Chapter X: Part 10

The fortress of Jellalabad was found to be in a very dilapidated state, and the inhabitants disaffected to the government of the Shah. The Afghans collected to about ten thousand, and the walls of the fort being without parapets, and the garrison having only one day and a half supplies, on half rations, a sally was made on the 14th. of November, which routed the enemy, and enabled the troops to collect provisions, and erect works for the defence of the fortress, which called forth the efforts of all. While thus employed, the Afghans in great force again invested the place on the 27th. of November, but they were completely routed and dispersed by a sally of the garrison on the 1st. of December.

On the 9th. of January, 1842, the garrison was summoned to give up the fortress by the leader of the Afghan rebellion, in fulfilment of a convention entered into at Cabool with Major-General Elphinstone, who was taken prisoner at a conference, and died shortly afterwards; but Sir Robert Sale being fully assured of the bad faith of the insurgents, refused.

Captain Broadfoot, garrison engineer, and Captain Abbott, commissary of ordnance, aided by the indefatigable exertions of the troops, put the works into a state of defence to resist any Asiatic enemy not provided with siege-artillery; but the place was kept in a continual state of alarm by the occurrence of one hundred shocks of an earthquake in the course of a month, one of which, on the 19th. of February, occasioned the parapets to fall, injured the bastions, made a breach in the rampart, destroyed the guard-houses, reduced other portions of the works to ruins, and demolished one third of the town. With that unconquerable spirit of perseverance for which the troops had already been distinguished, they instantly turned to the repair of the works. Sirdar Mahomed Akbar Khan, Barukzye, the assassin of the late Envoy, and the treacherous destroyer of the Cabool force, flushed with success, approached with a numerous army to overwhelm the little garrison; he attacked the foraging parties on the 21st. and 22nd. of February; but was astonished at finding the works in a state of defence, whereupon he established a rigorous blockade. From that time to the 7th. of April, the reduced garrison was engaged in a succession of skirmishes, in which the 13th. had opportunities of distinguishing themselves; particularly detachments under Captains Pattisson and Fenwick, Lieutenants George Wade and W. Cox.

Information was received on the 5th. of April, that the force under Major-General, now General Sir George Pollock, G.C.B., had experienced reverses in the Khyber, and had retraced its steps towards Peshawur; and on the 6th. a _feu-de-joie_ and salute of artillery were fired by Mahomed Akbar, in honour of the event. It was also reported that the Ghazees had been defeated, and that the Sirdar had retreated into Lughman. Sir Robert Sale resolved to anticipate the last-mentioned event, by a general attack on the Afghan camp, with the hope of relieving Jellalabad from blockade, and facilitating Major-General Pollock’s advance. Directions were accordingly given to form three columns of infantry, the central one consisting of the 13th., (mustering five hundred bayonets,) under Colonel Dennie, C.B.; the left comprising a similar number of the 35th. Native Infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Monteath, C.B.; and the right composed of one company of the 13th., one of the 35th. Native Infantry, and the detachment of Sappers, under the command of Lieutenant Orr, amounting to three hundred and sixty men, was commanded by Captain (afterwards the celebrated Sir Henry) Havelock, of the 13th.: these were supported by the fire of the guns of No. 6 field battery under Captain Abbott, the whole of the small cavalry force being under Captain Oldfield and Lieutenant Mayne.

At daylight on the morning of the 7th. of April, the troops issued from the Cabool and Peshawur gates. Mahomed Akbar Khan, had formed his force of about six thousand men in order of battle for the defence of his camp; its right resting on a fort, and its left on the Cabool river. The attack was led by the skirmishers and column under Captain Havelock; this drove the enemy from the extreme left of his advanced line of works, which it pierced at once, and proceeded to advance into the plain; the central column at the same time directed its efforts against a square fort, upon the same base, the defence of which was obstinately maintained. Colonel Dennie, while nobly leading his regiment to the assault, received a shot through his body, which, to the deep regret of officers and men, shortly after proved fatal.

The rear of the work having been finally gained by passing to its left, orders were given for a combined attack upon the enemy’s camp; this was brilliant and successful. The artillery, advanced at the gallop, and directed a heavy fire upon the Afghan centre, while two columns of infantry penetrated his line near the same point, and the third forced back his left from its support on the river, into which some of his horse and foot were driven. The Afghans repeatedly attempted to check the advance by a smart fire of musketry—by throwing forward heavy bodies of horse, which twice threatened in force the detachments of infantry under Captain Havelock, and by opening three guns, screened by a garden wall; but in a short time they were dislodged from every point of their positions, their cannon taken, and their camp involved in a general conflagration.

By about seven o’clock in the morning the battle was over and the enemy in full retreat in the direction of Lughman. Two Afghan cavalry standards were taken, besides four guns which had been lost by the Cabool army and Gundamuck forces. Great quantities of _matériel_ and stores were, together with the enemy’s tents, destroyed, and the defeat of Mahomed Akbar, in open field, by the troops he had boasted of blockading, was complete.

Armourer Sergeant Henry Uylett, of the 13th., captured Mahomed Akbar’s standard, which he took from a cavalry soldier, whom he killed. The standard is of scarlet cloth, with a green border, and crimson and yellow fringe. It is triangular in shape and swallow-tailed. About the centre a patch of light blue cloth is introduced, on which are neatly sewn some characters in yellow cloth, being an extract from the Koran, signifying “The Omnipotent God! In the name of God, the clement and the merciful! With God as a helper, victory is nigh.” This and two other flags, captured by the 13th. on the same day, were deposited in Chelsea Hospital.

The enemy’s loss was very severe; the field of battle was strewed with the bodies of men and horses, and the richness of the trappings of some of the latter denoted that chiefs of rank (several being present and taking part in the action) had fallen.

