Chapter 16: The Fight In The Pass.
The Afghan force, after half an hour's effort to carry the villageheld by the Highlanders, moved off to their left and, working alongthe hills, took post on the heights beyond Bala-Hissar. In themeantime General Macpherson, having dispersed a strong body of theenemy up the valley, marched back towards Cabul and, coming acrossthe scene of the late action, brought in the bodies of the deadofficers. The guns had already been carried off for, as the enemyadvanced, Colonel Macgregor--collecting a handful of lancers andartillery men--worked round to their rear and--dispersing a smallbody of the enemy, who had lingered at a village near theguns--succeeded in extricating the cannon from the swamp, andcarried them off to Sherpur.
From the signal post established above Bala-Hissar, an order wasflashed to General Baker--who was many miles away--to inform him ofwhat had occurred, and to order him to march back, with all speed.Late that evening he arrived, with his column; and the Britishforce was again united.
The next day, 560 men of Macpherson's brigade--composed of portionsof the 67th, the 72nd, the 3rd Sikhs, and 5th Ghoorkas--were sentout to attack the enemy; who had established themselves upon alofty peak, south of Cabul. The Afghans occupied the crest instrength and, hidden behind the hill, had 5000 or 6000 men lying inwait, to attack the assailing party in the rear as they pressedupwards.
The position was, however, too strong to be carried. After severalhours of fighting, the little British force had driven the Afghansfrom the lower part of the hill; but were unable to mount towardsthe crest, for ammunition was running short, and the enemy were toostrongly posted. General Roberts therefore ordered Macpherson tohold the ground which he had gained, until next morning, when moretroops would be sent.
At eight o'clock in the morning, accordingly, General Baker movedout from Sherpur, with a strong force, and attacked the enemy'sposition in flank; while Macpherson continued his advance in front.The Afghans fought desperately, and clung to their position untilthe British were close up; when a desperate hand-to-hand struggletook place, and the British became masters of the position.
While the fighting had been going on, great masses of the enemy hadcome down from the end of the valley, and threatened the roadbetween Sherpur and Cabul. The 9th Lancers made a magnificentcharge among them, broke them, and drove them back. Several otherbrilliant charges were made, and the plain was kept clear of theenemy. Captain Butson, however--who commanded--was killed, and twoother officers wounded.
With each hour that passed the position grew more serious, asimmense bodies of the enemy were seen, advancing from all sides.The city was now in open revolt, and the small garrison there withdifficulty held their own.
One more effort was made to drive the enemy off the hills. Early onthe 15th General Baker, with 1200 infantry and eight guns, left thecantonment. After very severe fighting, the enemy were driven fromtheir lowest positions but, as Baker advanced, a body of from15,000 to 20,000 of the enemy marched out across the plain, towardsthe position just captured. Steadily they advanced, and the shellswhich our mountain guns sent among them, and the volleys poureddown from the face of the hill, did not suffice to check them inthe slightest. Reassured by their own enormous numbers, and feelingthat success was in their grasp, they pressed forward; anddesperate fighting took place. A position held by the 5th PunjaubInfantry was carried by their attack, and two guns were lost; butthe rest of the positions were maintained.
Seeing that it was impossible to hold the Bala-Hissar and Cabul, inthe face of the hordes opposed to him--which were estimated, by thegeneral himself, as numbering 80,000 men; but which the Afghans,themselves, afterwards acknowledged were between 100,000 and120,000--General Roberts determined to concentrate his troops atSherpur. Baker was ordered to maintain the position he held, at allcosts, until the troops from the Bala-Hissar were withdrawn. Thishe did; and although, as he fell back, the Afghan hordes swarmedround him, he fought his way back to Sherpur and, by nightfall, allthe British force were safely gathered in the cantonments there.
Two days previously, General Roberts had telegraphed for theregiments most advanced in the passes, below, to come forward. Theyarrived on the morning of the 16th, and the general had no longerany anxiety as to his ability to hold the cantonments--for months,if necessary--against the attacks of the Afghans.
