Sherpur,12th December, midnight.
I left Mahomed Jan and his followers in possession of the hills to the south of the Sherderwaza Heights, with a part of GeneralMacpherson’s brigade on the latter, ready to attack him. To-day a party of 560 men, made up in nearly equal proportions from the 67th Foot, 72nd Highlanders, 3rd Sikhs, and 5th Ghoorkas, aided by two guns of Morgan’s mountain battery, have made that attack, and have established themselves on a lower hill between the Sherderwaza Heights and the high conical peak of Takht-i-Shah, whereon the enemy muster in great force and have sixteen standards flying. This peak is the highest of the clump of mountains south of Cabul and lying between the city and Charasia, and was the point whence Captain Straton tried to heliograph to the Shutargardan in the early days of our occupation. It is cone-shaped, looked at from Sherpur, and on its southern side joins a ridge running southwards above the village of Indikee. The sides facing Cabul are very steep, and covered with huge boulders polished by wind and rain, and of a kind to check any storming party. Perfect cover is afforded to men holding it, and on the summit is a well-builtsungarof great thickness, covering a natural cavity in the rocks which has been made bomb-proof by some Afghan engineer, who understood the strength of the point. Fifty men could lie in perfect security behind thesungaror in the hole below it, and could choose their own time for firing at an advancing enemy. Outside thesungar, and a little lower down, is a cave, wherein another strong body of men could hide themselves and act in a similar way, while their flank to the left would be guarded by a broken line of rocks extending down to thekotal, where the Bala Hissar Ridge meets them. Just between the two ranges is a low, dome-shaped hill, blocking up the otherwise openkotal; and round this a footpath winds, leading to thesungar, but so narrow as only to admit of men going up in Indian file. The enemy occupied this morning the Takht-i-Shah Peak and the line of rocks I have mentioned, and had also a few score of men on the lower hill in thekotal. Away on the south, hidden from our view, were some 5,000 or 6,000 men, waiting for an attack to develop, in order to reinforce the peak. At eight o’clock our guns opened fire from the picquet on the ridge. There were then only seven standards on the peak, but during the day nine others were brought up; and the long ridge, stretching downwards to Beni Hissar, was lined with men. These were, by the contour of theground, safe from our shells, and they quietly watched the guns all day. From eight o’clock until evening Captain Morgan fired shell after shell into thesungarand the rocks below. The enemy were of quite a different order to those we have hitherto had to deal with. They stood up boldly to their flags, and waved their rifles and knives in derision at each shot. We could not spare more infantry for the attack, as we had to protect Sherpur, which, we learnt, was to be attacked by Kohistanis from over the Paen Minar Kotal, north of the lake. The city, too, was known to be in a ferment, and a demonstration might at any time be made from it against our cantonment. General Baker with his flying column was still absent, and our object was rather to hold the main body of Mahomed Jan’s force in check, than try to disperse them with 560 men. At nine o’clock heliographic communication was opened with General Baker, then on the Argandeh Kotal. He reported that his rear-guard had been harassed for the last two days, and that the hills in all directions were lined with tribesmen. He was ordered to march without delay to Sherpur, and it was hoped at first that he would arrive in time to assist General Macpherson in attacking the enemy’s position. As he had to march fourteen miles with his rear-guard engaged from time to time, he did not reach Sherpur until evening, so his troops, footsore and tired, were not available.
ROUGH PLAN OF THE COUNTRY ROUND KABUL.TO ILLUSTRATE THEOPERATIONS OF THE 13th AND 14th DECEMBER, 1879.
ROUGH PLAN OF THE COUNTRY ROUND KABUL.TO ILLUSTRATE THEOPERATIONS OF THE 13th AND 14th DECEMBER, 1879.
ROUGH PLAN OF THE COUNTRY ROUND KABUL.TO ILLUSTRATE THEOPERATIONS OF THE 13th AND 14th DECEMBER, 1879.
After several hours’ shelling of the Takht-i-Shah Peak, the 67th, the Highlanders, Sikhs, and Ghoorkas made their attack; and, in spite of the stubbornness with which the Afghans fought, established themselves on the low hill on thekotal. They tried to work upwards to thesungar; but the fire of the Afghans was so true and sustained, that the attempt had to be given up. Our men also ran short of ammunition, and they contented themselves finally with holding the position captured, so as to be able to co-operate on the morrow with any force sent out from Sherpur to attack by way of Beni Hissar on the enemy’s flank. Our casualties included Major Cook, V.C., 5th Ghoorkas, shot below the knee; Lieutenant Fasken, 3rd Sikhs, bullet wound in both thighs; and Lieutenant Fergusson, 72nd Highlanders, seriously wounded in the face. The enemy this evening still hold the Takht-i-Shah Peak in strength, and large reinforcements are saidto have joined them from Logar, the Ghilzais from that district being up in arms. It has been decided to-night to send a brigade, under General Baker, to attack the peak from Beni Hissar village to-morrow at the same time that Colonel Money, of the 3rd Sikhs, moves up another force from the hill on the kotal.
