In November the detachment was engaged with the Dost’s followers at Purwundurrah, and two guns of No. 6 battery, under Lieutenant Dawes, covered the successful attack on the heights after the shameful flight of the cavalry. At this period, a brigade marched from the provinces under Colonel Shelton, to relieve part of the Cabul force; with it was Captain Nicholl’s (1st company 1st brigade) troop of horse artillery—Lieutenants Waller and Stewart, subalterns—and the newly-formed mountain-train under Captain Backhouse and Lieutenant Green. The brigade advanced as far as Jellalabad, when rumours arising of the disaffection of the Sikhs in the rear, it returned by forced marches to Jumrood, but, finding its presence not required, again marched without rest to Jellalabad. By the difficulty and rapidity of this march the horses of the troop were much knocked up, and their distress was much increased by the officer commanding the brigade having insisted, in spite of Captain Nicholl’s remonstrances, on the troop marching in rear of the infantry, checking the natural pace of the horse, and subjecting the troop to continual halts. Two of its guns, under Captain Nicholl, were employed in February in reducing forts in the Nazian valley, as also was the mountain-train. While the artillery with the Cabul force was thus employed, that at Candahar was not inactive. In April, 1840, Captain W. Anderson, with one of his troops of horse-artillery and a body of the Shah’s troops, marching in the direction of Ghuznee, fell in with a large body of insurgent Ghilzies, and defeated them near Tazee, on the Tornuek river. The enemy made a firm stand, twice charged our line, and were driven back by the steadiness of the troops and the well-sustained fire of the guns under Lieutenant Cooper. Colonel Wymer’s detachment was attacked at Ealmee on the 19th May, on its route to Khelat-i-Ghilzie, by a large body of Ghilzies. Two of the Shah’s horse-artillery guns under Lieutenant Hawkins were present, “and opened upon the enemy’s dense masses of attack at about 900 yards, with beautiful precision and effect, causing them to break into three columns, which still continued the attack,” but were driven back by the steady fire of the line, though they continued their efforts from five till nearly ten at night. “Too much cannot be said of the scientific and destructive manner in which the artillery practice was conducted by Lieutenant Hawkins, which created awful havoc in the ranks of the enemy, to the admiration of the troops present.”