From the Black Mountain to Waziristan: Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the pastWylly, H. C. (Harold Carmichael)
History
From the Black Mountain to Waziristan: Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the past
On the night of the 11–12th September the post of Sangar was first
attacked, but being well situated and with no cover in the vicinity, the
enemy were repulsed without serious difficulty. They then, on the
morning of the 12th, vigorously assailed Saraghari, one of the smallest
posts in regard to garrison, and being further weakly constructed and
badly placed for prolonged resistance to overwhelming numbers. The whole
course of the attack could be seen from both Fort Lockhart and Gulistan,
whence no effective assistance could be rendered, for these garrisons
were themselves small, the villages between Fort Lockhart and Saraghari
were full of the enemy, and Gulistan was itself being vigorously
attacked. None the less two attempts were made from Fort Lockhart to
effect relief, but they were unsuccessful. During one of the rushes upon
the post, some men established themselves under the wall where there was
a dead angle, and managed there to effect a breach, when the enemy
rushed in in overwhelming numbers, and the garrison, fighting manfully
to the last, were killed to a man. The twenty-one heroes had, however,
inflicted heavy loss upon the enemy, who owned to a death-roll of 180;
the last of the Sikhs killed twenty men before he was overpowered. Truly
of these twenty-one men of the 36th Sikhs may be said, as was recorded
of the Guides at Kabul: “By their deeds they have conferred undying
honour, not only on the regiment to which they belong, but on the whole
British Army.”
Gulistan had been closely invested since noon, all was over at Saraghari
by 4 p.m., and the tribesmen now put out their whole strength against
the first-named post. The attack was pressed throughout the whole of the
night, a hot fire being maintained upon the post from the closest
quarters. When the morning of the 13th dawned the enemy were found to be
entrenched within twenty yards of the walls, but the Sikhs under Major
Des Vœux, not only maintained their ground throughout the day and the
night that followed, but carried out two most successful sorties,
capturing three standards and striking terror into the tribesmen as much
as they heartened themselves.
[Sidenote: Relief of Gulistan]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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