Meanwhile, the British had assembled 15,000 men at Peshawar under Major-General Sir Robert Low, with Brigadier General Bindon Blood serving as his Chief of the Staff. They set off about a week after Kelly left Gilgit. Accompanying Low was Francis Younghusband who was officially on leave and serving as a special correspondent for the London Times. On 3 April they stormed the Malakand Pass which was defended by 12,000 local warriors. There were significant engagements 2 and 10 days later. On 17 April Umra Khan's men prepared to defend his palace at Munda, but finding themselves greatly outnumbered, they slipped away. Inside the fortress the British found a letter from a Scottish firm offering Maxim guns at 3,700 rupees and revolvers at 34 rupees each. The firm was ordered to leave India. Low was still crossing the Lowari Pass on the day Kelly entered Chitral. Although Kelly got to Chitral first, it was the massive size of Low's force that forced the enemy to withdraw. The first person from Low's force to reach Chitral was Younghusband who, without permission, rode out ahead of the troops. (Max Hastings performed the same stunt in 1982.) That night Younghusband, Robertson, and Kelly shared the garrison's last bottle of brandy.