Sherpur,15th December, night.
To-day’s respite from fighting has been of the greatest value to us. The shelter trenches thrown up in the darkness have, in many instances, been found to be defective, accordingly Colonel Perkins and the engineers with the force have laid out new lines, and the northern and eastern defences are now quite strong enough to assure our safety in those directions. The northern end of the western wall was partly blown down when the mutineers fired their magazine the day after Charasia; the breach in it has been closed with earth and rubbish; and the corner bastion, looking towards the lake, has been made thoroughly defensible. From this bastion to the foot of the Bemaru Heights is an open space, about 100 yards across. The trees beyond it, which shaded our cemetery, have been cut down, and a strong entrenchment thrown across, with wire entanglements, 20 yards in front. Here, again, Afghan ammunition waggons have been of great use. They are placedsideways, one wheel facing outwards, and the other forming the inner side, over which the defenders can fire. A deep trench has been dug along the outer face, and the earth thrown up between the wheels, so as to give stability to the barrier. This has made a formidable obstacle, which could not be readily taken when defended by breech-loaders. From the end abutting on the steep slope of the heights a trench and parapet run up to the block-house on the crest. Anabattishas been made of the branches of trees 30 yards in front of this, faced again by wire entanglements, and two 18-pounders from among the captured guns are placed on a platform cut in the slope and commanding the ground in front of the lower barrier of ammunition waggons. The fire from the block-house and the trench on the hillside would take in enfilade any force making a front attack. Along the crest of the Bemaru Heights is a line of earthen breastworks extending to the break in the hills above the Ghoorka quarters on the foundations of Shere Ali’s intended palace. It was in this “gorge,” as it is now called, that our troops in 1841-42 had much severe fighting, their old “Brown Besses” being unequal to carrying from slope to slope. From the camp, paths lead up a gentle slope through the gap. The northern side, facing Kohistan, is much steeper, and the centre is cut up by deep nullahs formed by the streams which rush down when the snow melts. Immediately below, at the foot of the hills, cultivation begins and reaches out half a mile to the openmaidan, where we held our review on the 8th instant. On either side of the gorge are flanking trenches withabattis, while wire entanglements have been laid across the paths below. Two block-houses look down upon the nullahs from either side of the gap; while right in the mouth is a third, built very strongly, and loop-holed for musketry. A Gatling gun is placed near this defence, and guns could also move up in case of attack. The eastern Bemaru hill is also entrenched, and has a block-house in the centre, and another at the northern point, which was, at first, very weak. The village of Bemaru, with strong towers and walls, lies at the bottom of the hill; and the ground is so rugged and steep, that men could creep up almost without being seen. Flanking trenches, wire entanglements, andabattishave here, again, given strength to thedefences. Bemaru village itself is now occupied by the Guides; the quarters of the 23rd Pioneers, and the mule andyaboolines being just below. There now remains the eastern line of defence; which, even now, is not completed, and has given us much anxiety. I have already mentioned that the huts of the 28th Punjab Infantry have been built between the end of the cantonment wall and Bemaru; and I may add that every means of rapidly strengthening the place has been taken. Shelter-trenches and positions for guns have been made, and the orchards outside have been cut down wherever they gave shelter. The bit of country outside cantonments in this direction is very fertile, being irrigated from a wide canal, and some dozen villages and forts are clustered together on its banks. The walls bounding the orchards and gardens as well as the near forts would, if time permitted, be razed to the ground; and until this is done, there will be a chance of strong bodies of the enemy annoying us thence. Until we know Mahomed Jan’s tactics, and whether he really means to attempt an assault, we cannot do more than strengthen the actual lines of defence, leaving the walls and towers in the fields to be destroyed hereafter. Regarding the walls of Sherpur itself, they are in a thorough state of defence; such openings as had been cut in them for the convenience of soldiers and followers having been blocked up with arm chests filled with stones and rubbish. The outer wall is about twenty feet high, with numerous flanking bastions, and is pierced for musketry at every six feet. The actual parapet is six feet high, giving perfect shelter to soldiers manning the walls; and our men, preferring to fire over the top, have cut resting-places with their bayonets for their rifles. No bullet can penetrate more than a few inches into the sun-dried mud, which is really so hard that 9-pounders could not breach it. The blocks of mud solidify so thoroughly after a time, that they will turn the edge of a pick, as we have found in improving our quarters in the long line of barracks. A dry ditch, twenty feet in width, follows the line of walls, which, in an early letter, I described as three sides of a parallelogram. The barracks form the inner line of defence, a low parapet on the roof overlooking the dry ditch below.
