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87-672: The two main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes . Since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of the Russian Empire into Central Asia in the twentieth century, stability of the Frontier and control of Afghanistan became cornerstones of defensive strategy for British India. Much of

174-520: A British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture some Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision and control. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal , Bihar , and Orissa (modern Odisha). Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent,

261-480: A British committee under Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Tuker was set up to review future policy for the region. 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

348-445: A French officer named Jean-François Allard visited Abbas Mirza to propose his services. He was promised the position of a Colonel, but never actually received the troops corresponding to his function. In 1820, Allard left for Punjab where he played a great role. After a long period of exchanges between Persia and Great Britain, diplomatic relations with France resumed in 1839 following a dispute between Great Britain and Persia over

435-458: A conjunct force shall be appointed by the two high contracted parties, to act in cooperation, to destroy it... If ever any of the great men of the French nation express a wish or desire to obtain a place of residence or dwelling on any of the islands or shores of the kingdom of Persia, so that they may there raise the standard of abode or settlement, such request or settlement shall not be consented to by

522-549: A factory to produce cannons for the Persian artillery, complete with foundries, lathes, machinery and instruments. Against great odds, by December 1808, they had managed to produce 20 pieces of cannon in the European style, which were transported to Tehran. The 19th century diplomat Sir Justin Sheil commented positively on the French contribution in modernizing the Persian army: It is to

609-409: A further honour in its own territory; 'N.W. F RONTIER I NDIA 1915'. In 1922 the separation became permanent, when the mounted branch was redesignated the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) , and the infantry was amalgamated as the 5th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) . Formed in 1846 to guard the southern part of

696-568: A joint venture between a private company and Pakistan Railways, operating in the 1990s. The Pass became widely known to thousands of Westerners and Japanese who traveled it in the days of the hippie trail , taking a bus or car from Kabul to the Afghan border. At the Pakistani frontier post, travellers were advised not to wander away from the road, as the location was a barely controlled Federally Administered Tribal Area . Then, after customs formalities,

783-609: A major trade route from East Asia to Europe. The Parthian Empire fought for control of passes such as this to profit from the trade in silk, jade, rhubarb, and other luxuries moving from China to Western Asia and Europe. Through the Khyber Pass, Gandhara (in present-day Pakistan) became a regional center of trade connecting Bagram in Afghanistan to Taxila in Pakistan, adding Indian luxury goods such as ivory, pepper, and textiles to

870-548: A mission to Persia. He would return to France in October 1806. On the other hand, the Shah of Persia needed help against Russia to his northern frontiers, as Russia had annexed Eastern Georgia in 1801 following the death of George XII of Georgia . General Tsitsianov occupied Georgia against rival Iranian claims, and attacked Ganja in Iran in 1804, triggering a Russo-Persian War , and soon

957-625: A preliminary treaty with Persia and General Gardanne was returned to France. In another mission in 1810, Malcolm brought a large mission of officers, one of whom, Lindsay Bethune , would become Commander-in-Chief of the Persian army for several years. In 1809–1810, the Shah sent ambassador Haji Mirza Abul Hasan Khan to the Court in London , immortalized as Hajji Baba by diplomat James Morier . According to Sir Justin Sheil: "English influence becoming supreme, and

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1044-457: A quick daylight drive through the Pass was made. Monuments left by British Indian Army units from the time of British colonialism, as well as hillside forts, could be viewed from the highway. The area of the Khyber Pass has been connected with a counterfeit arms industry that makes various types of weapons known to gun collectors as Khyber Pass copies using local steel and blacksmiths' forges . To

1131-554: A settlement between Russia and Persia. In 1812 Persia had to face a major defeat against Russia at the Battle of Aslandoz , forcing the Shah to negotiate the Treaty of Gulistan , on 12 October 1813, which resulted in huge territorial (and eventually irrevocable) integral territorial losses for Iran in its territories in the Caucasus region, comprising modern-day Georgia , Dagestan , and most of

1218-489: A short period between the French Empire of Napoleon I and Fath Ali Shah of Iran against Russia and Great Britain between 1807 and 1809. The alliance was part of a plan to gather extra aid against Russia and by Persia's help, having another front on Russia's southern borders, namely the Caucasus region. The alliance unravelled when France finally allied with Russia and turned its focus to European campaigns. Due to

