The Relief to Malakand

The fortress in the Malakand Pass has come under attack! A relief column with five squads of infantry, a Gardner
Machinegun with crew towed by a steam lorry laden with supplies, and a procession of pack animals with handlers
rushes forth to aid them! Their commander Major Stokes is determined to battle enemy and win!

As the lead elements of the column near a sharp turn in the valley floor dark shapes of men edge forward yet unseen!

The corporal in charge of the pack animal detail feels uneasy and the animals seem jumpy as well!

As the lead squad advances to the narrowest point in the valley floor a native warrior of many years watches carefully.

Knowing the time is right he fires a single shot into the air and the rocks surrounding the column come alive!

Scores of screaming hillsmen descend from their concealment as rush forth nearly surrounding the column!

As the wild natives pour from every eastern and northern pass in the valley walls the column instictively clings to the
protection of the nearby western rocky ground. Soon an intense cross fire develops and men on both sides fall!

The lead sergeant stops in his tracks realizing that rushing forth around the bend was a bad idea - he is surrounded!

The natives hastily move to secure both sides of the only exit out of the valley towards Malakand.

One of the defiant warrior chiefs even bars the way with the bodies of his family!

The lead squad begins to exchange fire with the onslaught of hostiles but are pinned down by a ferocious fusilade!

The column begins to stack up and stick to the western side of the valley as scattered shots are exchanged with the
enemy to their front and those that emerge opposite of their position.

At the rear of the column the corporals lead their squads into the shelter of a draw as their comrades cover them.

The pack animals and handlers come under fire and take casualties as the steam lorry chugs forward! The Gardner
Machinegun roars to life peppering the rocks above the lorry with deadly covering fire striking down several attackers!

The odds are against the lead squad and they are quickly whittled down to a few shaken survivors!

The warrior chief encourages his men to give the infidels the wrath of Allah!

The Stokes at left orders the surviving pack animals and handlers through the shelter of a tight cut.

At the rear of the column the corporals try to move to the left and perhaps flank the enemy positions.

The natives are urged forward and take some casualties but the odds are in their favor!

The commander of the native force directs his clansmen to join the blocking force at the exit of the valley.

Advancing the drivers of the lorry witness the surviving mercenaries fighting for their lives - the sergeant is no more!

The Gardner crew continue to cover the movement of the column as they climb and crawl to the west and safety!

The flanking squads have no idea where they are going or what waits for them...

The hillsmen shift their fire to the Gardner gun in the distance and wipe out the valiant crew!

Two soldiers exchange knowing glances that things aren't looking so good - someone will have to man that gun!

The steam lorry drivers decide to make a run for it since they cannot make it down the narrow cut leading west
where the others crawl for safety. It is a daring and risky move but the supplies they carry must get through!

The Stokes at right witnesses the brave attempt by the lorry crew and orders a corporal to get the Gardner back
into action and provide some covering fire! The corporal bellows and the men move to obey the order.

Several over zealous natives rush into the open to charge the enemy!

But as they are cut down with ease the native commander is reminded why that is not such a good idea!

Suddenly Stokes and the corporal in charge of the pack animals are felled in the same intense volly! The
Gardner Gun, now crewed, begins to spray a large body of natives to the right rear of the column - they're every where!

The native commander hides his men in the rocks as the Gardner Gun can be heard firing beyond the distant hill.

As the mercenary troops provide covering fire the men drag the machinegun painstakingly over the rough broken
ground. The surviving pack handlers follow suit as in the distance the shapes of hillsmen raise up and begin firing!

At the back of the shattered column a corporal urges the men out of the valley of death and into the safety of the rocks.

The steam lorry rounds the corner but comes under the same withering fire that befell the first squad that advanced
there! Although most shots bounce off the metal lined body or shatter boards several strike and silence the drivers!

The rear of the column advances through a smaller valley as they try to flank the enemy at top left. The steam lorry
lurches to a halt behind the hill at the top of the photo and scattered mercenaries fire in every direction!

Seeing the mass of enemy blocking their exit from the valley a corporal gets his men to volley into them with result!

The trail squads fall into the safety of the smaller valley and prepare to sell themselves dearly. Where is the Gardner?

The natives sense the shrinking of their enemy and advance from their protection to envelope their loot and prey!

Heavens! The Gardner crew and pack handlers have been felled to a man - it has become a tight, rocky cut of death!

The survivors hole up at bottom and await the advance of their blood thirsty enemy from both sides!

They don't have to wait long...

The lorry remains silent and undisturbed as the enemy sweep past and towards the survivors.

A surviving corporal ponders his 'promotion' when the hillsmen appear,"Here they come men! Independant - FIRE!"

Both side open up a fierce blaze of rifles as the hillsmen rush forward bellowing doom and destruction!

The clamour is almost too much to take but quickly the roar begins to die down as the weight of numbers takes efffect.
As the shots fade away all that can be heard is the victorious cries of the natives echoing down the length of the valley!

Who's a happy native commander? (Takes some of the sting out of getting whipped... again....)

Hostile Natives - Major Victory - WINNER!
British & Native Mercenaries - Major Defeat