13th December, evening.
To-day the Takht-i-Shah Peak has been carried, and a strong picquet now holds it. The action has been a great success, but there are still large bodies of the enemy above Indikee; and as they may try to regain the position, General Macpherson has abandoned Dehmazung altogether, and posted his brigade on the Sherderwaza Heights. At eight o’clock this morning General Baker left cantonments with the following troops:—
G-3, Royal Artillery, four guns;No. 2 Mountain Battery, four guns;92nd Highlanders (six companies);Guides’ Infantry (seven companies);3rd Sikhs (wing of 300 men);5th Punjab Cavalry.
G-3, Royal Artillery, four guns;No. 2 Mountain Battery, four guns;92nd Highlanders (six companies);Guides’ Infantry (seven companies);3rd Sikhs (wing of 300 men);5th Punjab Cavalry.
G-3, Royal Artillery, four guns;No. 2 Mountain Battery, four guns;92nd Highlanders (six companies);Guides’ Infantry (seven companies);3rd Sikhs (wing of 300 men);5th Punjab Cavalry.
G-3, Royal Artillery, four guns;
No. 2 Mountain Battery, four guns;
92nd Highlanders (six companies);
Guides’ Infantry (seven companies);
3rd Sikhs (wing of 300 men);
5th Punjab Cavalry.
General Baker took the road past the Bala Hissar, and, upon debouching into the plain north of Beni Hissar, found the enemy posted in force all along the ridge in front, leading down from the Takht-i-Shah Peak. Beni Hissar was also full of Afghans, and in the fields about it were detached parties. These, seeing our force advancing, began to stream towards the ridge, and the original plan of attack was so far modified that, instead of working round through Beni Hissar village, the Highlanders and Guides were sent straight across some marshy ground at the ridge. The object in view was to cut the enemy’s line in two, and it was attained most successfully. Our eight guns opened fire at 1,400 yards upon the masses of Afghans on the ridge, and the shells kept under the musketry fire opened upon our infantry. The 3rd Sikhs protected General Baker’s left flank, while the cavalry aided in keeping the scattered parties about Beni Hissar in check. Nothing could be finer than the advance of the 92ndand the Guides; they reached the slope of the hill, and opened fire upon the enemy, one continued roll of musketry being heard as they pushed upwards. They gained the crest, and the Afghan line was severed, about 2,000 being left about Beni Hissar while the assault was made upon the peak. The rapid fire from our breech-loaders swept away such of the enemy as stood firm, while the bayonet made short work of the ghazis who defended the standards. At some points twenty and thirty bodies were found lying piled together, shot through and through by Martini and Snider bullets, showing how well the volleys had told. In a very short time the majority opposed to the storming party had broken and fled. A few ghazis fought desperately, but upwards went the Highlanders in the same gallant style they had shown at Charasia, and under the same leader, Major White. The Guides, under Colonel Jenkins, were equally eager, this being their first chance in the campaign, and they shared with the 92nd the honour of scattering the defenders of the ridge. One young Highland officer fell a victim to that uncalculating courage which becomes rashness when pushed to extremes. Lieutenant Forbes, with only a few men, scaled the ridge, and got detached from the regiment which was toiling up as fast as the men with their heavy load of rifles and ammunition could climb. He was left at last with only Colour-Sergeant Drummond, an old twenty-one years’ man, and a band of ghazis turned back and attacked him. The Sergeant was shot down, and Lieutenant Forbes rushed forward to save his body from mutilation. After cutting down a ghazi he was overpowered and killed before the Highlanders could save him. Not a man of the ghazis who had turned back escaped: they were shot and bayoneted on the rocks. As the attacking party neared the Takht-i-Shah Peak the Afghans deserted it; and when a party of the 72nd Highlanders and 5th Ghoorkas from the Bala Hissar side reached thesungar, they found the flags still flying, but no one guarding them. The position had been captured in about two hours, and as the mid-day gun was fired in Sherpur, the heliograph flashed from thesungar, and the peak was known to be ours. Some of the enemy ventured too near the Chardeh plain in their retreat, and a squadron of the 14th Bengal Lancers charged among them, killing between twenty and thirty.