1305-516: Is considered one of the most famous mountain passes in the world. Following Asian Highway 1 ( AH1 ), the summit of the pass at the town of Landi Kotal is five kilometres (three miles) inside Pakistan, descending 460 m (1,510 ft) into the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud , about 30 km (19 mi) from the Afghan border by traversing part of the Spin Ghar mountains. Historical invasions of

1392-822: The Compagnie des Indes . Britain and France were at war , and the Franco-Persian alliance of 1807, followed the same year by the Franco-Russian Treaty of Tilsit , alerted the HEIC to the external threat posed from the north-west. By 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the company's control. Napoleon was vanquished, but the Empire of the Tsars had begun to expand south and east. Russian influence grew likewise, and by

1479-516: The Afghanistan city of Herat . Great Britain would remove its military and diplomatic missions from Persia, and briefly occupy Kharg island and the city of Bushehr . Mohammad Shah Qajar would in turn resume diplomatic relations with France, and send a diplomatic mission to Louis-Philippe under Mirza Hossein Khan to obtain military help. In response, a group of French officers was sent to Persia with

1566-496: The Anglo-Afghan Wars would brutally castrate non-Muslim soldiers who were captured, especially British and Sikhs. Pashtun women urinated into prisoners' mouths. A method of execution by this is recorded: captured British soldiers were spread out and fastened with restraints to the ground, then a stick, or a piece of wood was used to keep their mouth open to prevent swallowing. Pashtun women then squatted and urinated directly into

1653-687: The Directoire , but were unsuccessful in obtaining an agreement. Soon however, with the advent of Napoleon I , France adopted a strongly expansionist policy in the Mediterranean and the Near East . Following the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, France acquired possessions in the Mediterranean such as the Ionian islands as well as former Venetian bases on the coast of Albania and Greece, geographically close to

1740-701: The First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim . In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar , Kabul , and Peshawar , and, as Ahmad Shah Durrani , was proclaimed Shah of the Afghans . He went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan , and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus . On his death in 1773,

1827-687: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan , on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan . It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing part of the White Mountains . Since it was part of the ancient Silk Road , it has been a vital trade route between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent and a strategic military choke point for various states that controlled it. The Khyber Pass

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1914-513: The Russo-Turkish War was also declared in 1806. Britain, an ally of Russia, had been temporizing without a clear show of support. The Shah decided to respond to Napoleon's offers, sending a letter carried by ambassador Mirza Mohammad-Reza Qazvini (Mirza Riza) to the court of Napoleon, then in Tilsit in eastern Prussia . In his instructions to the ambassador, the Shah explained that: [Russia]

2001-689: The Sepoy Revolt of 1857–8, and was duly awarded C ENTRAL I NDIA . All three regiments were rewarded for their part in the Second Afghan War :- Its hard-won honours notwithstanding, the third regiment was disbanded in 1882. The 1st and 2nd Regiments joined the Bombay line in 1885 as the 5th and 6th Bombay Cavalry respectively. In the reformed Indian Army in 1903 they were likewise redesignated 35th Scinde Horse and 36th Jacob's Horse . Jacob's Rifles , raised in 1858 by Maj. John Jacob. In 1861

2088-630: The 1st Sikh Infantry, PFF, took part in forcing the Khyber , and were prominent in seizing the fortress of Ali Masjid . For this and subsequent efforts the Corps of Guides was awarded the battle honours A LI M ASJID , K ABUL 1879 , and A FGHANISTAN 1878–80. The last decade of the 19th century saw the Guides employed in the Chitral campaign of 1895, and the Punjab Frontier Revolt of 1897–8. Thus

2175-584: The Afghan domain included Baluchistan , Sindh , the Punjab , and Kashmir . Ahmad Shah was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani , whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and the resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years. During this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh , Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from

2262-454: The Afghan side to the Pakistani one. Until the end of 2007, the route had been relatively safe, since the tribes living there (mainly the Afridi , a Pashtun tribe ) were paid by the Pakistani government to keep the area safe. In January 2009, Pakistan sealed off the bridge as part of a military offensive against Taliban guerrillas. This military operation was mainly focused on Jamrud, a district on

