by G. A. Henty
Chapter 15: The Fighting Round Cabul.
All day long, on the 6th of October, William Gale sat at an openwindow in the upper story of the Parsee's house--facing west--andlistened to the distant roar of the battle; while all Cabul was ina state of wild excitement, in the sure anticipation of victory.Will felt equally confident as to the result of the battle. He knewthat--well led--a British force could be trusted to carry anyposition held by the Afghans; and he felt sure that, even should hefail to carry it by direct attack, the English general would,sooner or later, succeed in turning it by flank movements.
About two o'clock in the afternoon, William noticed a change in thecharacter of the sounds in the town. In the Hindoo quarter all hadbeen quiet--for the inhabitants greatly feared that, in a burst offanaticism following a victory achieved over the British, theAfghans might sack the Hindoo quarter, and murder its inhabitants.Yossouf, however, had been all the morning out in the town; andhad, from time to time, brought in a report of the rumors currentthere.
At first it was said that the British were being utterly routed,that they were being exterminated by the Afghan fire, that the hilltribes were sweeping down upon their rear, and that not a man wouldescape. Presently the reports became more contradictory. The firingwas still heard, but it was no longer one continuous roll. Somesaid that the British were annihilated; others that, repulsed intheir attack, they had fallen back to their camp but, soon aftertwo o'clock, Yossouf rushed up to William's room with the news thatthe Afghans had been driven from the heights, and that the Britishwere in possession of these, and of the defile through them.
Yossouf had, throughout the morning, been swayed by conflictingemotions and wishes. At one moment he hoped that his countrymenmight conquer; then the fear that, after victory, the Hindooquarter might be sacked, and his English friend discovered andkilled, overpowered his feeling of patriotism.
It must be remembered that Afghanistan has, for centuries, beenrather a geographical expression than a country. Its population iscomposed of a great number of tribes, without any common feelingsor interest, and often engaged in desperate wars and conflicts witheach other. The two leading tribes--the Ghilzais and Duranees--hadlong struggled for ascendency in the cultivated portion of thecountry. For a long period the Ghilzais had had the supremacy, butthe Duranees were now lords of the country.
The mountain tribes, for the most part, held themselves entirelyindependent; and although, in time, they gave a nominal allegianceto the Ameer of Cabul, yet--as had been shown in the Khurumvalley--they hated their native masters, with an animosity farexceeding that which they felt towards the British. That throughoutthe war the tribesmen were ready, when they saw an opportunity toattack English convoys and small columns, is true; but they wereanimated by a love of plunder, rather than of country and, over aconsiderable area of Afghanistan--notably at Candahar--the people,in general, would have infinitely preferred the mild and just ruleof the English, to the military tyranny of Cabul.
Thus, Yossouf had grown up without understanding the meaning of thefeeling which we call patriotism. He had, it is true, been taughtto hate the unbelievers; but this feeling had disappeared, on hisacquaintance with Will Gale, and he now ranked the safety andhappiness of his friend far before any national consideration. Howweak is the feeling of patriotism, among the Afghans, is shown bythe fact that most of the British frontier troops consist of Afghanhillmen; who are always ready, when called upon, to fightdesperately against their countrymen and co-religionists. Examplesof treachery, such as that exhibited by the two Pathans who firedtheir guns, to warn their countrymen of the British advance up theSpingawi Pass, are almost unknown.
It was, then, with a feeling of joy that Yossouf related, to hisEnglish friends, the news of the defeat of the Afghan army.Throughout the Hindoo quarter there was deep, but suppressed,gladness at the news of the British victory; and this increasedwhen, as the night went on, it was known that the Afghan army wastotally dispersed, that the troops remaining in Cabul had fled, andthat the city was virtually open for the entrance of the English.
When, on the 12th--with bands playing, and colors displayed--theBritish troops marched through Cabul, Will would fain have gone outand joined his countrymen. But the Parsee pointed out, to him, thatthis would draw the attention of the Afghans to the fact that hehad been concealed by him; and that in case, at any time, theBritish should evacuate Cabul and return to India, he would be amarked man for the vengeance of the Afghans. Will therefore wrappedup in a long cloak and, accompanied by Yossouf and the Parsee, leftthe house after dark and, proceeding to the gate, walked out to theBala-Hissar.
