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Afghanistan-An Historical Perspective (1838)
Not much has changed.... apart from the rum ration.
August 1838 and orders were given for the assemblage of the Army of the Indus, which in the coming cold weather would cross that great river for the invasion of Afghanistan. Leaving a token force in Poona, the regiment sailed from Bombay mustering 30 officers and 595 other ranks under Lt. Colonel Croker. After landing in Scinde, it was brigaded with the 2nd Queens Royals, and the 4th Dragoons into the Bombay Division under Sir John Keane. Through hostile country they followed the course of the river, and eventually took the Scinde capital, Hyderabad. March 1839 found the Tigers effecting a passage of the Indus over a bridge of boats built by engineers of the Bengal Division two months previously, en route from the Punjab. This division, under General Cotton, was forcing the Bolan Pass meanwhile but starving under the ineptitude of the commissariat. At the peak of its strength, the Bengal force comprised of the Queen s soldiers, the 16th Lancers, 13th Foot and the 3rdBuffs. The Company s contribution had the European Regiment, two regiments of native horse and twelve sepoy battalions, some 9,000 men in all. Trudging along behind came Soojah s own force consisting of two cavalry regiments, four of infantry, and a troop of horse artillery, totalling 6,000 Indians under European officers. Trailing after this entourage was an unbelievable volume of camp followers and baggage animals. 38,000 drivers, servants, and general hangers on slowed the whole to a crawl, carrying every necessity for the officer on campaign.
After an uncomfortable trek the Tigers reached the Bolan Pass, an awesome valley with gloomy crags rising precipitously above a wretched track over which, weeks before, the Bengal Army s giant siege guns were painfully hauled for two weeks. Leaving the pass they entered the dry Dusht i be doulut or Unhappy Desert, daily fighting their way toward Candahar to merge with their sister division. Here, eventually, the Army of the Indus was complete, General Keane newly promoted to command it. Held up in Candahar, awaiting the corn harvest, the redcoats soon tired of its filthy, narrow streets. On 30th June now under Brigadier General Willshire, C. in C. of the Bombay Division, the 17th broke camp to mach through arid hills into the hostile land of the Ghilzee, where, on July 21st, the army gathered before Ghuznee, a fortress of great strength garrisoned by 3,000 Afghans. Situated on his proposed supply line, Keane had to capture this stronghold.
The regiments selected for the assault were the 2nd, 13th, 17th and Bengal European, the light companies of which formed the avant garde. A plan was conceived to blow up the partly built Kabul gate and the operation fell to a Bengal engineer officer, Captain Thomson. On the windy night of July 22nd, shielding the 900 pounds of gunpowder from the driving rain, the sappers stealthily ignited the fuse, before dashing to the cover of the 13th Somerset Light Infantry . All this time the defenders were diverted by a light artillery bombardment elsewhere on the bastion. The explosion signalled the forlorn hope into the breach where the falling scimitars played havoc into the light infantry. Resistance quickly dissolved under the repetitive volleys, however, and by first light Colonel Donnie s vanguard was manning the ramparts, closely followed now by the grenadiers of the main storming party surging over the smouldering timbers to bayonet the screaming infidel. Many n Afghan sold his life dearly, but soon the lower town succumbed until only the citadel stood defiant. It required little effort, for Colonel Croker to seize the citadel and observe his Tigers cheer the raising of their regimental flag above the highest tower. The 17th s spirit was afterwards illustrated by their wounded refusing to lie abed whilst their comrades hobbled on to Kabul. The British had lost 17 and 165 wounded, of that the Leicesters sustained only one private killed, while upwards of 1,000 Afghans were buried by the victors. An interesting observation was made by General Havelock, of the General Staff, at this time. After the siege it appeared that sword cuts healed quickly and the customary acts of plunder failed to occur. The teetotal Havelock attributed this state of affairs to the fact that the rum ration, hitherto considered essential to active serviceman, had given out two weeks previously.
A week later, outside Kabul, the brigades formed up to march triumphantly through the forsaken capital, where Dost Mohamed s cause was lost, his troops irresolute. In gratitude, Shah Soojah, reinstated Kings of Afghanistan, nominated British officers members of his newly instituted. Dooranee Empire Lt. Colonel Croker and Majors Pennycuick and Deshon honoured the 17th. The regiment was further honoured in Kabul, when General Keane chose them to form the guard of honour for the entry, into the city, of Soojah s son, Timar Khan. It was originally planned to leave with Soojah a small supporting force, but in fact an Army of Occupation the Bengal Division was left to support the unpopular Shah.
