OPERATIONS IN WAZIRISTAN 1919-1920

An official account of the British campaign against the warlike tribes of Waziristan, on the badland borders between Afghanistan and British India in 1919-20. The book begins with an extensive backwards look to previous, 19th century, campaigns in the same mountainous region. The powerful Mahsud tribe took advantage of Britian’s involvement in the Great War to launch incursions in the summer of 1917, but the British took firm defensive action and peace was restored. Similarly, the Waziris took advantage of unrest in Afghanistan to launch raids against British posts, to which the British responded with punitive force, including the use of aircraft to spot and bomb the hostile tribes. After 12 months of sporadic fighting, operations ceased. The account of the campaign ends with an appreciation of the lessons learned, including the use of aircraft to overawe the tribesmen. With topical resonance’s to today’s conflicts in the same region, this is a must for all serious students of the end of the Raj.