2349-662: The British for military advisers. In the east, a mutual defense treaty was signed between British India and Shah Shuja al-Mulk of Afghanistan on 17 June 1809 in order to better resist the Franco-Persian threat, but by that time Persia had already denounced its alliance with France. After the failed mission of John Malcolm in 1808, who was only allowed to negotiate with the Governor of Fars , Sir Harford Jones managed to sign in March 1809

2436-593: The English in their possessions." According to a 13 February 1798 report by Talleyrand : "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from Suez to India, to join the forces of Tipu-Sahib and drive away the English." Napoleon was initially defeated by the Ottoman Empire and Britain at the Siege of Acre in 1799, and at the Battle of Abukir in 1801; by 1802, the French were completely vanquished in

2523-527: The French Mission having quitted Persia, it was determined to accede to the wishes of the Persian Government and continue the same military organization. Sir John Malcolm was accompanied in 1808 by two officers of the Indian army, Major Christie and Lieutenant Lindsay, to whom was confided this duty: they did it well. Major Christie was a man of considerable military endowments; he undertook the charge of

2610-588: The Frontier in early May. At the end of the month he sought an armistice, which was granted on 3 June. By the Treaty of Rawalpindi signed in August, Afghanistan gained control of its foreign affairs, and in turn, recognised the Durand Line as its border with India. The short-lived war had long-term consequences in Waziristan , where tribesmen rallied to Amanullah's cause. The western militia posts were abandoned. Many of

2697-416: The Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, and then taken over by the East India Company when it annexed the Punjab in 1849. Between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun (or Pathan ) tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in

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2784-489: The Guides were the first troops to wear it. The drab colour is well suited to the barren rocky terrain of the North-West Frontier, and all but one of the other Punjab frontier units soon followed the Guides example. In 1848 the Second Sikh War broke out and the corps won its first battle honours ; 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ' , and 'P UNJAUB '. Thereafter the Guides were engaged in most frontier affairs, and from 1857

2871-612: The Indian Army to reorganise both areas as one military district. The Waziristan and Razmak Field Forces then devolved into brigades based permanently at Manzai , Razmak, Gardai , and Bannu . The following year the few tribal sections in South Waziristan remaining openly hostile were subdued by aircraft alone. For this operation the No. 2 (Indian) Wing of the RAF under Wing Commander Richard Pink

2958-544: The Indian subcontinent have been predominantly through the Khyber Pass, such as those of Cyrus , Darius I , Genghis Khan , and later Mongols such as Duwa , Qutlugh Khwaja and Kebek . Prior to the Kushan era , the Khyber Pass was not a widely used trade route. The pass has been traversed by military expeditions launched by empires such as the Achaemenids and Sassanids, as well as by nomadic invaders from Central Asia, including

3045-596: The Khyber Pass in 1834. In the 19th century, the British East India Company aimed to secure the Khyber Pass against potential Russian threats. The region was contested during the Anglo-Afghan Wars , with control shifting between the British, Sikhs, and Afghans. After the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), the Khyber region came under British control, and the policy of paying local tribes to maintain

3132-535: The Khyber road. The target was to “dynamite or bulldoze homes belonging to men suspected of harboring or supporting Taliban militants or carrying out other illegal activities”. This increasingly unstable situation in northwest Pakistan made the US and NATO broaden supply routes, through Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). Even the option of supplying material through the Iranian far southeastern port of Chabahar

3219-641: The Middle East. In order to reinforce the Western border of British India, the diplomat John Malcolm was sent to Iran to sign the Anglo-Persian Treaty of 1801 . The Treaty offered English support against Russia and trade advantages, and explicitly provided against French intervention in Iran: Should it ever happen that an army of the French nation attempts to settle on any of the islands or shores of Persia,

3306-656: The Middle-East. Napoleon Bonaparte launched the French Invasion of Egypt in 1798 and fought against the Ottoman and British Empires to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the ultimate dream of linking with a Muslim enemy of the British in India, Tipu Sultan . Napoleon assured the Directoire that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack

3393-644: The North-West Frontier. Initially consisting of just the Scinde Irregular Horse, the force under Capt. John Jacob was part of the Bombay Army . The Scinde Irregular Horse was raised at Hyderabad in 1839 by Capt. Ward. The regiment earned its first battle honour during the Operations in Scinde 1839-42 , when it was awarded the unique distinction 'C UTCHEE '. For the subsequent Scinde Campaign of 1843 it