Explaining who he was, Will was soon passed through the sentrieswhich had been set, at nightfall; and was conducted to the quartersof the general. The latter was greatly surprised when he was toldthat an English soldier, who had been present at the attack uponthe mission, wished to speak to him; and at once ordered Will to bebrought before him. Great was his surprise when he learned, fromthe young soldier, that he had fought under him at the taking ofPeiwar-Khotal and, having been made prisoner near Ali-Kheyl, hadbeen brought to Cabul; and had joined the party of Sir LewisCavagnari, on its arrival at that city. Still more that, havingbeen in the residency when the attack upon it was commenced by theHeratee soldiery, he had managed to escape from the massacre ofthat night.
After having first heard a complete outline of Will's story, thegeneral called in several of his staff--who had just finisheddinner--and then requested Will to give a full and detaileddescription of his adventures. After he had concluded, Yossouf andthe Parsee were called in, and the general warmly expressed hisgratification at the kindness that they had shown to a woundedEnglish soldier, at the risk of their lives. He ordered that ahandsome present should be made to Yossouf, and told the Parsee tocall again in the morning, when the quartermaster general would betold to arrange, with him, for the supply of such articles as thecountry afforded for the use of the troops.
"Your regiment," he said to Will, "is, at present, at Jellalabad.Whether it will come up here I do not yet know but, in themeantime, you will be promoted to the rank of sergeant--which isthe least we can do, after what you have gone through--and you willtake your place with my staff orderly sergeants."
He then sent for one of the sergeants and gave Will into hischarge, telling him he would speak further with him, when he hadarranged the pressing business which the occupation of Cabulentailed upon him.
Yossouf remained with Will, being--at his urgent request--placedupon the roll as a native follower, of whom a considerable numberaccompany each regiment in India. His duties were but nominal for,when Will's story was well known, Yossouf became a most popularcharacter among the sergeants of the staff. The money which he hadreceived--in the first place from the Ameer, and now from GeneralRoberts--would secure his future. In Afghanistan animals are cheap;and the owner of a small herd of oxen, sheep, or even goats isregarded by his neighbors as a wealthy man. Therefore Yossoufwould, on the departure of the British, be able to settle down in aposition of comparative affluence.
Two days later General Roberts, being one evening disengaged, sentfor William Gale. He had been much struck with the bearing andmanner of the young soldier, and now requested him to give him afull history of his antecedents.
"You have had a curious and eventful history," he said, when theyoung sergeant had finished, "and appear to have conducted yourselfwith great discretion, readiness, and courage. From what you tellme of your conversation with Colonel Shepherd, I have no doubt thathe formed the same impression that I do, from your manner andappearance--that you are of a respectable, if not of goodfamily--and I trust that you will some day discover a clue to yourparents. It seems to me that, had the authorities of the placewhere you were left properly bestirred themselves, they ought tohave been able to find out who you are.
"However, that is not to the point, now. It is sufficient for methat, from your manner and address, you would not be out of placein any position. I shall, of course, re
port the fact of your havingfought by Major Cavagnari's side, in the attack upon him here; andshall strongly recommend that a commission be granted you. I amsure that, from your conduct hitherto, you will never do discreditto any position in which you may find yourself.
"Say nothing to your fellow sergeants of what I have told you. Itis possible--although not probable--that my recommendation may notbe acted upon and, at any rate, some months must elapse before ananswer can be received."
William Gale returned to his quarters in a state of extremedelight. The communication which General Roberts had made to himwas altogether beyond his hopes. He had, indeed, from the very daythat he enlisted, often hoped that, some time or other, he mightwin for himself a commission; and take his place in the rank towhich he had, from his childhood, believed that he was, by birth,entitled. The words and manner of his colonel had encouraged thishope, but he had never dreamed that his promotion might be attainedso soon. It was but a year since he had enlisted, and five was thevery earliest at which he had even dreamed that a commission mightpossibly be gained.
