chitral and the gordons at dargai

(1895-1898)

come gather, come gather, ye lads o’ the heather,

an’ down thro’ the glen in the pipers’ wake;

baith gentles and commons, gie heed tae the summons,

an’ haste tae the muster make.

macpherson’s comin’, cameron’s comin’,

campbell, macneill, an’ the men o’ the island;

an’ a’ tae enlist in the gordons, the best,

an’ the brawest o’ lads in the highlands.

the cock o’ the north.

we must now return to the year 1895, to follow one of those little wars that flare up intermittently on the frontiers of our vast empire, and accompany the gordons through the campaign that is best known for the dramatic moment at dargai. minor campaigns such as these are not of the first importance from the military point of view, nor should the name of a great regiment be associated too closely with a single episode, but they have this value, that they have enabled our soldiers to keep in training for great and laborious campaigns such as the boer war, already looming dark upon the horizon of history.

the initial fighting at chitral proved to be the beginning of a great deal of guerilla warfare on the north-west frontier of india. chitral had become united to our indian empire in 1848; but the government took no particular part in controlling the country, the consequence being that when umra khan, ruler of bajour, decided to dispute our suzerainty, war was proclaimed. umra khan acted with all promptitude, and at the beginning was rewarded with some success, besieging an english garrison in fort chitral in january 1895. on the 1st of april sir robert low, accompanied by a force of 15,000 men, amongst whom were the gordon highlanders and the seaforths, crossed the border country with all speed and rushed the outposts of the enemy on the 3rd of april. it was a hazardous expedition, and the troops in their haste were permitted to carry very few stores or ammunition or tents. major bland strange, in his interesting narrative of the campaign, has written: “the bones of the expedition, like those of the first ill-starred one to cabul, were also to whiten the passes. the desperate valour of the hillmen, starvation, afghan guile, and russian intrigue were to smite us. but the good organisation and reticent generalship of low, the dash of kelly, the dogged defence by robertson, and the steady courage of our troops falsified pessimistic prophecy.”

there were two important passes in the enemy’s country held by the pathans, who were in a strong position behind defences along the slopes of the hills some 3000 feet above the advancing troops. in order to carry the position the slope must be rushed under the sniping fire of the enemy.

the sikhs set out on this perilous business, while the gordons marched up the centre of the pass, and then, cutting away to the right, set their faces to the hill-side. they provided an easy mark for the enemy, but the advance was never checked, and when the ridge was reached a hand-to-hand conflict took place. once on top the gordons and the scottish borderers soon cleared the enemy out of the position. the gordons and the gurkhas were then left to defend the famous malakand pass, while general low pushed on after the enemy. by dogged perseverance and the efficiency of the artillery the british were enabled to fight their way through to chitral, and on april 20 marched into the town. umra khan made for afghanistan, and the campaign was ended. a fort was built in case of further revolution, and that greatest of all factors in civilisation—a road—was constructed to unite india with this outlying post.

naturally enough, the tribes who were in the neighbourhood of chitral, and whose country lay between it and india, were by no means pleased by the occupation by british troops, nor did they take very kindly to the road which meant to them their eventual subjection. for a considerable time there were rumours of trouble, and in the end there broke out a sudden rising of the people in the waziri country. this was in 1897, and so widespread was the trouble that it was not crushed until the indian government had put under arms the most formidable force since the mutiny.

there are several factors in such tribal uprisings that carry with them their ultimate defeat. first of all, there are always rumours of revolt before it actually bursts into flame; secondly, the tribes find it difficult to unite together, or even to rise at the same time—thus a disciplined army can deal with one after another; thirdly, they have no definite system of organisation, and—as in the case of the afghans—are little better than an army of snipers.

the waziris rose first, then the swatis under the mad mullah, and so on to the afridis and the orakzais. each of these tribes was capable of putting a great many men in the field. it has been stated that the afridis alone could provide 30,000 men armed with modern rifles. sir william lockhart with 34,000 men, including some 12,000 british troops, amongst whom were the 1st battalion of the gordon highlanders, was sent against these afridis. in accordance with the native custom of warfare, the enemy took up a position at the summit of the now celebrated ridge of dargai, and there awaited the arrival of the british. to advance with any safety, this pass must first of all be cleared.

