 The siege of Malakand was Winston Churchill 's first experience of actual combat , which he later described in several columns for The Daily Telegraph , receiving £ 5 per column ; these articles were eventually compiled into his first published book , The Story of the Malakand Field Force , beginning his career as a writer and politician . Of the book 's publication he remarked , " [ it ] will certainly be the most noteworthy act of my life . Up to date ( of course ) . By its reception I shall measure the chances of my possible success in the world . " Of the siege of Malakand , and of the entire campaign against the Pashtun tribes in northern India , Churchill remarked that they were a period of significant " transition " . 
