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ZAIMTJKHT EXPEDITION, 
UNDER BRIGADIER-GENERAL J. A. TYTLER, Y.C., C.B, 
CAPTAIN G. T. CARRE, R.A. 
A short account of the capture of Zawa, the stronghold of the 
ZaimukhPs, on the 13th and 14th December, 1879, may be interesting 
to some of my brother officers, as it was the first occasion on which the 
7-pr. jointed gun was used against an enemy. 
The resistance of this very strong natural position was but feeble, 
the arms of the Zaimukhts consisted only of knives, jezails (long 
barrelled flint guns), matchlocks, and a few Enfields, which could not 
compete with our long-ranged weapons. Our loss was small—one 
officer and three sepoys killed and a few wounded; the enemy^s was 
about 200. 
The capture of the position with so few casualties was mainly 
due to the effective fire of the jointed guns, their superiority over 
the 7-pr. (200 lbs.) being very marked in range, accuracy, and 
shrapnel fire. General Tytler's skilful dispositions were particularly 
happy in affording opportunity for the display of these advantages ; 
and the manner in which his orders were carried out, and the guns 
worked over most difficult country by Major Haughton, R.A., reflected 
credit on the battery. 
Description of Position. 
The strength of Zawa lay in its natural defences. It consists of a 
group of five villages, lying in a hollow plateau or basin, approachable 
through a winding gorge six to seven miles long and, at first, 100 yds. 
wide, but narrowing gradually until at length the cliffs meet overhead, 
forming a cave or tunnel, through which the stream from the plateau 
has cut its way. A short distance from the head of the defile, an 