While the Highlanders and Guides were storming the ridge, an attack had been attempted from Beni Hissar upon General Baker’s left flank, but the 3rd Sikhs drove back the enemy, who began to move round towards Siah Sung, and eventually collected in force upon these hills. They were shelled by our guns, and the 5th Punjab Cavalry were reinforced by two squadrons of the 9th Lancers, a squadron of the 14th Bengal Lancers, and the Guides’ Cavalry. Wherever the ground was good, our sowars and Lancers charged and did great execution. The Afghans fought bravely, forming up to receive the cavalry with a steadiness that trained infantry would not have surpassed, and reserving their fire until the horses were close upon them. One brilliant charge by the 9th Lancers cost that regiment one officer killed and two wounded, besides the loss of several troopers. Captain Butson and Captain Chisholme, at the head of their respective squadrons, swept down upon 500 or 600 men, taking them on the right and left flank. Captain Butson turned in his saddle as he faced the enemy, and cried out:—“Now, men, at them for the honour of the old 9th,” and the next moment he fell dead, shot through the heart. He was in command of the regiment, the affair of the 11th having sadly thinned the ranks of the officers, and his death is universally regretted. Captain Chisholme was shot through the leg, the flash of the rifle burning his clothes, so steadily had the Afghan in front of him waited before discharging his piece. Lieutenant Trower was also slightly wounded, while the Sergeant-Major and three troopers were killed and seven wounded. The Lancers rode through and through the Afghans opposed to them, and scattered them all over the plain. The 5th Punjab Cavalry also made a successful charge, and the Guides twice got well among the fugitives. Their second charge was upon a body of Kohistanis, who had crossed the plain east of Bemaru and made for Siah Sung with the intention of joining Mahomed Jan. They were shelled from the eastern end of the Bemaru Heights; and, upon seeing General Baker’s force engaged, halted irresolutely near Siah Sung. They tried to retrace their steps, but were suddenly charged down upon by the Guides, who had waited for them behind the northern slopes of Siah Sung. Sixty are said to have been killed in this charge alone, the Guides chasing them asfar as the Logar river, where the swampy ground checked the cavalry. Altogether the day’s fighting has been a wonderful success; and though our casualties are eleven killed and forty-three wounded, the enemy’s loss in killed alone must have been between 200 and 300. 150 of the 5th Punjab Infantry, sent out to reinforce General Baker, came upon a large party of Afghans marching down the Bala Hissar Road. They were at first mistaken for Highlanders; but when they fired a volley at the officer who rode up to speak to them, the mistake was soon apparent. The Punjabees at once extended themselves in skirmishing order among the willow plantations on each side of the road, and opened a rapid fire. The Afghans faced about and made for the Bala Hissar, but a company of the 5th cut off half their number, and in a hand-to-hand fight killed forty. These men, who are believed to have been from the city, were really run to earth, and were so exhausted that they could scarcely use their knives.
One feature of the day’s fighting has been the attitude of the villagers about Cabul. A straggler from the 92nd Highlanders was found cut up between Sherpur and the Cabul river; officers riding alone have been fired at, and pelted with stones; and two villages on either side of the road to Beni Hissar opened a heavy fire upon our troops. General Baker halted on his way back to cantonments to burn these villages as a reward for their treachery. The lives of the men in one were spared on condition that they fired the other, the gates of which could not be forced open by our guns. The defenders were shot as they tried to escape from the ruins. From the Bala Hissar and near the city shots were fired, and the flanking parties of the 92nd, in their homeward march, came upon 200 or 300 men in the willow plantations, who fled towards the city walls. A convoy of wounded sent from the Sherderwaza Heights to Sherpur had also a narrow escape, the bravery of the non-commissioned officer in charge of the escort alone preventing a catastrophe on a small scale. After General Baker had captured the Takht-i-Shah Peak, a number ofdhoolies, containing officers and men wounded on the 11th and 12th on the Sherderwaza Heights, were sent down the hill to Sherpur. Sergeant Cox, with twenty men of the 72nd, was in charge of thedhoolies, and among the wounded were Major Cook, V.C., 5thGhoorkas; Lieutenant Fergusson, 72nd Highlanders; and Lieutenant Fasken, 3rd Sikhs. Upon arriving at the foot of the hill, the road leading under the southern wall of the Bala Hissar was followed, and it was soon seen that parties of armed men were lining the parapets. Sergeant Cox, fearing to draw the fire by striking across the fields towards Beni Hissar, where General Baker was shelling some villages, put on a bold face, and marched on steadily. This had the best effect, as not a shot was fired from the walls. Ten Highlanders were at the head of thedhoolies, and ten in rear. Just as the little party got near the Bala Hissar gate a large body of Afghans sprang out from among the willows lining