In February following, the thanks of Parliament were accorded to the Governor-General of India, and to the officers and troops employed in Afghanistan, the resolutions being moved in the House of Lords by the Duke of Wellington, and in the House of Commons by Sir Robert Peel, who, after eulogizing the gallant conduct of Sir Robert Sale and the garrison of Jellalabad, (appropriately designated “ILLUSTRIOUS,”) specially deplored the death of Colonel Dennie, justly described as “one of the most noble and gallant spirits, whose actions have ever added brilliance to their country’s military renown.”

FIRST JELLALABAD MEDAL.
]

On the 26th. of August, 1842, it was officially announced in the “London Gazette,” that “In consideration of the distinguished gallantry displayed by the 13th. Light Infantry, during the campaigns in the Burmese empire and in Afghanistan, Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve of that regiment assuming the title of the ‘13th., or Prince Albert’s Light Infantry;’ and of its facings being changed from yellow to blue.

“Her Majesty has also been pleased to authorize the 13th. Regiment of Light Infantry to bear on its colours and appointments a ‘Mural Crown,’ superscribed ‘Jellalabad,’ as a memorial of the fortitude, perseverance, and enterprise, evinced by that regiment, and the several corps which served during the blockade of Jellalabad.”

SECOND AFGHAN CAMPAIGN.
1842.

When the news of the Afghan tragedy reached India, it was resolved to rescue the gallant garrison, and to restore British Supremacy beyond the Indus. Accordingly a force was collected at Peshawur, in the north of the Punjaub, under Major-General Pollock, early in 1842. Of this army, the Queen’s regiments consisted of the 3rd. Light Dragoons, and the 9th. and 31st. Foot. On the 5th. of April the Khyber Pass was forced, although strongly occupied, and its mouth having a breastwork of stones and bushes.

Precipitous and rocky hills, on the right and left, presented great natural obstacles to the ascent of troops, and it was an undertaking of no ordinary difficulty to gain the summit of such heights, defended as they were by a numerous body of the enemy; the columns destined to accomplish this most important object, moved off simultaneously with the main one intended to assault the entrance, but were compelled to make a considerable detour to the right and left, to enable them to commence the ascent. The right column, consisting of four companies of the 9th. Foot, and the same number of companies of the 26th. and 64th. Native Infantry, were under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, of the 9th. regiment, and Major Anderson, of the 64th. Native Infantry. The left column, consisting of four companies of the 9th. Foot, a similar number of companies of the 26th. and 64th. Native Infantry, together with four hundred Jezailchees, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Moseley and Major Huish, commenced the ascent, led by Captain Ferris, of the regiment of Jezailchees.

Both columns, after considerable opposition, succeeded in routing the enemy, and gaining possession of the crest of the hills on either side. While the flanking columns were in progress on the heights, Captain Alexander, in command of the artillery, placed the guns in position, and threw shrapnel among the enemy when opportunity offered, which assisted much in their discomfiture. Upon the heights being gained, the main column was advanced to the mouth of the Pass, and commenced destroying the barrier, which the enemy had evacuated on perceiving their position was turned; portions of the right and left columns were left to keep the heights, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Moseley and Major Anderson, and Major Huish and Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor continued their advance to crown the hills in front, and on each side, which were covered with the foe, who appeared determined to contest every inch of ground; but the gallantry of the troops carried everything before them.

Thus was accomplished without the payment of any tribute, the passage of the Khyber Pass,[87] and the road to Jellalabad was gained. The siege of that place (as already shewn) had been abandoned, when Major-General Pollock arrived on the 16th. of April, and found the garrison, after a siege which had lasted upwards of five months, in excellent health, with a plentiful supply of ammunition, and all most anxious to march on Cabool.

ADVANCE ON CABOOL.
1842.

Major-General Pollock urged upon Lord Ellenborough, the new Governor-General of India, the advance upon Cabool; the 31st. regiment, which had followed by forced marches, joined at Jellalabad on the 5th. of May, having undergone much privation on the way, and the loss of several men from famine and fatigue; while at Jellalabad the army was halted in wretched tents, the climate being so unhealthy during the summer, that the natives use it only as a winter residence. Soon the effect of this displayed itself; the days became so oppressive, that both officers and men were obliged to dig deep holes underground in which to shield themselves, in some slight measure, from the burning heat of the sun, the thermometer rising in the tents as high as 126°.

In consequence of the extreme heat the troops suffered a loss which the most sanguinary encounter with the enemy could not have exceeded. Neither was it in men alone that the army was daily losing its efficiency. From the valley of Jellalabad having been so long the seat of war, the fertile land had become a desert,—the wretched half-starved camels could find no forage on the bare face on the sand, and they died by hundreds; their dead bodies lying about in all directions, swollen with the sun, and emitting the most pestilential exhalations, together with the filth and dirt of a standing camp of fifty thousand men, added to the disease which raged among the troops.

Eventually it was found necessary to divide the force, and the fourth brigade, in which was the 31st. regiment, was ordered to march under Brigadier Monteath into the Shinwaree country, to punish some refractory tribes, who had attacked several convoys, and been guilty of many acts of murder and plunder. The warlike and turbulent Shinwaree tribes sheltered themselves in their strongholds, which were formed in a narrow valley, strengthened by many forts and stockaded enclosures, while the heights on either side were defended by numerous sunghas, or breastworks of large stones, which were so constructed as to enable them to dispute every inch of ground with an advancing force.

