Siege and Relief of Chitral
| Siege and Relief of Chitral | ||
|---|---|---|
| Part of Chitral Campaign | ||
| Date: | 4 March- 20 April 1895 | |
| Location: | Chitral, NWF | |
| Presidency: | Bengal | |
| Co-ordinates: | 35.884157°N 71.795963°E | |
| Result: | Siege relieved | |
| Combatants | ||
| British Army | Chitralis | |
| Commanders | ||
| Political Agent: Surgeon Major George Robertson Garrison Commander: Capt Charles Townshend Commanding Relief Force: Col James Kelly |
Sher Afzal Umra Khan | |
| Strength | ||
| Garrison: 419 fighting men Relief Force: 616 men & 2 guns |
3-5,000 men | |
| Casualties | ||
Chitral Garrison
- Surg Maj G S Robertson, Political Agent
- Capt C Campbell, Central India Horse, Inspecting Officer Kashmir Imperial Service Troops
- Captain C V F Townshend, Central India Horse, commanding Political Agent's Escort then Fort Commander
- Lieut B E M Gurdon Assistant to British Agent
- Surg Capt Whitchurch, 24th Punjab Infantry
- Lieut H.K.Harley, commanding 14th Sikhs (99 men)
- Kashmir Infantry (301 men)
- 109 Non-combatants incl 52 Chitralis
Gilgit Relief Force
- 32nd Pioneers (382 men)
- Kashmir Infantry (100 men)
- Kashmir Sappers & Miners (34 men)
- Kashmir Mountain Artillery (2 guns)
- Hunza and Punial Levies (100 men)
External Links
- North West Frontier Military History Wikipedia
- NWF Expeditions www.antiquesatoz.com
- Forts of the Chitral Campaign of 1895 by Bill Woodburn www.khyber.org
- Siege of Chitral www.onwar.com
- Siege of Chitral Devon Heritage
Historical Books on-line
- Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India Vol I - Siege of Chitral archive.org
- The Relief of Chitral by George John Younghusband 1895 (archive.org)
- With Kelly to Chitral by Lt W G L Beynon 1896 (archive.org)
- The Chitral campaign; a narrative of events in Chitral, Swat and Bajour by H C Thomson 1895 archive.org
- Townshend of Chitral and Kut: Based on the diaries and private papers of Sir Charles Vere Townshend by Erroll Sherson 1928. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
- "The Chitral Campaign of 1895" by Major General T Bland Strange, pages 169-184 Battles of the Nineteenth Century Volume III, c 1901. With Illustrations. archive.org
- An Offical Account of the Chitral Expendition 1895 by W R Robertson. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
- Chitral: the Story of a Minor Siege by Sir George S Robertson 1898 Hathi Trust Digital Library. It is also available to read online (1898 and 1905 editions) on the Digital Library of India website. Pdf download: 1898, Pdf download: 1905, Digital Library of India.
- Maxim guns were used in the Chitral Campaign: Page 38 The book of the Machine Gun by F.V. Longstaff and A. Hilliard Atteridge. 1917 Archive.org