Sir Francis Edward Younghusband

“ Just on the brink of a disaster the British forces came out triumphant; and once again in our fair island's story it was shown that British officers, even though unsupported by a single British soldier, and with only their own stout hearts and strong right arms to trust to, and to the influence they could exercise over men of subject races, had been able to uphold the honour of their race; and the story of the defence and relief of Chitral will be handed down to posterity as one of the most brilliant chapters in the annals of Indian military history. ”

“ The little party of a hundred men scrambled over the bank behind which they had been lying and advanced to the attack of the strongly-held village to their front. It was a desperate venture, for the enemy were not only in superior numbers and better armed, but they were firing from behind cover, while the troops which the British had now to lead to the attack had to advance across 200 yards of open ground, exposed to fire for the whole distance, and they were men who had never been in action before. ”

“ They considered, therefore, that if one great effort could be made they would be able to first crush the Chitral garrison, and then annihilate Colonel Kelly, who they knew had with him only a handful of men with no supplies and no transport to speak of, and who was now in the middle of the worst defiles of the country. But the carefully-planned and brilliantly-executed sortie under Harley had effectually frustrated this last supreme effort of the besiegers, and Colonel Kelly's force had, by their skilful tactics and bravery in action, thwarted the enemy's most cherished plans. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Far differently situated is a force on the Indian frontier destined to penetrate into the inhospitable mountains which frown along its whole length from the Bay of Bengal to the deserts of Beluchistan. For such a force in addition to food for the men, nearly all the grain, and much even of the hay for the animals, has to be carried up to the most advanced troops from the base in India, and carried not along macadamised roads in capacious carts, but by mountain paths where pack transport is alone possible. ”

“ Borrodaile's men found the task of crossing the pass just heart-breaking; every few steps they would sink in through the snow, although some sort of a track had been beaten out by the levies going on in front. At times they would fall in almost up to their armpits, so that they had to be pulled out by their comrades. This was fearfully trying to men loaded as they were, to men too who had passed an almost sleepless night and started for this, the crisis of the enterprise, thoroughly exhausted. ”

“ Groping their way, and unable at a short distance to distinguish friend from foe, Captain Townshend brought his men along between walls flashing out fire in the darkness till he reached the serai near the fort, where he found fifty Sikhs under Lieutenant Harley come out to cover his retreat. Steady as on parade, and calm and unmoved amidst all the excitement around them, Harley and his veterans headed back the storm while the Kashmir troops retired to the fort. ”

“ The skill of the enemy was, too, a subject on which the officers specially dwelt. The Chitralis had not previously been considered of much account as a fighting race; but even they, once their blood was up, fought hard and well, and their Pathan allies were as skilful and brave as [229] troops of a regularly-trained army. Umra Khan's men were born warriors; unlike the Chitralis, who by nature prefer polo and sport and dancing to fighting, the Pathans from their childhood upwards think of little else than warfare. ”

“ 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. ”

“ On the left bank especially the mountain sides are very precipitous, and up against these the Chitral River runs. On first looking down the valley it appears as if, in between the mountains, there was nothing but [213] a smooth plain running down from the right-hand side, and it is not till one is actually on it that it is discovered that the seemingly open plain is cleft by a nullah between 200 and 300 feet deep, and with absolutely perpendicular sides. The nullah is the Nisa Gol, and only one path leads across it, that of the road to Chitral, and this path the enemy had now cut away. ”

“ To the rapid and successful mobilisation of the Relief Force; to the crushing defeat of the enemy in Swat, on the Panjkora, and in the Jandul Valley; and to the hardy and determined advance of Colonel Kelly's small column from the north. Nor must we forget the stout resistance of the garrison placed perforce in an almost untenable position against overwhelming odds, which thoroughly damped the ardour of the besiegers and paved the way for the effective result obtained by the approach of the relief columns. ”

