Chitral 1895 - the fort under siege

CHITRAL 1895 - 2. THE FORT UNDER SIEGE

From "Chitral and Kafirstan, a personal study" by Mohammad Afzal Khan:

"According to the report of Surgeon Major George Robertson dated 1st February 1895, all was well at Chitral and the Chitralis were cheerful and helpful. He also reported that Ghairat, a strong defensive position 10 miles north of Drosh, was still held and that Umra Khan's followers had deserted him. Suddenly, however, the whole picture changed by the reappearance of Sher Afzal, who was supported by the ruling class of Adamzadas and their adherents. On the 27th of February, Sher Afzal demanded that Robertson, along with his troops, should withdraw to Mastuj and it became apparent that Sher Afzal and Umra Khan had joined hands to induce the British Officers and their troops to quit Chitral territory, by force if necessary. Having achieved that, the two chiefs would decide who should be the Mehtar. The Adamzadas in the beginning did not side openly with Sher Afzal, but before the end of February they changed their mind and practically joined him in a body along with their followers. The Ghairat position was thus denuded of its defenders and was occupied by Sher Afzal's outposts. Mehtar Amir-ul-Mulk now made overtures to Umra Khan. Robertson therefore placed him in custody in the fort and formally recognized Shuja-ul-Mulk, a boy of 14 years old, as provisional Mehtar pending orders of the Government of India.

The British garrison at Chitral Fort now amounted to 419 fighting men besides the administrative staff, transport personnel, servants and 52 Chitralis. The strength of Umra Khan's force is not known. It was variously computed at 3000 to 5000 men. On 3rd March, Sher Afzal arrived along with armed men following and took positions on the Chitral plain, mainly in the vicinity of the fort. In order to ascertain the strength of the enemy, the garrison of the fort made an ineffective sortie on the afternoon of 3rd March. They suffered heavy casualties and made a difficult retreat to the fort where they were besieged from 3rd March until 19th April, 1895.

Chitral Fort

From The Illustrated London News

During the siege period, Chitralis gained two other successes; firstly at Reshun where two British officers were captured, their following destroyed and 40,000 rounds of ammunition taken; secondly the annihilation of about 100 men of the 14th Sikhs under Captain Ross at Kuragh defile.

The British expeditionary force at Reshun

The British garrison at Chitral Fort held out until the approach of a small force from Gilgit under Colonel Kelly which caused Chitralis to withdraw. The Chitral relief under General Low which had approached from the direction of Malakand and the Lowari pass arrived a week later and took Sher Afzal prisoner, while Umra Khan fled to Afghanistan. Sher Afzal with Amir-ul-Mulk and their leading followers were deported to India on the 1st May and the selection of Shuja-ul-Mulk as Mehtar was conformed.

The Chitral Expeditionary Force at Reshun

From "The Illustrated London News "

A prominent British garrison was ordered to be located at Chitral and it comprised two infantry battalions, one company of Bengal Sappers and Miners and one section of Mountain Battery with two guns. This garrison was annually relieved. In 1899, Chitral levies (local militia) were raised to occupy three posts, viz Zairat, Mirkhani and Arandu, in defensive role. Consequently, in 1899, the British garrison was reduced to one infantry battalion, two mountain guns, and a company of Sappers and Miners. Shortly after this, Chitral Scouts were raised in 1903 with the Mehtar as Honorary Commandant and two British Officers in command. The object of the scouts in those days was to provide a wholly irregular force of cragsmen for defensive role of the whole Chitral Frontier. The corps was never embodied at one time but each company came up in turn for a short period of training each year. The strength of the Chitral Scouts was 891 and that of the Chitral Levies 100."