Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)

The Waziristan campaign 1919–1920 was a military campaign conducted in Waziristan by the British Indian Army against the fiercely independent tribesmen that inhabited this region. These operations were conducted in 1919–1920, following the unrest in the aftermath of the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

The prelude to the 1919–1920 campaign was an incursion by the Mahsud Tribe in the summer of 1917 while British forces were otherwise engaged fighting in the First World War. The British Forces eventually restored calm, but in 1919 the Waziris took advantage of unrest in British India following the Third Anglo-Afghan War to launch more raids against British garrisons. It has been asserted that one of the reasons for these raids was that a rumour had been spread amongst the Wazirs and the Mahsuds, that Britain was going to give control of Waziristan to Afghanistan as part of the peace settlement following the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Buoyed by this prospect and sensing British weakness, the tribes were encouraged to launch a series of large scale raids in the administered areas. By November 1919, they had killed over 200 people and wounded a further 200.^[2]

The first attempt to subdue them began in November 1919, when Major-General Sir Andrew Skeen launched a series of operations against the Tochi Wazirs.^[3] These operations were largely successful and terms were agreed,^[4] and in December Skeen turned his attention to the Mahsuds. As the 43rd and 67th Brigades were grouped together as the Derajet Column and committed to the fighting,^[4] they met heavy resistance as the largely inexperienced Indian units came up against determined, well-armed tribesmen. Due to the denuding of the Indian Army caused by commitments overseas during the First World War, many of the battalions employed in this campaign were second-line units with disproportionately large numbers of very young soldiers with inexperienced officers.^[3]

The fighting continued for about 12 months in this vein, and the British had to resort to using aircraft on a number of occasions to suppress the tribesmen. There were a number of successes, though, notably the 2nd/5th Gurkhas' stand during the eight-day battle in January 1920 at Ahnai Tangi, and the efforts of the 2nd/76th Punjabis who fought their way through to support them. Equally notable was the counter-attack launched against the Mahsuds by just 10 men of the 4th/39th Garhwal Rifles, led by Lieutenant William David Kenny,^[5] who received a posthumous Victoria Cross for his actions.^[3][6]

The Mahsuds took heavy casualties during the fighting at Ahnai Tangi and it was these casualties, as well as the destruction of their villages a month later by bombers of the Royal Air Force, that temporarily subdued the Mahsuds. When the Wana Wazirs rose up in November 1920, they appealed for help from the Mahsuds, but still recovering from their earlier defeat, no support was forthcoming and the Wazir opposition faded away. On 22 December 1920, Wana was re-occupied.^[3]

Two other Victoria Crosses were also awarded resulting from this campaign, to Captain Ishar Singh (then a sepoy),^[7] and to Captain Henry John Andrews.^[8]

Las incursiones menores de los Wazirs y las incursiones de las fuerzas británicas continuaron hasta 1921; sin embargo, después de la campaña de 1919-1920, los británicos decidieron cambiar de estrategia en Waziristán. Se determinó que se mantendría una guarnición permanente de tropas regulares en la región para trabajar mucho más estrechamente con las unidades de milicia que se estaban reconstituyendo después de los problemas ocurridos durante la guerra de 1919 con Afganistán. Durante este conflicto, un gran número de hombres de las unidades de milicia irregular de Waziristán desertaron y se volvieron contra los británicos. ^{[ 9 ]} Como parte de esta política, se decidió que se mantendría una guarnición en Razmak . ^{[ 3 ]} A lo largo de 1921-1924, los británicos emprendieron un esfuerzo de construcción de carreteras en la región que provocó más conflictos durante la campaña de 1921-1924 . ^{[ 10 ]} La Real Fuerza Aérea llevó a cabo una campaña de ametrallamiento y bombardeo aéreo denominada Guerra de Pink en 1925. ^{[ 11 ]} El conflicto se recrudeció en Waziristán en 1936, dando lugar a otra campaña que duró hasta 1939. ^{[ 12 ]}

• Primera Guerra Anglo-Afgana
• Segunda Guerra Anglo-Afgana
• Tercera guerra anglo-afgana
• Campaña de Waziristán (1921-1924)
• La guerra de Pink
• Campaña de Waziristán (1936-1939)
• Rebelión de Waziristán (1948-1954)
• Frontera Noroeste (historia militar)
• Lista de condecorados con la Cruz Victoria de la Campaña de Waziristán

• Waziristan Revolt (1919–1920)
• British and Indian Army Frontier Military Operations