Our Soldiers Part 16

The little force at Cabul was now isolated. Between that place and the Shaturgurdan the natives were in a restless and excited state. Two attacks by 3000 men had been made on the garrison holding the crest of the Shaturgurdan, 300 in number. These bravely sallied out, attacked the enemy in the open, and killed large numbers of them. General Gough, with the 5th Punjaub Cavalry and 5th Punjaub Infantry and four guns, was therefore sent from Cabul to bring down from the Shaturgurdan all the stores acc.u.mulated there and the garrison, and then to desert the place, which would shortly be closed by snow.

Several executions now took place at Cabul, of men who had shared in the attack on the Emba.s.sy. Many of the villagers were also hung for shooting at bodies of our troops; and the position of the British force at Cabul was that of a body holding only the ground they occupied in the midst of a bitterly hostile country. The Ameer was powerless, and, indeed, his goodwill was more than doubtful. He was regarded as a prisoner, although treated with all courtesy; and feeling his own impotence, and being viewed with hostility by both parties, he resigned his position as Ameer, and asked to be sent into India, which was done.

The abdication of the Ameer really took place on October the 12th, but it was not publicly known until the 28th.

On the 4th of November, Brigadier-General Gough returned with the garrison of Shaturgurdan, which he had safely brought off just as their position was becoming almost untenable, so large was the body of men a.s.sembling round them. The roads were now carefully examined upon the way down to Jellalabad, and communication was opened with the force occupying that valley. Some of the cavalry were sent down to the valley, as it was clear that with all the efforts the commissariat could make, sufficient quant.i.ties of forage could not be collected for their support during the winter. Up the Khyber Pa.s.s troops were slowly coming, destined in the spring to join the force at Cabul, should it be necessary to carry on further operations.

The Sherpur cantonments were now occupied, and were made the headquarters of the force. These cantonments consisted of barracks surrounded on three sides by a lofty wall, steep hills rising at the back. They had been built by the Ameer for his own troops, but had never been used for the purpose. The winter was now setting in. Snow began to fall on the hills around, and ice formed in the pools every night. Several expeditionary columns were sent out round the country to bring in provisions and grain, and these were attended with great success. The enemy were, however, collecting in several places, specially at Kohdaman and Maidan, and had stopped the influx of provisions, which the natives were ready enough to sell for sums which to them were handsome indeed.

Two columns were told off to march out and attack these parties of the enemy. But the movement was an unfortunate one. The force under General Macpherson found Mahommed Jan near Chardeh, and pushed on the 14th Bengal Lancers, who came across several thousand men on their way to join Mahommed Jan. A sharp fight ensued. The guns sh.e.l.led the enemy, but the water-courses prevented our cavalry from being of any service. Mahommed Jan had with him 10,000 men, and, pa.s.sing General Macpherson, placed himself between him and Cabul, and there watched the movements of our troops.

Shortly afterwards, four Horse Artillery guns, under Major Smith Wyndham, moved along the Argandeh road to join the infantry. Brigadier Ma.s.sy, with a squadron of the 9th Lancers, and 44 men of the 14th Bengal Lancers, escorted the guns. After a four-mile march, the advanced troop reported the enemy to be in sight. It was apparent that the Afghans had thrown themselves between the infantry and the guns; but as only 2000 or 3000 appeared, it was thought that they were fugitives, flying either from General Macpherson or General Baker.

As they came streaming down the hill, General Ma.s.sy got his guns into action. After a few sh.e.l.ls had been fired, the enemy advanced in full force. Four thousand men were extended in the shape of a crescent, marching in good order, and in rear was an irregular body numbering 6000. The four guns pitched their sh.e.l.l rapidly into the thick of the enemy; but no effect was produced in the way of breaking the line of advance. It never wavered, but came steadily on; and as General Ma.s.sy had no infantry with him, he was obliged to retire. The guns fell back a little, and again opened fire. The enemy's bullets were now dropping fast among the cavalry and guns. Thirty of the 9th Lancers dismounted and opened fire with their Martini carbines, but the enemy were too numerous to be checked by so small a body of men.

