endurance displayed by all the ranks in the defence of the fort at Chitral, have added greatly to the prestige of the British arms, and will elicit the admiration of all those who read this account of the gallant defence made by a small party of Her Majesty’s forces, and combined with the troops of His Highness the Maharaja of Kashmir, against heavy odds when shut up in a fort in the heart of an enemy’s country, many miles from succour and support.
The military skill displayed in the conducting of the defence, the cheerful endurance of all the hardship of the siege, the gallant demeanour of the troops and the conspicuous example of heroism and intrepidity recorded, will ever be remembered as forming a glorious episode in the history of the Indian Empire and its army.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "British Intervention in Chitral 1895". Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Harris, John (1975). Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral. Hutchinson. p. 26.
- ^ Younghusband, George John; Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward (1 January 1895). The Relief of Chitral. Macmillan and Company. p. 110.
- ^ Harris, John (1975). Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral. Hutchinson. pp. 211–216.
- ^ Official dispatch of the affair London Gazette
- ISBN 9781781515518.
- ISBN 9780486474748.
- ISBN 9781576079256.
- ISBN 9780486447858.
- ^ a b Younghusband, George John; Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward (1 January 1895). The Relief of Chitral. Macmillan and Company. p. 132.
- ^ Harris, John (1975). Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral. Hutchinson. pp. 226–231.
- ^ Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin. British Battles and Medals. pp. 177–178. Published Spink, London. 1988.
- ^ Harris, John (1975). Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral. Hutchinson. p. 231.
- ^ The London Gazette. T. Neuman. 1 January 1895. p. 4006.
- ^ Younghusband, George John; Younghusband, Sir Francis Edward (1 January 1895). The Relief of Chitral. Macmillan and Company. p. 131.
- ^ Barker, A. J. (1 January 1967). Townshend of Kut: a biography of Major-General Sir Charles Townshend. Cassell. p. 80.
Sources
- The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, John Murray Ltd. (1990)
- Major General Sir George J. Younghusband and Sir Francis E. Younghusband, Macmillan & Co (1896)
- With Kelly to Chitral by Major General Sir William G.L. Beynon , Arnold Publishers (1896)
- Campaigns on the North West Frontier by Captain H L Nevill, Naval & Military Press (1912)
- Chitral; the Story of a Minor Siege by Sir George Scott Robertson, KCSI, Methuen Publishing (1898)
- Townshend of Chitral and Kut by Erroll Sherson John (1928)
- Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral 1895, John Harris, Hutchinson (1975)
- The Chitral Campaign: A Narrative of Events in Chitral, Swat and Bajour by Harry Craufuird Thomson, Heinemann Publishers (1895)
- Huttenback, Robert A. "The Siege of Chitral and the “Breach of Faith Controversy”—The Imperial Factor in Late Victorian Party Politics." Journal of British Studies 10.1 (1970): 126-144.
External links
Further reading
- Henty, George A (1904). Through Three Campaigns A Story of Chitral, Tirah and Ashanti. - historical fiction