There are four high gateways in the walls; one facing westwards, known as the “Head-quarters’ Gate,” and three in thesouthern wall facing Cabul. The middle one of these is the “Commissariat Gate,” and abuts on the road leading through the old cantonment over the Cabul river to the Bala Hissar. All the Commissariat godowns are in the barracks and verandah to right and left of this gate. A line drawn at right angles from these across the cantonment would strike the gap in the Bemaru hills; and in anticipation of our having to draw in our defences, the engineers are preparing an inner line of entrenchments stretching between these two parts. Our food supply, firewood, andbhoosa, would be enclosed within it, and our men would be far less harassed. We should probably continue to hold the north-eastern Bemaru hill as an outwork; but to do this we should have to destroy very thoroughly Bemaru village, the huts of the 28th Punjab Infantry, and the barracks and wall at the eastern part of Sherpur. There seems but little probability of our having to do this, as the reinforcements will lighten our work, give an ample garrison, and also permit of a brigade moving out to meet the enemy. We are mounting one of the 8-inch howitzers, captured here, in a bastion of the western wall, whence we can shell Deh-i-Afghan and the road leading from the Cabul gorge. We have plenty of loose powder for this howitzer, and any number of empty shells left behind by the mutineers. Some of Shere Ali’s mountain guns are also being got ready for use. Our own batteries are kept free to move from point to point as required, special stations being told off for them at night. Morgan’s mountain battery is the artillery reserve: the infantry and cavalry reserve is made up of the whole of the 92nd Highlanders, a wing of the 67th, a wing of the 72nd, and six squadrons chosen from among the 9th Lancers, 5th Punjab Cavalry, Guides’ Cavalry, 12th Bengal Cavalry, and the 14th Bengal Lancers. The remainder of the troopers and sowars are dismounted, and used as infantry to man the defences. The reserve, in case of a night attack, is to form up in the open ground in the middle of cantonments below the Bemaru gorge. We have thus made all our preparations, and shall probably pursue a waiting policy, leaving Mahomed Jan to his occupation of Cabul city and the Bala Hissar until General Charles Gough arrives. What that occupation is likely to be, we are already learning: the houses of all known friends of theBritish are being looted and destroyed, and the Hindu and Kizilbash quarters are also being attacked. Constant firing is heard from the city, and the Kizilbashes are resisting the attacks to the best of their ability. Against such numbers, however, they cannot make a stand, however bravely they may fight. Several of them have sought refuge with us, and we have also, as our guests, Sirdar Wali Mahomed Khan, young Ahmed Ali, and their personal retainers. Daoud Shah has been put under arrest “as a matter of precaution,” and the Mustaufi is also again in confinement, as well as other Afghan sirdars, whose honesty is a doubtful quality. Hazara coolies and city people, employed hitherto as labourers, masons, and carpenters, have also been turned out of Sherpur, as they are now only a drag upon us, and might also be bearers of information to the enemy.
This evening large bodies of men with standards appeared on the road above Deh-i-Afghan until the slope of the hill was completely covered. Beyond waving their knives andtulwars, and shouting defiance, they did nothing to annoy or irritate us. General Roberts at first ordered some guns out to shell them, but changed his mind, and declined to waste ammunition upon them. In the evening they returned to the city, but kept two large signal fires burning on the heights. They are said to expect reinforcements from Kohistan, Turkistan, and the Shutargardan district; but we have no news of these being on the move. They boast of being able to get 100,000 men together in a week, and have sent to Ghazni for guns. At present they have not been able to rig up the two mountain guns they captured, or to use two others taken in Wali Mahomed’s camp above Dehmazung. If they were to shell Sherpur they might cause us some loss, as our cavalry are picqueted in the open.
While I am writing (on the evening of the 15th) we are expecting a night attack; but we are quite ready for it, every post being fully manned. The Mohurrum has now begun, and fanaticism is sure to run high among the Ghazis and followers of Mushk-i-Alam, but it will scarcely prompt them to attack so strong a position as we have now made. Orders have been issued that, in the event of any of the enemy getting within cantonment walls, they are to be bayoneted. Shooting is forbidden, as in camp ourbullets would probably be more dangerous to our own troops than to scattered parties of Afghans. Every man is resting on his arms ready for an emergency.
16th December.
The second night has passed without any demonstration by Mahomed Jan against Sherpur; and while the fire-eaters in our force are longing for an attack, in order that the Afghans may learn how mud walls and entrenchments can be defended by men with breech-loaders in their hands, most of us are glad that our soldiers have had time to rest, and have not been obliged to stand out all night in the bitter cold. Four blankets per man have been served out; and, wrapped in these, the soldiers have been able to keep themselves fairly comfortable, while sleeping in the trenches and bastions. The sentries are on the alert, and have, of course, had to endure cold and discomfort; but the great body of men have rested quietly. To-day also, no attack has been attempted; and while we are settling down to the new conditions imposed upon us—for we are now practically in a state of siege—our spirits are as high as ever. We chafe under the delay which must necessarily ensue before we can once more disperse the enemy; but we hope that the troops from Jugdulluck and Gundamak will soon put us in a position both to hold Sherpur and to have a few thousand men outside, dealing with the Ghazis. There can be no doubt we have been lulled during the past two months into false security. Our only anxiety hitherto has been to find an enemy to fight; and the opinions I have expressed in former letters as to the Afghan weakness for running away have been simply those held by every one here. When we sent our brigades out to fight, they found no one to face them; and we were unaware that such a powerful combination as that now against us was possible. After the dispersion of the remnants of Yakub Khan’s mutinous army, there was such an appearance of peace, at least for many months, that the ordinary military precautions were not taken. Our hands were full with laying in supplies for the winter and getting the troops into barracks. Sherpur, with its three sides already fortified, and ample accommodation in its long lines of rooms, was ready to our hand, and we occupied itat once, although the strength of our army was scarcely adequate to defending it[35]and keeping our communications open. The original plan of placing two or three regiments in the Bala Hissar was certainly a good one; but the explosions in the fortress, and the dread that it might still contain mines unknown to us, deterred General Roberts from carrying out his first intention.