While the artillery were in action, Sir F. Roberts with his staff joined General Ma.s.sy. General Roberts ordered him to send the Lancers at the enemy at a charge. Colonel Cleland led his squadron of 126 Lancers of the 9th full at the advancing ma.s.s, the 14th Bengal Lancers, 44 in number, following in his wake. On the right, Captain Gough, with his troop of the 9th, also took his men into action at the enemy's left flank. Two hundred and twenty men, however, against 10,000 could scarcely be expected to conquer. The three bodies of cavalry disappeared in a cloud of dust. They were received with a terrific fire, which killed many horses and men, and, charging bravely on into the midst of the enemy's infantry, were surrounded, and their progress blocked by sheer weight of numbers. The _melee_ was a desperate one.

Many of the soldiers were struck from their horses. Some were dragged up again by their comrades, others were killed upon the ground. The chaplain of the force, the Reverend Mr Adams, had accompanied the troopers in the charge, and extricated one man from the midst of the enemy under a heavy fire, for which he was recommended for the Victoria Cross.

When the dust cleared away, it was seen that the cavalry charge had made no impression upon the enemy, who were still steadily advancing across the fields. The Lancers had fallen back, having suffered terribly. Two of their officers, Lieutenants Hersee and Ricardo, had been left on the ground dead, with sixteen of their men. The colonel and Lieutenant Mackenzie were both wounded, as were seven of the troopers. This squadron rallied upon Captain Gough's troop, which had kept better together, and still held its post between the guns and the enemy. A second charge was ordered; but it was not pushed home, the country being of extraordinary difficulty for cavalry, owing to the water-courses which cut it up. As Major Smith Wyndham was falling back with his two guns, which had been advanced after the first charge, he found one of the other guns stuck in a water-course. The greatest efforts of the remaining horses were insufficient to draw it from the mire in which it was bogged. Lieutenant Hardy was killed by a shot through the head, and the gun was abandoned. The other three guns were taken back 400 or 500 yards farther. They were then stopped by a channel, deeper and steeper than any which had been before met, and here they became hopelessly bogged. They were spiked and left in the water, and the drivers and gunners moved off with the cavalry just as the long line of the enemy came upon them.

General Macpherson's troops, which had been sent for by General Roberts, were now showing down the Chardeh Valley. At their sight the enemy turned off from the Sherpur road and made direct for the city. General Roberts sent a message to Brigadier Gough, commanding at Sherpur, ordering 200 men of the 72nd Highlanders to go out to the gorge at a double. The cavalry retired steadily, keeping up a fire with their carbines, and checking the advance of the enemy. But they could not have stemmed the rush had not Colonel Brownlow, with 200 rifles of the 72nd, arrived at the nick of time. These opened fire instantly upon the enemy, who charged down upon the village. The steady fire of the Highlanders checked the rush, and after half an hour's persistent fire the enemy were forced back, their entrance to Cabul having been frustrated. They occupied, however, a position on the heights to the south of the Balar Hissar region.

General Macpherson had broken up a large body of Afghans higher up the valley, and pursued them towards Argandeh. As he came back, he came upon the scene of the charge, and recovered the bodies of Lieutenants Hersee and Ricardo, and the troopers who had been killed. The guns had already been carried off by Colonel Macgregor, who, with a small scratch lot of Lancers and artillerymen whom he had collected, worked round into the village, which had been left by the main body of the enemy, and, putting down the opposition of the villagers, carried off the guns.