either side of the road, and, drawing their knives, came straight upon the advance-guard. The road from Beni Hissar joins the road to Sherpur just at this point, and seeing that it would be impossible to cut through the enemy, or to retreat the way he had come (as in the latter case the men on the walls would probably open fire), Sergeant Cox pushed on, ordering his men to reserve their fire. His object was to get thedhooliesfairly on the Beni Hissar Road on his right, and then to fall back until help should come from that quarter. The manœuvre succeeded admirably. Waiting until he was within twenty yards of the Afghans, he ordered the ten men with him to fire a volley. This was too much for the enemy, who broke and took cover in the trees. Thedhoolie-bearers thought all was over, and those carrying Major Cook dropped theirdhooliein the middle of the road. They were about to run, when Sergeant Cox threatened to shoot them down unless they did their duty. They soon recovered courage, and while rapid volleys from the advance-guard kept the Afghans in check, all thedhoolieswere got safely upon the Beni Hissar Road, and finally reached General Baker’s force in safety. Sergeant Cox managed the whole business splendidly, and under such leadership the men were cool and collected, skirmishing and retiring without being touched by the scattered fire directed at them. After waiting an hour, the escort was strengthened by some cavalry, and the little convoy of wounded reached cantonments in safety. The position in which Sergeant Cox was placed was a most dangerous one, as the least hesitation or want of decision would have been fatal: the Afghans were, indeed, so sure ofsuccess, that they did not fire at first, but trusted to cutting up the guard at close quarters with their knives. The three officers, whose lives were saved by Sergeant Cox’s steadiness, reported the incident to Colonel Money, who had sent thedhooliesdown the hill. Sergeant Cox was one of the men decorated with the distinguished service medal on December 8th for gallantry at the Peiwar Kotal. General Baker’s force is now safely in quarters again. General Macpherson has sent back to Sherpur the 72nd Highlanders and the 3rd Sikhs, and, with the 67th Foot and the 5th Ghoorkas, holds the Bala Hissar Heights and the Takht-i-Shah Peak. The enemy are still in force above Indikee and at Dehmazung, which commands the Cabul gorge, and the road into the city has been abandoned. They may try to work round in that direction—that is, if to-day’s defeat has not disheartened them. This evening a party of Kohistanis have come over the Surkh Kotal, and are bivouacking on a hill a mile and a half west of Sherpur. These are the reinforcements sent by Mir Butcha, who has no doubt heard of the success of Mahomed Jan on the 11th. The casualties to-day were eleven killed (two officers) and forty-three wounded. Of these the 92nd lost one officer and two men killed and nineteen wounded. The Guides had three killed and eight wounded.
15th December.
Yesterday the severest fighting we have yet gone through took place on the Asmai Heights above Deh-i-Afghan, and a lower conical hill adjoining them on the north. The enemy have been so largely reinforced, that their numbers are estimated at 40,000, and they have shown a recklessness in sacrificing life which has hitherto been considered quite foreign to the Afghan character. There must be many ghazis in their ranks from what we have seen to-day, and these fanatics always show a contempt for danger which makes them formidable enemies. They sacrifice their lives, satisfied if, before death, they have killed a Kafir, and so secured a future reward. Our own losses have been heavy, and for the first time our men have had to retire before the enemy, who are wonderfully elated at their success. It is true it was but an isolated case of a handful of men having to meet 5,000; butwith the evacuation of the position our men were holding, we lost two mountain guns, which Mahomed Jan is sure to make the most of as trophies, if he does not turn them against us. To give in detail the incidents of yesterday:—Between seven and eight o’clock in the morning some thousands of men were seen gathering on the slopes above Deh-i-Afghan, a suburb of Cabul lying northwest of the city upon a low eminence, which overlooks Timour’s tomb. The evacuation of Dehmazung had, of course, given free passage to such of the enemy as wished to pass into Cabul and the Bala Hissar, and these now poured out by way of Deh-i-Afghan and manned the heights. The usual standards were carried, and in a very short time the sky-line was alive with men, until there must have been 8,000 or 10,000 looking down upon Sherpur and within range of our guns. The array extended upwards from the suburbs, along the crest of the Asmai Ridge, down the dip to the north, and over the conical hill I have mentioned; while, again, further to the north, was a higher lumpy hill, on which were a number of Kohistanis, who had bivouacked there the previous night. General Baker was ordered to clear the hills, and for this purpose he took out the following troops:—
Four guns G-3, Royal Artillery;
Four guns No. 2 Mountain Battery;
14th Bengal Lancers;
72nd Highlanders (225 men);
92nd Highlanders (45 men under Captain Gordon, who fell in with the 72nd, as the six companies of the latter were so weak);
Guides’ Infantry (460 sepoys);
5th Punjab Infantry (470 sepoys).
