War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus
History
War Medals and Their History
Steward, William Augustus
Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.
=Ghuznee, 1839.=--The army of the Indus left Candahar at the end of
June 1839, and arrived before Ghuznee, which Prince Mahomed Hyder
Khan had strongly fortified; leaving only one gate unblocked by
masonry. He had with him a garrison of 3,000 Afghans. As the British
force possessed no means of breaching the walls, it was determined
to take the place by storm, and in order to effect this the gate was
blown in by the 13th (now Somerset Light Infantry), and the troops
entered the fort, only 5 men being killed, and 6 officers (including
Brigadier-General Sale, severely) and 63 men wounded out of Her
Majesty's Regiments. On the fall of the fortress the Afghan cavalry
outside fled in the direction of Cabul, the British forces following.
At Ughundee Dost Mahomed Khan had resolved to try conclusions, but
dissatisfied with the morale of his troops he decamped, and on August
7th Shah Shooja regained his throne, which, however, he did little to
strengthen. The British losses were 18 men and 20 officers killed, and
153 men wounded. The force engaged in this comparatively bloodless
campaign was composed of 8 companies of Her Majesty's 2nd (Queen's
Royal); 13th Light Infantry; 17th (Leicestershire); two squadrons
4th Light Dragoons; 16th Lancers; and the following regiments of the
H.E.I. Co.'s army: 1st Bengal Fusiliers (Europeans); Bengal Sappers and
Miners; 1st Bombay Light Cavalry; 2nd and 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry; 2nd
Skinner's Horse; 300 Poona Horse; Bengal Horse and Foot Artillery; two
troops Bombay Horse Artillery; Bombay Foot Artillery; 16th, 19th, 35th,
and 48th Native Infantry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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