The next day a body of 560 men, composed of portions of the 67th Foot, the 72nd Highlanders, the 3rd Sikhs, and 5th Ghurkas, made an attack upon the enemy, who had established themselves on a lofty peak south of Cabul. The enemy occupied the crest in strength, and away on the south, hidden from our view, had 5000 or 6000 men waiting for our attack to develop. After several hours of fighting, the little British force drove the Afghans from the low hill, but were unable to carry the position above. No more troops could be spared, and ammunition ran short. It was determined, therefore, to put off the attack until morning. At eight o'clock General Baker left Sherpur with a strong force, and attacked the enemy's position. After desperate fighting, he stormed the ridge. Great ma.s.ses of the enemy in the meantime were moving round, so as to threaten the road to Sherpur. The 9th Lancers charged with great gallantry among them, and defeated them. Captain Butson, who commanded the Lancers, was, however, killed, and two other officers wounded. Several other brilliant charges were made, and the plain was kept clear of the enemy.

Our position, however, although actually victorious in the field, was getting more and more serious. The city was now in open revolt. Large numbers of natives continued to arrive and reinforce the enemy; and it was rapidly becoming clear that the British force, although strong enough to hold the Sherpur cantonments or the Bala Hissar, would not be able to maintain itself in both. Upon the next day, the 15th, desperate fighting again took place. General Baker, with 1200 bayonets and 8 guns, left the cantonments to make another attempt to clear the hills, and in this he succeeded, but only after the greatest efforts. Several officers were killed or wounded, but the enemy were driven from their first position. Just as they had done this, a body of from 15,000 to 20,000 of the enemy marched out upon the plain, and made towards the position captured by General Baker.

Steadily they advanced, and the sh.e.l.ls which our mountain guns sent among them, and the volleys poured down from the hills, did not suffice to cause the slightest faltering in their advance. Steadily they came forward, and desperate fighting took place. A position held by the 5th Punjaub Infantry was carried by their attack; two guns were lost; but the rest of the positions were held. There were now 40,000 men, at least, gathered round the British forces, and General Macpherson was ordered to fall back to Sherpur with all his force. General Baker was to hold the village he had occupied since the morning, until all the troops from the heights were within the walls. The movement was well carried out, and although some loss took place as the troops fell back, by nightfall all the British forces were gathered in the cantonments of Sherpur.

For some days fighting was suspended, the Afghans being busy in plundering the Hindoo portions of the city, and in preparing for an attack. The British forces in Sherpur were now fairly besieged, and it was considered certain that nothing could be done until the arrival of troops from Jugdulluck and Gundamuck, down in the Jellalabad Valley.

Unfortunately the position had been considered as so secure from attack, that no steps had been taken to demolish the old forts and villages standing round Sherpur, and these were now occupied by the enemy, who kept up a steady fire upon the cantonments. Upon the 18th the enemy made an attack upon the place, but this, although hotly kept up, was repulsed without much difficulty.

On the 19th, General Baker made an a.s.sault upon a small fort situate at a few hundred yards from the cantonment, from which the enemy had greatly annoyed us. A portion of the place was blown up, the Afghans being driven from it after severe fighting. Skirmishing went on each day; but the Afghans could not bring themselves to make another attack until the night of the 22nd, when 20,000 men advanced to storm the British position.

The garrison had received warning, and at four in the morning signal fires were seen burning, and the fire of the enemy's skirmishers began.

The enemy crept quietly up, and at six o'clock, with a shout, the whole body rushed out from the villages and orchards round the place, and charged upon the walls. They opened fire with a tremendous roar, but this was drowned by the roll of musketry which broke out from the whole circuit of the walls, where the men had been lying for the last three hours, rifle in hand, awaiting the attack. Some of the enemy pushed forward to within eighty yards of our rifles, but beyond this even the bravest could not advance. For a few hours they skirmished round the place; but finally fell back, and the attack was abandoned.

With the morning came the welcome news that General Gough had reached the Cabul plain, and the cloud of dust arising in the distance showed that the enemy had also heard of our reinforcement, and was marching out to attack him. The garrison of Sherpur at once sallied out and attacked the Afghans, creating a diversion, and killing large numbers of the enemy. By nightfall the whole of the Afghans were driven into Cabul.

