and six guns had, by means of country boats, crossed the Sutlej at a
point nearer to the capital than where the débris of the Sikh army
was stationed. On the following day the bridge of boats was nearly
completed by the able and indefatigable Major Abbott, of the Engineers.
Had the British then followed up the Sikhs they might have made their
way without resistance to Lahore, and have there renewed the conflict;
but such was not the intention of our commanders, and the capital of
the Punjab was destined to be occupied by the British without any
repetition of the life-consuming struggles which had occurred on the
left bank of the Sutlej. If pressed, they would have fought hard in
their despair; but the power of the Sikhs was in reality destroyed.
Sham Singh, Dhubal Singh, Hera Singh, Kishen Singh, Mobaruck Ali,
Newaz Khan--all their bravest sirdars and leaders had perished. The
discomfited warriors who survived, being left to themselves, began
to disperse. Our army quietly crossed the river, and took undisputed
possession of Kussoor, which, in former times, had twice defied the
power of Runjeet Singh. On February 14th the Governor-General announced
by proclamation, dated from Kussoor, that the British army had crossed
the Sutlej and entered the Punjab, "in accordance with the intentions
expressed in the proclamation of December 13th last, as having been
forced upon him for the purpose of effectually protecting the British
provinces, and vindicating the authority of the British Government, and
punishing the violators of treaties and the disturbers of the public
peace."
The Government of Lahore paid, as an indemnity for the expense of the
war, about one million sterling. The Jullunder Doab, the district
between the Beas and Sutlej, was confiscated and proclaimed British
territory. All the guns we had taken were to be retained, and all those
which the Sikhs had ever directed against the British were to be given
up, and the Sikh army was to dismiss and break up for ever and a day.
This Punjab war is remarkable for the fact that it was the cheapest and
shortest ever waged. It cost the British Government about £2,000,000,
and lasted only sixty days. An indemnity of £1,500,000 from the Lahore
Durbar and Ghoolab Singh resulted, with a net annual revenue from
confiscated territory of £500,000. But these things could never be so
valuable to us as the whole-hearted loyalty and bravery of the gallant
Sikh himself, who to-day fights as nobly and fiercely by our side as in
the old "forties" he strove against us. And if in those days, to our
cost as well as our admiration, we learned the meaning of the "Pride of
the Punjab," we shall soon be able to appreciate it from a different
standpoint.
THE STORMING OF THE TAKU FORTS
(1859)
The trouble arose between the allied French and British and the
Chinese over Tien-tsin, the port of Pekin. On June 25th, 1859, Admiral
Hope attempted to force the entrance of the Pei-ho River at the
Taku Forts with a few gunboats, but his endeavours were frustrated.
In the following year allied forces of British and French troops,
under General Sir Hope Grant and General de Montauban, were landed
at Peh-tang, some eight miles north of Taku, while the allied fleets
safeguarded their movement by watching the mouth of the river. These
troops marched inland to avoid the marshes intervening between Peh-tang
and Taku, and joined battle with the Chinese Field Army, defeating them
at Sin-hid on August 12th. Two days later they descended the north bank
of the Pei-ho and seized the town of Tang-ku, three miles north of the
forts.
The Taku Forts were four in number, and the question arose between the
two generals as to the best method of attack. Sir Hope Grant was in
favour of beginning with the smallest fort, but de Montauban maintained
it would be better to cross the river and attack the largest fort in
the south first. After some friction the former course was adopted,
but Montauban was so little in favour of it that he sent only a few
hundred men and attended the battle himself merely as a spectator,
and without his sword. But this unfortunate little difference was
soon forgotten in the deadly work of the day. Many brave deeds were
done; the most furious conflict took place when the storming party
reached the fort and were crowded together between the inner ditch
and the ramparts. Here they were safe from the Chinese musketry, but
they immediately became a target for big stones, cannon balls, and
stifling stinkpots which the Chinese dropped on their heads. Again and
again the scaling ladders were planted against the ramparts, where the
Chinese caught them and either pulled them up into the fort or hurled
them down, shooting or spearing all who gained a footing within reach
of their weapons. The officers and men tried to force entries where
the artillery had broken down the embrasures for the guns. A gallant
Frenchman sprang on to the ramparts, clubbed a Chinaman with his rifle,
snatched another which was handed up to him, fired, and immediately
fell speared through the head. Another with a pickaxe gained the
top of the wall and tried to break it down; the brave fellow was
immediately shot dead, but Lieut. Burslem, who was behind him, seized
the pickaxe and continued the work. With many another heroic deed of
this kind the fort was eventually captured, the Chinese capitulating
after very heavy losses. Our Indian troops behaved with the greatest
gallantry in this momentous struggle.
