GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
In April 1938 the Fakir assembled a large lashkar (tribal raiding party) at Mami Rogha, which proceeded to raid convoys on the Bannu- Razmak road and blockade the Tochi Scout post at Datta Khel. To deal with this threat, 3rd Brigade advanced to Dosalli and joined the Razmak Brigade to form a force called ‘Wastrike’, and Powell, having been appointed Acting Brigadier, assumed command of the Brigade.
The advance of ‘Wastrike’ to Mami-Rogha began on 2 June 1938. The 1/16 Punjabis, detailed as advance guard, marched out of camp at 0445 hours. In the face of opposition the Brigade advanced up the steep, bushy slopes and inflicted casualties on the enemy. By 1115 the 3rd Brigade had secured its objectives and the Razmak Brigade passed through to occupy the Mami-Rogha Valley. The next two days were occupied in bringing up supplies. On 5 June Razmak Brigade stormed the high ridges separating the Valley from Datta Khel, including the Lowari-Narai Pass, from where the road descends to the Datta Khel Fort some four or five miles distant. On 6 June units from ‘Wastrike’ (including the 1/16th) advanced over the Lowari-Narai Pass and reached the Fort, ending its month long siege.
3rd Brigade remained in the area to construct a post on the Pass and the tribesmen mostly confined their activities to sniping at night. On the evening of 14 June a party of about 70 tribesmen, with two home-made artillery pieces, shot up the camp just as the officers were sitting down to dinner, and on the 16th it was necessary to mount a minor operation to protect the camp’s water supply. However, the Madda Khel had by then had enough, and submitted on 28th June.
In early July, the Fakir of Ipi assembled another big lashkar in the Kharre area (the north-west corner of Waziristan). On 10 July 3rd Brigade advanced via Degan and Wuzghai to disperse it. The brigade had to pass through difficult, mountainous country in the face of considerable opposition, the weather was extremely hot, and the operation was a most arduous one for the troops involved. The Fakir’s headquarters were destroyed and a quantity of rifles, ammunition and other supplies captured. The Fakir himself slipped away and, owing to the inaccessibility of the terrain and the proximity of the Afghan border, the pursuit had to be abandoned. On 18 July ‘Wastrike’ was dispersed and the situation in northern Waziristan remained quiet for some time.
During the operations in Waziristan in 1938 total casualties amounted to 62 killed and 268 wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Powell was awarded the D.S.O. and mentioned in despatches.
In March 1940 Powell was again appointed Temporary Brigadier, commanding 20 (Indian) Brigade, consisting of 2/8 Gurkha Rifles, 2/7 Gurkha Rifles and 3/11 Sikh Regiment. The Brigade formed part of the 10th Indian Division, commanded by Major-General W. A. K. Fraser, then, from May 1941, Major-General William Slim.
Brigadier Powell commanded 20 Indian Brigade, 1940-42, as part of ‘Iraqforce’, during the Anglo-Iraqi war and in the Syria-Lebanon campaign, and as part of ‘Paiforce’ during the campaign in Persia. As Slim recalled in his memoirs, ‘We had scrambled through skirmishes of the Iraq rebellion, been blooded – but not too deeply – against the French in Syria, and enjoyed the unrestrainedly opera bouffe of the invasion of Persia. We had bought our beer in Haifa and drunk it on the shores of the Caspian. We could move, we could fight, and we had begun to build up that most valuable of all assets, a tradition of success. We had a good soldierly conceit of ourselves. Now in March 1942, in spite of dust storms... it was stimulating to be in what we all felt was a critical spot, waiting for the threatened German invasion of Turkey.’
Brigadier Powell relinquished command of 20 Indian Brigade in March 1942 and returned to England. He died on 8 August 1942 and was buried at Bedford Cemetery, Bedfordshire.
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