Upon the following day General Cough's force arrived, and the British were again masters of the country. The whole of the Afghans engaged in the attack fled during the night, and the British marched into Cabul without resistance. This was virtually the end of the fighting at this point.

The time now pa.s.sed quietly, and it was not until the month of May that any serious fighting took place. Then the tribesmen again began to muster. General Stewart was on his way from Candahar, and the tribes, feeling that if any hostile movement against us was to be successful it must be undertaken before the arrival of the reinforcements, a.s.sembled in great numbers. General Macpherson moved out against them, and another battle took place at Charasia, and after some very severe fighting the enemy were scattered.

Sir Donald Stewart's march had been uneventful as far as Shahjui, the limit of the Candahar province. Here the Teraki country begins, and the Mollahs had been actively preaching a holy war, and had collected several thousand men. As we advanced the villages were deserted. Upon arriving at Ahmed Khel, the enemy were found to have taken up a position in front. Our baggage stretched far in the rear, and it was all-important to prevent the column being outflanked. General Stewart therefore determined to attack at once. The two batteries of artillery opened fire upon the enemy, who numbered from 12,000 to 15,000, and who, at a signal, rushed headlong down from their position, and charged upon General Stewart's force.

This charge was executed by some 3000 or 4000 Ghazees, as they were called--that is to say, fanatics sworn to give their lives to carry out their object of exterminating the hated infidel. These men were armed, some with rifles and matchlocks, some with heavy swords, knives, and pistols, others with pikes made of bayonets or pieces of sharpened iron fastened upon long sticks. Some were on foot; some on horseback. So sudden and unexpected was the attack, so swiftly did they cross the four or five hundred yards of intervening ground, that they came upon the British before preparations could be made for their reception.

Cavalry were moving in front of the infantry, and these, before they could be got into line for a charge, were surrounded by the enemy. In an instant they were lost to sight in the cloud of dust and smoke caused by the battle; and in the confusion a troop charged to the right in rear of our infantry line, and burst into the 19th Punjaub Native Infantry, in rear of the General and his staff. All was for a moment confusion.

The ammunition mules were stampeded, riderless horses dashed hither and thither, and behind the cavalry came in the Ghazees with a furious rush, and a hand-to-hand fight took place.

So impetuous were they, that on the left they swept round in the rear of our infantry; and the results would have been most terrible, had not Colonel Lister, V.C., commanding the 3rd Ghurkas, formed his men rapidly into company squares, and poured a tremendous fire into the fanatics.

All along the line the attack raged, and so hurriedly had the affair come on that many of the men had not even fixed bayonets. Desperate was the hand-to-hand fighting; and valour more conspicuous than that of the Ghazees was never shown. But the three regiments, British, Sikh, and Ghurka, to whom they were exposed, held their own, and poured rolling volleys into the ranks of the enemy. So fiercely did these charge that they came up to within thirty yards of the muzzles of Major Waters'

guns, which were firing case and reversed shrapnel, and mowed them down in hundreds. The 2nd Punjaub Cavalry charged again and again in the most gallant manner, and protected the guns from the Ghazees' attacks.

The General, surrounded by his escort, was in the midst of the fight, the enemy having burst in between the guns and the 59th Foot, and officers and troopers had alike to fight for their lives, several of the escort being killed. At last, however, the Ghazees fell back before the terrific fire, and the 1st Punjaub Cavalry, coming up from the rear, took up the pursuit.

The fighting had lasted but an hour; but of the enemy 1000 dead lay upon the field, besides those bodies which had been carried off, and their wounded must have been even more numerous. Among our troops 17 were killed and 126 wounded. Our native allies, the Hazaras, seeing the Afghans defeated, took up the pursuit, and the rout of the enemy was complete.

Ghuznee fell without opposition, the fighting men having been engaged in the battle of Ahmed Khel, and having had enough of hostilities. A force was sent out from Ghuznee on the 23rd of April, under Brigadier-General Palliser; and this had a severe engagement with the natives near the village of Shalez, where they fought with a desperation equal to that shown by the fanatics in the previous battle. Our men, however, were this time prepared, and were able to inflict very heavy losses upon the enemy, without allowing them to get to such close quarters as before.

