The Malakand Pass on the North-West frontier connects Peshawar with the Swat valley, and was the scene of several revolts in the turbulent history of this rocky frontier area between British India (now Pakistan) and Afghanistan. In 1895, a small force of native troops at Chitral was besieged by a force of Pathan tribesmen caused by the traditional Indian problem of a disputed ruling succession. A British expeditionary force under Gen Sir Robert Low mounted a relief operation, relieving another besieged garrison at Malakand on the way, killing about 500 rebels, and routing the rest. Subsequently a fort was established at Malakand to guard the Chitral road and monitor local rebels, which, along with the Khyber Pass, became one of the targets of the risings of 1897-8, which occurred all along the North-West frontier.
This time an estimated 12, 000 Swati-Pathan tribesmen surrounded Malakand, and the neighbouring fort of Chakdara. The garrisons—native troops commanded by British officers—held out and were relieved after a week of day and night assaults. A relief force of three brigades was formed under Gen Sir Bindon Blood to mount punitive expeditions against the local tribesmen, in which the 22-year-old Lt Churchill served. Shamelessly seeking glory, he accompanied the force as war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, as there was no room on Blood's staff, and his own regiment, the 4th Hussars, was not involved. The expedition was over within weeks, but Churchill collated his accounts into The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898). This was his first published work and a considerable success, establishing his reputation as a writer. In view of his subsequent fame, the book, with its vivid descriptive style, has ensured that this otherwise minor colonial campaign has risen above the mists of obscurity.
— Peter Caddick-Adams