3480-457: The Ottoman Empire was maintained, and a peace settlement was brokered between Russia and the Ottomans, but the territories the Ottomans had been promised ( Moldavia and Wallachia ) through the Treaty of Tilsit were never returned, although the Ottomans themselves had complied with their part of the agreement by moving their troops south of the Danube . Meanwhile, a Russo-Persian war raged on despite France and Russia's efforts to try to reach

3567-436: The Persian Government Soon however, from 1803, Napoleon went to great lengths to try to convince the Ottoman Empire to fight against Russia in the Balkans and join his anti-Russian coalition. Napoleon sent General Horace Sebastiani as envoy extraordinary, promising to help the Ottoman Empire recover lost territories. In February 1806, following Napoleon's remarkable victory in the December 1805 Battle of Austerlitz and

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3654-478: The Persian army along European lines. The mission arrived on 4 December 1807. Captains of infantry Lamy and Verdier trained the Nezame Jadid (New Army), which served under Prince Abbas Mirza . This modernized army successfully defeated a Russia Army attack on the strategic city of Erevan on 29 November 1808, showing the efficiency of French training. Lieutenants of artillery Charles-Nicolas Fabvier and Reboul were sent by Gardanne to Ispahan in order to set up

3741-406: The Persian territory to reach India. A military mission was also sent under General Antoine Gardanne in order to help modernize the Persian army, and in order to chart an invasion route to India. Gardanne also had the missions to coordinate Ottoman and Persian efforts against Russia. Gardanne's mission consisted in 70 commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and started to work at modernizing

3828-409: The Punjab crossed the Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock . In 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later the winter capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul, and was there proclaimed Emir . He defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833; however

3915-405: The Saka, Yuezhi, and White Huns. Indian empires rarely extended their control beyond the pass, with the Maurya king Čandragupta being an exception. The Khyber Pass has witnessed the spread of Greek influence into India and the expansion of Buddhism in the opposite direction. Despite military activities, trade continued to thrive there. The Khyber Pass became a critical part of the Silk Road ,

4002-430: The Shinwari's authority has often been fierce. During the War in Afghanistan , the Khyber Pass was a major route for resupplying military armament and food to NATO forces in the Afghan theater of conflict since the US started the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Almost 80 percent of the NATO and US supplies that were brought in by road were transported through the Khyber Pass. It was also used to transport civilians from

4089-439: The Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan. He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied a significant number of tribes and received British backing in the form of the Sikh army against the Barakzai king Dost Muhammad . The civil war in Afghanistan coupled with

4176-421: The Sikhs seized all of Peshawar the following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, but the Afghan force was halted at Jamrud Fort . Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from the East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and

4263-479: The Silk Road commerce. During the Islamic period, Muslim rulers, including Mahmud Ghaznavi , Muhammad of Ghor , and Babur , used the Khyber and nearby passes for their invasions of Indian subcontinent. The Mughals attempted to control the pass but faced resistance from local tribes. Ahmad Shah Durrani was the last major Islamic conqueror to cross the pass, though his successors' campaigns had limited lasting impact. Finally, Sikhs under Ranjit Singh captured

4350-407: The army, and in particular among the artillery. He brought this branch of the forces in Azerbijan to such a pitch of real working perfection, and introduced so complete a system of esprit de corps , that to this day his name is venerated, and traces of his instruction still survive in the artillery of that province, which even now preserves some degree of efficiency." The alliance between France and

4437-411: The company could not help him without alienating its treaty ally Ranjit Singh. When Dost Mohammad redirected his appeal to Russia, the Governor-General Lord Auckland resolved to depose Dost Mohammad, and replace him with Shuja Shah Durrani. Restored to his throne in Kabul, the exiled former ruler would accept the Sikh gains west of the Indus, and the Company controlling his foreign policy. The agreement

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4524-415: The contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan , per the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813. In 1812, through the Treaty of Bucharest , the Ottoman Empire and Russia also agreed to make peace, just as Russia was anxious to liberate this southern front in anticipation of Napoleon's Invasion of Russia , with Russia keeping Bessarabia and the Ottomans regaining Wallachia and Moldavia . After the fall of Napoleon ,

4611-403: The corps was included in the Punjab Irregular Force , and subsequently in the Punjab Frontier Force . That same year the Corps of Guides was ordered to Delhi, covering the 930 km from Mardan in twenty-two days and famously going into action on arrival. They were duly honoured with D ELHI 1857 . At the beginning of the Second Afghan War in 1878, the Guides Infantry, together with