This was the end of the Afghan resistance, and General Stewart moved on to Cabul, and effected a junction with General Roberts. This brought the second period of the Afghan war to a close.

For some months the forces remained quiet at Cabul. Negotiations were now going on. Abdul Rahman was advancing upon Cabul. This chief had long been a resident among the Russians, and had a.s.sumed the Ameership, and had been received cordially in the north of Afghanistan. As no other compet.i.tor appeared to have equal chances with him, and as the British Government were most desirous to retire from the country, his authority was recognised by us, and upon his approach to Cabul the British force was ordered to retire.

Just at this moment, however, news came which showed that the work was not yet over.

When General Stewart left Candahar in his march towards Cabul, a strong British force had been left at that city. A protege of the British, named Wali Shere Ali, had been appointed by us Governor of Candahar.

His native army was not, however, regarded as reliable; and when the news came that Ayoub, a brother of Yakoob, was moving down from Herat, of which town he was the governor, with a large force, a body of British troops advanced with the Wali's army towards Girishk on the river Helmund.

On July the 14th the conspiracy which had been going on among the Wali's troops came to a head. The whole of them deserted, and the small British brigade found itself alone on the Helmund. General Burrows had with him but 1500 infantry, 500 cavalry, and 6 guns, a force clearly inadequate to meet the large body with which Ayoub was advancing, and which would be swelled by the addition of the Wali's late troops.

General Primrose, who commanded at Candahar, decided that no more troops could be sent forward to strengthen this brigade.

Ayoub was advancing steadily, and, after deliberation, General Burrows fell back from Girishk to a point upon the road near Maiwand. Ayoub had crossed the Helmund higher up, and was moving in a parallel line to that taken by the British; and the object of the English commander was to take up a position which would at once bar the road to Candahar and would prevent Ayoub striking by a more northern road, by which he would place himself north of the city and on the road to Cabul. The camping-ground was a village called Khussk-i-Nakhud. Reconnaissances were made by General Nuttal's cavalry in the direction of the enemy; but General Burrows had but bad information, and had no idea of the real strength of the force with which Ayoub was advancing.

It was not until the 26th that the forces came into collision. It was known then that Ayoub was trying to reach Maiwand without fighting, and General Burrows at once marched from Khussk-i-Nakhud to Maiwand to antic.i.p.ate this movement. At half-past six the troops marched, the general belief being that it was only Ayoub's cavalry with which he should have to deal. Upon arriving near Maiwand, however, our spies brought in the news that the whole of Ayoub's force was in front.

The morning was thick, and but little could be seen of Ayoub's army.

The cavalry were indeed found moving about in large ma.s.ses, but these fell back on our advance. Lieutenant Maclean, with two Horse Artillery guns and a small cavalry escort, galloped out on the extreme left, and got his guns into action on the Afghan cavalry. The position was considered a dangerous one, and the guns were withdrawn. Large numbers of the enemy, led by Ghazees, were now seen swarming down over the low hills.

The British infantry were formed in the following order:--On the right were the 66th Regiment, the Bombay Grenadiers formed the centre, and Jacob's Rifles the left. Two guns were placed in position to support the 66th on the right, the remaining ten--for the six British guns had been increased to twelve by a battery captured from the Wali's mutineers--between the Grenadiers and the main body of Jacob's Rifles.

There was no reserve, nor, indeed, with so small a force could there have been any. The cavalry, the 3rd Scinde Horse and 3rd Bombay Cavalry, formed up in the rear of the left centre.

Our guns sh.e.l.led the enemy as they advanced, and it was fully an hour before his artillery opened in reply, when five batteries unmasked and opened fire. Under cover of this artillery fire, the enemy's irregulars advanced. When within 600 or 700 yards of the 66th, the Martini fire of the latter checked them, and in this quarter for a moment the attack ceased.