On the 26th. of July, Brigadier Monteath prepared to attack the enemy near Mazeena with his whole force; and accordingly, leaving his camp standing under an efficient guard, he moved towards the position occupied by the Afghans, who were prepared, and nothing loath to meet him. The engagement was commenced by the 31st. regiment, seconded by the 33rd. and 53rd. Native Infantry, ascending the heights, and driving the Shinwarees from their breastworks, and along the ridges of the hills, while the 10th. Light Cavalry, in the valley below, charged them whenever they showed front on level ground. The camp followers and pioneers had been furnished with combustibles to burn the forts, as the Shinwarees were driven out of them, which service was very efficiently performed. Meanwhile, on the heights, the enemy disputed every foot of ground until taken at the point of the bayonet, and Lieutenant M‘Ilween, of the 31st., was killed in leading one of the attacks.

The Afghans being driven from their defences, the artillery, under the command of Captain Abbott, played upon them with great effect; and after contesting the day until every fort and place of defence had been taken and destroyed, they fled, dispersing themselves among the neighbouring hills, where it was impossible to pursue them. Their loss was very great, including most of their leaders.

After this action the brigade returned to Jellalabad, and on the 20th. of August the army marched in two divisions _en route_ to Cabool. Three days afterwards the troops arrived at Gundamuck, when information was received that the enemy, under the Chiefs Hadji Ali and Khyroolah Khan, occupied the village and fort of Mammoo Khail, about two miles distant, and it was determined to attack them there on the following morning. Accordingly on the 24th. of August, at four o’clock, a.m., the troops advanced, and the attack on Mammoo Khail was attended with complete success.

Major-General Pollock left Gundamuck on the 7th. of September, and on the day after the troops were engaged with the forces of Mahomed Khan and the Ghilzie chiefs at the Pass of Jugdulluck; in the valley were seen the blackened remains of the unfortunate Cabool force. No further opposition was shewn to the advance of the army until nearing the valley of Tezeen;—the road from this place to Khoord Cabool was through a succession of lofty hills, called the Huft Kotul, or Eight Hills.

On the 10th. of September, it having been ascertained that Akbar Khan, with twenty thousand men, had established himself in the Khoord Cabool Pass, in order to cover the capital and fight a pitched battle with the British, the second division was ordered to join the first by a forced march to Tezeen, where Major-General Pollock was encamped. This junction was effected on the 11th. of September, with little loss, although a running fight was kept up the greater part of the way.

Shortly after daybreak on the 13th. of September, the army moved off its ground towards the Tezeen Pass, the advanced guard being commanded by Sir Robert Sale. After moving carefully along the Pass for about two miles, the Afghans were discovered, in great force, occupying strong positions on the heights on either side, while their artillery and cavalry were formed some distance farther on in the Pass itself. The action commenced by a heavy fire on the advanced guard of the British; and the distance being too great for musketry, from the effect of which also the Afghans were covered by extensive sunghas, for the whole length of their position, it was judged necessary for the troops to ascend the heights and drive them from their posts at the point of the bayonet. This service was most effectively performed on the left heights by the 9th. and 31st. regiments, and on the right by the 13th. Light Infantry.

The companies ascended the face of the mountain under a most galling fire, from the effects of which many casualties occurred, and not returning a shot until the ledge was gained: a combined volley within ten yards of the enemy, followed by an immediate charge of bayonets, drove him from his defences with great slaughter, and the heights were gained.

Being reinforced by fresh troops, the British pushed on, and storming one entrenchment after another, threw the Afghans into great confusion. The artillery was now brought up, and played upon them with terrific effect, while the British cavalry, having charged and overthrown their horse, posted in the Pass, and taken their guns, together with the state tent of their commander, Mahomed Akbar Khan, victory, even at this early period was in favour of the British arms; but the warlike mountaineers continued the struggle with desperate valour. Attack after attack was made upon the troops occupying the posts from which the enemy had first been driven. Reckless of life, the stern fanatics came on to be shot down from the defences which they had themselves thrown up. In a series of desultory attacks the day declined, and the British having obtained possession of every height commanding the Pass, the remains of the Afghan army made a _détour_ among the hills, and attacked the British rear-guard, commanded by Colonel Richmond, but they were warmly received, and entirely discomfited.

So complete was the defeat of the Afghan army on the 13th. of September, that Akbar Khan escaped from the field accompanied only by a solitary horseman. The enemy acknowledged to have lost fifty-three chiefs and persons of consequence and seven hundred men. The casualties on the part of the British amounted to one hundred and eighty-five.

No impediments now existed to the advance of the British on Cabool, at which city the army arrived on the 15th. of September, and encamped on the race-course. On the following morning the British colours were hoisted on the highest pinnacles of the battlements of the Bala Hissar, (upper fort,) on the spot most conspicuous from the city; the National Anthem was played, and a royal salute fired from the guns of the horse artillery, the whole of the troops present giving three cheers. The colours were left in the Bala Hissar to be hoisted daily as long as the troops should continue at Cabool.

All the objects of the campaign were thus gained, and the rescue of the prisoners effected, amongst whom were several officers[88] and ladies, (Lady Sale being of the number,) together with thirty-six non-commissioned officers and men of the 44th. regiment—one hundred and five in all.

CANDAHAR.
1842.

As the 13th. Light Infantry are so intimately connected with the defence of Jellalabad, in like manner the 40th. regiment is associated with Candahar. Major-General Sir William Nott, like Sir Robert Sale, refused to obey the order from Major-General Elphinstone to surrender. After the insurrection at Cabool, a general rising took place throughout Afghanistan, and the insurgents in the neighbourhood of Candahar being headed by Prince Sufter Jung, the son of Shah Soojah, and brother of Prince Timour, (Governor of Candahar,) who had left on the 29th. of November, 1841, to place himself at the head of those whom Mahomed Atta Khan was assembling on the eastern frontier. The insurgents under these two chiefs having approached within eight miles, Major-General Sir William Nott, G.C.B., moved out to attack them on the morning of the 12th. of January, 1842, the 40th. forming the advance. This regiment, during the previous year, had suffered severely from sickness, the number of deaths amounting to one hundred and fifty-nine. A strong position, with a morass in their front, had been taken up by the enemy, which rendered the approach of the troops difficult. The Afghans were, however, quickly routed. At this period, and until the 7th. of May, the soldiers remained accoutred every night.