4698-420: The early 1830s Qajar Irān was within the Tsar's sphere. Attempts by Irān to recover Herat in 1834, and again in 1837, raised the spectre of Russian armies on the road to Kandahar , whence direct access to India through the Khojak and Bolan passes. Meanwhile, the conflict between Afghanistan and the Punjab focused on the Khyber route . Dost Mohammad appealed to the HEIC for aid in recovering Peshawar, but

4785-427: The ensuing dismemberment of the Habsburg Empire , Selim III finally recognized Napoleon as Emperor, formally opting for an alliance with France "our sincere and natural ally", and war with Russia and Britain. In his grand scheme to reach India (the "India Expedition"), the next step for Napoleon was now to develop an alliance with the Persian Empire. Early 1805, Napoléon sent one of his officers Amédée Jaubert on

4872-570: The face of internal opposition from factions keen to side with the Ottoman Sultan . Hostilities on the frontier remained local. Having upheld Afghan neutrality while India was engaged in the Great War , Habibulla sought full independence for Afghanistan in February 1919. Such a reward might have consolidated his rule, but later that month he was murdered. His successor Amanullah pursued a similar policy by different means. With India's Army de-mobilising, and its Government preoccupied with violent unrest in western India, Amanullah sent his troops across

4959-412: The frontier to deploy to Delhi and deal with the revolt centered there. In 1877, Amir Sher Ali received a Russian mission in Kabul, but refused to accept one from the British. The following year Sher Ali signed a treaty with Russia. The British sent a mission anyway, but the mission and its armed escort were denied passage through the Khyber Pass. The British threatened to invade, and when no apology

5046-518: 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. Trained regular troops were desperately needed for the war against Germany and Japan. Razmak, Wana and Bannu were garrisoned with half-trained units which suffered serious reverses, losing men, rifles, and light machine-guns. In 1944,

5133-485: The governor-general, Lord Dalhousie . Disgusted at being instructed to burn Pathan villages, first Napier and then Campbell resigned and returned to England. Campbell had already decided that the best method of dealing with the tribesmen on the frontier was through bribery. When the Sepoy Rebellion broke out Amir Dost Mohammad Khan came under internal pressure to seize the advantage and attack India. However he stood by his treaty obligations. This allowed Indian troops on

5220-446: The infantry to 4½ companies. Two further infantry battalions were raised in 1917. From its inception the corps was clothed in native style, with smock, baggy trousers and turban of home-spun cotton, and jerkin of sheepskin. The cotton was dyed grey with a derivative of a dwarf palm known as mazari , while the leather was dyed khaki with mulberry juice. Thus was military dress first coloured khaki for its camouflage effect, and

5307-501: The infantry, and was killed at his post at the battle of Aslandooz in 1812. His able successor was Major Hart, of the Royal Army. Under the auspices and indefatigable cooperation of Abbas Meerza , heir apparent to the throne of Persia, by whom absolute authority was confided to him, he brought the infantry of Azerbijan to a wonderful state of perfection. The artillery was placed under Lieutenant Lindsay, afterwards Major-General Sir H. Lindsay. This officer acquired extraordinary influence in

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5394-413: The insurgency over the NATO forces, which had suffered a period of large number of assaults over the trucks heading to supply the NATO and ISAF coalitions all over the frontier line. A number of locations around the world have been named after the Khyber Pass: Other references include the following: Franco-Persian alliance A Franco-Persian alliance or Franco-Iranian alliance was formed for

5481-401: The length of what was then British India as "Khyber to Kanyakumari ". During World War II , concrete dragon's teeth were erected on the valley floor due to British fears of a German tank invasion of India. Following the partition of British India in 1947, the Khyber Pass became part of Pakistan. Passenger services through the pass have been intermittent, with the Khyber Steam Safari,

5568-417: The lines of communication to a new central base to be established at Razmak . In 1921 work began on the southern road up the Tank Zam from Jandola , under the protection of the Waziristan Force. The following year work on the northern road from the Tochi began at Idak , shielded by the Razmak Force advancing to its objective. The two roads met in 1924, linking North and South Waziristan , and enabling

