From the Black Mountain to Waziristan / Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the past

by H. C. Wylly

It was becoming increasingly evident that the Buner and Chamla tribes were weary of the war, and were beginning to realise that we had never harboured any idea of invading their country; and on the 10th December they sent a deputation into our camp and agreed to accompany a force sent to destroy the Hindustani settlement at Malka, and to expel the Hindustanis from their country. On the 14th, however, they found themselves obliged to admit that they had promised more than they could perform; that their proposals had been over-ruled; and they advised us that an attack would be made on the camp on the 16th, and promised that, in the event of our taking the initiative, they, the Bunerwals, would not actively oppose us.

The Force Moves Forward

General Garvock accordingly determined to attack the village of Lalu, where there was a force of about 4000 of the enemy, and for this purpose he moved out on the 15th with some 4800 men, unencumbered by tents or baggage, formed into two columns. The first column assembled at the base of “the Crag” picquet and drove the enemy before it to the “Conical” hill. The second column now emerged from the camp, and deploying in prolongation of the line formed by the other column, both prepared to assault the “Conical” hill—a most formidable position, extraordinarily precipitous, rocky, and scarped by nature. Covered by the mountain guns, both columns descended the hill, crossed the valley, drove the enemy from the heights, and captured the position. Colonel Wilde secured the line of hills overlooking the Chamla Valley, while the rest of the force, pushing on after the enemy, captured the villages of Banda and Lalu. The enemy made a vigorous assault upon Colonel Wilde’s position, but were driven off with great slaughter, and a desultory attack was also made upon the front and left of the camp, now held by some 3000 men under Colonel Vaughan. That night the first column occupied the ground it had gained about Lalu; Colonel Wilde that between the camp and “Conical” hill. Not a shot was fired that night. Early next morning the cavalry—some 400 sabres under Lieutenant-Colonel Probyn—were brought from camp, and the advance of the two columns was resumed, Colonel Wilde leading. Advancing across the valley towards the Buner Pass, as the column debouched into the open country the enemy appeared in great force on the hills covering the approach to Ambela—a well-chosen position, of great strength, and peculiarly capable of defence; but fearing that their left would be turned by the cavalry and the other column, the tribesmen abandoned the position and retreated slowly towards the pass leading to Buner. The force pressed on, captured and burnt the village of Ambela, and the first column endeavoured to cut off the enemy’s retreat from the pass towards which they were retiring. Here the tribesmen stood, and made a furious onset on the left of the line, entangled in broken and wooded ground. But the attackers were destroyed almost to a man, and the force pushed forward into the pass, driving the enemy before it. It was now getting late, there was no wish to invade Buner, and the enemy further was in great strength. General Garvock therefore withdrew his troops, and bivouacked that night in the vicinity of Ambela. During these two days the tribesmen present in the field were estimated at 15,000, chiefly Hindustanis, Bajauris, and men from Dir and Swat—none of the Bunerwals had taken any prominent part in the fighting.

That night the men of Bajaur and Dir fled to their homes, and the Swatis alone remained in the field; on the morning of the 17th the Buner jirgah came once more into camp, actually asking for orders. It was wisely decided to require the Bunerwals themselves to destroy Malka without any aid from our troops, and to this the Buner jirgah unanimously consented. Accordingly, on the 19th, a party of six British officers, escorted by the Guides and accompanied by part of the Buner jirgah, left Ambela, and marched through Chamla and Amazai territory—by Kuria and Nagrai—to Malka, which was reached on the 21st. On the following day the settlement was burnt to the ground by the Bunerwals and Amazais, and the party rejoined the force on the 23rd in the Ambela Pass. During these four days matters once or twice looked uncertain, and indeed threatening, but throughout the Bunerwals maintained their reputation for keeping their engagements, while the sight of so powerful a clan carrying out our orders upon their own allies, afforded a salutary lesson to the surrounding tribesmen.

End of Ambela Expedition

General Garvock’s force now began to withdraw to the plains, and the whole had reached Nawa Kala by Christmas Day. Our casualties during the whole of these operations had been 238 killed and 670 wounded, while the estimated total loss of the enemy was 3000.

During the next few years the behaviour of the Bunerwals may, in comparison with that of many other frontier tribes, be described as “good.” Raids were committed upon our border villages in 1868 and 1877, and in 1878 and 1879 there was a certain amount of unrest in Buner, due to the inflammatory preachings of certain mullahs. In 1884 renewed outrages had to be punished by a blockade of the Salarzai Bunerwals; and in 1887 a small column composed of cavalry and infantry was sent to destroy the village of Surai Malandri in punishment for the incursions of raiding parties across the Malandri Pass, but at the end of the year, the Bunerwals submitting, the long-continued blockade was removed. During the Black Mountain expedition of 1888 the Bunerwals evinced a disposition to take part against us, but refrained from doing so; while in 1895 they sent a contingent to help hold the passes against General Low’s force, but arriving too late for the Malakand fighting, this party returned home again. In 1897, however, the Bunerwals were well to the fore in much of the fighting at the Malakand and in Upper Swat, but when called to account at the end of 1897 they merely sent defiant answers to the ultimatum of the political officers, and it therefore became necessary to despatch an expedition into their country.

Expedition against the Bunerwals and Chamlawals, January 1898.—The Buner Field Force was placed under the command of Major-General Sir Bindon Blood, and the greater part of it concentrated at Sanghao: it was composed as under:

FIRST BRIGADE.

Brigadier-General Meiklejohn, C.B., C.M.G.