the initial encounter was rather futile. the ridge was carried by storm, and then, as the hillmen were in rapid flight, vacated again. on the return of the british to camp, the afridis, under the delusion that our troops had taken fright and were in retreat, assembled again in their thousands, and full of elation attacked them in the rear. the task of guarding the safe return of the british troops was entrusted to the gordon highlanders, who checked the rush of the enemy with consecutive volleys. the fight went on throughout the night, and so on this day’s fighting, though much had been gained, all had been thrown away. dargai had been taken, only to fall again into the hands of the enemy, and before an advance could be made it must be retaken at the point of the bayonet.

the withdrawal from dargai has been bitterly blamed by critics, some of them more carping than competent; but one thing is clear enough—the afridis were so encouraged by regaining the ridge that they were greatly heartened for the next day’s fighting, and manned the heights in expectation of victory.

two days later the engagement was reopened, the british artillery shelling the tribesmen’s most prominent defences, but little damage could be done in a country so covered with rocks. the most it could accomplish was to assist the infantry, and under the protection of the guns the gurkhas began the first assault. they rushed into the bullet-swept zone that lay between the end of the pass and the ascent, to be so harassed by the rain of fire that they were compelled to take cover at the bottom of the slope, and there await support. the dorsets and the derbys who gallantly went to their assistance, were also compelled to take cover after a terrible punishing. the zone of fire was concentrated on a narrow stretch of open country, which had to be crossed before the actual ascent of the ridge began. that was the first stage of the attack. then the stiff climb followed, while at the top of the ridge the afridis waited under cover. the triumphant shouts of the tribesmen could be heard at the initial success over the british arms, and at this desperate situation, when three battalions were under cover, unable to advance or retreat, the gordons, with the sikhs in support, were called forward to carry the position. colonel mathias appealed to his famous battalion, “highlanders,” he cried, “the general says the position must be taken at all costs. men, the gordons will storm that pass!” colonel gardyne has written that at those words “there was first a tremendous hush—then the answering cheer assured colonel mathias that his confidence was not misplaced. the bugle sounds the advance, the pipers play, the officers cry, ‘come!’ and a wave of kilted soldiers bursts into the fire-swept open. almost at once, major macbean fell, shot through the thigh.... the gallant young lamont was killed instantaneously; lieutenant dingwall, wounded in four places, was carried out of further danger by private lawson. the first division reach the sheltering rocks, panting for breath; they shout, the officers waving their swords to those behind; while piper findlater, though wounded and unable to move, still inspires them with his warlike strains. they start again, ‘the men cheering like mad,’ up the precipitous path leading to the crest where they look for a warm reception. but the top is reached—it forms a succession of ridges along which the highlanders rush unopposed, and great is the cheering as they realise that the enemy is in full flight.”

to put it bluntly, the afridis had not waited to dispute the position with men who could not be stopped by bullets, and this charge in the face of such a deadly and concentrated fire will be long considered as courageous and splendid a story as anything in the history of the highland regiments. what followed can be told in very few lines. the war against the afridis was by no means over, but the eventual issue was already in sight. the advance through the almost impenetrable ravines and over the rugged hills progressed painfully, but with determination. peace came on april 4, 1898. it had been a memorable campaign, and one that the troops engaged in were naturally proud to commemorate. as sir william lockhart said in taking leave of them, “the boast of the tribes was that no foreign army—moghul, afghan, persian, or british—had ever penetrated, or could penetrate their country; but after carrying three strong positions and being for weeks subsequently engaged in daily skirmishes, the troops succeeded in visiting every portion of tirah, a fact which will be kept alive in the minds of future generations by ruined forts and towers in their remotest valleys.”

the gordons received two victoria crosses for gallantry in the action at dargai, and established themselves, by their exploit, first favourites in the affections of the british people.