Naik Butta Singh, 4^th Bombay Rifles, Indian Order of Merit, 3^rd Class,

Won for Gallantry, 22 June 1898, against the Ogaden Somalis in East Africa.

The outbreak of the Sudanese mutiny at Fort Lubwas in September of 1897 had created a shortage of forces in East Africa (see attached maps), and it was initially unclear what size force would be required to put down the mutiny. These factors resulted in troops being requested from India.

The Headquarters Wing of the 4^th Bombay Rifles received orders to mobilize for service in East Africa.[1] Major Walter Quentin, 4^th Bombay Rifles, was given command and he selected six other British Officers, including the doctor Captain Kilkelly, who proved invaluable as he was full of "energy and enterprise". The Companies selected for service were one Company of Rajputs, one Company of Jats, one Company of Mussalmans, and one Company of mixed classes, which included half a Company of Sikhs. One of the men of this half Company was Rifleman Butta Singh. In connection with the despatch of the Wing to Mombasa, the following paragraph from the Pioneer of the 3^rd of March 1898 is of interest:

"The warning that the wing of the 4^th Bombay Rifles might be required to proceed to Mombasa only reached Army Headquarters, Fort William, late on the night of the 19^th February. On the 25^th the four Companies, fully equipped for service, accompanied by a section of a Native Field Hospital, left Bombay in the R.I.M. Steamer Dalhousie . They are timed to reach their destination on March 7^th, so that from the time of the first warning to the date of their arrival in Africa will be only 16 days. Their actual despatch has beaten the record."

They steamed into Mombasa Harbour on the morning of the 7^th of March 1898. The next three days were taken up by the disembarking of stores and equipment and conveying them to the camp about one and a half miles away. As there was no wharf, everything had to be landed by barge and then conveyed on small hand trolleys to the camp. The area of the camp swarmed with white ants that did a great deal of damage to the soldier's kits during the first night. The men were later housed in sheds, but the British Officers had to remain in tents that were far from comfortable due to the heavy rains that fell every night. They did have use of a cricket pavilion that had been placed at their disposal as a Mess.

At this point, it appeared that the services of the Wing would be required in Uganda to assist in an expedition into the Teita country. In anticipation of this possibility Major Quentin needed to investigate his options for the transport of his command. At this time the Uganda Railway was under construction and the railhead had just reached the notorious station at Tsavo. From there the troops would have to march with porter transport to Uganda. Major Quentin sent Lieutenants Duncan A. E. Will and William Wilford Bickford forward to Tsavo for the purpose of collecting the necessary porters. The pushing of the Uganda Railway out into the grasslands had chased off the herd animals creating a severe lack of food for the lion population of the area. The result was that several of the lions resorted to eating the railway workers. Lieutenants Will and Bickford were at Tsavo during the height of this lion scare. At night, they slept in the railway carriage, which, a few days after their departure, was cleared of its unsuspecting human occupants by lions. This incident is described by the hunter Colonel John Henry Patterson in his book The Man Eaters of Tsavo and has been dramatized in the recent motion picture Ghost and the Darkness. The fact that it was found impossible to raise any porters had saved the lives of Lieutenants Will and Bickford. This fact also contributed to the Protectorate Government deciding to utilize Major Quentin's force to punish the Ogaden Somalis in Jubaland.

On the equator in East Africa the land to the west of the Juba River was known as Jubaland and belonged to the Sultan of Zanzibar. In 1887 the Sultan leased the lands to the British East Africa Company and eight years later (1895) the Government took the lands over as part of the Uganda Protectorate. For some years the Ogaden Somalis had been causing trouble which culminated in an extensive slave raid into Jubaland in 1896. The Ogaden Chiefs were called to Kismayu by the Commissioner to meet at a Durbar. During one of the discussions one of the chiefs attempted to murder the Commissioner by throwing a knife at him. The Commissioner had been warned to expect something of this sort and had hidden a strong guard in other rooms of the residency. When the trouble began the guard reacted immediately by storming the room and killing all the chiefs except for a few who were able to escape by jumping from the windows of the residency. It was decided to take punitive measures to bring the Ogaden to order.