Had these attacked on the morning following what was virtually avictory--whilst still flushed with triumph and excitement--it wouldhave needed all the efforts of the English to hold their position,against so formidable an attack. The Afghans, however, contentedthemselves with occupying several walled villages near thecantonment, and keeping up an incessant fire upon it. Meanwhile,their main body indulged in wild excesses in Cabul--sacking theHindoo quarter, and plundering all the shops, without muchdistinction of nationality.
Thus, three days elapsed; the British making the most of the timeafforded them, by strengthening the weak points of their defensesLines of wagons were placed in the gap between the unfinished walland the foot of the hill. Wires were stretched in all directions,and chevaux-de-frise erected beyond.
On the 18th the enemy came down in force and, for some hours, atremendous musketry fire was kept up at the position; but the fireof the musketry and guns, from the walls, was so hot that they didnot venture upon an attack.
The following day General Baker sallied out and attacked afortified post, a few hundred yards from the wall. From this placethe enemy had greatly annoyed the garrison. After some severefighting the Afghans were driven out, and the place blown up.
On the evening of the 22nd the general received news that theAfghans, having prepared a great number of ladders for the assault,intended to attack that night. There had been several similarwarnings but, this time, the news proved correct. A signal fire waslit upon one of the heights at four in the morning and, at fiveo'clock, the plain was covered with the enemy. Quietly they creptup in the darkness, towards the walls; and at six o'clock aprodigious shouting was heard, and from the villages, orchards, andenclosed ground upon all sides, the enemy dashed forward to theassault.
As they approached, they opened fire on all sides; pressing chieflytowards the weak point, near the foot of the hills. But, tremendousas was the roar of the Afghan fire, it was drowned by the roll ofmusketry which broke from the whole circuit of the walls; where theBritish troops, rifle in hand, had been lying for three hours,waiting the attack. So terrible was the storm of lead that sweptthe plain that the Afghans paused, in their advance. For two hoursthey remained around the walls--yelling, shouting, and firingheavily--but all the efforts of their leaders could not induce themto rise from the ground, and hazard a charge. Many dropped withineighty or ninety yards of the wall but, beyond that, the bravestdared not advance.
When morning broke, the welcome news was brought down--from theoutlook on the top of the hill--that far across the plain could beseen the tents of the force of General Gough; who was coming upthrough the passes, to the relief of the garrison. The news hadreached the assailants, also. Considerable bodies of the enemy wereobserved moving out from Cabul, as if with the intention ofattacking the relieving force.
The assailants of the British position--finding their inability toproduce the smallest impression--were now beginning to waver; andGeneral Gough ordered the cavalry and horse artillery to go out, bythe road which led through a gorge in a hill behind, and to sweepround and take them in the rear.
This they did, with immense success. At the moment that they fellupon the enemy, the British infantry sallied out from thecantonment and attacked them in front. A panic seized the Afghans.In a few minutes the whole plain was covered with flying fugitives;among whom our cavalry swept backward and forward, cutting them upin all directions; while the fire of our infantry, and of the gunson the walls, searched them through and through, whenever theyattempted to gather in a knot, and make a stand.
By nightfall, the whole of the Afghans had either fled to thehills, or were driven into Cabul. Upon the following day GeneralGough'
s force marched in but, before their arrival, it was foundthat the enemy had again evacuated the city; and the British were,as before, masters of the position. After the decisive defeat whichhad been inflicted upon them, and the dispersion of the great forcewhich had gathered, confident of victory, there was little fear ofany further attempt on the part of the enemy. They had broughttheir whole force into the field and, as this was defeated anddispersed, before the arrival of General Gough with hisreinforcements, it was evident that success could not be hoped foragainst the united strength of the English.
