They survived, however, and were there to greet us when we reached the bank in the small hours of this morning. Then was I re-united with Laura, who is once again a heroine. It even appears that she killed an enemy female with her bare hands. I have not ascertained the truth of this, and there are those who claim it was murder, but who will believe such a tale?
Certainly Sir Charles will not entertain the notion for a moment. He is in any event more concerned with dispersing the rebels who, we are informed, have taken up a position some half-dozen miles north of Hyderabad to await our assault. Sir Charles has already given the command to prepare to march upon this place, which is apparently called Meanee. Laura is convinced that the devilish Batraj is there, spurring on the rebellion. Thus tomorrow will surely be the day of reckoning for that rascal. I only hope it is not also the day of reckoning for Rajah Sivitraj, but this entirely for Laura’s sake. From all accounts he has become a proper Thug himself, and I can see little future for him.
14 The Battle
Laura was woken at three in the morning by the sound of bugles. She felt she had been sleeping more heavily than at any other time in her life; she was utterly exhausted. The women and children had been herded together into one section of the camp, several to a tent, and conditions were nearly as uncomfortable as they had been in the Residency cellar or on board the steamer. But here they were safe in the midst of a British army, a small army, to be sure, less than three thousand strong, of which no more than a fifth were actually British. But all served the Company, and all were quite sure that, properly led, they could deal with any number of Baluchis.
That they were going to be properly led no one could doubt. Once she had got over her initial shock at General Sir Charles Napier’s bristling beard and the strangely lopsided face, Laura was deeply impressed by his energy and obvious strength of character.
He, for his part, knew all about her. ‘Highness,’ he said. ‘It must be the ambition of every soldier in India to meet the celebrated Dowager Rani of Sittapore. I am a most fortunate fellow.’
‘The Rani warned us of the impending attack, Sir Charles,’ Outram said. ‘And then played a most gallant part in the defence.’
‘Would you have expected anything else?’ Napier asked, and Laura realised that he was not above a gentle flirtation. ‘I should be pleased if you would have luncheon with me, Highness, as I am sure you have a great deal to tell me about the Baluchis and especially about this fellow Batraj, your husband.’
‘Yes,’ Laura agreed. ‘My husband.’
‘Quite so. Incidentally, there is an officer on my staff who is most anxious to renew his acquaintance with you. Do you recollect a Colonel Guy Bartlett?’
She retained her composure. ‘Indeed I do, Your Excellency.’
‘Then I’ll ask you to observe the proprieties while in my encampment, Highness,’ the General said drily, indicating that he also knew all about their affair in Kabul.
Laura bowed.
*
Guy kissed her hands, and looked into her eyes.
It was not possible to do any more than behave as old friends re-united, surrounded as they were by British officers. Napier carefully seated them well apart during the luncheon, which was served on trestle tables erected between the officers’ tents; Laura sat on the General’s right, and they talked about her experiences in Sind, and her estimation of the Baluchis’ capabilities.
‘And what of your husband’s capabilities, Highness?’ the old General asked.
‘Prince Batraj has considerable talent as a soldier, Your Excellency, at least as a guerilla.’
‘You mean commanding small bodies of troops in difficult country? He does not seem to have distinguished himself as a general in the assault on the Residency.’
‘Fortunately for us all,’ Laura agreed.
‘You understand, Highness, that it is my duty, and my intention, either to kill your husband in battle or to take him prisoner so that he may be hanged.’
‘Yes,’ Laura said.
‘You will, no doubt, be pleased to be free of him.’
‘Yes,’ Laura said.
‘So that you may marry Colonel Bartlett?’
‘I would hope to do so, certainly.’
‘A strange conversation,’ Napier remarked, half to himself. ‘But these are strange times, and this is a strange country. Do I then understand that you have little regard for what we might call Christian morality?’
Laura did not take offence. ‘I have seen precious little of it practised during the past seventeen years, Your Excellency. But I would like to think I am close to resuming such a way of life.’
Napier’s eyes twinkled. ‘Provided you are allowed to shape your future as you think best.’
‘Of course,’ she answered gravely.
Napier crumbled a piece of bread between his fingers.
‘What of your children?’
‘I would hope to regain them, Your Excellency. My daughter is married to Abbas Ali Khan. Do you not also intend to dispose of him?’
‘If he and his people are in arms against me, certainly. Would that also please you?’
‘I would like to regain my daughter, Your Excellency.’
‘Madam, you frighten me. What of your son?’
‘I am afraid he has been suborned by Batraj.’
‘You understand that if he too is in arms...’
She sighed. ‘I know. But you will not condemn me for fighting for his life?’
‘Of course not. As you have fought for your own.’
She had wondered when that was coming.
‘Yes, Your Excellency. It was her life or mine. She was trying to kill me.’
‘As the only witnesses are hostile, I will accept that.’
Laura gazed at him levelly. ‘There were no witnesses, Your Excellency.’
Napier smiled. ‘Then I certainly accept your word.’