The 4^th Bombay Rifles were ordered to Kismayu by boat in detachments. The first detachment under the Adjutant, Lieutenant Charles A. W. Ford landed on the 4^th of April 1898. After landing they moved 12 miles inland to Turki Hill on the Juba River, and established a camp. On the 15^th of April Ford's detachment was joined by the Headquarters Company and an additional Company of the regiment.

As a point of disembarkation Kismayu presented some interesting difficulties. Kismayu is about 250 miles up the coast from Mombasa and has a sand bar that runs out from the shore about 2 or 3 miles. Vessels any larger than the smallest of native dhows must anchor off of this bar. To furnish transport for the expedition, 500 camels were sent to Kismayu and their disembarkation furnished a difficult problem. Eventually they were hoisted out into the water, secured to boats and made to swim to shore where they arrived half-drowned. The other main difficulty presented to troops landing at Kismayu was the march to Turki Hill. This march was 12 very trying miles along the Equator, with no shade or water and over heavy sand and large dunes some 20 to 30 feet high. Turki Hill was located on a sand mound on the banks of the Juba River, which was the boundary between Jubaland and Italian Somaliland. The river swarmed with crocodiles of the most savage type, which made it unsafe to draw water by hand from the bank. But, as this was the only water supply, it had to be drawn with buckets on long poles until a space had been stockaded into the river, making it safe to draw water and wash in safety. Even with this there was one incident where a soldier was seized by a crocodile that got through a chink in the stockade and was only saved by the quick thinking of an Indian Officer who happened to be near.

On the 15^th of April, Major Quentin moved out with a small force to reconnoiter Lake Dehek Wama and the surrounding country. This lake was 30 miles inland from Turki Hill and was the chief supply of water for Ogaden tribesmen after the close of the rainy season. The country around this lake was beautiful and park-like with splendid grazing which teemed with game. When no signs of the enemy were found the force returned to Turki Hill about a week later.

By the end of April the rest of the 4^th Bombay Rifles had arrived at camp after a trying ocean voyage and march across the dunes to Turki Hill. In early May, Major Quentin sent Lieutenant Stevenson, of the 23^rd Rifles, who was attached another 12 miles up the Juba to Yonti to build a stockade that could be defended by a small garrison. There were no trees on the British side of the Juba River for this purpose so they got permission from the Italian Resident, Signor Perducchi, to harvest the necessary trees for the work. These trees had to be transported across the Juba by two dug-out canoes through swift, crocodile infested waters. It was during one of these trips that Lieutenant Stevenson and Niak Chothu Singh lost their lives when one of the canoes tipped over. There is little doubt that they were seized by crocodiles as soon as they hit the water. By the middle of May, headquarters for the operation had been transferred to Yonti and strengthened by two Companies of the 27^th Baluchis Bombay Infantry under Captain Charles Oreil Oliphant Tanner. These companies had failed to get through to Uganda and were placed under Major Quentin's orders. On the 30^th of May a large party of Ogaden tribesmen appeared near Yonti killing one sarwan and several camels. A force was at once sent out in pursuit and running fight ensued, killing some 25 Ogaden without any casualties to themselves.

The next day, after leaving a garrison at Yonti, the main force moved about 20 miles to Helishid on the southern shore of Lake Wama and patrols were sent out to scour the country. By now it was evident that there was little chance of a full engagement with the Somalis who chose instead to attack the stragglers of a patrol or other small parties. As the Ogaden Somalis chief source of wealth lay in their cattle, which were magnificent animals, Major Quentin decided his strategy would be to concentrate on raiding their herds. On the 13^th of June a small party under Subadar Isar Singh forded the lake and successfully surprised an Ogaden village on the far side, rounding up a number of cattle and taking a few prisoners.