THE THIRD AFGHAN WAR
(1880)
When Yakoub Khan learned that Sir Louis Cavagnari had been sent on a
mission to Kabul, his grief and repentance over his terrible outrages
seemed beyond expression. He protested too much, and nobody believed
him; indeed, before the mission had set out, there had been quite
sufficient incentive for the British Government to teach the native
authorities at Kabul a severe lesson. When the truth of the matter was
felt, rather than known, three columns were despatched to the seat of
trouble. The most important of these, which proceeded by the Kurram
Road, was led by General Roberts. Its composition was as follows:--Two
batteries Horse and Field Artillery; one Mountain Train battery;
one squadron 9th Lancers; 67th South Hampshire Regiment; 72nd (Duke
of Albany's Own) Highlanders; 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders; 12th and
14th Bengal Cavalry; 5th Gurkhas and a wing of the 5th Punjab; 23rd
Pioneers; 5th and 28th Punjab Infantry; 3rd Sikhs, and one company of
sappers and miners, making a total of barely 8,000 men.
So determined was the spirit of these men that, as battle followed
battle on the way to the capital, Yakoub Khan, with twenty-five
principal citizens of Kabul, eventually surrendered. It was probably
a subterfuge on the part of the Amir to say that he no longer had any
power over his people. At all events, he was kept in durance vile, and
next day General Roberts advanced on Kabul. Then followed the battle of
Charasiah.
Charasiah is twelve miles distant from Kabul, and its name signifies
"Four Water-mills." Here the tired troops camped, while cavalry patrols
were sent out to scour the vicinity. Like the Saxons on the eve of the
Battle of Hastings, our men little thought that the dawn would bring
a decisive battle; but, unlike the Saxons on that occasion, though
exhausted, they were always ready for any emergency that the morrow
might bring. In evidence of this, two cavalry patrols pushed forward
along the ways that led to Kabul before the first light of dawn. The
northern road was taken by a party of twenty men of the 14th Bengal
Lancers, under Captain Neville, while twenty of the 9th Lancers, under
Captain Apperley, took the southern road. Three hours later, as Captain
Neville's party was passing through a village, one of his men had his
horse shot under him. At the same time, Apperley, in another village,
was being hard pressed by the enemy. Major Mitford, with twenty
Lancers, was immediately sent to his relief, while a band of native
infantry was despatched in all haste to succour Neville. Following
immediately on these operations came news that the enemy was advancing
in great force from Kabul. They were focussing on the passes of the
northern hills. It then became an immediate matter of British tactics
to forestall or dislodge them. The event proved that they had to be
dislodged, and in this matter there was severe and prolonged fighting
before they were driven back. Ultimately the enemy fled incontinently
towards Kabul.
Some incidents of this battle are worth recording. It was here that
Major (afterwards Field-Marshal Sir George) Stuart White won his
Victoria Cross, while commanding the 92nd Highlanders. For a long time
he pounded the enemy with artillery, and raked him with rifle fire, but
all in vain; he could not dislodge the obstinate foe. The most decisive
method was to storm the hill, with a view to the ultimate efficiency of
cold steel.
Says the _Gazette_: "Advancing with two companies of his regiment, he
came upon a body of the enemy, strongly posted, and outnumbering his
force by eighteen to one. His men being exhausted, and immediate action
necessary, Major White took a rifle, and, going on by himself, shot
dead the leader of the enemy."
And this was where the Afghans were at a disadvantage. The loss of
their leader meant everything to them, for they were not as our
soldiers--every man a leader if emergency requires. They began to fall
back on the further slope of the hill, fearing the onslaught of the
Highlanders, who were on top of it, victorious. It is extraordinary
that in this important engagement our losses up to this point were
nothing more than three Highlanders killed and six wounded, one cavalry
soldier killed and three wounded.
While this engagement was proceeding, General Baker was leading his
72nd Highlanders across the hills, with a following of No. 2 Mounted
Battery, some Gatling guns, and the wings of the 5th Gurkhas, 5th
Punjab Infantry, and 23rd Pioneers. They fought their way over
precipitous ground, and through 4,000 of the enemy. The resistance
they met with remains to this day as a proof of the fighting powers of
our then enemy. After two hours' stubborn fighting, regulated by the
able generalship of Baker, the hill was at last taken in the rear by a
flanking movement of the Gordons. It was a scene to live in the memory,
when the gallant 92nd, cheered on by Cameron's pipes, stormed the hill.
The dash and vigour of the assault no doubt carried the position, but
the moral effect of Cameron and his pipes, to say nothing of brave
colours flying, had to be reckoned with.
