Lieutenant Maclaine of the Horse-Artillery, a gallant young officer who was soon to meet a melancholy fate, precipitated events in a somewhat reckless fashion. With the two guns he commanded he crossed the ravine, galloped across the plain, and opened fire on a body of Afghan cavalry which had just come within view. General Nuttall, commanding the cavalry and horse-artillery, failing to recall Maclaine, sent forward in support of him the four remaining guns of the battery. Those approached to within 800 yards of the two advanced pieces, and Maclaine was directed to fall back upon the battery pending the arrival of the brigade, which General Burrows was now sending forward. It crossed the ravine near Mundabad, advanced on the plain about a mile in a north-westerly direction, and then formed up. There were several changes in the dispositions; when the engagement became warm about noon the formation was as follows:--The 66th foot was on the right, its right flank thrown back to check an attempt made to turn it by a rush of ghazees springing out of the ravine in the British front; on the left of the 66th were four companies of Jacob's Rifles (30th Native Infantry) and a company of sappers, the centre was occupied by the horse-artillery and smooth bore guns, of which latter, however, two had been moved to the right flank; on the left of the guns were the 1st Grenadiers somewhat refused, and on the extreme left two companies of Jacob's Rifles. The cavalry was in the rear, engaged in efforts to prevent the Afghans from taking the British infantry in reverse. The position was radically faulty, and indeed invited disaster. Both flanks were _en l'air_ in face of an enemy of greatly superior strength; almost from the first every rifle was in the fighting line, and the sole reserve consisted of the two cavalry regiments. The baggage had followed the brigade across the ravine and was halted about 1000 yards in rear of the right, inadequately guarded by cavalry detachments.