"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٨‎٤] (١٧٨٢/٣٢٧)

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marine, 1 ,000 European troops, comprising the 65th and part of the
47th Foot and some artillery, and an equal strength of native sepoys.
The first point of attack was the Qasimi capital of Ras -al-Khaimah
which was bombarded on the 12th November 1809 and captured the
next day by house to house fighting with little logs, some thirty large
war vessels being afterwards destroyed in the harbour. On the Uth, in
consequence of an alarm that a force of Wahhabis, with whom the
commanders of the British expedition had been cautioned against coming
into conflict, was approaching, the troops were hurriedly re-embarked,
and the enemy, whose spirit was still unbroken, defiantly re-occupied the
town.
A visit was then paid to Lingeh on the Persian Coast, where some
piratical Arab war vessels were destroyed, after which operations were
undertaken against the fort of Laft on the island of Qishm and resulted
in its evacuation by the enemy. The fighting at Laft was the most
severe in the course of the campaign and involved a loss to the British
of 11 killed and 55 wounded.
In January 1810 Colonel Smith at the instance of the Saiyid of
'^nian, the restoration of whose authority at certain places where it had
been overthrown was one of the secondary objects of the expedition, made
a successful attack, with the help of an ; Omani contingent, upon the
port of Shinas, which was desperately defended by a strong garrison in
the Wahhabi interest. The Saiyid did not venture to re-occupy the
position thus recovered; and, on the withdrawal of the British and
himself on board ship at the conclusion of the operations, a Wahhabi
geneial from Baraimi fell upon and routed some of his forces which
remained on shore. How Colonel Smith justified his direct action in
this instance against the VV ahhabis, which was contrary to his general
instructions, is not clear: possibly the prohibition applied only to that
part of his duty which was connected with the Qawasim and with
piracy.
After the Shinas affair the British armament revisited both the
Pirate Coast and the Persian littoral, and some vessels were found and
destroyed at Rams; but the fleets of 'Ajman and Sharjah eluded
discovery, except four vessels belonging to the latter which were detected
and burned at Mughu. The ports of Mughu, Nakhilu, Charak, Kunj
and Band Mu ; allim on the Persian side, which all belonged to the
guilty or suspected class, were apparently found empty of large
shipping.
Part of the expedition returned to India in February 1810, imme
diately on the conclusion of these proceedings; and the remainder left