The Second Mohmand campaign of 1935 was a British military campaign against the

Mohmand The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. Most people of the Mohmand tribe sp ...

tribes in the Northwest Frontier area of British India, now Pakistan.

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s were used, the first operational use of tanks in India. The

First Mohmand campaign First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

in 1897–98 followed earlier military expeditions in 1851–1852, 1854, 1864, 1879, 1880. After the First Mohmand campaign, there was the

Mohmand expedition of 1908 The Mohmand Expedition of 1908 was a British punitive expedition against Mohmand rebels in the British Raj. Description of the Mohmands Mohmand tribes In 1908, the Mohmands were primarily divided into two main branches: the Independent Moh ...

and the Mohmand and Bajaur operations of 1933, taking about a month in August. In 1935 the Mohmands, influenced by the Haji of Turangzai and his three sons the Badshah Guls, were marauding in the plains. At the end of July about 2000 tribesmen were disrupting working parties repairing the Mohinand–Gandab road. The Government decided to send a sizeable punitive force against them, called the Mohmand Force or Mohforce. The force, mobilised by 17 August, included the Nowshera and Peshawar Brigades of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, a section of the

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

, the

18th King Edward's Own Cavalry The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry. Formation Tracing its origin ...

, and the

22nd Derajat Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) The 2nd Derajat Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) was an artillery battery in the British Indian Army. The battery was raised in 1851, from disbanded Sikh artillerymen following the Second Sikh War. In 1857, one detachment saw service against mu ...

, with air support from the Indian Wing commanded by

Basil Embry Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry, (28 February 1902 – 7 December 1977) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953. Early life and career Basil Embry was born in Gloucester ...

. The commanders of the Peshawar and Nowshera Brigades,

Claude Auchinleck Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Army commander during the Second World War. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he rose to become Commander ...

and

Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...

, both rose to high rank in World War II. Auchinleck, the senior Brigadier, commanded Mohforce; as the

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

District G.O.C. General Muspratt was on leave in Britain. Mohforce left near the end of summer, with two tanks in front of the leading troops which could be used to outflank tribesman who pinned down the infantry. The tanks were Mark II light tanks, with a single Vickers machine gun. They did not have their radios, which had been withdrawn for their annual overhaul, so one tank had to act as a “runner” between the tanks and the infantry. The Mohmands, having no word for tanks, called them “the snakes that spit”. The troops advanced into the Kamalai plateau, the tribal heartland west of the

Swat River The Swat River ( ur, , ps, سوات سیند) is a perennial river in the northern region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the s ...

. The road and water supply had to be extended, taking six weeks, before they could advance into the Nahakki Pass. Then the heights around the Nahakki Pass were taken in a night operation, and after dawn the cavalry went through the pass to the plain beyond. The headquarters, now commanded by General Muspratt, was established about 5 miles south of the Nahakki Pass at Kamalai. In September a reconnaissance in force southwest of Nahakki was ambushed, with 35 deaths in Mohforce: 2 British and 2 Indian officers, and 1 British and 30 Indian Other Ranks; the operation by the Guides or 5th/12th Frontier Force Regiment was described as “sketchily planned and uncoordinated” After fierce fighting, attackers were driven off and British created a campaign to fight the Pashtuns. This put an end to the tribal revolt and order was reinforced. The Badmanai Pass was captured by the British force which ended the tribal hold at Jarobi. But the septs and subtribes asked for peace at

jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtuns, Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of oth ...

s and agreed to British terms. Order was restored but the British force remained in area till all the fines were collected. After fines were collected, British troops withdrew to British territory towards the end of October.''The Times'' (London) 2 September p9, 5 September p11 Auchinleck's brigade withdrew with drums and pipes playing. Captain

Godfrey Meynell Godfrey Meynell VC, MC (20 May 1904 – 29 September 1935) was a British Indian Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to B ...

was awarded a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his gallantry on 29 September at the Nahqi Pass.

Background

The

Mohmands The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. Most people of the Mohmand tribe sp ...

are a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

hill tribe Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

who lived north-west of

, in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

; now

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, Pakistan. They moved annually across the border to the hills of Afghanistan to escape the summer heat; the border was delineated by the

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

in 1893 but was poorly defined.

References

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1935 in British India Military history of Pakistan Wars involving the United Kingdom Battles involving British India 20th-century military history of the United Kingdom 1935 in India Conflicts in 1935 Military history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohmand campaigns

Background

See also

References