Further, when Sherpur was occupied, the sense of security then prevailing led us to spare the forts and villages in its vicinity. Even the old walls and isolated towers in the fields about were left untouched. We make war so humanely that, even in a country like Afghanistan, we are loth to let military exigencies override all other considerations. That we shall suffer for it now in loss of life is beyond question; for, at several points about the walls, cover is given to an attacking party, who can get within 400 or 500 yards of our bastions. On the eastern and southern sides this is particularly the case. Outside Bemaru, as I have said, are forts, villages, and orchards; while, between the three gates facing towards Cabul, the ground is similarly occupied. Fort Mahomed Sharif, so well known in the dreary days of 1841-42, still stands intact within 700 yards of the “72nd Gateway,” and about it are high walls and walled enclosures, which are sure to be occupied by sharp-shooters. Outside Deh-i-Afghan also are orchards and gardens, each with its strong open walls, and in the fields are ruinous walls, with an occasional tower, which we could easily have destroyed if we had foreseen that an investment was hanging over us. It is easy to be wise after the event; but there can now be but one view as to the defects of Sherpur. To defend it, simply, is now comparatively easy, even with the 6,000 men we have within its walls; but beyond defence, we can do nothing. It covers such an enormous area of ground, that when all our picquets and sentries have been placed, we have no one to spare; and though we have dismounted nearly the whole of our cavalry, there are not even 1,000 men available for outside work. If it were half the size, we should be as comfortable as in an Indian cantonment; or if we had 10,000 men here, and three or four more batteries of artillery, we could break up Mahomed Jan’s army without difficulty. But neither of these conditions exists, and weare quietly accepting the humiliation of investment, and witnessing the looting of Cabul and the Bala Hissar without being able to strike a blow against the enemy. The suddenness of the whole business is the most remarkable feature, and we now see to what imminent danger Sherpur was exposed when Generals Macpherson and Baker were sent out to force the fighting in Maidan. In the first week of December native rumours of 40,000 or 50,000 men gathering together to attack Cabul were freely circulated in the city, but little attention was paid to them. Later, there was the plain evidence of our cavalry scouts that 4,000 or 5,000 men were between Maidan and Argandeh, and to cut them off was the object of General Macpherson’s march into the Chardeh Valley, and of thedétourmade by General Baker from Charasia to Maidan. General Macpherson, in carrying out his flank march to get between Mahomed Jan and Bamian, came unexpectedly upon Mir Butcha and his Kohistanis; and he had first to deal with them before turning his attention to the Ardal Pultan and their friends from Wardak and Ghazni. His defeat of Mir Butcha, on December 10th, was of great value, as preventing the Kohistanis from joining the other force; but on the 11th there followed the defeat of our cavalry and the temporary loss of two guns. That afternoon was really most pregnant with danger to the cantonment. Two brigades were miles away from the walls, and between the nearest men of General Macpherson’s brigade and Sherpur were 10,000 of the enemy. If they had streamed over the Nanuchi Kotal, near where the action of the 14th was fought, and had shown the same determination in assaulting our lines as they had done in resisting the cavalry and guns, we must have lost Sherpur long before help could have come from the two Brigadiers. That the enemy streamed off to the Cabul gorge, with the intention of seizing the Bala Hissar and the city, was the saving of our cantonments. Two hundred rifles of the 72nd checked them at Dehmazung, and they contented themselves with occupying the hills to the south of the Bala Hissar Heights, and waiting for reinforcements. We kept them in play, on the 12th, with 600 men, who partly captured their position; and by that time General Baker had reached Sherpur. On the 13th our success was unqualified; we stormed and occupied the enemy’s position,and our cavalry in the Cabul plain cut to pieces such fugitives as left the hills. That evening we believed we had seen the enemy’s full strength and had broken it; but after the action on the Asmai Heights, and the retreat of our troops to cantonments, we were undeceived. It became apparent that there were between 30,000 and 40,000 men, quite sufficient to keep us within our walls, as with such numbers many points could be threatened at the same time. It came to this: that we must he content to let them occupy Cabul, the Bala Hissar, and whatever other points they chose, while we watched them carefully from Sherpur, ready to repel attack, or to clear them out of forts and villages dangerously near our walls.Theyhave liberty to roam whithersoever they will; whileweare so numerically weak, except for cavalry reconnaissances, that we must accept the usual conditions of a beleaguered garrison. We have accepted it, cheerfully enough, I venture to say; and when we again go out to clear Cabul and the Bala Hissar, we shall do it with all the more zest after being penned up in Sherpur by sheer weight of numbers.
