The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80Forbes, Archibald
History
The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80
Forbes, Archibald
Afghan Wars
The turning column, whose advance the General led in person, consisted
of the 29th N. I. (leading), 5th Goorkhas, and a mountain battery, all
under Colonel Gordon's command; followed by a wing of the 72d
Highlanders, 2d Punjaub Infantry, and 23d Pioneers, with four guns on
elephants, under Brigadier Thelwall. The arduous march began at ten P.M.
Trending at first rearward to the Peiwar village, the course followed
was then to the proper right, up the rugged and steep Spingawai ravine.
In the darkness part of Thelwall's force lost its way, and disappeared
from ken. Further on a couple of shots were fired by disaffected Pathans
in the ranks of the 29th N. I. That regiment was promptly deprived of
the lead, which was taken by the Goorkha regiment, and the column toiled
on by a track described by General Roberts as 'nothing but a mass of
stones, heaped into ridges and furrowed into deep hollows by the action
of the water.' Day had not broken when the head of the column reached
the foot of the steep ascent to the Spingawai Kotul. The Goorkhas and
the 72d rushed forward on the first stockade. It was carried without a
pause save to bayonet the defenders, and stockade after stockade was
swept over in rapid and brilliant succession. In half-an-hour General
Roberts was in full possession of the Spingawai defences, and the Afghan
left flank was not only turned but driven in. Cobbe was ordered by
signal to co-operate by pressing on his frontal attack; and Roberts
himself hurried forward on his enterprise of rolling up the Afghan left
and shaking its centre. But this proved no easy task. The Afghans made a
good defence, and gave ground reluctantly. They made a resolute stand on
the further side of a narrow deep-cut ravine, to dislodge them from
which effort after effort was ineffectually made. The General then
determined to desist from pressing this line of attack, and to make a
second turning movement by which he hoped to reach the rear of the
Afghan centre. He led the 72d wing, three native regiments, and ten
guns, in a direction which should enable him to threaten the line of the
Afghan retreat. Brigadier Cobbe since morning had been steadily although
slowly climbing toward the front of the Peiwar Kotul position. After an
artillery duel which lasted for three hours the Afghan fire was
partially quelled; Cobbe's infantry pushed on and up from ridge to
ridge, and at length they reached a crest within 800 yards of the guns
on the Kotul, whence their rifle fire compelled the Afghan gunners to
abandon their batteries. Meanwhile Roberts' second turning movement was
developing, and the defenders of the Kotul placed between two fires and
their line of retreat compromised, began to waver. Brigadier Cobbe had
been wounded, but Colonel Drew led forward his gallant youngsters of the
8th, and after toilsome climbing they entered the Afghan position, which
its defenders had just abandoned, leaving many dead, eighteen guns, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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