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History of Pakistan Army.

Upper Shelabagh Camp Huts, Photograph By 15th Punjab Regiment, Balochistan, 1941 (c).


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Sepoys of 57th Rifles F.F. waiting at 1000 yds Range for their turn to fire.

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Chakdara', North-West Frontier Province, Photograph, November, 1905. Members of 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force) on a firing range in rocky ground near Chakdara.

Chakdara Fort, now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, was built by the British in 1896, on the site of a sixteenth century Mughal fort. The position guarded the strategically important bridge over the Swat River and the routes into the Swat Valley and Chitral via the Lowari Pass. The fort was besieged during the Malakand Rising of 1897.

The 4th Punjab Infantry Regiment was formed by the British in 1849 as part of a new force used to guard the border between the annexed territory of Punjab and Afghanistan. The unit was renamed the 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force) in 1903.

From a photograph album compiled by Lieutenant Hugh Stephenson Turnbull (1882-1973), 57th Wilde's Rifles (Frontier Force),
 
Kashmir Contingent: Black Mountain Expedition from 1st October 1888 to 13th November 1888 on the North-West Frontier of India.


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The Black Mountain Expedition, 1891 (c).

Back up into the hills the columns go. Officers and Sepoys of the Guides infantry on the Dilaisi Heights looking down the Indus Valley.


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Black Mountain "Kala Dhaka" Expedition British And Indian Troops Torching A Pasthuns Tribesmen Watchtower, Circa 1891.


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The Hazara Expedition of 1888, also known as the Black Mountain Expedition or the First Hazara Expedition, was a military campaign by the British against the tribes of Kala Dhaka (then known as the Black Mountains of Hazara) in the Hazara region of what is now Pakistan.

On 18 June 1888, two British officers and four Gurkha soldiers were killed in an altercation between British reconnaissance patrols and antagonistic tribes. As a response, the Hazara Field Force was assembled and began its march on 4 October 1888, after an ultimatum had not been satisfied by the tribes by October 2, 1888.

The first phase of the campaign ended with the Hassanzai and Akazai tribes requesting an armistice on October 19, 1888. The second phase of the campaign targeted the tribes that lived north of Black Mountain such as the Allaiwals. The campaign ended when the Allaiwal village of Pokal was occupied and destroyed by the British on November 2 and 3, 1888.

The then Commander in Chief in India General Sir Frederick Roberts viewed the Black Mountain Expedition as: " A success from a military point of view, but … the determination of the Punjab Government to limit the sphere of action of the troops, and to hurry out of the country, prevented our reaping any political advantage.

We lost a grand opportunity for gaining control over this lawless and troublesome district; no survey was made, no roads opened out, the tribesmen were not made to feel our power, and, consequently, very soon another costly expedition had to be undertaken".

1891 Expedition.

The failure of the tribes to honour the agreements that ended the 1888 campaign led to a further two-month expedition by a Hazara Field Force in 1891. General Roberts observed that. "The Black Mountain tribes, [having been] quite unsubdued by the fruitless expedition of 1888, had given trouble almost immediately afterwards. "The second expedition" was completely successful in political results as in its military conduct.

The columns were not withdrawn until the tribesmen had become convinced that they were powerless to sustain a hostile attitude towards us, and that it was in their interest, as it was our wish, that they should henceforth be on amicable terms with us".

British and Indian Army forces who took part in these expeditions received the India General Service Medal with the clasps Hazara 1888 and Hazara 1891 respectively.

© National Army Museum
 
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Officers of the Khyber Rifles, 1880's (c).

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Men And The Officers Of Khyber Rifles - With Lt. Col Aslam Khan Sadozai C.I.E - First Muslim Commandant Of Khyber Rifles, Standing Center In White Turban.

Black Mountain Expedition from 1st October 1888 to 13th November 1888 on the North-West Frontier of India. Raiding by tribesmen from the Black Mountains of India's North-West Frontier culminated on 18 June 1888 when a British patrol was ambushed and two officers killed. Five columns of the Hazara Field Force under Major-General J. W. McQueen advanced into the rebellious area on 4 October.