To-day there has not been much done beyond hard work at the entrenchments, at which the men labour heartily, as they know the importance of having continuous lines of defence. Our curiosity is fed by rumours from the city, from which we gain a certain amount of trustworthy news; though our spies, as a rule, are the most treacherous-looking ruffians we have seen for a long time. Our intelligence department has such bad tools to work with, that scarcely any information proves correct; for an Afghan is a greater adept at fabrication than any other Asiatic. We cannottrustthem: they go and come, and bring strange tales, and fill our minds with the idea that 40,000 Ghazis mean to fight to the death, so as to capture Sherpur; and then nothing comes of it. We hear to-day of scaling-ladders being made, and of an assault to be delivered simultaneously at seven points; but when or how it will be made not even the most pronounced liar among the spies ventures to say. Two or three bankers from the city have been in Sherpur to-day, and from them we have learnt that Mahomed Jan and his followers are bursting with pride at finding themselves in possession of Cabul, and holding the British army in check. There is so much confidence among them, that, no doubt at theinstigation of Yakub Khan’s mother, they have proclaimed young Musa Jan, Yakub’s son, Amir. This is to give a semblance of order and patriotism to their movements, we suppose; and, perhaps, their leaders hereafter may be bold enough to proffer negotiation. They will be the mouthpiece of their new Amir, and Sir F. Roberts will be nothing more than the representative of the British, who will be told, as in olden times, that they are not wanted in the country. Further, they have found that no Governor of Cabul now exists, General Hills, our nominee, having, of course, left thekotwalifor the safer quarters of Sherpur. The fanatics have therefore nominated Mushk-i-Alam, the oldmoollah, to be Governor, and, with all his ninety years heavy upon him, he sits dispensing justice and encouraging themoollahsto work upon the religious feelings of soldiers. Whether he expects long to enjoy his dignity does not appear; but, apart from his great age, there is the contingency of Cabul once more falling into our hands. Hisjehadhas certainly been a wonderful success, and it is long since so large a number of armed men have been assembled in and about Cabul. They are likely to experience the same difficulty we have always felt—supplies. Each villager carries with himchupatiesand dried mulberries sufficient for three or four days’ consumption; but their food-bags now want replenishing. With her usual energy, Yakub’s mother is said to have given her jewels and money to the “troops”—if they deserve the name—and they have now ample funds to carry them on for a short time. The citizens also have been called upon to show their patriotism. By beat oftom-tomit has been proclaimed that all surplus grain and other food must be given up, each family only retaining enough for its own consumption. Thebunniahsand others will be heavy losers by this enactment; but as death is threatened in case of disobedience, there is no option but to obey. They will find Mahomed Jan’s short rule far different from ours, under which they amassed rupees by thousands, and fleeced the strangers handsomely. The wholesale looting that has gone on during the last two days has given the enemy vast stores of treasure; and one report states that Yahiya Khan’s house, which we only partially cleared out, has proved a mine of wealth to them. The usual result has followed: they have begun to quarrel amongthemselves. Every Afghan is not a Ghazi; and to the mind of the village tribesman, far away from his home, it seems folly to risk farther fighting, while such plunder has been already obtained. The Ghazis would at all costs try to storm Sherpur, and repeat the victory of 1841-2, but their fanaticism has not extended far, and it will have to rise to fever-heat before it will face an assault. We have not much to fear in that direction; but still with our small stock of ammunition, it would be better, perhaps, if it did not take place. If made at night, our men would probably blaze away 70 or 100 rounds; and if our reinforcements were checked, we might seriously feel the want of ammunition.
To-day the sky has been overcast and the hills obscured with mist, so we have been unable to communicate by heliograph with Luttabund. We believe the garrison there to be quite safe, as news of any attack in that quarter would reach us very soon. Colonel Hudson knows that we are invested, and he will have taken every precaution to ensure his own safety. There seems no disturbance among the Tezin Ghilzais as yet, and the Safis of Tagao have not yet returned to their friends in Cabul. Their losses must have been heavy on the 13th and 14th. The Kohistanis who got away from the cavalry on the 13th did not all escape to their homes. While the fight was going on near Cabul, the 12th Bengal Cavalry at Butkhak were ordered to patrol the plain between that post and the Logar river. Towards evening they came across eight men who were at once made prisoners. They were all armed and well mounted, and, upon being questioned, said they were friends of Wali Mahomed, on their way to Tezin, to bring the Ghilzais down to aid the British. This statement was telegraphed to Sherpur, but Wali Mahomed knew nothing of the men; and as they had the accoutrements of a Guide sowar on one horse, and three new Snider rifles, with 400 rounds of ammunition, they were ordered to be shot. When told they were to die, they half-admitted that they were not friends of Wali Mahomed. Their leader was a young Kohistani, who met his death bravely enough: the second was a petty sirdar, who, in fear and trembling, begged for his life; and the third was a village priest, who tried to induce the Mahomedan sowar told off to execute him to let him go. “You are a Mahomedan,” he said,“and I am one of your holy men. You cannot shoot me! Let me get past the sentry, and I can escape.” The sowar’s answer was characteristic of our men: “You have been fighting against theSircar, and it is yourkismutnow to be shot. You must fulfil yourkismut.” Themoollahsaw that his prayers were of no avail, and as he was walking out, he added half-apologetically:—“I tried to persuade these others not to fight, but they would come down to Cabul, and they brought me with them.” This was admission enough, even if it were not the whole truth. It is themoollahusually who persuades the tribes to turn out, not the tribesmen who have to persuade the priest to come with them. The four other prisoners were servants of the three men named: as they were all bearing arms they also were shot.