5655-633: The main reasons for its original dispatch. In a final reversal, Napoleon I finally vanquished Russia at the Battle of Friedland in July 1807, and France and Russia became allied at the Treaty of Tilsit . General Gardanne arrived in Tehran in Persia after the Treaty of Tilsit, in December 1807. Napoleon however wished to continue fostering the Franco-Persian alliance, in order to pursue his plan of invading India. To this effect, he planned to nominate his brother Lucien Bonaparte as his representative in Tehran. Napoleon still planned to invade British India , this time with Russian help. A Persian ambassador

5742-410: The military genius of the French that we are indebted for the formation of the Indian army. Our warlike neighbours were the first to introduce into India the system of drilling native troops and converting them into a regularly disciplined force. Their example was copied by us, and the result is what we now behold. The French carried to Persia the same military and administrative faculties, and established

5829-444: The militia deserted, taking their modern weapons and joining their fellow tribesmen in attacking the remaining posts. As a result, the Indian Army's Waziristan Force was fully engaged in re-establishing the posts and restoring the lines of communication from November until May 1920. The western base at Wana was finally reoccupied in December 1920. The long-term plan for control of the district entailed building metalled roads along

5916-458: The mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, taking turns one at a time. This method of execution was reported to have been practiced specifically by the women of the Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. Corps of cavalry and infantry , raised at Peshawar in 1846 by Lt. Harry Lumsden , and later based at Hoti Mardan . Originally one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry, the cavalry component later expanded to 2½ squadrons , and

6003-475: The north of the Khyber Pass lies the country of the Shalmani tribe and Mullagori tribe . To the south is Afridi Tirah , while the inhabitants of villages in the Pass itself are Afridi clansmen. Throughout the centuries, Pashtun clans, particularly the Afridis and the Afghan Shinwari , have regarded the Pass as their own preserve and have levied a toll on travellers for safe conduct. Since this has long been their main source of income, resistance to challenges to

6090-432: The origin of the present Persian regular army, as it is styled. When Napoleon the Great resolved to take Iran under his auspices, he dispatched several officers of superior intelligence to that country with the mission of General Gardanne in 1808. Those gentlemen commenced their operations in the provinces of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah, and it is said with considerable success. The embassy of Gardanne to Persia soon lost one of

6177-417: The pass on 30 September which caused a convoy of several NATO trucks to queue at the closed border. This convoy was attacked by extremists apparently linked to Al Qaida which caused the destruction of more than 29 oil tankers and trucks and the killing of several soldiers. In August 2011, the activity at the Khyber pass was again halted by the Khyber Agency administration due to the more possible attacks of

6264-508: The possibility of providing a port to the French "on their way to Hindustan ". Following the visit of the Iran Envoy Mirza Mohammad-Reza Qazvini to Napoleon, the Treaty of Finckenstein formalized the alliance on 4 May 1807, in which France supported Persia's claim to Georgia , promising to act so that Russia would surrender the territory. In exchange, Persia was to fight Great Britain , and to allow France to cross

6351-465: The responsibility of the local militias. In 1947, following the independence , the North-West Frontier region became a part of the newly formed nation of Dominion of Pakistan . 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

6438-462: The rifles joined the Bombay line as the 30th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry . The regiment was honoured for its part in the Second Afghan War with A FGHANISTAN 1878-80 Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass ( Urdu : درۂ خیبر; Pashto : د خيبر دره , romanized:  De Xēber Dara , lit.   'Valley of Khyber' [d̪ə xebər d̪ara] ) is a mountain pass in

6525-523: The route's security was implemented. The British invested in infrastructure development, building roads, railways, and telegraph lines through the pass. For strategic reasons, after the First World War , the government of British India built a heavily engineered railway through the Pass. The Khyber Pass Railway , from Jamrud, near Peshawar, to the Afghan border near Landi Kotal was opened in 1925. A common phrase during British colonial period described

6612-637: The traditional friendly relations of France with the Ottoman Empire formalized by a long-standing Franco-Ottoman alliance , the relations of France with Iran had long been minimal. Instead, a Habsburg-Persian alliance had developed during the 16th century, and when Persian embassies visited Europe with the Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602) and the Persian embassy to Europe (1609–1615) , they pointedly avoided France. Later however, France developed relations with Iran and signed treaties in 1708 and 1715 with