The time passed quietly, now. The Bala-Hissar and Cabul werereoccupied and, as the natives were cowed by the crushing defeatthey had experienced, there was no longer any repetition of theinsolent and defiant manner which they had, before, manifested.
On the 3rd of January a message was brought to the orderly roomthat the general wished to see Sergeant Gale. Upon his presentinghimself at the general's quarters, Sir Frederick Roberts--to hissurprise--at once advanced, and shook him warmly by the hand.
"Mr. Gale," he said, "I am very happy to inform you that the HorseGuards have acted upon my recommendation, seconded by that whichwas sent in by your colonel--who wrote at once, upon receiving anotification from me of the step I had taken, saying that you haddistinguished yourself very highly, in the attack upon thePeiwar-Khotal, and that he was convinced that you would make, inall respects, an excellent officer. With my despatches that havejust come in, I have received a notification that my request hasbeen attended to; together with a copy of the Gazette, in which youare appointed to the 66th Regiment.
"I have to congratulate you, sir. You are now an officer; and will,I am quite sure, do every credit to my recommendation."
The young soldier was, for a moment, too moved at the tidings tospeak coherently; but he murmured his thanks to the general for hiskindness.
"Do not say anything about that," the general said, heartily. "Itis a pleasure, to me, to have been able to advance a promisingyoung soldier.
"I am only sorry that you are not gazetted to a regiment in my owndivision. The 66th are at Candahar; and unfortunately they willnot, I understand, form part of a column with which General Stuartwill advance, in the spring, up the valley through Ghuzni to thisplace. Had it been so, it would have been best for you to waittheir arrival here but, as it is, you had better go down the passto India, and work round and join your regiment. It is a long road,but it is always best for a young officer to be with hisregiment--especially when in the field--and it is possible thatthey may have their share of fighting, round Candahar.
"And now, there is one thing more. You will have to get an outfit,and there will be the expense of your travel, until you join yourregiment. There will be no difficulty about an outfit. This you canprocure easily, on the sale of some officer's effects.
"By the by, poor young Thompson, who died yesterday, was about yoursize; and you had better bid a lump sum for the whole of his kit. Ishall be happy to be your banker for that, and the needful sum foryour traveling expenses. When you join your regiment you will, ofcourse, be able to draw your pay, from the date on which you weregazetted."
Will thanked the general very heartily for his offer, but said thathe had 100 pounds standing at his account at the bank of Hindostan,which had been presented to him by the owners of the vessel in whichhe arrived there; and that this would be more than sufficient for allhis needs, if the general would kindly authorize the staff paymasterto cash his drafts upon the bank.
This request was at once granted. The paymaster of LieutenantThompson's regiment estimated that the effects of the young officerwould sell, at auction, for about 20 pounds; and this sum WilliamGale gladly paid, thereby obtaining a complete outfit of regimentaland civilian clothes, and under linen of all descriptions. Another30 pounds bought him a horse and saddlery while, for 5 pounds, heobtained a rough pony for the use of Yossouf--who steadily refusedto leave him, although Will pointed out to him that, glad as heshould be to have him with him, it would be far more to hisadvantage to remain among his people at Cabul, where he had meansof settling comfortably.
Upon the following day--having obtained his new uniform, which hefound required no alteration to fit him fairly--William Gale dinedwith General Roberts; who had kindly invited him in order tointroduce him, in his new position, to the officers of his staff Hewas obliged to remain three or four days longer at Sherpur, until astrong escort, with sick, was going down through the passes toJellalabad. His baggage was stowed upon a camel and, after a kindadieu from General Roberts, and a very cordial one from the staffsergeants--among whom he had worked for three months--he startedwith the convoy for the lower valleys.
The escort consisted of a hundred men of the infantry of theGuides. The way down the pass was difficult; but no snow had fallenfor three weeks, and the roads were fairly beaten down by passingparties. Still, their progress was slow and, late on the afternoonof the second day after starting, they were still four miles fromthe fort of Jugdulluk; which was held by a British force, and wherethey were to halt for the night.
