Im major General Henry William Stisted. History knows me more as the first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada. I took part in the capture of the fortress of Kalat, on 13th November 1839, as a lieutenant. I was then only 22 years old then.
In the northern part of Baluchistan, stands the strong mountain fortress
of Kalat. The chief, Mehrab Khan, had offended the British, and it was
resolved, to annex his territories to the kingdom of Shah Soojah. Kalat
is a place of commanding strength. The citadel, rises high above the
buildings of the town. On
the north-west of the fort are three heights. On these the Khan had
posted his infantry, supported by five guns in position. General
Willshire was sent to capture it, with the 2nd and 17th Queen's
Regiments, the 31st Bengal Native Infantry, with two howitzers, four of
the Shah's 6-pounder guns, and a detachment of local horse. On the
morning of the 13th of November he found himself before the place. The
Engineer officers reported that until the heights were carried, it would
be impossible to proceed against the fortress; accordingly orders were
issued for the attack. It was Willshire's hope that the enemy, might be
driven down to the gate of the fortress, and that the stormers might
rush in with them. Gallantly our brave soldiers made their way up the
heights--gallantly they were carried, and right nobly the guns were
captured.
The shrapnel, shot from Stephenson's batteries, fell with too deadly an
Aim, among the Beloochee footmen, for them to hold their position on the
hills. They fled towards the walls of their fortress, and the British
infantry pushed hotly after them; but, in spite of all their exertions,
our brave soldiers were not in time to secure an entrance--the gates
were closed against their advance. The enemy's artillery, planted on
the walls, was now brought into play. The British infantry were
compelled to find shelter behind some ruined buildings, while our
batteries, planted on the heights, opened upon the gate and the
neighboring defenses. Two of Cooper's guns were brought within 200
yards of the walls. The gunners suffered much from the matchlocks of
the enemy, but undauntedly continued to fire full upon the gate. At
length it gave way. Pointing his hand towards the gateway, Willshire
boldly rode down to show the infantry that an entrance was ready for
them. Rising at once from their cover, with a loud hurrah, they rushed
on. Pennycuick and his men were the first to enter. The other
companies eagerly followed, till, the whole of the storming column were
within the walls of Kalat.
Onward they struggled manfully, towards the citadel. Every inch of
ground was obstinately disputed. The citadel was reached, but there was
here a desperate resistance. Sword in hand, Mehrab Khan and some of his
principal chiefs stood to give battle to their enemies. The Khan
himself fell dead, with a musket-ball through his breast. Eight of his
principal sirdars fell beside him. Heaps of dead lay around,--many
fine-looking men,--their shields shot through and broken, swords and
matchlocks scattered about in every direction, telling of the fierce
fight. A small party held out in an inner apartment; there was no
reaching them, except by a narrow passage, which admitted but of one at a
time. Three or four attempted it, and were instantly shot dead. The
little band of Beloochees would not trust the British. At length
Lieutenant Loveday was sent up to them alone. It was a critical moment
for him; but they listened to his proposals, and surrendered. And
Kalat was won. The British loss being 138 killed and wounded.
Mehrab Khan died fighting gallantly and by late afternoon the fighting in the town was over as the few desperate men who still held out were persuaded to give themselves up on the promise of their lives being spared. Mehra Khan had managed to send away all his harem and family on the morning of the battle but most of the other chiefs, not being so fortunate, deliberately cut the throats of all the females belonging to them when the fortress fell rather than allow them to be taken with it.
Mehrab Khan had 2000 men under his command; some escaped, others were killed or wounded, and many were taken prisoner. General Willshires force lost 138 killed and wounded of which a quarter were from the Queens. Among the Queens officers severely wounded were Lieutenant Holdsworth and the Adjutant, Lieutenant Simmons. It had been a highly successful action against an enemy superior in numbers and one which reflected great credit on all the regiments involved.
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German Tv Documentary about BALOCHISTANby DeraBugtiChannel7,494 views
he dead gallant. we proud on him.we can die but we can not be surrendered.
baloch heads always reamain up as it is nawab akbar bugti who killed himself but never give up
shangwani1 2 years ago
my dad told me about this major jeneral henry william.and i always hated him.
FaizBaloch1 2 years ago
if this video is real then very good efforts
zainleo95hotmailcom 2 years ago
I appreciate the effort, but this is just creepy.
combatcorrespondent 2 years ago