This gave a total of 1,200 bayonets and eight guns. The cavalry were employed in the open to keep in check, or cut up, stray bodies of the enemy. General Baker left cantonments by the head-quarters’ gate in the western wall, and made straight towards a mound near Kila Buland, a mile and a half away, facing the conical hill, on either side of which were roads leading into the Chardeh Valley beyond. He got his guns into action at once, in order to clear the way for the infantry attack, and sent his cavalryround on his right flank towards the Chardeh Valley to reconnoitre in that direction. The Guides’ Cavalry were ordered out to reinforce the 14th Bengal Lancers, and were fired at several times from walled enclosures just over the Nanuchi Kotal. The mountain guns drew off to a low ridge on which stood the ruins of a fort, Kila Buland, and shelled such bodies of men as were visible in the direction the cavalry had taken. The party told off to take the heights were the Highlanders, under Colonel Brownlow, and Guides’ Infantry, the 5th Punjabees being held in reserve near the guns. The low, conical hill was captured without much trouble, but there then remained for Colonel Jenkins, commanding the attack, the difficult task of taking the Asmai Heights, every foot of the crest bearing an Afghan firing from behind the excellent cover given by rocks and boulders. Rising up from the captured conical hill was a steep hillside, with here and there shelving rocks hiding men from the view of those above, and up this rugged ground our soldiers went steadily and rapidly, utilizing every bit of cover, and answering from time to time the heavy fire they were met with. The guns shelled two strongsungarswhich had been built on the northern and southern points of the crest; and made such practice, that the enemy began to move downwards towards Cabul. They clustered in masses above Deh-i-Afghan, where the shells of G-3 could not reach them, and afforded so tempting a mark, that Sir F. Roberts, who was watching the attack from the signalling station on the roof of the officers’ quarters in the western gate, ordered two Horse Artillery guns out to open fire from under the cantonment walls. A wing of the 3rd Sikhs and some cavalry went out as escort, and extended themselves into the fields beyond. The shrapnel fired from these two guns made the hillside almost untenable; but still in thesungarson the crest a few determined ghazis resisted the advance of the Highlanders and Guides. Our men fought up, however, and thesungaron the northern point was taken with a rush. The banners waving above it were obstinately defended by ghazis, who were killed to a man. Colonel Jenkins then worked his way under a heavy fire along the crest, which has a total length of a quarter of a mile; and there only remained the southernsungar, built on the peak of the hill, to be taken. In thissungar,which was unusually strong, were forty or fifty men who, by their fire, checked the advance for some time. Major Stockwell, with a few Highlanders, passed through a gap in the wall which runs down the ridge, and galled the Ghazis by a cross fire. Private Gillon, of the 72nd, climbed up the wall, and, creeping along the top, pulled out a standard from among the stones of thesungar. There was an open bit of ground between our front attacking party and thesungarwalls, and this was swept by such a fire that even the bravest might have hesitated to cross it. Such of us who were watching the fight saw that the stubborn defence would cost us some valuable lives; but presently, when the Drummer was seen on the walls, there was a rush of Highlanders and Guides—one plucky Highlander, Lance-Corporal Seller, 72nd, leading full 20 yards in front, with a Guide quite close behind him. As thesungarwas neared, most of its defenders cleared out on the opposite side, but a few Ghazis stood to their post; one fanatic jumping, knife in hand, on the low stone walls. The bayonet made short work of such of his companions as had remained. Lance-Corporal Seller had a tough fight for the last standard on thesungar. As he got up to the wall he pulled the flag out and, at the same moment, a Ghazi cut down at his head with a long knife. Seller parried the blow with the standard, and then the Ghazi jumped over and closed with him. They rolled over together, and another Highlander bayoneted the Afghan. Seller was cut over the arm, and is now in hospital. He certainly deserves the highest reward for his gallant conduct: the “V.C.” has been given for much less. Thesungarwas filled with dead men, fifteen bodies being counted in a heap as if a shell had burst among them. Our loss had been heavy, as much hand-to-hand fighting at difficult points had taken place; many of the Guides were cut and slashed by the knives andtulwarsof the Ghazis; while the ranks of the 72nd Highlanders were thinned by numerous casualties, mostly of a dangerous kind. Lieutenant Egerton, who only joined the regiment a few weeks ago, was shot through the neck on the crest of the hill. He showed courage that even an old soldier might have envied, being always well to the front in the attack. Lieutenant Frederick Battye, of the Guides, was also shot through the neck at about the same time.
Colonel Jenkins was now holding the whole crest of the Asmai Heights; but on the slope towards the city were many thousands of the enemy. The two guns of F-A Battery shelled them at 1,700 yards, and the mountain guns, with General Macpherson, were also turned upon them. A wing of the 3rd Sikhs were extended in skirmishing order across the fields towards Deh-i-Afghan, and with their Sniders were easily able to reach the men pouring down into Cabul. Deh-i-Afghan, however, held many of the enemy; and from the house-tops, walls, and orchards about, the 3rd Sikhs were fired upon. The watercourse gave our sepoys good cover, but still there were one or two casualties; and General Roberts resolved to sack and burn Deh-i-Afghan. The two guns of F-A began to shell it vigorously, and two more guns of the same battery were brought out and joined in the work. Shell after shell was pitched among the houses, and the defenders of them drew off before such a fire. Some 1,500, supposed to be Safis from Tagao, went through the city and made for the Cabul plain so as to reach Deh-i-Sabz, to the north of Butkhak. Some of them ventured too near the King’s Garden, outside Sherpur, where the 5th Punjab Cavalry are quartered, and Captain Vousden charged out upon them and killed thirty. He had only twelve sowars with him, and of these two were killed and four wounded; Captain Vousden killed five Afghans with his own hand.[32]The main body got well away beneath Siah Sung; and although some Lancers were sent in pursuit, and two Horse Artillery guns went out under escort of a party of the 92nd Highlanders, the Safis could not be overtaken. They ran at a sling-trot for miles, just like wolves in a pack, and had plainly had enough of fighting for the day. We had thus, apparently, disposed of the body of the enemy (those who had manned the heights from the city); but there were many more to take their place, and General Baker, with his 1,200 bayonets, had yet to learn the full strength that was against him.