17th December.
To-day the enemy seem to have awakened to a sense of their responsibility as an investing force. Having made their permanent (?) political arrangements for the good government of Cabul and Afghanistan, they have begun to turn their attention to the stranger within their gates. They fondly imagine that a parade of their strength may overawe us, and strike terror to our souls: quite forgetting that it can only be for a short time that we shall be the attacked, and not the attackers. About ten o’clock this morning they poured out of the eastern and western gates of Cabul, with banners flying andtom-tomsbeating, and drew up in dense masses upon the Siah Sung Heights on the one side and the slopes of the Asmai hill above Deh-i-Afghan on the other. Horsemen were seen galloping about in their midst, and trying to keep them together in military order; but their efforts were, as a rule, of no avail, only the men of the Ardal Pultun marching at all like soldiers. The men in that regiment (Guards) still carry their Sniders, and dress in a soldierlike manner, their cross-belts and pouches giving them the appearance of regular sepoys. At eleven o’clock the Afghans assembled must have numbered fully 20,000, and it was believed that they meditated an attack on the eastern and western walls of Sherpur. The alarm was accordingly sounded in cantonments, all work at the trenches was stopped, the Reserve formed up at its appointed place below the Bemaru gorge,and every man went to his post. It was a bleak December day; the sun was obscured, a cold wind sweeping down from the Pughman hills, and heavy clouds louring as if threatening snow. Our men in the trenches and on the walls were all clad in their over-coats, and dreary work they found it waiting for an enemy who never came. The hundreds of scaling-ladders we had heard so much about were not visible, and the thousands of men who crowded upon Siah Sung were only valorous enough to wave their knives and scream out curses which never reached our ears. After several hours of this unsatisfactory waiting, the order was given to shell the enemy, most of whom were out of rifle-range. G-3 and two guns of F-A opened upon Siah Sung, and their practice was excellent. G-3 got the range exactly, and two or three shells burst right in the thick of the masses upon the ridge. The effect was instantly seen: “they jist ran like skelpit bairns,” as a Highlander remarked. The dead and wounded were dragged away by the heels, and in an hour the heights were clear, except of such small parties as disdained to run away. A few marksmen of the 67th, with their Martinis, knocked over one or two of these at 1,700 yards, and this long range shooting caused the Afghans to disperse, some going to the Bala Hissar, and others running down to the villages below Siah Sung. On our eastern wall the 8-inch howitzer, placed in position on one of the bastions, was fired for the first time, and its huge shells, dropping into and over Deh-i-Afghan, scattered the crowds there assembled. The terrific report of the howitzer, and the bursting of its heavy shells, did much to alarm the enemy, who have hitherto only had 7-pounders and 9-pounders fired against them. There was some difficulty at first in getting the range and fixing fuses in the shells, which are of Afghan make; but our gunners soon overcame this, and the howitzer is now in perfect working order. It will be very useful in shelling such villages near Deh-i-Afghan as may be occupied by sharpshooters.
The only attempt to open fire upon the cantonment walls was made by a small body of the enemy, who took possession of the small walled garden, where the 5th Punjab Cavalry was quartered before the investment. This garden lies to the right of the road leading to the city, and is about 700 yards from the “72nd Gateway.”It is all that remains of the old “King’s Garden” of 1839-42. The walls are about ten feet high, and within them are numerous large trees, up which some of the more daring Afghans climbed. Their best shots aimed at our men lining the walls; but although their bullets struck the parapet from time to time, or dropped far over into the open space where our tents used to stand, no harm was done. Two mountain guns of Swinley’s battery were placed in the bastion, fifty yards to the west of the “72nd Gateway,” and these shelled the garden, while a few marksmen fired at such Afghans as exposed themselves. In the afternoon two companies of the 5th Punjab Infantry were ordered out to clear the garden. Colonel Brownlow, of the 72nd, who has charge of the wall from the gateway to the south-western bastion, rode out with them. They doubled across the open, covered by the fire from the gate and bastions, and got well round to the westward of the garden. The enemy fired a few shots, and then rushed out at the opposite side, making for Mahomed Sharif’s fort on the other side of the road. One was shot and bayoneted; and on our side a sepoy of the 5th was slightly wounded by a bullet in the leg. The garden was thoroughly searched, but none of the enemy could be found, so our men returned to Sherpur, two companies of the 72nd being ready inside to cover their retirement if they had been followed up. Beyond one or two dropping shots, they were allowed to march back unmolested. While this was going on, the Bala Hissar was seen to be crowded with armed men, and word was brought in that themoollahswere haranguing them, and urging them to attack in earnest. Their exhortations had some effect, as several thousand men took the road which would have brought them across the Cabul river and well within range of our rifles; but their courage or fanaticism was not equal to the demand made upon it, and they eventually turned off and went into the city. A few are reported to have gone to some villages outside Bemaru and the eastern wall of Sherpur; but whether they will remain there all night is doubtful. There is no organized plan of attack among them; and unless more determination is shown than that displayed to-day, our investment is likely to be of a very mild kind. The numerical strength opposed against us seems also to have decreased, andour spies report that many villagers have returned home with their dead and wounded, taking also with