Ambela campaign
Part of theNorth-West Frontier Wars
A Britishpicket and camp during the expedition
Date 1863–1864 Location Buffer zone between theEmirate of Afghanistan and theNorth-West Frontier Province ofBritish India Result British Indian victory[1][2]
Belligerents
British Empire India	State of Swat Yusufzai Bunerwal tribe Jadoon Tribe
Commanders and leaders
Neville Bowles Chamberlain (WIA) John Garvock John Paton Davidson  † Henry Howard Chapman †	Saidu Baba Sultan Muhammad Khan Sardar Darwiz Khan
Strength
6,000 reinforced by 4,800	15,000 men
Casualties and losses
3,000+ casualties including 1,000+ British[3]	Unknown

TheAmbela campaign (also calledUmbeyla,Umbeylah, andAmbeyla) of 1863 was one ofmany expeditions in the border area between theEmirate of Afghanistan and theNorth-West Frontier ofBritish India against the 'fanatics' at Malka, a colony of malcontents or muslims in theYusufzai country.^[4][5][6]

A force led byNeville Bowles Chamberlain planned to destroy Malka. They set up an operational base in the Chamla Valley which could be reached via the Ambela Pass, but they were soon bogged down by a numerically superior local force, and were attacked by theJadoon,SwatiBunerwal and Hindustani tribesmen.^[7] Reinforcements drafted in by the local Commander-in-Chief eventually pursued a diplomatic resolution, they approached theBunerwals and various Khans and leaders to accept peace and went on to burn a house in Malka with tribal permission and were conditioned to withdraw from the territory ofBuner. The expedition broke the power of the 'fanatics' but resulted in the loss of 1,000 British casualties and an unknown number of Indian casualties.^[8][9]

ThePashtuns had been a constant thorn to the British government since the annexation of the region, who had raided and ravaged until it invited expeditions to subdue them.^[10] However, in previous expeditions the Pashtun tribesman had always managed to escape into the hills.^[11] In 1858, anexpedition led by SirSydney Cotton drove them from their base.

By 1863, however, the 'Hindustani fanatics' had regrouped around the mountain outpost of Malka.

TheLieutenant-Governor of the Punjab authorised an expedition of 6,000 men underBrigadier GeneralNeville Bowles Chamberlain to destroy Malka. The Lieutenant Governor acted without consulting the Commander-in-Chief of the Frontier Force. Chamberlain chose the Chamla Valley as his operational base and the Ambela Pass as the main access. He chose this valley as the access as he believed that the local Bunerwal people were friendly to British forces; this turned out to be a false impression as the Pashtuns had persuaded the Bunerwals that the British would annex their land if they failed to put up a defence.^[12]

The first Peshawar column reached the Ambela Pass on 20 October, after struggling on rough terrain, and the rear of the column took another two days to reach the base.^[12]

On 22 October areconnaissance was attacked by some Bunerwal tribesman. As a result, Chamberlain proceeded to fortify his position in the pass on two rocky outcrops, but Eagle's Nest and Crag Piquet could only hold small numbers of men.^[12] The locals had amassed a force of some 15,000 tribesmen consisting of Swatis, Bunerwals and Hindustanis. On 30 October Crag Piquet was the scene of fierce hand-to-hand fighting that saw twoVictoria Crosses awarded, toGeorge Fosbery andHenry Pitcher. It fell to the Pashtuns three times in the next four weeks, but was retaken by British forces on each occasion. On 18 or 20 November, Chamberlain was seriously wounded whilst attempting to take Crag Picquet. Due to the lowered British morale and high casualties, a repeat of the1841 disaster at Kabul was feared so a decision was made to withdraw, but still refused by Chamberlain.^[13][8]

Reinforcements were gradually drafted in on the orders of Commander-in-ChiefSir Hugh Rose, who replaced Chamberlain with Major GeneralJohn Garvock on 6 December.^[12]

Garvock led a two-column attack consisting of 4,800 men supported by the 11th Bengal Cavalry led by anotherVC ColonelDighton Probyn VC that attempted break out of the pass.^[14] The rebels had also suffered heavily in the fighting around Crag Picket and loyalties were beginning to waver. The breakout was achieved on 15 December and a prominent position 'Conical Hill' which protected the approach was taken after another desperate fight and the Pushtuns retreated ending the campaign.^[1]

Umbeyla village was entered by the British on the following day and burned and an agreement reached with local tribesmen that the latter would destroy the rebel stronghold at Malka.^[15] The Bunerwals settled for peace with Garvock and he sent a party to burn a mud house in Malka "for reasons of prestige". The British had restored peace and had broken the power of the 'fanatics' but at the cost of 1,000 casualties and conditioned to withdraw fromBuner.^{[8][9][14][16]}

• On 18 October, GeneralChamberlain ordered movement of the troops through Surkawi or Ambela pass
• On 30 October 1863, theAkhund and the tribes in a combined attack captured Crag picquet, the most important post for the colonial troops, which after severe fighting was retaken by the colonial troops.
• Due to the complexity of the situation, Sir Hugh Rose, the Commander-in-Chief of India, arrived at Lahore on 14 November 1863, and directed the expedition himself.
• On 20 November 1863, for the third and last time, Crag picquet was taken and retaken by the Afghan tribes and colonial troops respectively. In this contest, General Chamberlain, commander of the colonial troops, was wounded and became unable to lead his force.
• On 10 December 1863, the Bunerjirga arrived.
• On 14 December, in their final reply rejected the colonial British terms.
• Skirmishes was continued on 15 & 16 December 1863.
• On 17 December 1863, theBuner jirga again arrived, accepted the terms, and returned after leaving their greater portion in the camp.
• TheBritish party escorted by the tribal jirga advanced from Ambela on 19 December, and returned after the destruction of Malka on 23 December.
• The expedition originally planned as a three weeks expedition took about three months with considerably high casualties on both sides.

• Barthorp, Michael (2002).Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier, 1839-1947. Cassell.ISBN 9780304362943.
• Jalal, Ayesha (2009).Partisans of Allah Jihad in South Asia. Harvard University Press.ISBN 9780674039070.
• Richards, D.S. (1990).The Savage Frontier, A History of the Anglo-Afghan Wars. London:Pan MacMillan.ISBN 0-330-42052-6.
• Stewart, Jules (2006).The Khyber Rifles From the British Raj to Al Qaeda. History Press.ISBN 9780752495583.
• Ziad, Waleed (2021).Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints Beyond the Oxus and Indus.Harvard University Press.ISBN 978-0-674-24881-6.

• Arthur, Max (2005).Symbol of Courage; Men behind the Medal. Pan books.ISBN 978-0-330-49133-4.
• Husain, Mahmud. "The Ambela campaign."Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society 1.2 (1953): 105–117.link

• British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign
• 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom
• 1863 in India
• Conflicts in 1863
• Military history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• Military campaigns involving British India

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