*
Guy managed to have a word with her during the afternoon, but it was brief, as the army was making ready to march on Meanee. They met in full view of the rest of the camp.
‘I love you,’ he said.
‘As I love you. Do you have to fight tomorrow?’
‘That’s why I’m here.’
She sighed. ‘To have waited so long, travelled so far...were anything to happen to you now...’
‘I’ve survived so far. Laura, darling...tomorrow must settle it.’
‘I know,’ she said.
*
The bugles sounded, and Laura got up and went outside with Jenny Fisher to watch the army move out into the darkness.
Since he had to leave his encampment adequately protected, Napier could take no more than two thousand men against the Baluchi force, which was estimated by his scouts to number not less than twenty thousand. Some of the scouts placed it at almost double that.
The British had twelve guns commanded by Major Lloyd, and served by fifty Madras sappers; the British regiment was the 22nd, commanded by Colonel Pennefather, less than five hundred strong, but composed in the main of fighting Irishmen; there were three native Bombay regiments, the 25th, 12th and 1st Grenadiers. They were followed by the 9th Bengal Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Pattle, and a contingent of the Sind Horse under Major Jacob.
Guy rode with the General, immediately in front of the infantry. He blew a kiss to Laura as the little force disappeared into the darkness.
*
The sun was rising by the time the Company army came in sight of the village of Kattree, having marched south from Muttara along the left bank of a small tributary of the Indus, the Fullallee. The country was broken up by a succession of dry water courses, known as nullahs, which not only slowed the march but made any effective cavalry work quite impossible.
The Fullallee was dry at this time of year, but the lie of the land prohibited any flank manoeuvres. Napier surveyed the village through his glass. Flashes of light and movement outside the village could just be seen.
‘You’ll
halt the men, Colonel, while we have a look at those fellows,’ the General decided. Guy sent the necessary orders back and Napier cantered forward, leaving his officers no choice but to follow him. As they left the main body, firing broke out in front of them. But the General continued to move forward until he was within a thousand yards of the Baluchi position, when he drew rein and calmly levelled his glass, while his staff struggled to keep their horses under control, for the dust was flying as bullets sang past them, and the horses danced and whinnied nervously.
The Baluchi commander clearly realised that the British had marched themselves into a cul-de-sac, and had made his dispositions with this in mind. Close to, the Baluchi position appeared even stronger, for here the Fullallee made an almost reverse left-handed bend before swinging back to form a rough S. In the crook of the first bend there was a shikargar, or hunting park of trees and bushes, fronted by a wall over six feet high, while there was another shikargar in the upper crook. The road led between the two to a ford which made use of an island in the middle of the river before resuming its way to the south bank.
There was a considerable force in the first shikargar, which threatened the British line of advance, although the wall itself presented an obstacle to any rapid enveloping movement for there was only one narrow gateway in the stonework. The Baluchis also lined the far side of the canal on the left, while a strong contingent held the north bank which made a natural fortification, blocking the ford. Here they also had a battery of field guns. Immediately to the right of these was the little village, which was full of tribesmen. From all of these positions muskets were being fired at the little British party.
On the far, southern bank of the river the Baluchi cavalry were gathered under a host of banners, to indicate that their chieftains were also over there. For all the evidence, Guy did not believe they intended to fight a purely defensive battle. Their strategy seemed obvious. By presenting so strong a front, they hoped to force the Company troops into retreat, whereupon they would attempt to surround and overwhelm them by sheer weight of numbers. On the other hand their numbers were far less than he had been led to suppose, not much more than fifteen thousand men.
‘Very good, gentlemen,’ Napier said, and cantered back to the British lines. ‘Mr Robertson, you are bleeding; have that wound attended to. Anyone else who has been hit has my permission to fall out.’ He waited for a moment until he was satisfied that everyone present was fit for battle. Now, gentlemen, those fellows are well posted. But there do not seem as many as we were warned of earlier. As our room for manoeuvre is limited, I therefore propose to advance and clear the river bank in front of us, and the batteries emplaced there, and force our way across the river so that we may assail the enemy camp, thus opening the road to Hyderabad. In my experience this is the quickest way to discomfort these people. We will carry out the assault in our order of march, extending obliquely to our right. Thus you, Major Lloyd, will anchor our right with your guns.’
Lloyd nodded.
‘The 22nd will lead the advance,’ Napier went on, ‘with the Bombay regiments in echelon on their left. There will be no deployment until we approach the enemy position. Colonel Pattle, the ground between our present position and the village appears quite suitable for cavalry, but it is a very narrow front. For the time being you will hold your horse in reserve and make sure none of the enemy crosses the canal. Should they attempt to do so, charge them. It is on the right flank that we will be vulnerable. I can spare but a single company as flank guard. Captain Tew, when we advance, take your company and line that wall with your people. You must hold that gateway, and confine the Baluchis to this side of the river. Understood?’
‘Understood, sir,’ Tew agreed.
‘Very well. Then let us be at it.’
*
Having made his dispositions, Napier decided there were no more tactical questions to he considered; only leadership remained. Thus he waited for his company and regimental commanders to rejoin their people, then walked his horse out in front of the troops, and drew his sword.