The Akazais and Hassanzais were brought to heel, and on 13 October the village at Maidan was destroyed. McQueen then moved on to punish the remaining hostile tribes. Operations were concluded by 14 November.

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A) Col Sardar Aslam Khan Sahib is wearing Famous Sam Browne cross belt. You can Google about Sam Browne V.C and his famous belt. He was also Peshawar Valley Field Force Commander 1878 who captured Ali Masjid Fort in Khyber.

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Sardar Sahib is wearing a stylish Bush Shirt Khaki dress which was allowed to officers rank only.

C) He is sporting a fine (Wilkinson probably) sword with a quite lengthy blade.

D) His shoes are of officer pattern different than his sub ordinates standing beside him.

E) The sub ordinates in the picture are mostly native Afridi Kuki Khels.

F) They are wearing leather Toshadaan and leather belt or kamarband with a distinctive buckle badge ( Probably Khyber Jezailchis badge or later Khyber Rifles badge). Leather Toshdan and leather Belt was a predominantly mounted Cavalry dress item even today in Pakistan Army.

G) They are also wearing Khakai as field dress.

H) Their shoes are different probably Paanrey or Keirrey with ankles or wrapping.

I) Thier swords are non native.

J) They are carrying revolver probably .45 Caliber British Origin ( Will try to dig out anything on service pattern revolver in 1870's and 1880's).
© John Burke / British Battles
 
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, meeting with the officers of 6th Bn, Frontier Force Rifles (Now 1st FF). Lt Col. (later Lt General) Bakhtiar Rana following him.
Date: 1948 probably ..


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Combined sports team, 1st Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment.
Date: 1937.


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circa January 1945 ....

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Shermans of 'B' Squadron of the 19ᵗʰ Lancers (King George V's Own) operating in the Arakan, during the Burma Campaign.

The regiment lives on in the Pakistan Army, and played a crucial role in the last days of the Chawinda campaign.
 
Tochi Scouts garrisoning a frontier outpost, North Waziristan, North-West Frontier, 1944 (c).

The Tochi Scouts operated in North Waziristan, with their headquarters at Miranshah. They were part of the Frontier Corps which consisted of a number of scout units stationed in the tribal territories. The scout forts were built of sun-dried mud blocks, rectangular in shape with a tower at each corner, placed so as to provide a clear line of fire along the lengths of the fort walls.

On the inside, about five feet from the top of the walls was a platform about 10 feet wide. This ran around the perimeter of the fort and formed the roof of the living quarters below. The walls had loopholes and the towers had slits for firing.

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Officers' Mess Anteroom, Headquarters Of The Corps Of Sikh Pioneers, Sialkot, Punjab, 1900's (c).

This Image Is Restored And Watermarked By East India Company And Raj Research Group.


May be a black-and-white image of indoor
 
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A vintage postcard shows a convoy of motor ambulances passing through Khyber Pass NWFP (KPK).
Date: 1920


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Indian and British officers of 36th Jacob's Horse when based at Jacobabad, Sindh, 1905 (c).

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A rare photograph of Brigadier Akbar Khan, aka 'General Tariq' of the Kashmir War fame, with 'lashkarees' and troops of the Azad Kashmir Regular Force, after the ceasefire of 1949.
Arguably the most decisive campaign in Kashmir's history was fought in these days, 74 years ago.


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Views Of The Bazar Valley Field Force, Khyber Pass, North-West Frontier, 1908 (c).

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The Bazar Valley Field Force was sent against the turbulent Zakka Khel clan of the Afridi in February 1908. The short sharp campaign chronicled in these photographs ends with a jirga and peace at the end of the month.
The main British element was the Seaforths, together with a mountain battery and the 37th Lancers. Indian regiments included sections of 45th and 53rd Sikhs, Madras sappers, as well as the 5th Gurkhas. Two months later the same force turned its attention to the neighbouring Mohmands.

Photographed by Captain E.T. Rich, R.E., Published by Mela Ram Photographer, Peshawar', 1908 (c).
 
On The March To The Front - Field Artillery Crossing The River Indus By A Bridge Of Boat At Khushalgarh, Kohat.


No photo description available.
 

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