“ These excitable and impressionable people of the Hindu Kush spring to arms under little provocation when once the spirit of fighting is abroad. News of what was occurring in Chitral would rapidly reach them, and in every house and hamlet little else would be spoken of. Unless, therefore, the British officers in contact with them could steady them by their influence, there would be a great risk that, thoughtlessly, and rashly, they might rise against us as the Chitralis had done. ”

“ The sites chosen in the open valleys are very good; but in the narrow valleys they are perforce much commanded by the neighbouring precipitous hills. On the Swat River, the enemy's position, with the fort of Ramora on one flank, rocky hills well prepared for defence on the other, the village of Chakdara in the centre, with much swampy ground restricting the advance of an enemy even after the passage of the river to a few well-defined paths, combined to make the position if scientifically held a remarkably strong one. ”

“ 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 [5] other brothers who, in spite of their lower birth, might certainly be expected to make a bid for the throne. ”

“ The total losses in this day's engagement were twenty-three men killed and thirty-three wounded out of 200, of whom only 150 were actually engaged; and it was with this newly-raised Kashmir regiment depressed by these severe losses, and with their own hearts saddened by the death on the following morning of their brave comrade, that the British officers commenced the defence of the Chitral fort against an enemy correspondingly elated at their success. ”

“ The regiment is organised and equipped for the special purpose of making roads and doing light pioneer work in advance of the army. It is drilled, and on service fights as an ordinary infantry battalion, but it can be used as well for the important work of road-making and construction of out-posts as for ordinary fighting purposes. The men were then armed with Martini-Henry rifles, and carried in addition, each man, a pickaxe, a shovel, or some other tool required for pioneer purposes. Colonel Kelly's force, to save transport, which was very difficult to obtain, travelled without tents. ”

“ It was a remarkable fact, however, that in spite of the work they had to go through and the anxieties they must necessarily have had, the sepoys told me when I reached the fort a week after the siege was over, that they never saw on the faces of the officers any sign of their anxiety. Captain Townshend and his officers in fact made a point of, whatever they might feel inwardly, always appearing cheery and in good heart before their men, and upon this depended in no small degree the success of the defence. The Sikhs had sufficient backbone in themselves to keep up heart ”

“ It was now evening, and preparations had to be made to meet a night attack, for the enemy, several thousand strong, were still close round hidden behind the low hills. As a reinforcement a couple of companies of the 4th Sikhs and some extra British officers were sent across on rafts, also a Maxim gun; whilst the near bank, which commanded the bridge head entrenchment at 800 yards' range, was occupied by a mountain battery, and the troops of the 2nd Brigade. The position of the enemy being such as it was, the night was one of some anxiety, for a determined rush might be expected at any moment. ”

“ A strong guard, armed with loaded rifles, accompanied them, however, and never for a moment allowed them to go more than a few yards from them, and this was doubtless as much for their protection as to prevent their escape. The guard always had in it some men who had served in our Indian army, and although many of them were extremely ruffian-like in appearance, and probably were thorough scoundrels, yet they mostly treated the officers in an easy and friendly manner, and were always willing to share with them the scanty rations they obtained on the march. ”

“ Both Sher Afzul and Majid Khan, at the earnest request of Lieutenant Edwardes, promised to make strict search for all men of their party who might still be alive. The two officers were permitted to communicate with the British garrison besieged in the fort, but were not allowed to visit them. It was the object of the besiegers to let the defenders know, without doubt, the disaster which had befallen the British detachment, in order to depress as far as possible the spirit of the defence. ”

“ It was in crossing this open ground that the extraordinary bravery of the enemy became [107] more brilliantly evident. Standard-bearers with reckless gallantry could be seen rushing to certain destruction, falling perhaps within ten yards of the invincible line of the Guides. Nay, sometimes men, devoid of all fear, and having used up the whole of their ammunition, rushed forward with large rocks and hurled these at the soldiers, courting instant death. ”

