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

Emirate of Afghanistan The Emirate of Afghanistan, known as the Emirate of Kabul until 1855, was an emirate in Central Asia and South Asia that encompassed present-day Afghanistan and parts of present-day Pakistan (before 1893). The emirate emerged from the Durrani ...

and the North-West Frontier of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

against the 'fanatics' at Malka, a colony of malcontents or muslims in the

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...

country. A force led by

Neville Bowles Chamberlain Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain (10 January 1820 – 18 February 1902) was a British general in British India. He served in the Bengal Army and saw action in the First Anglo-Afghan War, Gwalior campaign, Second Anglo-Sikh War, Indian Rebellion ...

planned to destroy Malka. They set up an operational base in the Chamla Valley which could be reached via the Ambela Pass, but they were soon bogged down by a numerically superior local force, and were attacked by the

Swati Swati may refer to Films * ''Swati'' (1984 film), a Telugu film * ''Swati'' (1986 film), a 1986 Bollywood romantic drama film * '' Swati Mutyam'', a 1986 Telugu-language drama film written, directed by K. Viswanath * '' Swati Kiranam'', a 1992 ...

, Bunerwal and Hindustani tribesmen. Reinforcements drafted in by the local Commander-in-Chief eventually pursued a diplomatic resolution, they approached the

Bunerwals Buner District (, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before receiving the status of a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District. Buner's elevation starts at 1200 ft in the S ...

and various Khans and leaders to accept peace and went on to burn a house in Malka with tribal permission and were conditioned to withdraw from the territory of

Buner Buner District (, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before receiving the status of a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District. Buner's elevation starts at 1200 ft in the S ...

. The expedition broke the power of the 'fanatics' but resulted in the loss of 1,000 British casualties and an unknown number of Indian casualties.Donald Featherstone (1973)
Colonial Small Wars 1837-1901
'''Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad. (2022) The Ambela Expedition 1863: A military failure but a Political triumph; An appraisal. Quarterly Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society''

Background

The

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

had been a constant thorn to the British government since the annexation of the region, who had raided and ravaged until it invited expeditions to subdue them. However, in previous expeditions the Pashtun tribesman had always managed to escape into the hills. 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 ...

drove them from their base. By 1863, however, the 'Hindustani fanatics' had regrouped around the mountain outpost of Malka. 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-com ...

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

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 the Bunerwals that the British would annex their land if they failed to put up a defence.

Expedition

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. On 22 October a

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

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 locals had amassed a force of some 15,000 tribesmen consisting of Swatis, Bunerwals and Hindustanis. 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 decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

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 Henry William Pitcher VC (20 December 1841 – 5 July 1875) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. Details Pitcher was born at Kamptee in British India, the second son of Vincent Pitcher and Rose Mary le Geyt, daughter of Admiral ...

. It fell to the Pashtuns three times in the next four weeks, but was retaken by British forces on each occasion. On the 18th or 20th of November, Chamberlain was seriously wounded whilst attempting to take Crag Picquet. Due to the lowered British morale and high casualties, a repeat of the 1841 disaster at Kabul was feared so a decision was made to withdraw, but still refused by Chamberlain. Reinforcements were gradually drafted in on the orders of Commander-in-Chief

Sir Hugh Rose Field Marshal Hugh Henry Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn, (6 April 1801 – 16 October 1885) was a senior British Army officer. He served as a military adviser to the Ottoman Army who were seeking to secure the expulsion of the forces of Mehemet Al ...

, who replaced Chamberlain with Major General

John Garvock General Sir John Garvock (15 March 1817 – 10 November 1878) was a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1860s. Garvock, the only son of Maj. John Garvock of the Royal Horse Guards and his wife, Margaret, was born in Kennington, ...

on 6 December. Garvock led a two-column attack consisting of 4,800 men supported by the 11th Bengal Cavalry led by another Colonel

Dighton Probyn General (United Kingdom), 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 ...

VC that attempted break out of the pass.Arthur, Max; p.105 The rebels had also suffered heavily in the fighting around Crag Picket and loyalties were beginning to waver. The breakout was achieved on 15 December and a prominent position 'Conical Hill' which protected the approach was taken after another desperate fight and the Pushtuns retreated ending the campaign.

Aftermath

Umbeyla village was entered by the British on the following day and burned and an agreement reached with local tribesmen that the latter would destroy the rebel stronghold at Malka. The Bunerwals settled for peace with Garvock and he sent a party to burn a mud house in Malka "for reasons of prestige". The British had restored peace and had broken the power of the 'fanatics' but at the cost of 1,000 casualties and conditioned to withdraw from

Expedition Timeline

* On 18 October, General Chamberlain ordered movement of the troops through Surkawi or Ambela pass * On 30 October 1863, the

Akhund Akhund () is a Persian language, Persian title or surname for Islamic scholars, common in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Azerbaijan. Other names for similar Muslim Scholar include Sheikh and Mullah. The Standard Chin ...

and the tribes in a combined attack captured Crag picquet, the most important post for the colonial troops, which after severe fighting was retaken by the colonial troops. * Due to the complexity of the situation, Sir Hugh Rose, the Commander-in-Chief of India, arrived at Lahore on 14 November 1863, and directed the expedition himself. * On 20 November 1863, for the third and last time, Crag picquet was taken and retaken by the Afghan tribes and colonial troops respectively. In this contest, General Chamberlain, commander of the colonial troops, was wounded and became unable to lead his force. * On 10 December 1863, the Buner

jirga A jirga (, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic groups who ...

arrived. * On 14 December, in their final reply rejected the colonial British terms. * Skirmishes was continued on 15 & 16 December, 1863. * On 17 December 1863, the

jirga again arrived, accepted the terms, and returned after leaving their greater portion in the camp. * The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

party escorted by the tribal jirga advanced from Ambela on 19 December, and returned after the destruction of Malka on 23rd December. * The expedition originally planned as a three weeks expedition took about three months with considerably high casualties on both sides.

References

Sources

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