About midday the signallers with General Macpherson heliographed down that a vast body with many standards were streaming out from Indikee into the Chardeh Valley, and were taking a northerly direction, which would bring them under thehill occupied by Colonel Jenkins. The movement was well made, and eventually developed into an attack upon the conical hill which the Guides and Highlanders first stormed. This hill was held by thirty-three men of the 72nd Highlanders, a small party of Guides under a Subadar, the whole being under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, 72nd. While the upper hill was being taken, parties of the enemy’s infantry and cavalry were seen coming across Chardeh from the direction of Kila Kazi, as if to take Colonel Jenkins in flank, and the conical hill was strengthened by Swinley’s Mountain Battery, with an escort of 100 men of the 5th Punjabees, under command of Lieutenant Wilson, of the 10th Hussars, serving for the day as a volunteer. This gave Colonel Clark about 200 rifles, with which to hold the hill. The mountain guns opened fire upon the body of Afghans in the plain, who broke up and dispersed out of range. In the meantime the enemy from Indikee—to the number of fully 15,000 or 20,000; they covered the plain for miles—had marched out as if going to Kila Kazi, or Argandeh. Their array was orderly enough; and when they had all reached the plain, they suddenly faced about and came down in the shape of a crescent upon the heights we were holding. Their right flank had for its object the scaling of a ridge extending down from the southernsungaron the Deh-i-Afghan hill; their centre, the assault of the low conical hill, which was General Baker’s weakest point; and their left flank swept round upon the lumpy hill to the north of Colonel Clark’s position, and commanding it. They seemed to our handful of men to be myriads as they came steadily on; and although volleys were fired from the conical hill, and the mountain guns shelled them at short ranges, they never faltered. They were literally mowed down; but as one Ghazi fell, another sprang to the front, and their standards were at last placed on a little mound within 150 yards of our bayonets. Their left flank had gained the lumpy hill which we had left alone, not having men enough to occupy it, and a cross fire was opened upon Colonel Clark’s party. There was a bit of open ground between the mound on which their standards were placed and the rocks in rear, under which their main body had clustered in face of our fire; but across this small space numbers rushed with reckless audacity until,behind their advanced standards, several hundred men were hidden. Colonel Clark thought that at all risks they must be driven from this mound, as they might make a rush in overwhelming numbers: and Captain Spens volunteered to make the attempt. Taking with him five of the 72nd Highlanders and a few Guides, he made for a bit of rising ground below the mound and reached it safely. His fire could not dislodge the Ghazis, who suddenly rushed out upon the little party. Captain Spens was attacked by four or five men: he cut down one, but in a second he was overpowered and hacked almost to pieces. There followed in rear of the Ghazis, who had sprung out, a dense mass of Afghans, who swarmed up to the thin line of defenders, who could scarcely hope to stop them. The mountain guns were on Colonel Clark’s left, and their guard of 5th Punjabees had been, perhaps too sanguinely, sent forward to repel the attack. Our men lost heart as they saw four or five thousand men nearly upon them; and when Captain Hall, with a reinforcement of 150 more of the 5th Punjab Infantry, got near the crest of the hill, he found such of its defenders as had not been shot down retiring in disorder. To rally them was impossible at that point, and they fell back down the hillside. The fire of the enemy at such close quarters cost us a score of wounded, and the mules of one mountain gun being shot, it had to be abandoned where it stood. A second gun was being carried safely downwards when the mule carrying it was also knocked over. The handspike in the muzzle used for lifting it was broken, but the gunners rolled it for some yards down the hill until the Afghans were close upon them, when it also had to be left. Two guns were thus lost, but fortunately there was but little ammunition left behind. At the foot of the hill our men rallied, and re-opened fire, which checked the rush of the enemy. The 3rd Sikhs doubled across the fields from near Deh-i-Afghan and reinforced General Baker, driving back such Afghans as had ventured down the slope towards the village where the guns of G-3 were placed. These guns were withdrawn to a safe distance; but, although the enemy in half an hour had 10,000 men on and about the conical hill, they did not venture down to attack. Our cavalry were ready in the plain to charge down upon them if they gainedthe fields; but they had quite a different intention. As I have said, their right flank were scaling a spur running down from the southernsungarto the Chardeh plain, and they hoped to cut off Colonel Jenkins and his party. This soon became evident, as a long string of standard bearers began to climb up towards the northernsungar, following exactly the path taken by our storming party in the morning. From over the crest of the hill came the rattle of musketry; and estimating the difficulty of holding the crest all night, and so weakening the defences of Sherpur, General Roberts sent word to Colonel Jenkins to evacuate the position.