The Guides were on the alert. A party of four men were 200 yardsahead of the little column, which was commanded by Captain Edwards.Presently a shot rang out from the front, followed by a scattereddischarge. William Gale was, at the moment, riding by the side ofCaptain Edwards. He had already placed himself under that officer'sorders, in case of any emergency.
"Mr. Gale," Captain Edwards said, "will you ride forward at once,with six men, to the advanced party. When you get there, take suchmeasures as you may think fit; and send me back word as to thestrength and position of the enemy."
With six of the Guides, Will at once rode forward; while CaptainEdwards halted, until the little column was gathered closelytogether: the camels and dhoolies, with sick men, in the center;the soldiers, in readiness for action, around them.
A soldier now ran up with a slip of paper, upon which Will hadscribbled, in pencil:
"The enemy are apparently in considerable force. The defile openshere. They are disposed among rocks and boulders, on either side."
Will, on arriving at the advanced party, had found at once that theforce of the enemy was too strong for him to attempt to moveforward, at present. He had posted the men behind boulders by thewayside, ordering them to pick off any man that showed himself; andthey were soon engaged in a sharp musketry skirmish with the enemy.One of their number had fallen at the first discharge; and Will,taking his rifle, used it with effect, until the head of the convoyarrived.
It was now fast becoming dark, and the flashes of the enemy's fire,from behind the rocks, showed how numerous were the assailants.
"There must be a couple of thousands of the scoundrels," Will saidto Captain Edwards, as the latter came up to ascertain the state ofaffairs. "Hampered with the convoy, the position is an awkward one.It is fortunate they attacked where they did; for we can hold ourown here while, if they had waited till we got fairly down intothis comparatively open valley, and then attacked us on bothflanks, it would have been very awkward.
"We must try and clear them out. We cannot stop here all night. Itis freezing very sharp, now; and the cold will be intense, in anhour or two."
"I will take thirty men," Captain Edwards said, "and skirmish alongamong the rocks on the left. Do you take as many more, and movealong the right of the path. The remaining forty shall stay here,under my sergeant, to guard the convoy from an attack in rear, incase any of the enemy should come down the defile behind us."
The fight soon became exceedingly hot. Making their way along therocks, on either side of the path, the Guides slowly drove theenemy before them. It was hard work, however, for the tribesmenfought steadily and, as those in front fell back upon those lowerdown the valley, their resistance became every moment moreobstinate. Eight of Will's party had already fallen; but although,sword in hand, he was leading them, encouraging them with voice andgesture, not a bullet had as yet struck him.
Presently Captain Edwards, having crossed the valle
y, stood by hisside.
"We are at a standstill," he said. "Nine of my men are killed orwounded, already; and the fellows are as thick as peas. I am afraidwe shall never be able to force our way through.
"There," he exclaimed, as a sound of firing was heard in the rear,"they have come down on the convoy from behind. We had better, Ithink, fall back a bit; and take post near the mouth of the defile.We must defend ourselves, as best we can, till morning."
The movement was steadily executed, the wounded men being carriedwith them as they retired. The tribesmen advanced as they fellback--not venturing to press them, however; for the rear guard kepttheir faces towards them, and any who ventured to show themselvesinstantly paid the penalty of their rashness.
For an hour the fight went on. It was night now, and dark as pitchin the deep valley in which the fight was going on; the position ofthe combatants being only indicated by the flickering flashes ofthe muskets. The Afghans were gradually creeping nearer, as theGuides could see, by the flashes.
"If the fellows only make a determined rush at us," Captain Edwardssaid to Will, "it will go hard with us. Fortunately, they are asmuch in the dark as we are, and will find it difficult to gatherfor a rush."
"I think we may hold out till morning but, by that time, news thatwe are blockaded here will spread throughout the hills, and we mayhave 10,000 of them down on us. I think, if you will give me leave,the best plan will be for me to try and make my way down toJugdulluk, to bring up help from there."