During the month of February considerable numbers of Afghans, under the command of Prince Sufter Jung and other chiefs assembled in the vicinity of Candahar, plundering the villages, and by every possible means urging the inhabitants to join in an attack upon the British troops, especially those occupying the cantonments; but owing to the severity of the weather the Major-General was unable to move, and such a measure became impracticable till the 7th. of March, when, the enemy having approached closer, Sir William Nott marched with the remainder of his army against them; they were followed, and dispersed in every direction. While the force were thus absent, a strong detachment of the enemy made an attack on the city, and succeeded in burning the Herat gate, but were repulsed with great loss by the troops in garrison. On the 25th. of March, Sir William moved out with a force (of which the 40th. formed a part,) to the support of a brigade detached under the command of Colonel Wymer, C.B., of the Bengal army, to forage and to afford protection to the numerous villages, when the Afghans were driven across the Urghundaub in the greatest confusion.

Major-General (now Lieutenant-General Sir Richard) England, who had at first been unsuccessful in conveying stores to Candahar from Scinde, having been reinforced at Quetta, again advanced, and accomplished his object. On the 28th. of April he attacked the enemy’s strong position in front of the village of Hykulzie. The 41st., which formed part of his force, was the only Queen’s regiment that shared in this action; two out of the three columns of attack were led by Majors Simmons and Cochran, the reserve being under Major Browne, all of the 41st. Foot.

KELAT-I-GHILZIE.

On the 19th. of May, a force, composed of the 40th. and other corps, under Colonel Wymer, marched for the purpose of drawing off the garrison of Kelat-i-Ghilzie, a hill fort eighty-four miles from Candahar, on the road to Ghuznee, which had been held with difficulty throughout the winter, and had for some months been closely blockaded. It arrived there on the 26th., but on the 21st. the fort had been attacked by four thousand Ghilzees, at four in the morning, whom the defenders had gallantly defeated. The troops consequently were only occupied in destroying the defences, etc., till the 1st. of June, when they returned to Candahar.[89]

Major-General Nott moved with his army on the 10th. of August, upon Cabool. The 40th. and 41st. regiments formed a portion of his force, the wounded, sick, and weakly men being sent to India _viâ_ the Kojuck Pass, with the troops under Major-General England. Captain White, of the light company of the 40th., was appointed to command the advance, composed of the light companies of the 40th. and 41st., and the 2nd., 16th., 38th., 42nd., and 43rd. regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, and the regiment of Kelat-i-Ghilzie.

BATTLE OF GONINE.
30TH. AUGUST, 1842.

Shumshoodeen, the Afghan governor of Ghuznee, about three o’clock in the afternoon, on the 30th. of August, brought nearly the whole of his army, amounting to about twelve thousand men, into the vicinity of the camp at Gonine, distant thirty-eight miles south-west of Ghuznee, where Major-General Nott moved out with one half of his force, and after a short but spirited contest, defeated the Afghans, capturing their guns, tents, ammunition, etc., and dispersing them in every direction. One hour more of daylight, and the whole of their infantry would have been destroyed. Shumshoodeen fled towards Ghuznee, accompanied by about thirty horsemen. Major Hibbert, of the 40th., was especially noticed in the despatches. Two officers were killed and four wounded; thirty-six non-commissioned officers and men were killed and sixty-two wounded.

RE-CAPTURE OF GHUZNEE.
6TH. SEPTEMBER, 1842.

Major-General Sir William Nott, on the morning of the 5th. of September, moved upon Ghuznee. Lieutenant-Colonel Palmer, Political Agent, commanding at Ghuznee, upon promise of honourable treatment and safety on the march to Cabool, and by the orders of Major Pottinger and Major-General Elphinstone, had, in March, 1842, capitulated. The garrison, which only occupied the citadel, was exhausted by fatigue and want of water, and the men had suffered greatly from cold, the thermometer having been fourteen degrees below zero. Upon Shumshoodeen, Nephew of Dost Mahomed Khan, swearing on the Koran that he would give the Sepoys a safe escort to Hindoostan, they consented to deliver up their arms; but had scarcely marched out of the citadel, when they were attacked by the fanatical Ghazees. An English officer, his wife, and their servants, were massacred on the spot, and native women, children, and Sepoys were butchered in heaps. Colonel Palmer was put to the torture, after which, he and nine only surviving officers were thrown into a dungeon. The city was found to be full of men, and a range of mountains running north-east of the fortress was covered by heavy bodies of cavalry and infantry; the gardens and ravines in the vicinity being likewise occupied. Major Sanders, of the Bengal Engineers, was directed to reconnoitre the works; this brought on some smart skirmishing, and Captain White, of the 40th., commanding the light companies, was pushed forward, when the Major-General determined to carry the enemy’s mountain positions before encamping his force. This was effectively performed by the troops, and the Afghans were driven before them until every point was gained. Two regiments and some guns were sent from the camp, (which had been pitched,) to occupy the village of Bullool, about six hundred yards from the walls of Ghuznee, upon the spur of the mountain to the north-east, as this appeared to be a desirable spot for preparing a heavy battery.