them such loot as they can carry. The boasted reinforcements to swell their ranks to 100,000 men are not forthcoming; and beyond the annoyance of being confined within cantonments, we do not suffer much from Mahomed Jan’s successes. The wells we have sunk since our water-supply was cut off give us good water; and except the cavalry, whose lines are in the open, we are all snug under cover in our barracks, so that stray bullets cannot do us harm. For the better purposes of defence the cantonment has been divided into sections, and each of these is in charge of an officer. From the head-quarters’ gate northwards to the end of the wall, and thence along the heights to the Bemaru gorge, Major-General Hills has charge; Brigadier-General Hugh Gough takes from the gorge and along the line of entrenchments to Bemaru village; Colonel Jenkins, of the Guides, has the eastern wall, from Bemaru to the corner bastion looking towards Butkhak; Brigadier-General Macpherson the southern wall, from that bastion to the 72nd Gate; Colonel Brownlow from the gate to the corner bastion on the south-west, facing Deh-i-Afghan; and Colonel Hogg from that bastion to the head-quarters. Major Hanna is Brigadier-General Gough’s orderly officer. The Reserve is under Brigadier-General Baker, and at night all the men belonging to it sleep on the hillside below Bemaru gorge. During the day the position of the infantry is as follows:—From the head-quarters’ gate to the western foot of the heights, the 5th Punjab Infantry; below the heights to the west of the gorge, the 3rd Sikhs and 5th Ghoorkas; east of the gorge, the wing of the 23rd Pioneers; in Bemaru village, the Guides’ Cavalry and Infantry; near the eastern wall, 100 men of the 28th Punjab Infantry and part of the 67th Foot; in the barracks, on the south, the remainder of the 67th, the 92nd, and the 72nd; and in the western wall the Sappers and Miners. Dismounted cavalry are also employed at a few of the bastions and near the gorge. The guns are moved from point to point as their fire is wanted. To-day parties of cavalry were out, reconnoitring towards Kohistan, in the direction of the Surkh Kotal; but beyond seeing a few score men moving about, they reported nothing unusual. They did not come underfire of the enemy. Our cavalry videttes take up a position on two low hills, a mile beyond the north-western bastion, whence they can watch the Aliabad and Nanuchi Kotals leading from Chardeh Valley, and also warn us of the movements of the enemy along the road at the foot of the Asmai hill from Deh-i-Afghan. No large bodies of Afghans could move from this direction without the garrison having timely warning of their approach.
Sherpur Cantonment
Again to-day we had no heliographic communication with Luttabund, and the position of General Charles Gough’s brigade is quite unknown to us. We are calculating that he will be here by the 20th; but this is a sanguine estimate, as the troops on the Khyber side are still weak in their transport arrangements. He may be unable for a few days to concentrate his troops at Jugdulluck preparatory to starting for Cabul; but the exigency is so great, that we may reasonably hope great energy will be shown in pushing on when once a start is made. He is to bring with him the 9th Foot, the 2nd and 4th Ghoorkas, and a mountain battery; and if the baggage is limited to the merest necessaries, the march should be a rapid one. It is a heavy blow to our prestige to be forced into Sherpur after having ruled Cabul for two months; and the sooner the present humiliating state of affairs is changed, the better will it be for our future control of the country. Our men are equal to bearing the exposure of night work well enough under the influence of excitement; but when the reaction comes, there will be a long list of hospital cases, for, even with four blankets and an overcoat, a soldier cannot but feel the effects of sleeping out in the open air. To-day has been the coldest we have yet experienced, and the wind is very trying to the sentries, who have to stand motionless at their posts, watching for the enemy. If snow falls, the discomfort will be increased, and the men in the trenches and bastions will have to bear great hardships.
18th December.
Night attacks, which would cause us much trouble and seriously harass our troops, do not seem to be advisable in the eyes of the Afghans. Not even the Ghazis, who showed such courage on the 14th, can persuade their friends to venture forth at night; andas the moon nightly gives more and more light, we feel less anxious as we “turn in,” fully dressed, at ten o’clock. Not that we relax our vigilance in the least: there is too much at stake for this; but that we sleep sounder, now that for three nights we have been left undisturbed. A sentry occasionally fires a shot; but no sooner does the report ring out, than an officer visits the post and personally sees if there are signs of danger. In the Reserve below the gorge the officers of each regiment watch for an hour in turn; and thus, in addition to the sentries, there are always eyes and ears ready to detect anything unusual. Tents have been pitched for some of the men to sleep in; but the majority roll themselves up in their blankets and waterproof sheets, and rest as cheerfully as if within four walls. The officers on duty on the walls sleep among their men, and are called whenever suspicion is excited by moving objects outside, so that a night surprise is impossible. The officers in charge of sections visit their walls and trenches nightly, to see that all arrangements are properly carried out; and General Roberts and his Staff sometimes make the entire round of cantonments. If an enemy were besieging us in a civilized manner, and pushing forward parallels and entrenchments, we could not be more vigilant; and it is satisfactory in the extreme to see the soldierlike bearing of all the troops engaged in the weary work of keeping watch and ward over nearly five miles of defences. British and native are fully alive to the serious duties they have to fulfil; and down even to the dismounted Lancer, with his carbine ready for use, doing the unwonted task of sentry-go in the trenches, there is not a man who has not accepted cheerfully the hardships imposed upon him.
