Chitral 1895 : an episode of the great game / Mark Simner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simner, Mark, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Military.

British.

India--History--Chitral Campaign, 1895.

India.

History.

British--India.

Chitrāl District (Pakistan)--History.

Chitrāl District (Pakistan).

India--History, Military--19th century.

Physical Description:

192 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

[Stroud] : Fonthill Media, 2017.

Summary:

In 1895, a small Indian Army garrison, commanded by Surgeon-Major Sir George Scott Robertson and Captain Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, was besieged by a joint Chitrali and Pathan army at the fort of Chitral. Despite the odds being heavily stacked against them, Robertson's beleaguered little garrison held out for forty-eight days until a relief expedition was able to fight its way through to the rescue. The siege and subsequent relief is a story of valour and sheer determination in the face of a stubborn adversary and extreme weather conditions, all played out on the often-mountainous terrain of the north-western border of British India. Robertson described events in Chitral as a 'minor siege', but the siege and subsequent relief should be viewed as an important episode in Britain's 'Great Game' with Russia, which would have serious consequences for the British several years later. Indeed, the retention of Chitral by the Indian Government would be a contributing factor to the mass uprisings along the North-West Frontier of India during late 1897. In reality, it was anything but a minor siege.

Contents:

1 Chitral and the Great Game 19

2 Death of a Mehtar 35

3 The Defence of Reshun 51

4 Disaster at Koragh 66

5 The Siege of Chitral Begins 76

6 The Attack on the Water Tower 93

7 The Attack on the Gun Tower 109

8 The Sortie to Destroy the Mine 125

9 Kelly's March 138

10 Low's Advance 152

11 The Flight of Umra Khan 168.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781781556184

1781556180

OCLC:

1001364467

Publisher Number:

99974109764