During the night of the 5th. of September, the engineers sappers, and miners, and infantry working parties were employed in erecting breaching batteries; before the guns, however, had reached the position on the morning of the 6th., it was ascertained that the fortress had been evacuated, and at daybreak the British colours were flying from the citadel. The 40th. had one private killed and three privates wounded; the 41st had the same number wounded. In these operations the loss was much less than might have been expected, from the numbers and positions of the enemy, and from the fact of the troops being obliged to move under the range of the guns of the fortress. Three hundred and twenty-seven Sepoys of the 27th. Native Infantry were here released from the state of slavery to which they had been reduced by the Afghans. A party was detained, under Lieutenant G. White, to take down the celebrated gates of Somnauth, concerning which so much discussion afterwards arose.

On the 10th. of September the troops continued their march on Cabool, when Shumshoodeen, Sultan Jan, and other chiefs having assembled about twelve thousand men, occupied, on the 14th. and 15th. of September, a succession of strong mountains, intercepting the advance at Beenee Badam, and Mydan, but they were dislodged, and driven from their position. No further opposition was encountered, and on the 17th. the troops, under Major-General Nott, reached Cabool, and joined the force under Major-General Pollock.

After the strong town of Istalif had been captured by the troops under Major-General McCaskill, on the 29th. of September, in which the 9th. Foot and the light companies of the 41st. bore a gallant part, the army broke ground on its return to India on the 12th. of October, the grand bazaar at Cabool, named the Chahar Chuttah, where the remains of the British envoy had been exposed to public insult, having been first destroyed. On arriving at Jellalabad, the fortress was destroyed.[90] During the march through the Passes several attacks of the Afghans were repulsed. According to the wish of Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General, the garrison of Jellalabad proceeded in advance of the rest of the troops, in order to make a triumphant entry. The medals (mural crown pattern) granted to the garrison for the defence and battle near Jellalabad had been forwarded a few days previously, in order that they might be worn on its entrance into Ferozepore, which took place on the 17th. of December.

The following Queen’s regiments took part in these campaigns:—_Cabool_, 1842.—3rd. Light Dragoons, 9th., 13th., 31st., 40th., and 41st. regiments. _Candahar_ and _Ghuznee_.—40th. and 41st. regiments. _Jellalabad_.—13th. Light Infantry.

THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR.
1878, 1879, 1880.

Dost Mohammed, our antagonist in the war of 1842, died Ameer of Afghanistan in 1863, and was succeeded by his third son, Shere Ali. His authority was disputed by his brother, but, after a series of bloody conflicts, he, being aided by Sir John Lawrence with arms and money, overcame his rivals, and in 1869 was sole ruler of Afghanistan. In March of the same year he had an interview at Umballa with Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India, and was granted another subsidy; but not meeting with the succour he desired, Shere Ali returned home in a very suspicious and dissatisfied state of mind. Lord Northbrook, during his Vice-royalty, met the prime minister of Shere Ali at Simla in 1873, who, failing to obtain any positive assurance of support in case of an attack by Russia, his master concluded that his best policy would be to make friends with that power, and he accordingly entered into correspondence with General Kauffman, the Russian commander in Central Asia. In 1877 he refused to allow a British Resident at Cabul, and broke off all communications with the Indian Government, the result being that his annual subsidy was withheld. In June, 1878, a Russian envoy, Stoletoff, with a military escort, was received with honour at Cabul, and a treaty signed, constituting Russia the guardian of the Ameer. Upon this, Lord Lytton sent as envoy to Cabul, Gholam Hussein Khan, with letters to the Ameer informing him of the intention of the Indian Government to send to Cabul an English mission, but the envoy was dismissed with presents, and intercourse with the English declined. A special mission was despatched from Peshawur under Sir Neville B. Chamberlain, commander of the Madras Army, with whom was Major Cavagnari, which proceeded to the fort of Ali Musjid at the entrance of the Khyber Pass, but was there stopped, and threatened with attack if it proceeded further, September 22nd. As the escort with the mission was not strong enough to force a passage, Sir Neville returned to Peshawur. As it was impossible that the Indian Government could submit to see a Russian Envoy received with honour at Cabul, and its own officers refused admission into the country, an ultimatum was sent to Shere Ali, to the effect that if a British Resident was not received at Cabul war would be declared. No answer to this having been received within the time prescribed, November 20th, on the next day war was formally proclaimed. It was decided to invade Afghanistan in three columns, operating by the Khyber and Bolan Passes, and the Kuram Valley. A fourth column, called the Thal-Chotiali Field Force, was placed under the orders of General Donald Stewart in Southern Afghanistan, and a reserve column was formed at Jumrood. The column commanded by General Sir S. Browne, V.C., known as the First Division of the Peshawur Field Force, crossed the frontier the day war was proclaimed, and marched direct upon

ALI MUSJID,
NOVEMBER 21ST., 1878.

