Citroen is an iconic French Automobile brand which has been making Motor Cars for well over 125 years. In the 1920s and the 30s they embarked upon a number of Journeys through the wildest impenetrable parts of the World to prove the reliability of the ruggedness of the Citroen. The idea of putting these Expeditions together came from Andre Citreon who was the founder of the Company.
They first made Two Expeditions into the wilds of Africa as the French had a bunch of Colonies in Africa and they completed the Expeditions with a reasonable amount of success. The First of these being the crossing of the Sahara Desert by Motorcar in 1924. And then they made a Journey across the length of Africa from Bechar in Algeria in North Africa all the way down to Cape Town in South Africa becoming the first people to do so. Both these were accomplished using Half Track Citroen Vehicles and these were led by the Explorers Georges-Marie Haardt and Louis Audouin Dubreuil.
Being received by a British detachment at Landi Kotal near the Khyber Pass in June, 1931
And then in 1930 they came up with their most ambitious Expedition. One that involved retracing the steps of Marco Polo by crossing Central Asia and going all the way to China. This Route was the famous Silk Route as it was called and for centuries traders from all over the adjoining Regions used this Road for not only Trade but the exchange of ideas as well. As with their other Expeditions this was also supposed to be a first, the First Motorised Expedition to retrace the fabled Silk Route.
The Expedition had its own set of unique challenges. And these were not only Geographical and Logistical. It was Political as well. It involved getting the requisite Permissions from the Communists in Russia as well as the powers to be in China which was in the throes of a Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communists. And so the Expedition applied for permission was applied to the Russians for passage through Western or Russian Turkestan as that part of Central Asia was called.
But with just a few Months before the Expedition was to commence the Russians withdrew the permission and they now had to chalk out an Alternative Route. Which they did and now after crossing Persia instead of going into Western Turkestan they decided to take the Route through Afghanistan and up North crossing the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs and reaching Tashkurgan.
Once the Expedition commenced there arose new Challenges. Though the Afghanistan Civil War had ended, the situation in North Afghanistan and Routes into the Pamirs were far from being safe for the Expedition. So another detour was decided. It was decided that the Expedition would now crossover into India from Afghanistan and then they would take the Mountain track that connected Srinagar in Kashmir with Yarkand / Tashkurgan in Chinese Turkestan or what is now Xinjiang
So now a new Geographical challenge arose. That of crossing the Himalaya as well as the Karakorams besides all the other Regions. These were two of the Highest Mountain Ranges on the Planet but still they reckoned that they would be able to achieve the same. They decided to run the gauntlet.
So from Iran they entered Afghanistan via Herat and crossed the Country at great Speed and entered British India at where else but the Khyber Pass and now they were in relative safety and they proceeded towards Srinagar via Rawalpindi through the Jhelum Cart Road. In Srinagar they were personal Guests of the Maharaja and it was through the Maharaja’s territory they would travel all the way North across the Great Himalayan Range and the Karakoram Range.
The Pandethran Temple in Srinagar, Kashmir
They took the Silk Road from Srinagar which connected Srinagar with Gilgit as well as Skardu. So they drove from Srinagar towards the Wular Lake, crossed over the Rajdhan or Rajdhanigan or Tragbal Pass (around 11600+ feet) as it was called and entered the Gurez Valley which bordered the Kashmir Valley on the North. This was the first Motorised crossing of the Razdan Pass as well. From Gurez onwards the tough part started as they now had to cross the Snow Laden Burzil Pass on the Great Himalayan Range. And the Photographs attached show the condition of the Pass.
Infact to get to the Pass itself they had to disassemble the Vehicles and they were carried on foot by the Porters and then re-assembled when it was possible to drive these tough Half Tracks. They were tough but nothing compared to the Mountains. And rather than the Machines it was the hardy Mountain men who carried these Automobiles over the Mountains. They also set a World Record for the highest altitude that a Vehicle drove on at over 13500 on the Burzil Pass.
On the way down as well they had to face almost impossible situations and again they had no option but to disassemble the Vehicles and have them carried by the Porters. And they managed to make their way to Astore and then to Gilgit. From Gilgit they made their way to Gojal and to get over the Karakorams they chose the Kilik Pass which was parallel to the Mantaka Pass which was more frequently used but the Kilik Pass was relatively free of Snow and they carried the Vehicles over the Kilik Pass and descended into the Pamirs and were now across the Border of British India and firmly in Chinese Turkestan where they planned to meet up with the other Group which had started from Peking towards Central Asia. Of course the Group which came from Peking faced a lot of Political obstacles rather than the Geographical obstacles faced by what was called the Pamir Group. But that then is another Story.
All said and done it was the Citroen Haardt Expedition which showed that it was possible for Automobiles (with a lot of Human help) to cross this almost unassailable Mountain barrier.
Nowadays however due to the Political situation the Old Silk Route from Srinagar to Gilgit lies abandoned though you can cross the Razdan Pass and get into Gurez. And on the other side of the LoC a Motorable Road now gets you over the Karakorams via the Khunjerab Pass. The Kilik Pass being long forgotten.
Photo Credit : All Photos from the Internet / Citroen Haardt Expedition / Nationa Geographic/ Getty Images.