On the 22^nd of June 1898 a patrol of 41 Sikhs, including Rifleman Butta Singh, under Jemadar Radha Singh was sent out on reconnaissance from Helishid. They were ambushed by a large force of Ogaden and suffered very heavily, losing 27 killed, including the Jemadar, and 4 wounded (Rifleman Butta Singh was twice wounded). Apparently the party was caught without fixed bayonets and the enemy got among them before they had time to use their rifles. In this affair great gallantry was shown by rifleman Butta Singh, who, though twice wounded, and carrying Rifleman Maya Singh who was severely wounded, executed a very skillful firing retirement with four of his comrades, two of whom were also wounded. There is no doubt that these men were only able to return to Helishid due to Rifleman Butta Singh's quick and effective actions. He was at once promoted to Naik and subsequently received the 3^rd Class of the Indian Order of Merit for his gallantry. The official citation for this award reads:

"Naik Butta Singh, 4^th Bombay Rifles, was granted the 3 ^rd Class, Order of Merit, for conspicuous gallantry in action near Helishid, on Lake Wama, East Africa, on the 22^nd June, 1898, on which occasion, though twice severely wounded himself, he went to the assistance of Sepoy Maya Singh, who was mortally wounded, and after driving off several parties of the enemy, finally brought Maya Singh into camp with the assistance of two other sepoys. (G.G. O. 137 of 1899)."

Butta Singh's richly deserved award was the only gallantry decoration granted for this campaign. It is not known how long Butta Singh had served with the 4th Bombay Rifles, but it is certainly a significant feat of arms that, as a rifleman, he had the composure, the leadership skills, and enough understanding of field tactics to execute this withdrawal against such overwhelming odds with such few men.

The following day, after the attack on Naik Butta Singh's reconnaissance patrol it was feared that Helishid might be attacked. Lieutenant Bickford was sent forward to Helishid from Yonti with 100 men. They passed over the ground of the disaster of the day before and found that the enemy had carried off all the arms and ammunition of the men who had been killed.

Towards the end of July all posts were strengthened by the arrival of the 1^st Battalion (4 companies) of the Uganda Rifles, a temporary unit that had been raised in India from volunteers from the Indian Army. On the 3^rd of August 1898 the battle that proved to be the turning point of the expedition took place. Reconnaissance had located a large party of Ogaden Somalis with many cattle camped at the western end of Lake Wama at Yaka Dinta. Captain Fry, with a force of 300 men, forded the lake in the dark and, after a long night march, succeeded in surprising the Ogaden at dawn. A sharp fight ensued in which 62 Somalis were killed and many were wounded. Over 400 head of cattle were captured and more than 100 were shot dead. After the battle the retirement of Captain Fry's force was followed up by the Somalis who made several attempts to charge the column, but owing to the steadiness of the 4^th Bombay Rifles, the captured cattle were successfully driven and the retirement was completed without casualties. This fight was by no means as one-sided an affair as might appear. Although the Ogaden had very few firearms, if they succeeded in gaining close quarters with their spears and knives they were a most formidable foe. It should also be remembered that Captain Fry's force had covered 20 miles before the battle, fought the battle, and returned the 20 miles in 22 hours without a single man falling from the ranks. This was a significant accomplishment on the Equator of Africa.

On the 13^th of August the Ogaden Somalis wanted to make peace. A Durbar was held on the 15^th of September with the main Ogaden Chiefs and the High Commissioner, Sir Arthur Harding, announced the peace terms. The Somalis were to pay a fine of 500 cattle within one month and return all captured firearms. Two chiefs were held as hostages until the terms of peace were met. The cattle fine was paid grudgingly and only the worst and oldest of animals were produced.

On the 9^th of November the Expeditionary Force was broken up. On the 3^rd of December the wing of the 4^th Bombay Rifles embarked on S.S. Canara from Mombasa bound for Bombay. After a slow voyage they disembarked at Sassoon Dock on the 21^st of December 1898 and were inspected by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army, who congratulated them on the way they had "carried out their arduous task".

For their services on this expedition all officers and men were awarded the medal for East and Central Africa with the clasp bearing the date "1898". Major Quentin was decorated with the 3^rd Class of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar and Captains Fry, Tanner, and Kilkelly received the 4^th Class of the same order. Naik Butta Singh received the 3^rd Class of the Indian Order of Merit, the only gallantry decoration given in this campaign.

[1] The following account is compiled from James, Lt. Col. F.H., History of the 1st Battalion 6th Rajputana Rifles (Wellesleys), Aldershot : Gale & Polden Ltd, 1938, pp. 127-132; Magor, R.B., Africa General Service Medals, Privately Printed, pp. 132-133; and Government General Order: 137 of 1899.