Ali Musjid is a strong fort on a steep detached hill, about six miles from the frontier, commanding the deep gorge of the Khyber Pass, and flanked by batteries on the hill sides. The fort was armed with fifteen guns, and the spurs of the hills were occupied by the enemy, their right resting on a ridge covered with a line of breastworks, forming a position of great strength. General Browne’s force was divided into four brigades. The first, under General Macpherson, consisting of the 4th. Battalion Rifle Brigade, the 20th. Bengal Infantry, and the 4th. Ghoorkas, with a mountain battery, was directed to make a long detour, and occupy the Pass a mile or two beyond the fort. The second brigade under Col. Tytler, composed of the 1st. Battalion 17th. Foot, the 1st. Sikhs, the Guides, and a mountain battery, was ordered to take a hill opposite the fort, on which were some batteries, and to turn the enemy’s position; and the third and fourth brigades, under General Appleyard, C.B., comprising the 51st. and 81st. regiments, the 14th. and 45th. Sikhs, and the 6th. and 24th. Native Infantry, with a mountain battery, and a battery of Horse Artillery were to march up the valley. As the troops advanced the fort opened fire on them, and the fire being returned by a battery of forty-pounders, the effect on the fortification was soon visible. The 81st. and the 14th. Sikhs threw out lines of skirmishers to clear the advanced defences of the Afghans; a battery of nine-pounders was got into position, and the forty-pounders poured a destructive fire into Ali Musjid, and soon reduced its guns to silence. A general advance was ordered, the 51st. and the Sikhs threatened the enemy’s left, and both sides of the steep hill slopes were covered with infantry in skirmishing order, keeping up a heavy musketry fire on the Afghan defences. The skirmishers pushed forward till they came nearly abreast of the fort, and some gallant but unsuccessful attacks were made upon the enemy’s entrenchments, but it was evident that the fort and batteries could not be carried by a direct attack but with immense loss, and as night was coming on, a halt was ordered. Nothing was yet known how Macpherson and Tytler had succeeded in their part of the operations; both brigades had met with enormous obstacles on their march, and the first failed to reach the point assigned to it in the plan of the attack; but these movements, and the arrival of Tytler’s brigade in the night at its destined position, struck the Afghans with terror. The defenders of Ali Musjid on hearing that a force was in their rear which would cut off their retreat, abandoned their post with precipitation and fled, leaving their fires burning, and their guns loaded. In their rapid flight towards Jellalabad, they were intercepted by Tytler’s brigade, which captured a large number of prisoners, among them being the Ameer’s Master of the Horse. In the morning Ali Musjid was occupied by the troops without further resistance. Twenty-two guns were taken in the fort, and seven more in a battery on the ridge, with large stores of ammunition, food, and clothing. The Afghans were so cowed by the capture of a fort they believed to be impregnable, that Sir S. Browne pushing rapidly onwards, reached and established himself at Jellalabad, with scarcely a shot being fired. The British loss was Major Birch, Lieut. Fitzgerald and thirty-five men killed. The regiments engaged were the 10th. Hussars, 11th. Bengal Lancers, the 17th., 51st., 81st. Regiment, and Rifle Brigade, the 6th., 14th., 20th., 27th., and 45th. Bengal Infantry; 1st. Sikh Infantry, 4th. Ghoorkas, Bengal Sappers and Miners, and four Batteries of Artillery.

PEIWAR KOTUL.
DECEMBER 2ND., 1878.

Major-General Roberts, V.C. (now General Sir F. Roberts, V.C.), at the outbreak of the second Afghan war was Quartermaster-General of the Bombay Army, and was appointed by the Viceroy, Lord Lytton, to the command of the force which was to invade Afghanistan by the Kuram Valley. The Kuram Field Force was not numerically strong, but it included some of the finest regiments in the Indian Army, with two seasoned British regiments; and most of the officers were men of much experience in campaigning. The cavalry, consisting of one squadron of the 10th. Hussars and the 12th. Bengal Cavalry, was under Colonel Hugh Gough, C.B., V.C., and the infantry, in two brigades, were commanded by Brigadier-General Cobbe, of the 17th. Regiment, and Brigadier-General Thelwell, C.B. At dawn on November 21st., the same day that the column under Sir S. Browne commenced its advance, General Roberts crossed the river at Thall, and a few days later occupied the Kuram fort, which the enemy abandoned on his approach. The Afghans then took up a very strong position on the Peiwar Kotul, about twelve miles off, where they determined to make a stand. On November 30th. the British force approached the enemy’s position, and a heavy fire was opened upon them from the ridge occupied by the Afghans. For a time a sharp exchange of shots took place, but the British were gradually withdrawn from under fire, and encamped beyond the range of the guns of the enemy. The snow was falling thickly in the Peiwar Kotul, the cold was intense, and supplies were difficult to keep up, but three days elapsed while General Roberts reconnoitered the almost impregnable post of the Afghan army, and matured his plans. It was found that the position of the enemy was too strong to be successfully attacked in front, so the General determined, while making a feigned frontal attack, to become a real attack in time, to turn the Afghan position by a long and difficult night march of nearly ten miles, to the summit of the hills on the right of the Kotul. This march, one of the most hazardous ever undertaken, he directed in person, and failure meant ruin, if not utter annihilation; as the entire force at his disposal was little more than 3,300 men, of whom only 900 were Europeans, against an army of 3,500 regular Afghan troops, with eighteen guns, besides hundreds of tribesmen. The attention of the enemy was occupied in their front by the pioneers constructing a battery, and a demonstration made by some artillery and cavalry; when at 10 p.m., December 2nd., the troops detailed for the turning force, consisting of the 29th Native Infantry and 5th. Ghoorkas, a wing of the 72nd. Highlanders, the 2nd. Punjaub Infantry, and 23rd. Pioneers, under Brigadier Thelwell, with a four gun elephant battery, fell silently into their ranks without sound of drum or bugle, and the march commenced. The encampment they left was 8,000 feet above the sea level, and as the column ascended the cold became intense, a cutting wind blowing; the ground also for the first half of the distance traversed was very rough and broken, intersected by ravines and watercourses. The men tramped on in silence, when an act of treachery nearly proved fatal to the whole force. Two shots were fired in rapid succession in the ranks of the 29th. Native Infantry, which startled all, and a halt was immediately made. The offenders could not then be discovered, but the general ordered the 5th. Ghoorkas, and two companies of the 72nd. to head the column, and the march was resumed.[91] Shortly before daybreak the van of the column found itself in contact with the first Afghan outpost, and its way barred by an abattis of felled trees, eight feet in height. The enemy lining this defence fired upon the men of the 5th. Ghoorkas, who, gallantly led by Major Fitzhugh and Captain Cook, sprang over the breastwork and engaged the Afghans hand to hand. Driven from this defence, the enemy fell back upon another, eighty yards in the rear, and made another stand; but the Ghoorkas, supported by the 72nd., and aided by the fire of two guns, under Captain Kelso, who was shot through the head while advancing, carried stockade after stockade in the grey light of the dawn; and within half an hour of the firing of the first shot, all were in the possession of the British, and the line of the Afghan defence turned. General Roberts flashed the news of his success to Brigadier-General Cobbe, who had commenced to carry out the front attack on the Khotul, and had been heavily engaged with the batteries at the head of the Pass since daybreak. For some hours he made no great progress, as the enemy resisted desperately, but he kept a large number of the enemy within their entrenchments, and prevented them from going to the assistance of their defeated comrades on the left. Roberts now advanced against the Afghan main body, which had been strengthened with fresh troops, and taken up a strong position in the dense woods surrounding the plateau. The Punjaubees were met with such a heavy fire that they fell back, being unsupported by the Ghoorkas and Highlanders, in spite of the general’s efforts in person to rally them. The 23rd. Pioneers and an elephant battery now came up, and the Ghoorkas and 72nd. followed; and, after a hot contest of some hours, the Afghans finding their retreat threatened, and General Cobbe’s brigade in possession of their defences in front, fled in such haste that they left their tents standing, their baggage, and everything they had. By this time the short winter day was drawing to a close, and that night the British troops encamped at an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, but luckily with good fires, as the thermometer registered over twenty degrees of frost. In this brilliant action the total British loss was—Major Anderson, of the 23rd. Pioneers, and Captain Kelso killed, and General Cobbe wounded; and ninety Europeans and natives killed and wounded. The Afghan loss was severe, and six field pieces and eleven mountain guns were captured. A few days after this defeat, Shere Ali fled from Cabul to Balkh, with the intention of seeking refuge in Russia; but, while waiting for permission from the Russian Government to take this step, fell ill of a fever and died, in February, 1879. The British troops engaged at Peiwar Kotul were the 12th. Bengal Cavalry, the 8th. and 72nd. Regiments, the 23rd. and the 29th. Bengal Infantry, the 5th Ghoorkas, and the 2nd. and 5th. Punjaub Infantry.

