North-West Frontier (military history)

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The North-West Frontier of British India was fought over almost continuously from the British annexation of the Punjab after the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46) and Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49), until the British left India in 1947. The military history of the region has been a succession of uprisings by the native Pashtun (or Pathan as the British called them) tribes, each suppressed with more or less blood spilled, punctuated by major wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in World War I and World War II learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier.

Contents

[edit] Chronology

[edit] Before 1849

[edit] Sikh Empire (1799–1849)

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ), also called "Sher-e-Punjab" ("The Lion of the Punjab") (1780-1839) was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh born in 1780 in Gujranwala in modern day Pakistan, into the Sansi-Sandhawalia family. At the time much of the Punjab region was ruled by the Sikhs, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls. Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh was the commander of the Sukerchakia misl and controlled a territory in west Punjab based around his headquarters at Gujranwala. Ranjit Singh succeeded his father at the young age of 12. After several campaigns, his rivals accepted him as their leader, and he united the Sikh factions into one state and he took the title of Maharaja on April 12, 1801 (to coincide with Baisakhi day), with Lahore having served as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he took the holy city of Amritsar.

He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab. He also captured Pashtun territory including Peshawar. This was the first time ever that Pashtuns were ruled by non-Muslims. In a historical perspective, this event was very important. For more than a thousand years invaders had come down from the Khyber pass and ruled eastern lands. Ranjit Singh reversed this trend. When the Sikh empire finally fell to the English, they were able to retain this province. He captured the province of Multan which encompassed the southern parts of Punjab, Peshawar (1818), Jammu and Kashmir (1819) and the hill states north of Anandpur, the largest of which was Kangra. Maharaja Ranjit Singh also hired European mercenaries to train his troops, creating a powerful military force whose presence delayed the eventual British colonization of Punjab.

He also modernized his army, hiring European mercenaries to create the first modern Indian Army. The effect was to create a powerful and heavily armed state; at this point, Punjab was the only state not controlled by the British. Then in 1849 after the two consecutive Anglo-Sikh Wars Punjab was annexed by the British.

The British Empire annexed Punjab in c.1845-49 AD; after two Anglo Sikh Wars

More work required here re conflict before the British.

[edit] 1849–1858

In the period following the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, several expeditions were undertaken against almost every tribe along the whole of the North-West Frontier.

[edit] 1859–1878

[edit] 1878–1898

[edit] 1898–1914

[edit] 1914–1918 (First World War)

  • Mohmands (1915)
  • Mahsuds (1917)

[edit] 1919–1939 (Between the Wars)

[edit] 1939–1947 (Second World War to Independence)

From 1939 to 1947, Waziristan and indeed most of the Frontier remained relatively calm[5] and the British were able to divert most of their military effort to more important theatres. There were, however, brief periods of trouble[6] on the frontier, which required the British to continue to maintain a military presence in the region, although for the main they were able to employ mainly garrison or rear-area troops during this time, thus allowing them to free up front-line units for active service elsewhere.[citation needed]

In 1944, a British committee under Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Tucker was set up to review future policy for the region.[7] As part of its findings, it recommended a return to the Curzon Plan, which advocated the withdrawal of all regular forces from tribal territory into outposts, or cantonments, along the administrative border from where they could keep an eye on things. The unadministered districts would then once again become the responsibility of the local militias.[7]

[edit] Withdrawal

In 1947, following the granting of Indian independence from Britain and the subsequent partitioning of India into two separate states, the North-West Frontier region became a part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan.[8] Based upon the recommendations of the Tucker committee in 1944 (see above), the newly formed Pakistani government decided to move away from the previous British policy of 'forward defence' in the North-West Frontier region and ordered the withdrawal of forces from Waziristan, as it was felt that the presence of a regular military force in the region was provoking tensions with the local tribesmen.[7] This withdrawal began on December 6, 1947 and was successfully completed by the end of the month under the codename Operation Curzon.[8]

[edit] The Frontier Corps

Although the units of the Frontier Corps operated under a variety of titles, from Rifles to Militia to Scouts, it was the latter term that came to stand as the generic term, and as new units were formed, it was the word 'Scouts' that became fixed and formalised for the regimental titles. The expression 'Scouts' was a militarily neutral term, conveying neither the "crack" reputation associated with the word 'Rifles' (cf.: 60th Rifles [HM], Gurkha Rifles [IA], etc.), nor the rather second-rate expectations of the term 'Militia'. As General Baden-Powell noted, when he was looking, many years later, for a suitably inspiring term to adopt for his youth movement to train young boys in fieldcraft and other 'para-military' activities, the word Scouts encapsulated a spirit of 'dash' (enthusiasm), expertise - within a defined set of skills- and familiarity with both the local conditions. Similarly, the Scouts of the Frontier Corps understood both the local terrain and the local political minefields, that is, who could be trusted (e.g. the Turi), and who could never (almost invariably, this would mean the Mahsuds); who was currently nursing a grievance and therefore best avoided, and who had just had a claim settled to their satisfaction and might be uncharacteristically friendly.

Like many things British, the development of the units of Scouts into the Frontier Corps was organic, unplanned and initially unsystematic. It began, in the British manner, as an improvisation to meet a need; it was maintained because it guaranteed certain unique skills at an acceptable price (the great Empire may have vaunted its 'pomp and circumstance' to wow the impressionable, but behind the scenes the deciding factor was often simply the acceptability or otherwise to HM Treasury) and only then was the principle regularised, standardised and systemised (cf. the development of the Frontier Force, from irregulars to a corps d'elite).

[edit] Chronology

[edit] Location

Geographically, the Scouts were located, from north to south, as follows:

[edit] Ethnicity

The Scouts units were not founded expressly on a tribal basis, but in several cases a unit was associated with a particular nation, for example:

[edit] Notable Men of the Frontier Corps

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Also known as the Sittana Expeditions.
  2. ^ Includes the Expedition to Kam Dakka.
  3. ^ Includes the Red Shirt Rebellion.
  4. ^ Operations against the Fakir of Ipi.
  5. ^ Barthorp 2002 p. 175.
  6. ^ Indeed in 1940, Pathan tribesmen launched a big attack on the 1/6 GR who were stationed in Waziristan at the time, although there were no casualties. See Cross & Buddhiman 2002, p. 114.
  7. ^ a b c Barthorp 2002, pp. 176–177.
  8. ^ a b Cheema 2002, p. 53.

[edit] References

  • Barthorp, Michael. (1982). The North-West Frontier, New Orchard (first edition, later edition below)
  • Barthorp, Michael. (2002). Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947. Cassell. London. ISBN 0-304-36294-8
  • Cross, J. & Buddhiman Gurung. (2002). Gurkhas at War. Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-727-4
  • Nevill, Capt. H.L. (1912). Campaigns on the North-West Frontier. Reprinted by Battery Press, 1999
  • Pervaz Iqbal Cheema. (2002). The Armed Forces of Pakistan. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-119-1
  • Wilkinson-Latham, Robert. (1977). North-West Frontier 1837–1947, Osprey Publishing. London. ISBN 0-85045-275-9

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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