6699-543: The visit of an Iranian embassy to Louis XIV , but these relations ceased in 1722 with the fall of the Safavid dynasty and the invasion of Iran by the Afghans . Attempts to resume contact were made following the French Revolution , as France was in conflict with Russia and wished to find an ally against that country. In 1796, two scientists, Jean-Guillaume Bruguières and Guillaume-Antoine Olivier , were sent to Iran by

6786-510: 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. This withdrawal began on December 6, 1947 and was successfully completed by the end of the month under the codename Operation Curzon. According to the British officer John Masters , Pashtun women in the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955) of British India during

6873-423: Was awarded 'M EEANEE ' and 'H YDERABAD ' . A second regiment was raised at Hyderabad in 1846 by Capt. J. Jacob. During the Second Sikh War both the 1st and 2nd Irregular Horse earned further distinction with 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ', and 'P UNJAUB '. A third regiment was raised in 1857, and in 1860 the regiments were designated simply Scinde Horse . The 1st Scinde Horse was deployed to suppress

6960-579: Was based at Tank and Miranshah . Aircraft comprising the Wana Patrol maintained regular weekly contact with the posts at Wana and Tanai until 1929, when the road from Sarwekai was completed, and the Manzai brigade relocated to Wana. From 1940 to 1947, Waziristan and indeed most of the Frontier remained relatively calm and the British were able to divert most of their military effort to more important theatres. There were, however, brief periods of trouble on

7047-580: Was considered. In 2010, the already complicated relationship with Pakistan (always accused by the US of hosting the Taliban in this border area without reporting it) became tougher after the NATO forces, under the pretext of mitigating the Taliban's power over this area, executed an attack with drones over the Durand line , passing the frontier of Afghanistan and killing three Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan answered by closing

7134-879: Was defeated in September 1880, and his throne was offered to, and accepted by, Abdur Rahman , who agreed to surrender all claims on the Khyber, the Kurram , Sibi , and Pishin . In support of the British war effort, the Indian Army deployed expeditionary forces to the Western Front , East Africa , Gallipoli , Mesopotamia , Sinai and Palestine . India was thus vulnerable to hostile attention from Afghanistan. A Turco-German mission arrived in Kabul in October 1915 with obvious strategic purpose. However, Amir Habibulla abided by his treaty obligations and maintained Afghanistan's neutrality, in

7221-423: Was equally an enemy of the kings of Persia and of France, and her destruction accordingly became the duty of the two kings. France would attack her from that quarter, Persia from this. The Shah also clearly considered helping France in the invasion of India: If the French have an intention of invading Khorasan , the king will appoint an army to go down by the road of Kabul and Kandahar . The Shah however denied

7308-598: Was formalised with the Treaty of Simla signed in June 1838 between Shah Shuja, the HEIC, and Ranjit Singh. In the period following the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 until the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 , several expeditions were undertaken against almost every tribe along the whole of the North-West Frontier, most notably under Sir Charles Napier and Sir Colin Campbell , under orders from

7395-704: Was forthcoming, did so. Sher Ali died while fleeing to Russian territory, and his son Yakub succeeded him. On May 26, 1879, Amir Yakub signed the Treaty of Gandamak , whereby Afghanistan surrendered its foreign policy to the British Empire, which in turn promised protection from aggression. Afghanistan ceded some territory and accepted a British Resident in Kabul until 1894. In September 1879, some six weeks after establishing his residency, Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort were murdered. Hostilities promptly resumed. Yakub's army

7482-539: Was sent to Paris, named Askar Khan Afshar . He arrived in Paris on 20 July 1808 and was able to meet Napoleon on 4 September 1808. Persia however lost the main motivation for the alliance, the recovery of Georgia and Azerbaijan over Russia, which had not even been addressed at the Treaty of Tilsit. The Franco-Persian alliance thus lost its main motivation as France and Russia were now allied. The Shah of Persia again turned to

7569-562: Was the corps awarded the battle honours 'C HITRAL ', 'M ALAKAND ' , and 'P UNJAB F RONTIER '. The reforms of 1903 gave to the Queen's Own Corps of Guides (Lumsden's) a subsidiary title in the form of its founders name, but left it numberless. In 1911 the corps took up Frontier Force as its first subsidiary title. During the First World War the cavalry branch of the Corps was deployed overseas to Mesopotamia , but not before winning

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