CHARASIA.
OCTOBER 6TH., 1879.

On the death of Shere Ali, his son Yacoub Khan, who had rebelled against, and had been imprisoned by his father, succeeded him as Ameer of Afghanistan. Negociations for peace were opened with him, and he visited the British camp at Gundamuck, where he was received with honour by General Sir S. Browne and his staff. After some preliminaries a treaty was signed and ratified on May 30th., 1879; by which the Ameer agreed—to place the Foreign relations of Afghanistan under British control, to have a British resident at Cabul, and to allow the occupation of the Khyber Pass, and the Kuram and Pisheen Valleys, by the British; who were to pay him an annual subsidy of six lakhs of rupees, while he adhered to his engagements. A lasting peace seemed now to be assured, and in accordance with the terms of the treaty; Sir Louis Cavagnari, with Mr. Jenkins as his Secretary, Dr. Kelly as Medical Officer, and an escort of twenty-five Cavalry and fifty Infantry of the Guides, under Lieut. Hamilton, were despatched to Cabul, arriving there on July 24th. For a time all went well. Daily supplies of fruit, milk, and vegetables, were sent from the Ameer to the Envoy, who rode out continually with his staff and a small escort, to the various places of interest in the neighbourhood of the city. But on August 5th. some regiments from Herat arrived at Cabul, who used insulting language to the Resident, and quarrels and outbreaks arose between them and the men of his escort. These regiments had never been defeated by the British, and they taunted the Cabulese with being cowards. On the night of September 2nd., the Herat regiments aided by the populace, attacked the Residency, and after an heroic resistance lasting for hours, the Envoy, the three English Officers, and almost all the escort were slaughtered; a few natives only escaping. Twenty-four hours after, the news of the massacre reached the Kuram Valley, and from thence was telegraphed to Lord Lytton at Simla. No time was lost in endeavouring to avenge the outrage. General Sir F. Roberts, who was then at Simla, started the next day for Ali Kheyl, with orders to advance as rapidly as possible on Cabul; General Sir Donald Stewart who had but just evacuated Candahar, was ordered to return and reoccupy that place, and a reserve of 5000 men was assembled between Rawul Pindee, and Peshawur. On September 13th., General Baker took command of the troops at the Shutargardan Pass, the 23rd. Pioneers, the 5th. Ghoorkas, and the 72nd., and occupied a position at Kushi. Want of transport animals was the greatest obstacle to a rapid advance. When the previous campaign was ended, as usual with mistaken economy, everything was sold and scattered, and now everything had to be replaced at any expense. All the available animals near the frontier were secured, and with the utmost exertions Sir F. Roberts managed to collect sufficient cattle to make an advance, with three or four months supplies for about 6000 troops, and 3,500 camp followers. On September 27th. he started from Ali Kheyl, and the advance commenced. On the route to the Shutargardan, some attacks were made on the baggage convoys by the Mangals, who were repulsed, and on the 29th. the General arrived at Kushi, where he met with the Ameer, Yakoub Khan, who had ridden into the camp the preceding day and surrendered himself, with his eldest son and ministers. The Ameer stated that his power was gone, and that he had been dethroned by his rebellious troops. An Officer present wrote—“What his true reasons for this step may have been, we never knew; certainly not the one he gave, for no Afghan ever told the truth intentionally.” Ultimately the complicity of the Ameer with the Massacre of the British Mission was proved, and he was sent to India, where he was detained as a state prisoner.

