Chitral Expedition

A skirmish during the Chitral expedition

Date	1895
Location	Chitral, British India
Result	British victory

Belligerents

British Empire and Pro-British Chitralis

Bajouris
Chitralis
Swatis
Diri

Commanders and leaders

Maj. Gen. Sir Robert Low, K.C.B
Colonel James Graves Kelly
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Shuja ul-Mulk of Chitral

Umra Khan of Bajour
Sher Afzul Khan of Chitral
Amir ul-Mulk of Chitral

Strength

15,249 (Low Force)
1,400 (Fort & Gilgit force)

unknown

Casualties and losses

21 killed, 101 wounded (Low force)
165 killed, 88 wounded (Fort & Kelly force)

unknown but heavy

The Chitral Expedition (Urdu:چترال فوجی مہم) was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral which was under siege after a local coup. After the death of the old ruler power changed hands several times. An intervening British force of about 400 men was besieged in the fort until it was relieved by two expeditions, a small one from Gilgit and a larger one from Peshawar.

In the last phase of the Great Game attention turned to the unclaimed mountainous area north of British India along the later Sino-Soviet border. Chitral was thought to be a possible route for a Russian invasion of India, but neither side knew much about the local geography. The British sent people like George W. Hayward, Robert Shaw and probably some Pundits north to explore. The ruler of Chitral may have had some involvement in Hayward's murder. From 1871 there were Russian explorers in the Pamir Mountains to the north. Around 1889 some Russians entered Chitral territory as well as Hunza to the east and Gabriel Bonvalot reached Chitral from Russian territory. From around 1876 Chitral was under the protection of the Maharaja of Kashmir to the southeast and therefore in the British sphere of influence but there was no British Resident. At this time Chitrali power extended east to the Yasin Valley about half way to Hunza. The British established the Gilgit Agency about 175 miles east in 1877. In 1891 the British occupied Hunza north of Gilgit.

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