The enemy has shown such unexpected strength—40,000 men in all are believed to have been present in Chardeh Valley and in the hills above Deh-i-Afghan—that it was running considerable risk to keep our garrison in cantonments short of a man; accordingly at the same time that Colonel Jenkins was ordered to retire, a message was sent by heliograph to General Macpherson to hasten back to Sherpur with all his force. He was to take the road above the Deh-i-Afghan suburb. General Baker was ordered to hold on to the village he had occupied since the morning until all the troops from the heights were within the walls. Meanwhile Colonel Jenkins had met the attack up the spur from Chardeh. Major Stockwell, 72nd, was sent down a few score yards with a small escort, who kept up a hot fire upon the advancing masses. A few Ghazis, with their standards, got from point to point; but they were still at a respectable distance when the order to evacuate the hill was received. Major Stockwell withdrew his men from the littlesungarthey had built, and retired leisurely, so as to give the Afghans no idea that the crest also was to be evacuated. Captain Gordon, of the 92nd, was shot through the right shoulder while this movement was being made. Five minutes after our men had left theirsungara banner was planted upon it, showing how rapidly the Ghazis rushed up the hill. Major Stockwell’s party having been safely withdrawn, the retirement down the hill facing Sherpur was begun. The enemy, who were nearly at the northernsungar, led by a Ghazi with a green flag, were kept in check by volleys fired by covering parties thrown out on Colonel Jenkins’s left flank. There was not the least appearance of undue haste, the Highlanders forming up quietly to cover the Guidesscrambling down, and the Guides then doing the same in their turn for the Highlanders. The hillside was so exposed that our casualties were rather severe, among the killed being Lieutenant Gaisford of the 72nd. Not a man was left behind, however, all the wounded and dead being brought in. All anxiety about Colonel Jenkins’s force being now at an end, there only remained General Macpherson’s brigade to come in. Two companies of the 92nd Highlanders were marched out to cover them across the plain, and to help General Baker’s rear-guard in its final retirement; but they were not wanted. Presently shots were heard in Deh-i-Afghan, and then the baggage of the brigade was seen entering the fields under a strong guard. The 67th Foot, 5th Ghoorkas, and 3rd Sikhs followed with the mountain battery, and, before long, entered the head-quarters’ gate. In coming through the Cabul gorge, General Macpherson had been able to help the Highlanders and Guides by his fire. He sent two companies of the 67th, under Colonel Knowles, to hold a knoll half-way up the slope from Deh-i-Afghan to the southernsungar. Bodies of the enemy tried to rush down the hill to overtake Colonel Jenkins and even to harass the brigade under General Macpherson; but the steady shooting of the 67th could not be faced, and the most adventurous Ghazis being shot down, the rest withdrew to the crest. Colonel Knowles handled his men with a coolness that could not have been excelled. General Baker then retired slowly, his rear-guard, under Major Pratt, 5th Punjab Infantry, by a brisk fusillade for about ten minutes, stopping the few Ghazis who came down from the conical peak. By dusk everyone was in cantonments, and we could count our casualties. They were unusually heavy for Afghan fighting, but have given us valuable experience, as we no longer despise our enemy. That Afghans when in overwhelming numbers will fight and rush blindly on, regardless of loss of life, has been fully exemplified, and we shall no longer send flying columns over the hills and break up our army into three weak parts. With Generals Baker and Macpherson both out of Sherpur, an attack upon cantonments might have resulted in a disaster. Now that our force is once more concentrated, Sherpur may be looked upon as safe.