Meanwhile Sir F. Roberts pushed on towards Cabul, and on October 6th. encountered the Afghan Army, who had taken up an almost impregnable position at Charasia, about eleven miles from that city. The valley here is narrowed to a mere defile, on both sides of which the enemy had placed guns in position, and had lined the steep and barren heights with troops. Only one brigade of Infantry, that of Brigadier Baker, with the addition of the 92nd. Regiment was to the front, the remainder of the force with the cavalry, under Brigadier-General Macpherson, being on march in the rear, in charge of the commissariat and reserve ammunition, and did not come up till the battle was over. The General convinced that any delay before the enemy would lead to a general rising of the tribes, determined to attack at once; and as their front position was of great strength, made his real attack by a flanking movement on their right, while he occupied their left by a feint. He divided his force into two columns; one, under General Baker, was to storm the heights of the Chardeh Valley which formed the Afghan right; and the other under Major White, of the 92nd., was directed to attack the Sang-i-Nawishtu defile; and as General Macpherson’s brigade was advancing, a small reserve only was left in defence of the camp.

Baker’s column advanced over the bare hills, flanked by steep rocky crags, easily defensible against any force, more than 1,500 feet in height; and carried the first position, though the Afghans, armed with Sniders and Enfields, kept up a continuous fire, and it was nearly two hours before they retreated to a second ridge, about six hundred yards in the rear. This position too was carried by the troops in successive rushes, supported by the fire of the mountain guns; and by 3.45 the enemy’s defences were captured, or taken in reverse.

In the meantime Major White had turned his feigned, into a real attack on the Sang-i-Nawishtu defile, though there the enemy was strongly posted, and outnumbered his men ten to one. Finding that his artillery was powerless, he led his men in person from one steep ledge to another, till at length being opposed face to face by an overwhelming number of Afghans, he took a rifle, and shooting their leader dead, his followers fled, leaving four mountain guns behind them. He pursued them through the Pass, and effected a junction with General Baker in the rear of the enemy’s position. By four o’clock, the Afghans were in complete rout, flying towards Cabul, with the loss of two standards, and all their guns (twenty pieces), three hundred killed and a vast number wounded. The British loss was twenty killed, and less than seventy wounded.

General Macpherson having arrived in the camp, Sir F. Roberts marched the next morning towards Cabul, and on October 8th. established himself in the cantonments of Sherpur, where seventy-three guns were taken,[92] and occupied the Bala Hissar, or citadel of Cabul.

The troops engaged in this affair, were the 9th. Lancers, 12th. Bengal Cavalry, 14th. Bengal Lancers, 5th. Punjaub Cavalry, the 67th., 72nd., and 92nd. Foot, Bengal Sappers and Miners, 23rd. and 28th. Bengal Infantry, 5th. Ghoorkas, 5th. Punjaub Infantry, one Battery R. H. A., and two Mountain Batteries.

CABUL.
DECEMBER, 1879.

Though the whole country was bitterly hostile to the British, for some weeks, with the exception of a skirmish or two, and an explosion of gunpowder in the Bala Hissar, by which Capt. Shafto, and several Ghoorkas were killed; the occupation of Cabul by Sir F. Roberts and his army remained undisturbed. In the beginning of December, a change took place. Instigated by an aged and fanatic Moollah, a chief called Mohammed Jan, and other leaders, the Afghans of the Maidan and Ghuznee districts, and of the Kohistan country to the north of Cabul, began to collect in thousands, with the intention of expelling or massacring the invaders of their country.

Sir F. Roberts at first was not aware of the strength of this combination, but knowing of their advance, and the importance of dispersing the tribes before they could effect a junction, two columns were formed to march out and attack the enemy, December 8th. One under General Macpherson, went towards Urghandeh, to meet the enemy coming from Maidan, and the other under General Baker, was dispatched _viâ_ Charasia, but also towards Maidan, with the object of intercepting the enemy in their anticipated retreat.

General Macpherson first met with the Kohistanees, who were marching to join Mohammed Jan, near Chardeh, and a sharp fight ensued. The guns did some execution, but the nature of the ground prevented the cavalry from being of any service. Mohammed Jan was now at the head of about ten thousand men, and succeeded in placing himself between General Macpherson and Cabul, and also, as it turned out, between his infantry, and the cavalry and guns moving to join him on the morning of December 11th. The four guns, escorted by a squadron of the 9th. Lancers, and forty-four men of the 14th. Bengal Lancers, under General Massey, after a four-mile march, fell in with the enemy, but as only about two thousand showed themselves, they were supposed to be a body of fugitives flying from either Macpherson or Baker.

Massey, without the orders of General Macpherson, at once attacked, but the fire from his guns had no effect in checking the advance of the enemy’s masses, and the handful of cavalry, after two desperate charges, were compelled to retreat with the loss of twenty-seven killed, including four officers, and twenty-five wounded.[93] The guns being stuck in a water-course, were spiked and abandoned; but were afterwards retaken by Colonel Macgregor, on the arrival of Macpherson’s column.

On seeing the advance of Macpherson’s infantry, the Afghans ceased following the retreating cavalry, and rushed away direct for Cabul. Sir F. Roberts on this, started from Sherpur with the 72nd. regiment, to secure the defile barring the road to the city, and was but just in time to prevent its being taken. The steady fire of the Highlanders checked the advance of the enemy, and after half an hour’s contest they retired, and occupied the heights to the south of the Bala Hissar.

Next day, General Macpherson dispatched Colonel Money with a detachment of the 67th., 72nd., the 3rd. Sikhs, and 5th. Ghoorkas, to drive the enemy from the heights to the south of Cabul, who had hidden from view five or six thousand men, and awaited the attack with confidence. After several hours of fighting the troops dislodged the Afghans from the low hill, but were too few to carry the position above.