The next day he had been sent from the orderly room with a note tothe colonel of the 67th, which was the regiment now in quarters inthe Bala-Hissar; the rest of the force being encamped in the plain,below. As he was walking across the open, he was suddenly hurled tothe ground with tremendous violence and, at the same moment, a roaras loud as that of thunder sounded in his ears. Bewildered and halfstunned, he rose to his feet; while showers of stones, beams, andother debris fell around him.
Illustration: One of the Gunpowder Magazines had Exploded.
One of the gunpowder magazines had exploded. It had been known thatvery large quantities of powder were stored in various buildings atthe Bala-Hissar and, at the moment of the explosion, a body ofengineers, under Captain Shafto, were examining the buildings inwhich it was stored, and making preparation for the removal of thepowder. Singularly enough, no soldiers of the 67th were killed but,of the Ghoorkas, who were on guard at the arsenal at the time,twelve were killed and seven wounded. Shafto was, unfortunately,killed.
The 67th were at once called out, and set to work to extinguish theflames which had been kindled by the explosion--great damage beingdone. The southern wall of the arsenal had been blown down, andseveral buildings set on fire. Explosion followed explosion, andthe work of extinguishing the flames was an extremely dangerousone.
In the afternoon another magazine blew up. Fortunately, no troopswere in its neighborhood at the time; but four Afghans were killed,and several soldiers hurt, at a distance of three or four hundredyards from the spot. Although it was never proved, it was stronglybelieved that these explosions were caused by the Afghans and--aslarge quantities of powder still remained in the Bala-Hissar--itwas determined that, for the present, the place should beevacuated. The general therefore, with his staff and the regimentin garrison, left the place and joined the camp in the plain.
The little force at Cabul was now isolated. Troops were slowlycoming up the Khyber Pass to Jellalabad; where a division was to beformed, destined in the spring to join the force at Cabul, shouldit be necessary to carry on further operations.
Between Cabul and the Shatur-Gardan the natives were in a restlessand excited state. Two attacks, by 3000 men, had been made on thegarrison holding the crest of the latter position--three hundred innumber. These bravely sallied out, attacked the enemy in the open,and killed large numbers of them. Still, great numbers of thetribesmen were gathered round; and General Gough, with the 5thPunjaubee Cavalry, the 5th Punjaubee Infantry, and four guns, wastherefore sent from Cabul to bring down, from the Shatur-Gardan,the garrison and all the stores accumulated there. The pass, whichwould shortly be closed by snow, was then to be deserted.
Several executions now took place, at Cabul, of men who were provedto have shared in the attack on the embassy. Some of the leadingmen of the place, who had instigated the troops to the attack, wereamong those executed. Many of the villagers were also hung, forshooting at detached bodies of our troops. A proclamation had beenissued by the general, on his first arrival, warning the peoplethat any attempt against our authority would be severely punished;forbidding the carrying of weapons within the streets of Cabul, orwithin a distance of five miles of the city gates; and offering areward for all arms belonging to the Afghan troops which should begiven up, and for the surrender of any person, whether soldier orcivilian, concerned in the attack on the embassy.
The position of the British force, at Cabul, was that of a bodyholding only the ground they occupied, in the midst of a bitterlyhostile country. The Ameer was powerless and, indeed, his goodwillwas more than doubtful. He had, from his arrival in the camp, beenregarded as a prisoner--although treated with courtesy--and afterthe battle of Chaurasia--feeling his own impotence, and beingviewed with hostility by both parties--he resigned his position asAmeer, and asked to be sent to India, which was done. Theabdication of the Ameer really took place on the day the troopsentered Cabul, but it was not publicly known until the end of themonth; as nothing could be done, on the subject, until his desirewas communicated to the Indian authorities, and their viewsconcerning it ascertained.
From the moment of his arrival at Cabul, General Roberts had set towork to prepare for the winter. He would, for four or five months,be entirely cut off; and would have to rely upon himself, alone. Hehad before him the terrible catastrophe which had, on the sameground, befallen General Elphinstone's army; and knew that it waspossible--and indeed probable--that, with the memory of thatsuccess before them, the Afghans would unite in another greateffort to annihilate the little force shut up in the heart of theircountry.