It was understood that to-day an attack would be made in earnest. Themoollahshad been at their prayers in the early morning, and had blessed innumerable flimsy standards which were to be planted on our walls when their victorious followers had driven us from our defences. There certainly was more appearance of resolution in the movements of the enemy than has hitherto been the case. The small party in the villages beyond the eastern wall had cleared out during the night, and a demonstration in force was made from the south-western direction. Ourcavalry videttes on Siah Sung and the hills near the north-west bastion gave us warning of the approach of several thousand men, who moved out with their standards from the Jellalabad gate and Deh-i-Afghan, and took up positions in the gardens and enclosures which cover the plain to the north of the city. I have said that good cover for an attacking force still remains in front of the southern wall and the south-west bastions, and this was made use of by Mahomed Jan, to push his men well towards Sherpur. The alarm was sounded in cantonments at eleven o’clock, as on the previous day, and in a quarter of an hour we were ready for the attack. A hot fire was begun from behind walls, watercourses, and towers, upon the soldiers lining the walls of Sherpur, and we answered it with our guns. Shells were dropped into the gardens where the enemy were in most force, six guns of G-3 and F-A being taken out at the north-west corner of the cantonment, and making good practice at 1,500 and 2,000 yards. Orders were given for no small-arm ammunition to be wasted, and small volleys only were fired upon the men fully exposing themselves. A few Ghazis worked from wall to wall, until within 400 yards of the corner bastion nearest Deh-i-Afghan, but they could do nothing beyond planting their standards, for at that distance our marksmen, with their Martinis, could scarcely fail to hit even so small an object as a man’s head. Afghans are good skirmishers, and in the art of taking cover they are almost unequalled; but there was an open space between their advanced standards and the walls, which even a Ghazi would not venture to cross. All that we could see were the flashes from their rifles andjhezailsfrom loopholes in the enclosures and towers, or from behind trees, ditches, and stones. Our shells were so effective, that two or three bursting in a garden were enough to drive its defenders to seek other protection; and as they passed from wall to wall, they were shot down by our rifle-fire, which never grew wild or irregular. Eight picked men out of the 72nd Highlanders firing a volley at a signal from their officer accounted for six men out of ten who were trying to reach a small isolated tower only 400 yards from the south-west bastion; and their comrades near were so disheartened that they left their standards, and crawled back several hundred yards. Solitary Ghazis, walking in sheer bravado out of cover,were killed at longer ranges, and all heart seemed to die out of the attacking party, who could make no headway against such a deadly fire. For the greater part of the day the enemy’s fire from the villages continued, and bullets came singing over the walls into cantonments, making it dangerous for any one to venture beyond the shelter of the barracks. Spent bullets dropped a few yards over the roofs, and Lieutenant Sunderland, of the 72nd, was struck on the foot and slightly wounded by one of these. Abhisteenear head-quarters was hit in the chest, and General Vaughan’s horse was wounded while standing picqueted near the same spot. Every tree and every yard of wall outside Deh-i-Afghan and Murad Khana, the northern part of Cabul, seemed to hide skirmishers; and the rattle of musketry for several hours told of the continuous fire they were keeping up. Not a man on Sherpur walls was hit, though narrow escapes were numerous. General Roberts, with several members of his Staff, was watching the movements of the enemy from the roof of the head-quarters’ gate when a bullet passed just over the parapet and struck the wall behind. The heliograph instrument on the same roof was also hit. The Union Jack was flying just below, and it was believed that this was taken as a target, as the shooting was so accurate. A score of Mahomed Jan’s nondescript cavalry galloped along the road below the Asmai hill, as if to cut off our videttes, but a few shells checked them; while a small body of infantry, which tried to work round in the same direction, were kept back by a few shots from the sowars’ carbines, aided by a cross fire from twelve picked shots of the 5th Punjab Infantry, snugly ensconced in the fields, behind a littlesungar600 yards from the guns. These twelve men—six Afridis and six Dogras—also prevented any stragglers from firing at the guns; and the coolness with which they kept their post and fired upon 200 or 300 Afghans who tried to dislodge them was admirable. In the afternoon the 67th Foot moved out along the fields in front of the southern walls, and skirmished along the enemy’s right flank, so as to draw their fire, and make them show their real strength. They were also to examine the ground, and see if it were possible for cavalry to work across. They lined such walls as gave cover and drew a smart fire upon themselves, which they returned rather too freelyconsidering that ammunition is so valuable. There was not time for them to clear the gardens and forts, so at sunset they returned to their quarters, their withdrawal being the signal for the enemy to follow their old tactics of creeping forward again to the positions they had evacuated. The fire from the bastions was again effective in covering the retirement, and the regiment reached cantonments without any casualties. The King’s Garden had been occupied since the morning by two companies of the 5th Punjab Infantry, Colonel Williams (commanding 5th Punjab Cavalry) having reported that it was easily defensible by infantry. The Punjabees were withdrawn at the same time as the 67th retired; two companies of the 3rd Sikhs, who had gone out to strengthen the right flank of the 67th, keeping the enemy back while the garden was evacuated. No sooner had the sepoys withdrawn than the garden was filled with Afghans, who fired the quarters of the sowars, and amused themselves by shrieking and howling about the place, as if they had gained a great success. The 5th Punjab Cavalry have had all their trouble for nothing: they had made themselves comfortable for the winter, and had got inbhoosaand firewood; and this is now either burnt or carried away. In a village near Mahomed Sharif’s Fort are large stores of forage, and this, also, will probably be looted.
