On the 25th March, the insurgents were attacked near Baba Wala by Colonel Wymer. The well-directed fire of two guns under Lieutenant Turner soon drove in on the pass a large body of the enemy, and they were finally put to flight by the arrival of the main body under Major-General Nott. In his report, Colonel Wymer writes, “I trust that I may be permitted to bring to the Major-General’s notice the admirable practice of the artillery under Lieutenant Turner’s guidance, every shot from which told with beautiful effect on the dense masses of the enemy.” A small garrison, with which was one-half the 3rd company 2nd battalion artillery, under Lieutenant Walker, had been left in Khelat-i-Ghilzie in November, 1841; the insurrection isolated them from the Candahar force, and for several months they underwent very great hardships; an insufficient supply of firewood exposed them to cold, barracks without doors, and piercing cold winds, bread and water for rations for days together, and an enemy at the gates; under these privations the artillerymen never grumbled nor lost their good temper, but continued to work as if they had been highly fed. The enemy gradually closed in round the fort, and on the night of the 21st May commenced a simultaneous attack on two points; at one point, there were two 6–pounders, under Lieutenant Walker, at the other only one. The enemy came on in a determined manner, crossing the ditch by means of scaling-ladders, and some even reached the parapets; so closely were the artillery assailed, that at one time they were forced to turn to their small-arms to assist in driving them off; towards morning the attack ceased, and the little garrison was left in quiet possession of their fort, and in the course of a few days Colonel Wymer arrived from Candahar with a force to relieve them. This service was rewarded by a medal to all engaged, the handsomest of any by which the campaigns in Afghanistan are marked. [Illustration]