Fortunately he had, in the Ameer's barracks at Sherpur, a positionwhich he was confident he could hold against any attacks that couldbe made upon him. These extensive barracks had been erected bySheer-Ali for the use of his cavalry, but had never been used. Theyconsisted of a large square, three sides of which were surroundedby a lofty wall--an isolated and rocky, steep hill rising at theback, and closing the fourth side. The buildings were amply largeenough to contain the whole of General Roberts' force; and therewas abundant room for the stores, baggage animals, and wagons.
The only fault was, indeed, that the extent of wall to be defendedwas too long for the force at his disposal. Round two sides theouter wall was complete but, on the third, it had not been taken toits full height, nor had it been continued so as to join the hillbehind it.
Great efforts were made to bring in sufficient provisions andforage for the winter; and expeditions were made up the Logan,Maidan, and other valleys for the purpose. Winter was fast settingin. Snow had begun to fall upon the hills, and ice formed on thepools, every night. The natives of the valleys near were readyenough to sell their grain, straw, and fuel; but few supplies camein from a distance, as armed bands stopped all supplies on theirway. However, a sufficient amount of food and fuel was obtained,and stored in Sherpur. Grain, too, was procured for the winter; andthe only article of which the supply was insufficient was choppedstraw, of which a very large quantity was required.
The attitude of the natives grew daily more hostile. Their priestswere preaching a revolt to the death, and recalling to the peoplehow their fathers had annihilated a British force, thirty yearsbefore. Urged alike by fanaticism and a desire for plunder, thenatives over the whole country were seething with excitement; andGeneral Roberts saw that a crisis was approaching. The Afghanscould assemble at least 100,000 men; and among these would beincluded all the troops of the Ameer's disbanded armies, armed withweapons equal to our own, and burning to revenge the defeats whichhad been inflicted upon them. To oppose them the English generalhad less than 6000 men.
But though prepared for trouble, the storm, when it came, burstsuddenly upon the English. The enemy were known to be collecting ingreat numbers, in the Maidan valley, and two columns were sent outto attack them. One was commanded by Macpherson, the other byBaker. Although they were to strike simultaneously at the enemy,their route of march lay up different
valleys--with a loftymountain range between them--so they could in no way cooperate witheach other. After they had started, General Massy was directed tomove out, with a small force of cavalry and a battery of horseartillery, and cooperate with General Macpherson.
An hour after the cavalry had started General Roberts, himself,rode out. He was accompanied by his usual escort, and by twomounted orderly sergeants. One of these was William Gale. They hadonly proceeded a short distance when they heard, some distanceahead of them, the guns of the Royal Horse Artillery--withMassy--at work; and the general at once rode forward, at a gallop.
General Macpherson had found Mahomed Jan--one of the principalleaders of the Afghans--with 10,000 men, near Chardeh. A fightensued. The guns shelled the enemy, but the water courses preventedthe cavalry with Macpherson acting; and Mahomed Jan, moving acrossthe hills, placed himself between Macpherson and Cabul. Shortlyafterwards General Massy--who had with him three troops of the 9thLancers, and forty-four men of the 14th Bengal Lancers, with fourguns under Major Smith-Wyndham--came in sight of a portion ofMahomed Jan's force. It was clear that these had, in some way,interposed themselves between the little force and Macpherson'scolumn; and Massy supposed that they were a party of fugitives,flying before the force of Macpherson or Baker.
As they came streaming down the hill, he got his guns into action.After a few shells had been fired, the enemy advanced in fullforce. Four thousand men were extended in the shape of a crescent,advancing in fairly good order; while behind was an irregular mob,of some six thousand men.
The ground upon which General Massy found himself, at this time,was singularly unfitted for the action of artillery. It was cut upby deep water courses, and anything like rapidity of movement wasimpossible. It would have been prudent had Massy--when he saw howlarge was the force opposed to him--at once retired, until he cameto ground where his guns could be rapidly maneuvered but, relyingupon the effect of the shell, he remained in the position in whichhe had first discovered the enemy. The shell pitched rapidly intothe thick of the Afghans, but no effect was produced in checkingtheir advance. They did not waver for a moment, but came steadilyon. The enemy's bullets were now dropping fast among the cavalryand guns. Thirty of the 9th Lancers were dismounted, and openedfire with their Martini carbines; but the enemy were too numerousto be checked by so small a body of men.