“ The enemy, meanwhile, did not molest us further than firing a few shots into the cave, and, as we had built up breastworks there, they could not do us much damage. During the 9th Captain Ross and myself both agreed that the only thing remaining for us to do was to cut our way out back to Koragh at all costs, and we decided to make the attempt about 2 a.m. On the 10th, when we thought that the enemy would least expect it, we started accordingly, and we attacked their sangars and drove them out of them; they retired a short distance up the hill and kept up a brisk fire from behind rocks. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 [18] to seize the throne from his eldest brother, but not being successful had prudently retired on a pilgrimage to Mecca. ”

“ They are for ever raiding upon one another, attacking each other's villages, and besieging and defending the forts scattered over their country nearly as thickly as public-houses in England. They therefore showed every ingenuity in the siege of Chitral. To make the most of their ammunition they never fired a shot without clearly making out an object to aim at, and usually with the rifle resting on a stone so as to enable them to aim correctly. The skill which they displayed in the construction of trenches and breastworks to approach the walls ”

“ All this was easy work for troops highly skilled in hill warfare, though the climbing was very stiff; but the really stern trial came when the hour arrived to retire to the bridge head. It requires the very best and steadiest of troops to carry out a [104] retirement in the face of great odds, and it requires still greater nerve to do so in the presence of brave and fanatical foes who count life as nothing, who with matchless courage charge right up to the muzzle of a breech-loader, and who give no quarter and ask for none. ”

“ At this highly opportune moment it was discovered that the old Buddhist road, hit off by the 60th Rifles during the assault, led down by a good gradient to the plains. Every available man was immediately employed in improving this relic of a civilisation 2,000 years old, with the result that in another twenty-four hours the brigades were ready to move. Had it not been for this Buddhist road, the very existence of which appeared to have been forgotten by the present inhabitants, it would have taken many days to get the division across the Malakand Pass. ”

“ Robertson, who was in the tower superintending the putting out of the fire, was wounded at a hole in the wall, and a Sikh shot there the next minute. A sentry of the Kashmir Infantry was also shot. Altogether nine men were wounded, and as the enemy were only forty yards distant, no one could appear above the wall, or at any hole, for the purpose of throwing down earth or water upon the fire raging below, without the risk of being shot. ”

“ It was the discipline ingrained into these men that saved the garrison. As long as a Sikh was on sentry, and while Sikhs were holding a threatened point, Captain Townshend had nothing to fear. The enemy would never catch a Sikh off his guard and could never force their way through a post of Sikhs while one remained alive. They saved the garrison, and the officers gratefully acknowledged their service.
Company of the 14th Sikhs which formed part of the Garrison of Chitral during the Siege. ”

“ The total strength of 3,000 men on this frontier was made up of the regiment of Pioneers of the regular army of India; 200 men of the 14th Sikhs, also of the Indian Army; and three battalions of Kashmir Infantry of 600 men each, and a battery of Kashmir Mountain Artillery. This force in the beginning of March was distributed in the following manner: At Chitral Fort 100 of the 14th Sikhs and 300 Kashmir Infantry; at Mastuj, 100 Sikhs and 150 Kashmir Infantry; at Ghizr, 100 Kashmir Infantry; at Gupis, 140 Kashmir Infantry; at Gilgit, a Kashmir regiment complete. ”

“ Certain news came in about now that Lieutenants Edwardes and Fowler, the two officers who had fallen into Umra Khan's hands, were at Barwa, a small fort only about eighteen miles distant, on the other side of the Panjkora. This rather complicated matters, for according to all precedent and our former experiences of [112] Pathan warfare these officers' lives were not worth an hour's purchase in any case, and their murder in cold blood might be calculated on as a moral certainty if we were to attack. ”

“ Speaking generally, the theatre of war was crossed transversely by ranges of high mountains and rapid rivers, each in itself a formidable obstacle, culminating in the lofty range through which a pass 10,450 feet high alone gave access to Chitral. Of the country which lies between Chilas and Chitral, by the route followed by Colonel Kelly's column, we had accurate knowledge, the route having been frequently traversed by troops and an accurate survey made. ”