Chitral Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Major General Charles Townshend

by Nash, N. S.

• ISBN13: 9781848842762
• ISBN10: 1848842767
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books

Summary

Charles Townshend achieved international fame, as a captain, when he commanded the besieged garrison at Chitral (now Pakistan) in 1895. As a result, he became known as 'Chitral Charlie'. Decorated by Queen Victoria and lionised by the British public, his passage up through the Army was assured and, in 1916, he was given command on 6th Indian Division and sent to Mesopotamia. Here he won a series of stunning victories as his ill-supported division swept all before it in a devastating advance up the River Tigris. He triumphed brilliantly at Kurna, Amara and Kut but then, against all the tenets of military common sense, he advanced up the River Tigris to take Baghdad. By now over-reached, he was confronted by a determined Turkish foe. His Division was depleted and exhausted. Townshend withdrew to Kut, where he was besieged and forced into a humiliating surrender. The mis-treatment of the British POWs by the Turks only added to Townshend's shame. This fascinating and objective biography examines Townshend's controversial conduct during and after the siege and assesses whether his dramatic fall from grace and popularity was fair.

Table of Contents

Maps and Figures	p. vii
Preface	p. viii
Acknowledgements	p. ix
1861 and 1919. The Beginning and Almost the End	p. 1
1861-1885. Egypt and the Sudan	p. 5
1886-1893. India and the Hunza-Nagar Expedition	p. 28
1893-1895. The Chitrál Campaign	p. 54
3 March-20 April 1895. Besieged in Chitrál	p. 71
1895-1898. Celebrity and Return to the Sudan	p. 93
1899-1900. India and South Africa	p. 118
1900-1903. Service in the United Kingdom and the Canadian Expedition	p. 132
1903-1908. India	p. 141
1909-1911. South Africa	p. 150
1911-1914. Major General's Command, the Territorial Army and India	p. 154
1915-1916. The Campaign in Mesopotamia	p. 164
October-November 1915. The Advance to Ctesiphon and the Retreat to Kut	p. 195
November 1915-April 1916. Besieged	p. 220
April 1916-October 1918. Prisoner of War	p. 271
1918-1924. Soldier to Civilian	p. 282
1924-2010. Epilogue	p. 308
'Mesopotamia'	p. 316
Bibliography	p. 317
Index	p. 318
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