So, on September 18th, 1839, the Bombay force ponderously made its way south en route for India. Returning by their approach road they reached Quetta where it was decided to eradicate the menace of Mehrab Khan of Khelat, following his hindrance of the army months before. The 2nd and 17th Foot, the 31st Bengal N.U., two howitzers, four six pounders, and a cavalry escort were the angry Khan snarled down at his pending doom.
On three heights outside of the town the Khan had arrayed infantry supported by three guns. Willshire calculated the need to clear these hills before the siege. Directing his howitzers on them, the Baluchis broke and cascaded downhill towards the gate, pursued hotly by Major Pennycuick s vanguard, hoping for an easy entry. The gates allowed the Afghans safety and slammed shut, forcing the skirmishers into the cover of a nearby low wall, where they returned the galling fire from the ramparts. This allowed Willshire to site his cannon, just 200 yards from the unsuspecting gate defenders. After a short cannonade the demolished gate were stormed by Pennycuick s companies, followed closely by the main column. They met a heavy resistance, with every inch of ground disputed. At one point, an Afghan chief surrendered his sword to Colonel Croker who, turning momentarily, was seized by his prisoner. The colonel extricated himself with some difficulty, to find his assailant despatched with several sword and bayonet wounds.
Prior to the regiment taking the town, Major Deshon had been detached with two companies to the south gate to cut off the enemy s retreat in that direction Captain Darley with the light company, being ordered to the right for the same purpose. Meanwihle, moving through the dusty streets, the Tigers of Pennyquick s advance guard, repelling some desperate sword attacks, came upon an outer gate of the citadel. This they opened by applying the muzzles of about a dozen muskets to the lock and firing them off together. With access they entered a subterranean passage, perfectly dark, near the head of which a sudden rush was made by the enemy and followed a scene of indescribable confusion. When order was restored, the enemy retreated into a small court. This was the inner citadel where Mehrab Khan stood at bay with his chiefs, only to fall in the ensuing melee, a musket ball through his heart. Soon afterwards the hard core surrendered as at Ghuznee so at Khelat, a reputedly impregnable fortress had fallen to the British in a matter of hours. The regiments roll call revealed six dead.
By the new year the regiment had crossed into Scinde, marching to the port of Kurrachee, to discover that, although their part in the Afghan campaign was finished, their adventures were not yet over.
On February 6th, 1840, they boarded the ship Hannah and the next morning set sail for Bombay. But that night whilst under full sail, the Hannah ran on to a sandbank and slowly took water. A report on the wreck in the Bombay Gazette, March 30th, 1840, says
The clothing of the 17th Foot is all lost, and the arms and accoutrements either lost or ruined. Treasure and mess plates have shared the same fate. The Khelat jewels are gone and much prize property is said to be hopelessly lost, and many valuables of the Heroes of Khelat, worth thousands of rupees.
Rescued by men of the Indian Navy, the reluctant mariners were taken on board a passing steamer thence safely on to Bombay. The Bombay force was dissolved, but what of the Bengal Division?
In Kabul Burnes had wrongly advised the reduction of military strength in the capital, and the 1st Brigade, under General Sale, departed for India by way of Jalalabad. Moving through the eastern passes, the Brigade cut a path trough the barbarous Ghilzye tribes, only to learn through desperate letters of appeal, of the need for their return to help quell the rising rebellion But Sale could not risk the remnants of his command.
The night of the long knives had come and women, sepys, and children were gleefully slaughtered alike. The Kabul mob made short work of Burnes and his residency. The remaining force, under General Elphinstone, were obliged, with no signs of reinforcement, to follow Sale s route in retreat. Apart from the captured few the column, daily more incapacitated from the intense cold, perished heroically under the Afghan horde. Only a few reached the British garrison, where orders were given for a great beacon to shine throughout the nights to come. Buglers sounded every half hour, their warm tones reaching into the darkness only to fall vainly on to the cold rocky road, infested with the dead.
Sources
The Leicester Regimental Museum.
Webb History of the Services of the Leicestershire Regiment .
Macrory Signal Catstrophe .
Kaye Afghan War .
