“The village of Dargai lies on the northern side of a small plateau. The eastern edge of this tableland breaks off, at first, in an almost abrupt cliff; but some distance lower down the ground, though very steep, shelves away less precipitously. This slope is thrown out from the bottom of the cliff in the form of a narrow and razor-like spur, with the path or track lying along its northern side, well within view and range of the cliff-head. But by climbing along the southern side of this spur, troops can move from Chagru Kotal, or certainly from Mama Khan, a village half-way between the former place and the plateau, unseen by the enemy. “Connecting the crest of the spur, however, and the foot of the cliff, there is a narrow neck or saddle one hundred yards long by thirty broad, whose sides are far too precipitous to allow of any movement along them. Though devoid of all cover and completely exposed to the heights above, this ridge had to be crossed, so as to reach the path ascending to the summit; and here it was that the casualties in the attack by Brigadier-General Westmacott’s Brigade (on the 18th) and the heavier losses of the 20th occurred.” This, then, was the dangerous passage to be “rushed” by our troops. In addition to its exposure to the enemy’s fire, it may be added that the ground was thickly strewn with rocks and boulders which greatly impeded progress. As on the first assault, the post of honour was allotted to those game little fighters, the Ghurkas. The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Ghurkas, with a party of specially trained scouts from the 3rd, under Lieutenant Tillard, swarmed up the slope at the word of command and dashed headlong across the zone of fire. In the rush through the pitiless rain of bullets that at once descended two officers fell, one shot dead and the other mortally wounded, while thirty men bit the dust, never to rise again; but the rest reached cover on the opposite side. After the brave Ghurkas, the Dorsets and the Derbys tried time and time again to follow, only to be mowed down in heaps. All that succeeded in crossing the ridge were a few who made a dash for it singly or in small parties. How deadly was the marksmanship of the Afridis is shown by the fact that when Lieutenant Hewett, of the Dorsetshire Regiment, led a section forward, he was _the only one_ to reach the crouching Ghurkas. Every one of the men following him was killed. It was in a pause at this juncture that Private Vickery, of the same regiment, made himself conspicuous by running out repeatedly and at last succeeding in dragging back to shelter a wounded comrade who was lying out in the open; this and several other acts of bravery gaining him a V.C. in due course.