"You would never get through," Captain Edwards advised. "It is abrave offer, Gale, but could not be done."
"I think it might be done," Will said. "It is as dark as pitch. Iwill take my lad with me, and will borrow a native cap and cloakfrom one of the bearers--there are some Afghans among them. I willtake off my patrol jacket, and leave it behind me, and my boots. Wewill crawl along in the dark.
"If--as is likely enough--we stumble against some of them, we willsay we are wounded, and are making our way to the rear. They cannotsee us in the dark, and my Afghan will pass muster; and Yossoufwill certainly not be suspected. If I am discovered and killed, hewill go forward and deliver the message."
The plan seemed to offer every possibility of success; and CaptainEdwards, seeing how serious the position was, consented to allowWill to attempt it.
A few words to Yossouf sufficed to inform him of the task Will wasabout to undertake, and he at once agreed to share the danger. Arough sheepskin cap was obtained for Will from one of the camelmen. His tunic was thrown off, and a posteen--or Afghan sheepskincoat--was put on, in its place. He took a long matchlock, which thecamel man carried, slung over his shoulders; took off his boots,and thrust a pair of loose Afghan shoes into his belt. Yossoufneeded no preparations, beyond borrowing a matchlock.
Wringing Captain Edwards' hand, Will stooped on his hands and kneesand, with Yossouf a pace or two ahead, began to crawl down thepath. Before starting, the orders had been sent round to thesoldiers to fire at the rocks on either side of the path, but on noaccount to fire down the road, itself. As he expected, Will foundthis clear of Afghans, for a considerable distance. A heavy firehad, previous to their starting, been directed down this path; toprevent the Afghans from gathering there in the darkness,preparatory to making a rush. They came across several dead bodies,but the enemy were all behind rocks, on one side or other of theroad.
When they had crawled a hundred yards, they were past the frontline, from which the Afghans were keeping up a heavy fire; but Willknew that, from their numbers, they must extend far back down thevalley and, indeed, from almost every rock the flashes of thematchlocks blazed out, as the lurking tribesmen fired in thedirection of the mouth of the defile.
They were nearly a quarter of a mile down when an Afghan--who hadbeen crouching behind a rock, close to the path--advanced into theroad to fire, when he stumbled against Yossouf.
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.
"We are both wounded, by the Kaffirs," Yossouf answered; "and aremaking our way back, to bind up our wounds. I think my arm isbroken; but I mean to come back again, to have a few more shots atthe infidels."
"Good!" the Afghan replied. "How goes it in front?"
"Their fire is lessening," Yossouf said. "We must have killed many.We shall finish with them in the morning, if not before."
The Afghan fired, and then retired behind his rock to load again;while Will and Yossouf continued their way.
A few hundred yards farther, they rose to their feet. Will slippedon the Afghan shoes; and they then proceeded, at a rapid pace, downthe pass. Several times they withdrew from the road, and hid besideit, as they met parties of tribesmen hurrying up to join in theattack but, in an hour after starting, they heard the welcomechallenge of the sentry, at Jugdulluk.
Saying who he was, Will was at once passed forward into the fort,and taken to the quarters of the officer in command.
"I am Lieutenant Gale, of the 66th," Will said, "and was on my waydown the pass with the convoy of wounded, and 100 men of theGuides, under Captain Edwards. They have been attacked at the lowerend of the defile, some four miles above, by a very strong body oftribesmen. They are attacked front and rear.
"I have made my way through to ask you if you can despatch a forceto their rescue. Were the tribesmen attacked in their rear, now,they might be scattered easily enough; but they are assembling veryfast and, in the morning, it will be a difficult matter to reachthem."
"We have fancied," the officer said, "for the last two hours thatwe heard distant firing; but we could not be sure, for any noiseechoes so, in these mountains. I will set out at once with you,with as many men as I can spare."