At this moment, Sir Frederick Roberts arrived upon the spot. Theposition was serious and, to retire the guns in safety, it wasabsolutely necessary to check the advance of the enemy. GeneralRoberts therefore ordered Massy to send his cavalry at the enemy.Colonel Cleland led a squadron of the 9th full at the advancingmass, the Bengal Lancers following; while Captain Gough, with histroop of the 9th, charged the enemy's left flank--but even thecharge of Balaclava was scarcely more desperate than this. Twohundred and twenty men, however gallant, could not be expected toconquer 10,000.
The three bodies of cavalry charged, at full speed, into the midstof the enemy's infantry; who received them with a terrible fire,which killed many horses and men. The impetus of the charge boredown the leading ranks of the Afghans, and the cavalry tore theirway through the mass, until their progress was blocked by sheerweight of numbers. A desperate melee took place--the troopersfighting with their sabers, the Afghans with knives, and clubbedmuskets. Many of the soldiers were struck from their horses. Somewere dragged to their feet again, by their comrades; others werekilled upon the ground.
The chaplain of the force--the Reverend Mr. Adams--had accompaniedthe troopers in the charge and, seeing a man jammed under a fallenhorse, he leaped from his saddle and extricated him; and broughthim off, in spite of the attack of several Afghans. For this act ofbravery he received the Victoria Cross, being the first chaplain inthe army who had ever obtained that decoration.
When the dust raised by the charging squadrons had subsided, it wasseen that the enemy were still advancing. The Lancers had fallenback and, as the men galloped in, they rallied behind CaptainGough's troop; which had kept best together, and had formed upagain between the guns and the enemy. Lieutenants Hersee andRicardo, and sixteen of their men, had been left dead upon theground. Colonel Cleland, Lieutenant Mackenzie, and seven of thetroopers were wounded. A second charge was ordered; but this timeit was not pushed home, as a wide water course checked the advance.
Under cover of the first cavalry charge, Major Smith-Wyndham hadordered two of the guns to be taken off and, as he now fell backwith the other two, one of them stuck in the water course. Thegreatest efforts were made, with the horses which still remaineduninjured, to get the gun out; but the enemy were pressing closeon. Lieutenant Hardy was killed, by a shot through the head, andthe gun was abandoned. The other three guns were retired 400 or 500yards farther; but here they became hopelessly bogged in a channel,deeper than any that had hitherto been met with. They were spiked,and left in the water; and the drivers and gunners moved off withthe cavalry, just as the enemy poured down upon them.
Seeing the danger of the situation, and the large force of theenemy, General Roberts had, on his first arrival, sent off atrooper at full gallop to General Gough--who commanded atSherpur--ordering him to send out two hundred men of the 72ndHighlanders, at the double, to hold the gorge leading direct fromthe scene of conflict to Cabul. There was but a very small garrisonof British troops in the city and, had the enemy made their waythere, the townspeople would have risen, and a serious disastertaken place.
After leaving the guns behind them, the cavalry retired steadilytowards the village at the head of the gorge; keeping up a hotfire, with their carbines, on the enemy who pressed upon them.
"Ride back, Sergeant Gale," the general said, "and meet the 72nd.Hurry them up at full speed--every minute is precious."
William Gale rode back at full speed. Until a fortnight before, hehad never been on a horse; but the animal which he rode was welltrained and steady and, hitherto, he had had no difficulty inkeeping his seat, as he trotted along with the escort. It was adifferent thing, now; for the ground was rough, and the horse goingat a full gallop, and he clung on to the pummel of the saddle, tosteady himself. As he passed through the village, he saw theHighlanders coming along at a trot, half a mile further on; and wassoon beside Colonel Brownlow, who commanded them.
"The enemy are pressing the cavalry back, sir," he said as, withdifficulty, he pulled up his horse. "The general desires you to usethe greatest possible speed, as every moment is precious."
Panting and out of breath as the Highlanders were, they respondedto Colonel Brownlow's shout and, rushing forward almost at racingspeed, reached the village while the Afghans were still 100 yardsbeyond it. They instantly opened such a fire upon the enemy thatthe latter ceased their advance, and soon fell back; and Cabul was,for the moment, safe.