Unfortunately our position was in every way a bad one. Deep ravines ran both to the right and left of our force. By these the enemy could advance until within a short distance of us. The position, too, was dominated by the hills on either side, and after an artillery duel lasting for some time, the enemy's guns were moved on to the hills and a terrible fire opened upon our infantry. At about two o'clock the smooth-bore guns began to run short of ammunition, and as only sixty rounds had been captured with them and there was no reserve, these were abandoned. The enemy's battery now came boldly up, their cavalry manoeuvred on the left flank of the brigade, large numbers of their infantry and irregulars got into the villages behind us, and the position became more and more serious.

Half an hour later the two companies of Jacob's Rifles on the extreme left began to waver. The retirement from the smooth-bore guns demoralised them, and they broke their ranks and fell into utter confusion, breaking in upon the Grenadiers, who had up to that time fought steadily. The Ghazees swept down in great ma.s.ses, and the Grenadiers likewise gave way. The remaining companies of Jacob's Rifles shared in the panic. The enemy now swept in in all directions, their guns from the heights poured volleys of sh.e.l.l into the ranks of the crowded British, and the 66th, borne in upon by the rush of native troops on the one side, pressed by the Ghazees on the other, and cut down by the artillery fire, began to fall back also.

The confusion became hopeless. The artillery fired until the Ghazees were within a few yards of them, and two of the guns were lost. The cavalry were ordered to charge; but they had already been much demoralised by the artillery fire, and could not be persuaded to charge home. In the walled enclosures behind, the 66th and the Grenadiers rallied, and fought n.o.bly. Here Colonel Galbraith was killed and nine other officers of the 66th. Some bodies of troops, entirely cut off from the rest, fought desperately to the end, and, dying, surrounded themselves with a ring of slaughtered enemies. But at length the surviving troops were extricated from the villages, and the retreat commenced.

Fortunately the pursuit lasted only two or three miles, the enemy having themselves suffered terribly, and being, moreover, anxious to take part in the loot of the camp. The retreat was a terrible one. Fifty miles had to be pa.s.sed, and no water was obtainable on the way. Along the whole line the villagers rose upon the fugitives, and the loss was terrible.

Had the cavalry remained, as was their duty, behind the infantry, protected the retreat, and so given time to the fugitives to rally, the result would have been different. But the conduct of the native cavalry regiments was the reverse of creditable.

Fortunately Ayoub's army had been to a great extent demoralised by the tremendous losses which it had incurred in the defeat of this handful of British troops, and some days elapsed before it could continue its advance. This gave time to the garrison at Candahar to put all in readiness. The doubtful portion of the population was cleared out of the city, provisions collected, and all put in readiness for a siege.

The news of Maiwand aroused tremendous excitement throughout India, and orders were at once issued for the carrying out of relieving operations.

General Roberts was to march from Cabul with a strong division, consisting of tried troops, while General Phayre, with another force, was to move from Quettah. Unfortunately the same false economy which had so delayed the advance after the ma.s.sacre of Cavaignari, by the instant break-up of the transport trains, again operated to delay General Phayre; and although every possible effort was made, the force advancing from the Bolan could not reach Candahar until after that coming down from Cabul, although the latter had many times the distance to march.

The forces which took part in the memorable march of General Roberts were the 92nd Highlanders, 23rd Pioneers, 24th Punjaub Infantry, 2nd Ghurkas, 72nd Highlanders, 2nd Sikhs, 3rd Sikhs, 5th Ghurkas, 2nd, 60th, 15th Sikhs, 25th Punjaub Infantry, and the 4th Ghurkas. There were three batteries of artillery, and four cavalry regiments--the 9th Lancers, the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, the 3rd Punjaub Cavalry, and the Central India Horse. This gave a total of about 10,000 men. The march would be between three and four weeks. There would, in addition, be 8000 followers to feed, 2000 horses, and some 8000 transport and artillery mules and ponies.