Simkin Prints.
Not much has changed.... apart from the rum ration.
August 1838 and orders were given for the assemblage of the Army of the Indus, which in the coming cold weather would cross that great river for the invasion of Afghanistan. Leaving a token force in Poona, the regiment sailed from Bombay mustering 30 officers and 595 other ranks under Lt. Colonel Croker. After landing in Scinde, it was brigaded with the 2nd Queens Royals, and the 4th Dragoons into the Bombay Division under Sir John Keane. Through hostile country they followed the course of the river, and eventually took the Scinde capital, Hyderabad. March 1839 found the Tigers effecting a passage of the Indus over a bridge of boats built by engineers of the Bengal Division two months previously, en route from the Punjab. This division, under General Cotton, was forcing the Bolan Pass meanwhile but starving under the ineptitude of the commissariat. At the peak of its strength, the Bengal force comprised of the Queen s soldiers, the 16th Lancers, 13th Foot and the 3rdBuffs. The Company s contribution had the European Regiment, two regiments of native horse and twelve sepoy battalions, some 9,000 men in all. Trudging along behind came Soojah s own force consisting of two cavalry regiments, four of infantry, and a troop of horse artillery, totalling 6,000 Indians under European officers. Trailing after this entourage was an unbelievable volume of camp followers and baggage animals. 38,000 drivers, servants, and general hangers on slowed the whole to a crawl, carrying every necessity for the officer on campaign.
After an uncomfortable trek the Tigers reached the Bolan Pass, an awesome valley with gloomy crags rising precipitously above a wretched track over which, weeks before, the Bengal Army s giant siege guns were painfully hauled for two weeks. Leaving the pass they entered the dry Dusht i be doulut or Unhappy Desert, daily fighting their way toward Candahar to merge with their sister division. Here, eventually, the Army of the Indus was complete, General Keane newly promoted to command it. Held up in Candahar, awaiting the corn harvest, the redcoats soon tired of its filthy, narrow streets. On 30th June now under Brigadier General Willshire, C. in C. of the Bombay Division, the 17th broke camp to mach through arid hills into the hostile land of the Ghilzee, where, on July 21st, the army gathered before Ghuznee, a fortress of great strength garrisoned by 3,000 Afghans. Situated on his proposed supply line, Keane had to capture this stronghold.
The regiments selected for the assault were the 2nd, 13th, 17th and Bengal European, the light companies of which formed the avant garde. A plan was conceived to blow up the partly built Kabul gate and the operation fell to a Bengal engineer officer, Captain Thomson. On the windy night of July 22nd, shielding the 900 pounds of gunpowder from the driving rain, the sappers stealthily ignited the fuse, before dashing to the cover of the 13th Somerset Light Infantry . All this time the defenders were diverted by a light artillery bombardment elsewhere on the bastion. The explosion signalled the forlorn hope into the breach where the falling scimitars played havoc into the light infantry. Resistance quickly dissolved under the repetitive volleys, however, and by first light Colonel Donnie s vanguard was manning the ramparts, closely followed now by the grenadiers of the main storming party surging over the smouldering timbers to bayonet the screaming infidel. Many n Afghan sold his life dearly, but soon the lower town succumbed until only the citadel stood defiant. It required little effort, for Colonel Croker to seize the citadel and observe his Tigers cheer the raising of their regimental flag above the highest tower. The 17th s spirit was afterwards illustrated by their wounded refusing to lie abed whilst their comrades hobbled on to Kabul. The British had lost 17 and 165 wounded, of that the Leicesters sustained only one private killed, while upwards of 1,000 Afghans were buried by the victors. An interesting observation was made by General Havelock, of the General Staff, at this time. After the siege it appeared that sword cuts healed quickly and the customary acts of plunder failed to occur. The teetotal Havelock attributed this state of affairs to the fact that the rum ration, hitherto considered essential to active serviceman, had given out two weeks previously.
A week later, outside Kabul, the brigades formed up to march triumphantly through the forsaken capital, where Dost Mohamed s cause was lost, his troops irresolute. In gratitude, Shah Soojah, reinstated Kings of Afghanistan, nominated British officers members of his newly instituted. Dooranee Empire Lt. Colonel Croker and Majors Pennycuick and Deshon honoured the 17th. The regiment was further honoured in Kabul, when General Keane chose them to form the guard of honour for the entry, into the city, of Soojah s son, Timar Khan. It was originally planned to leave with Soojah a small supporting force, but in fact an Army of Occupation the Bengal Division was left to support the unpopular Shah.
