Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, unrest spread throughout Waziristan. The British campaign of 1919–1920 to re-establish control in the Tank Zam and Ahnai Tangi witnessed some of the heaviest casualties in frontier history.
Field dispatches by General Skeen reveal how Mahsud snipers and coordinated lashkars exploited defiles and rocky spurs, forcing the General Staff to abandon purely punitive expeditions in favor of permanent road networks and forward bases like Razmak.
Sources
- 1.Operations in Waziristan 1919–1920General Staff, Army Headquarters India
- 2.Mizh: A Monograph on Government Relations with the Mahsud Tribe — Evelyn Howell