When all our troops were once more in quarters, we had tothink about our defences, though it was highly improbable that Mahomed Jan would try a night attack. Our men were quite fagged out with all the hill-climbing they had done to so little purpose; but the majority of them had to turn out to do picquet duty, and keep a sharp look-out on the walls. Shelter trenches were hastily thrown up at our weakest points on the Bemaru Heights; the gates in the walls were barricaded with gun carriages belonging to the guns captured on October 8th; and we waited patiently and a little anxiously, it must be confessed, for a night alarm. Every regiment was told off to particular points, and a reserve—made up of a wing of the 67th, a wing of the 72nd, and the whole of the 92nd—were ready to fall in below the gap in the Bemaru Hills in the centre of the cantonments. We did not fear any attempt to scale the walls; but at either end of the heights which shut us in on the north were open gaps; Shere Ali’s line of wall, intended to include the Bemaru Hills within the fortified square, never having been completed. At the eastern end of Sherpur, the 28th Punjab Infantry have built a line of huts extending from near the corner bastion towards Bemaru village; and as the ground beyond it is covered with walled enclosures, towers, and orchards, excellent cover would be given to an attacking force which might gather under cover of darkness, and make a rush to get in. On the 14th,abattishad been laid, the orchards near giving plenty of wood, and above Bemaru village were strong picquet posts and trenches which commanded the road leading from Kohistan. Two guns of G-3 were at this point, but they were withdrawn, as to remove them in face of a determined attack would have been nearly impossible, the ground towards camp being very steep and much broken up. Wire entanglements, made with telegraph wire and tent-pegs, were laid down, wherever there was open ground over the walls, and extra vigilance was shown by sentries. The block-houses on the crest of the Bemaru Heights were also filled with our men, ready to reinforce any points assailed. But the night passed quietly, the soldiers being undisturbed even by stray shots. The enemy were, perhaps, as tired as ourselves, and were holding high revel in the city and the Bala Hissar, where no doubt they found many friends to welcome them. Our garrison at Butkhak, consisting of some fifty rifles, and the whole of the 12th Bengal Cavalry, arrived safely at Sherpurduring the night, it being deemed unwise to leave them so far away from cantonments. As they also had to be supplied with food from our godowns, and we could not spare a force to escort convoys across the Cabul plain, it was necessary they should be brought in. This withdrawal has cut us off from Luttabund.
To-day (the 15th) has been one of almost absolute quiet. Beyond cavalry parties patrolling outside Sherpur, our men have not been sent out, although the Afghans crowded out upon the slopes above Deh-i-Afghan, inviting us to come out and attack them. There can be no good object attained, however, in again storming the heights, as we cannot weaken the garrison by telling off a couple of regiments and a mountain battery to hold the hills when captured. We had not, either, ammunition to throw away; there are only about 300 rounds per rifle of Snider and Martini-Henri, and we are as yet uncertain when reinforcements from Gundamak, bringing a further supply, will reach us. Luckily the telegraph remained open until five o’clock this morning, so full particulars of our condition were sent down the line. General Charles Gough has been ordered to bring in his brigade as quickly as possible; and he is now concentrating them at Jugdulluck. Colonel Hudson, commanding at Luttabund, has been ordered to hold on with the 300 Pioneers and the 28th Punjab Infantry, until General Gough reaches him. He will then come on to Sherpur. With the arrival of the brigade we shall be able, not merely to hold Sherpur in comfort, but also to send out 2,000 or 3,000 men to attack Mahomed Jan in whatever position he may take up. With more ammunition for our batteries, we can shell Deh-i-Afghan, the Bala Hissar, and even Cabul itself if occasion requires. At present we cannot afford to waste shells; as in the case of any check to General Gough’s brigade, we should have to rely upon our own strength until more troops could be sent forward from Jellalabad, and further down the Khyber line. We must make our calculations on this basis until we hear of the brigade from Jugdulluck being at Luttabund or Butkhak, which they should reach by the 19th or 20th at the latest. Asmatullah Khan, of Lughman, with his powerful section of Ghilzais, is reported to be anxious to join Mahomed Jan with 10,000 or 15,000 men, and he may try to intercept the force moving from Gundamak. As he would leave his villages west of the Daruntacliff at the mercy of a flying column from Jellalabad, he may, perhaps, hesitate before taking such a step. The Safis of Tagao, who returned to their homes yesterday afternoon, before our reverse, will soon learn that Cabul is still in the possession of Mahomed Jan, and they also may try to block the Luttabund Road.
Our losses in yesterday’s action were very severe, and among our wounded are many dangerous cases. The proportion, usually, of severe wounds is one-third out of the total wounded, but nearly every case now in hospital is “severe.” The list of casualties from the 10th to the 13th and on the 14th is as follows:—
The total loss in the five days’ fighting is, therefore, eight British officers killed and 12 wounded; 38 British soldiers killed and 69 wounded; 37 Native soldiers killed and 111 wounded; or a total of 275 casualties, viz., 83 killed and 192 wounded.
The officers killed on the 14th were Captain Spens and Lieutenant Gaisford, 72nd Highlanders: those wounded were Captain Gordon, 92nd Highlanders; Lieutenant Egerton, 72nd; and Lieutenant Frederick Battye, Guides’ Infantry.
The Defences of Sherpur Strengthened—Continued Inactivity of the Enemy—State of the Walls and Trenches—Mounting of Captured Guns—The Reserve—The State of Cabul—Attacks upon the Hindu and Kizilbash Quarters—Threat to assemble 100,000 Afghans—Reflections upon Past Events—Neglect of Military Precautions—Non-destruction of Forts and Villages—Review of the Fighting—City Rumours—Musa Jan proclaimed Amir—Seizure of Treasure by Mahomed Jan—Demonstration by the Enemy on December 17th—The Distribution of Commands in Sherpur—Immunity from Night Attacks—Steadiness of the Troops—The Attack of December 18th—Heliograms exchanged with Luttabund—The First Fall of Snow at Cabul.