To-day the sun shone out for a short time, and we were able to heliograph to Luttabund, although the mist over the hills beyond Butkhak was very dense. A message was received from Colonel Hudson, commanding at Luttabund, reporting all well; he had not been attacked; Gough’s brigade had not been seen, and it was supposed he was still at Jugdulluck. General Roberts signalled back, ordering the brigade to advance instantly, even if they had to leave their tents behind for want of transport; but whether the signallers at Luttabund could read our message, is not certain, as no answering flashes came back, heavy clouds obscuring the sun over the distantkotal. It was signalled twice, so that it might be understood, and we have but little doubt that it was “read” correctly. It is now plain that our reinforcements will not be here by the 20th, and we must wait patiently for another five or six days.
Snow began to fall at seven o’clock this evening, and it is stillsteadily snowing now (midnight). At ten o’clock I visited the bastions held by the 72nd Highlanders, and gained some idea of the work our men are called upon to do. The sentries in their greatcoats were simply white figures standing rigidly up like ghosts, the snow-flakes softly covering them from head to foot, and freezing as they fell. Men on guard in the bastions were walking briskly to and fro in their limited space to keep themselves warm, and at their feet were their sleeping comrades, covered with their waterproof sheets. A cold wind had been blowing in the early part of the evening, and this had driven the flakes into every crevice, and had caused several inches of snow to drift about the feet of the sentries in the parapet. In the ditch below our horses were tethered, and our syces and followers sleeping, the snow covering all alike, and whitening the ground as far as the eye could reach. Inside cantonments was one wide sheet of snowy brightness, the Bemaru Heights rising up in the background and looming through the snowflakes like a snowy barrier blocking us from the outer world. It was bitterly cold on these heights, over which a cold wind nearly always blows; and we knew that, hidden from our view, were 2,000 or 3,000 men sleeping at their posts, with snow about them, every man ready to answer the first call of his officer, stalking about among the sentries. Picquet duty under such conditions is a real hardship; but with Balaclava caps and warm gloves frost-bite is guarded against, and with the early morning comes hot soup and cocoa, which cheers the men, and gives them heart to face the cold. By order of the General, the Commissariat serve out, night and morning, tinned soups and cocoa to all European soldiers; and it is fortunate that a large supply of these stimulants—for such, indeed, they are in a climate like this—reached us a few weeks ago. The small tins are easily carried by the men, and all that is wanted is a cup of hot water to give a “drink” with which rum cannot hope to compete. The sepoys and sowars of the native regiments are not forgotten, additional comforts being served out to them; and they are cheery as their English comrades, though the snow is far more trying to men from a tropical climate.
Our wounded generally are doing well, though one trooper of the 9th Lancers, who was injured by his horse being killed in acharge, has died. Colonel Cleland, the Colonel of the same regiment, who was wounded in the disastrous affair of the 11th, is pronounced out of danger; while Lieutenant Egerton, shot through the neck on the 14th, is walking about again, though still on the sick list. I am sorry to say that Major Cook, V.C., 5th Ghoorkas, is dying, mortification having set in from the wound he received below the knee on the Bala Hissar Heights. His brother, Lieutenant Cook, of the 3rd Sikhs, who was wounded in Chardeh, is rapidly recovering.
The Siege of Sherpur continued—General Baker’s Attack upon Kila Mir Akhor—Destruction of the Fort—Telegraphic and Heliographic Arrangements in Sherpur—News from Luttabund—Despatch of a Convoy to Colonel Hudson—Movements of the Enemy at the Butkhak Road—Want of Military Knowledge among the Afghans—Dissensions in their Ranks—Mahomed Jan offers Terms—Heavy Guns got into Position in Sherpur—Bombardment of Kila Mahomed Sharif—Failure to dislodge the Enemy—Arrival of General Charles Gough’s Brigade at Sei Baba—Night March of the 12th Bengal Cavalry to Luttabund—Occupation of Villages East of Sherpur by the Enemy—Trustworthy News of a contemplated Attack—The Preparations to resist an Assault—The Attack of December 23rd—Repulse of the First Attack on the Eastern Trenches—The Attack renewed—Dispersion of the Enemy—Cavalry Pursuit—Deaths of Captain Dundas, V.C., and Lieutenant Nugent, R.E.—General Charles Gough at the Logar Bridge—Return of Casualties.