The Ambela campaign (also called Umbeyla; Umbeylah; Ambeyla) in 1863 was one of many expeditions in the border area between the

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan also referred to as the Emirate of Kabul (until 1855) ) was an emirate between Central Asia and South Asia that is now today's Afghanistan and some parts of today's Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from t ...

and the Punjab Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(this area was formally renamed to

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

in 1901, present-day

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

); this campaign was against local

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Suliman mountains dur ...

tribes of the border region between British India and Afghanistan. The local Pashtuns were vehemently opposed to British colonial rule and frequently attacked British forces. In 1858, an expedition led by Sir

Sydney Cotton Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney John Cotton (2 December 1792 – 19 February 1874) was a British Army officer. He was the commandment of the Moreton Bay penal colony in Australia. Military career Born the second son of Henry Calveley Cotton of Wo ...

drove the Pashtuns from their base. By 1863, however, they had regrouped around the mountain outpost of Malka. A force led by

Neville Bowles Chamberlain Field Marshal Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain (10 January 1820 – 18 February 1902) was a distinguished British military officer in British India. He served in the Bengal Army and saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War, Gwalior Campaign, Se ...

planned to destroy Malka. They set up an operational base in the Chamla Valley reached by the Ambela Pass, but they were soon bogged down a numerically superior local force. Reinforcements drafted in by the local Commander-in-Chief eventually broke through the pass, received the surrender of the Bunerwals and went on to burn Malka. The expedition saw 1,000 British casualties and an unknown number of Indian casualties.

Expedition

The

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-co ...

of the Punjab authorised an expedition of 6,000 men under

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

to destroy Malka. The Lieutenant Governor acted without consulting the Commander-in-Chief of the Frontier Force. Chamberlain chose the Chamla Valley as his operational base and the Ambela Pass as the main access. He chose this valley as the access as he believed that the local Bunerwal people were friendly to British forces; this turned out to be a false impression as the Pashtuns had persuaded them that the British would annex their land if they failed to put up a defence. The first Peshawar column reached the Ambela Pass on 20 October, after struggling on rough terrain, and the rear of the column took another two days to reach the base.

Crag Piquet

On 22 October a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

was attacked by some Bunerwal tribesman. As a result, Chamberlain proceeded to fortify his position in the pass on two rocky outcrops, but Eagle's Nest and Crag Piquet could only hold small numbers of men.Arthur, Max; p.104 The Pashtuns had amassed a force of local tribesmen consisting of some 15,000 men. The two outcrops were the scene of fierce fighting. On 30 October Crag Piquet was the scene of fierce hand-to-hand fighting that saw two

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

es awarded; to

George Fosbery Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC (11 April 1832 – 8 May 1907) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonw ...

and Henry Pitcher. Crag Piquet fell to the Pashtuns three times in the next four weeks, but was retaken by British forces on each occasion. On 20 November Chamberlain was seriously wounded. Reinforcements were gradually drafted in on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief Sir Hugh Rose and he replaced Chamberlain with Major General John Garvock on 6 December. Garvock led a two-column attack consisting of 4,800 men supported by the 11th Bengal Cavalry led by another VC holder Colonel

Dighton Probyn General Sir Dighton Macnaghten Probyn, (21 January 1833 – 20 June 1924) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Com ...

VC that broke out of the pass.Arthur, Max; p.105 The Bunerwals surrendered to Garvock on 17 December and he sent a party to burn Malka. The British had restored peace but at the cost of 1,000 casualties.

Expedition

Crag Piquet

References

Further reading