So, on September 18th, 1839, the Bombay force ponderously made its way south en route for India. Returning by their approach road they reached Quetta where it was decided to eradicate the menace of Mehrab Khan of Khelat, following his hindrance of the army months before. The 2nd and 17th Foot, the 31st Bengal N.U., two howitzers, four six pounders, and a cavalry escort were the angry Khan snarled down at his pending doom.
On three heights outside of the town the Khan had arrayed infantry supported by three guns. Willshire calculated the need to clear these hills before the siege. Directing his howitzers on them, the Baluchis broke and cascaded downhill towards the gate, pursued hotly by Major Pennycuick s vanguard, hoping for an easy entry. The gates allowed the Afghans safety and slammed shut, forcing the skirmishers into the cover of a nearby low wall, where they returned the galling fire from the ramparts. This allowed Willshire to site his cannon, just 200 yards from the unsuspecting gate defenders. After a short cannonade the demolished gate were stormed by Pennycuick s companies, followed closely by the main column. They met a heavy resistance, with every inch of ground disputed. At one point, an Afghan chief surrendered his sword to Colonel Croker who, turning momentarily, was seized by his prisoner. The colonel extricated himself with some difficulty, to find his assailant despatched with several sword and bayonet wounds.
Prior to the regiment taking the town, Major Deshon had been detached with two companies to the south gate to cut off the enemy s retreat in that direction Captain Darley with the light company, being ordered to the right for the same purpose. Meanwihle, moving through the dusty streets, the Tigers of Pennyquick s advance guard, repelling some desperate sword attacks, came upon an outer gate of the citadel. This they opened by applying the muzzles of about a dozen muskets to the lock and firing them off together. With access they entered a subterranean passage, perfectly dark, near the head of which a sudden rush was made by the enemy and followed a scene of indescribable confusion. When order was restored, the enemy retreated into a small court. This was the inner citadel where Mehrab Khan stood at bay with his chiefs, only to fall in the ensuing melee, a musket ball through his heart. Soon afterwards the hard core surrendered as at Ghuznee so at Khelat, a reputedly impregnable fortress had fallen to the British in a matter of hours. The regiments roll call revealed six dead.
By the new year the regiment had crossed into Scinde, marching to the port of Kurrachee, to discover that, although their part in the Afghan campaign was finished, their adventures were not yet over.
On February 6th, 1840, they boarded the ship Hannah and the next morning set sail for Bombay. But that night whilst under full sail, the Hannah ran on to a sandbank and slowly took water. A report on the wreck in the Bombay Gazette, March 30th, 1840, says
The clothing of the 17th Foot is all lost, and the arms and accoutrements either lost or ruined. Treasure and mess plates have shared the same fate. The Khelat jewels are gone and much prize property is said to be hopelessly lost, and many valuables of the Heroes of Khelat, worth thousands of rupees.
Rescued by men of the Indian Navy, the reluctant mariners were taken on board a passing steamer thence safely on to Bombay. The Bombay force was dissolved, but what of the Bengal Division?
In Kabul Burnes had wrongly advised the reduction of military strength in the capital, and the 1st Brigade, under General Sale, departed for India by way of Jalalabad. Moving through the eastern passes, the Brigade cut a path trough the barbarous Ghilzye tribes, only to learn through desperate letters of appeal, of the need for their return to help quell the rising rebellion But Sale could not risk the remnants of his command.
The night of the long knives had come and women, sepys, and children were gleefully slaughtered alike. The Kabul mob made short work of Burnes and his residency. The remaining force, under General Elphinstone, were obliged, with no signs of reinforcement, to follow Sale s route in retreat. Apart from the captured few the column, daily more incapacitated from the intense cold, perished heroically under the Afghan horde. Only a few reached the British garrison, where orders were given for a great beacon to shine throughout the nights to come. Buglers sounded every half hour, their warm tones reaching into the darkness only to fall vainly on to the cold rocky road, infested with the dead.
Sources
The Leicester Regimental Museum.
Webb History of the Services of the Leicestershire Regiment .
Macrory Signal Catstrophe .
Kaye Afghan War .
Simkin Prints.