‘The army will advance,’ he shouted. Then he wheeled his horse and trotted back towards the enemy, with Guy at his elbow.
The Baluchi fire had slackened after the British officers withdrew, but now it was resumed again as the entire army advanced on the double. The enemy firing remained wild, however, and few of the Company army were hit. The 22nd deployed into line and charged with fixed bayonets uttering blood-curdling cries, then suddenly ceasing their shouting and coming to a halt.
Guy gasped in amazement. Earlier it had appeared that the riverbank behind the guns was thinly held, but now it could be seen that the river bed itself was dry, and in it was a huge mass of twenty thousand warriors, waving their swords as they surged forward.
The young Irishmen ceased their advance, and the native regiments further back also stopped, although they could have no idea what the problem was; they had not yet deployed.
For a moment the outcome of the battle hung in the balance even before it had been properly joined. It needed but one man to turn and run, and the whole British force would disintegrate. But before anyone could do that, Napier once again rode to the front, waving his sword.
‘Come on, the 22nd!’ he shouted. ‘Follow me.’
He rode at the enemy.
‘Follow the General!’ Guy bellowed, and rode behind Napier.
The 22nd uttered a huge shout, and surged forward once more. Instantly the Bombay Sepoys resumed their advance as well, and the Company troops charged up to and through the Baluchi guns, which had quite failed to dominate the field, and up the bank.
But the Baluchis were made of tougher mettle than the Afghans, and were not afraid of the bayonets; they also had the confidence of numbers, and came swarming up the bank in turn. The two forces met with a tremendous clash of arms, and the morning became hideous with smoke and steel, shrieks and curses, blood and sweat.
Now was the time for the Baluchis, with their great superiority in manpower, completely to envelop the tiny Company army, but the too-rigid plan adopted by their commanders played them false. Those on the banks of the canal feared to cross lest they be caught piecemeal by the British cavalry, which remained motionless on the left wing. Soon they even ceased firing; so dense was the melee that they stood every chance of hitting their own people.
To the west, six thousand Baluchis came out of the trees, but were checked by the wall and met by the cool volley-firing of Tew’s company. They were driven back in disorder. They came again, and were again repulsed. Tew fell dead, but his men continued their disciplined resistance.
Without them, the battle would certainly have been lost, but even so it was difficult to see how it was to be won. Far from driving the Baluchis in disorder across the dry river and back on their encampment as they had intended, the British force had been brought to a halt on the edge of the bank, where it formed a large, irregular, but determined block, muskets and bayonets thrust forward, against which the Baluchis hurled themselves time and again.
Musketry gave the British troops some advantage. The men loaded and fired with impressive speed, and the range was so close that every bullet struck home. When the Baluchis managed to get to close quarters, tulwar clashed on bayonet or sword, and men glared into each other’s eyes from a distance of no more than a foot. A miasma of heat rose above the struggling mass, but neither side would give an inch. When the Baluchis withdrew from sheer exhaustion, it was always but a matter of a few minutes before a fresh onslaught began.
Guy fought with the 22nd, cutting and slashing, thrusting and shouting encouragement as his throat went dry and blood dribbled from a tulwar cut on his left arm. After about an hour every British officer was either dead or wounded, even the indomitable General, who was here, there and everywhere, encouraging his people. There could be only one end to so unequal a struggle. Even if six Baluchis fell to every Company soldier, the odds yet favoured the tribesmen. As exhaustion began to set in, the British
would sustain tremendous casualties, while the Baluchis still had fresh troops to hurl into the conflict.
Guy found Napier at his elbow, during one of the brief lulls as the Baluchis regrouped.
‘We must end this business, now, or it will be lost,’ Napier said, his voice hoarse.
‘Yes, sir,’ Guy said doubtfully. There was no prospect of getting the exhausted foot soldiers to advance, and to attempt a retreat would mean the total disintegration of the little force.
‘The cavalry,’ Napier said. ‘Ride back to Pattle, and tell him to charge these fellows on their right when next they come at us. Full charge, now, Bartlett, on their right. Nothing else will do. It’s good ground.’
Guy swallowed. ‘Three hundred men, sir?’
Napier’s smile was grim. ‘Fresh troops, Colonel. Fresh troops. The secret of victory.’
*
Guy ran back from the line. The officers’ horses were held at the rear of the British force by half a dozen orderlies. Guy mounted, and a moment later he was galloping back across the plain, trying to avoid trampling the Company wounded.
One or two Baluchis on the far side of the canal fired at him, but more in derision than anger. They thought he was running away.
He was back with Pattle within ten minutes. The cavalry commander was walking his horse up and down in front of his men, swatting at flies with his crop, and every so often peering at the distant battle.
‘What the devil is going on over there, Bartlett?’ he demanded. ‘You fellows don’t seem able to make any progress.’
‘You’re right. The General wishes you to charge the Baluchi right and see if you can break them up.’
Pattle stared at the mass of men to the left of the British position.
Sword of Empire Page 32