From this point the march on Kabul was unimpeded. When General Roberts
arrived he found the place abandoned by the enemy. But there still
remained some Afghans entrenched on a high hill to the rear of Bala
Hissar, in such a position that it was necessary to dislodge them
before entering the city, especially as behind them the enemy was in
great force on the Ridge of Asmai. There was very severe fighting over
the dislodgment of these Afghans, but on the fourth day General Roberts
had removed every obstruction to his entry into Kabul. It was a great
moment when he hoisted our Standard on the walls of Kabul.
TEL-EL-KEBIR AND KASSASSIN
(1882)
The British campaign arose out of the rebellious ambition of Arabi
Pasha. The culminating point of the campaign was the battle of
Tel-el-Kebir--the word signifying "A large village." Arabi Pasha was
of common origin, having risen from the ranks of the Viceroy's army to
the position of a somewhat famous colonel. His motto was "Egypt for
the Egyptians." In this he left out of account the fact that Britain
had tremendous interests in Egypt, including £4,000,000 of Suez Canal
stock. Blinding himself also to the fact that Britain could not afford
to lose the direct route to India, Arabi Pasha continued to oppose the
growth of British influence even up to the point that he wished to rule
Egypt himself.
The free expression of this ambition led to the bombardment of
Alexandria and the destruction of Arabi's forts. Being defeated, his
hatred of British influence grew stronger than ever. He retired into
the interior and began mobilising his countrymen. As soon as this was
known, it became necessary to send out a British army to hunt out
the rebellious Arabi and put an end to his ambitions for ever. This
army, under the command of Sir Garnet (afterwards Viscount) Wolseley,
comprised 40,000 men, and was derived from India, Malta, Cyprus and
Gibraltar.
This force landed at a port on the Canal and pressed on towards
Kassassin. The rebels attempted to check its progress at Mahuta, but
they were easily driven off. Very soon afterwards General Graham,
with his vanguard, arrived at Kassassin, where he entrenched himself
in obedience to a strict order to hold it at all costs. Many attacks
were made, but they were all successfully foiled. There were two
considerable engagements contested here, but they were merely
preliminaries to that at Tel-el-Kebir, which was of the greatest
moment. The 13th Bengal Lancers were engaged on the occasion when the
Egyptians made a second attack at Kassassin. Then they were moved up to
Tel-el-Kebir.
The fortified defences of Tel-el-Kebir were very strong. The British
were in position before the first streak of dawn, and everything was
"all Sir Garnet," as Tommy Atkins has constantly said ever since. There
was silence as the soldiers lay waiting for the word to advance, and,
when at last it was given in a subdued tone, all arose and marched
forward, and their footfalls on the soft sand were almost as noiseless
as footfalls on the snow. Of this mysterious nocturnal advance in the
silence of a mysterious land, a historian says: "The darkness around
and above, with the stars shining down as they had done in the time of
Pharaoh and the other dynasties of Egyptian kings lying entombed in
the Pyramids ... weird and ghostly was the effect of the dim streaks,
looking like shadows of moving clouds, but which were really lines of
men stealing over the desert."
The first indication that our approach was discovered came in the
form of some scattered shots fired by the enemy's sentries; then
came a bugle call from within the enemy's lines. This filled our men
with enthusiasm, for it meant that the action would begin in the
darkness, which was to our advantage. For a few minutes they marched
on stealthily, then the whole line of the enemy's entrenchments, which
had been unknown to us, was now clearly revealed by the sudden blaze
of rifle fire. The simultaneous flash was so great that it lit up the
whole scene. Immediately the British bugles sounded the charge, and
our men on the instant sprang forward with loud cheers, then advanced
rapidly but steadily on the foe.
The terrible conflict which ensued soon became general, and the
infantry, once in close grips with the Egyptians, inflicted severe
loss with the bayonet. It was to this astonishing "infantry" that the
credit of victory was mainly due; the artillery and cavalry, together
with a fine force of marines, were responsible for the infliction of
heavy punishment on the foe in the confusion of their retreat.
In this battle the 20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Light Infantry
("Brownlow's Punjabis") fought with great bravery, and, by their heroic
deeds, added "Tel-el-Kebir" to the list of their battle honours.
During the course of the Egyptian campaign two other Indian regiments
of cavalry, besides the 13th Bengal Lancers, and two of infantry
besides the 20th, fought bravely, and all bear the "honours" of "Egypt
1882" and "Tel-el-Kebir." The 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Sappers and
Miners (a native corps) also bear these "honours," in addition to
"Suakin 1885" and "Tofrek."
BATTLES AROUND SUAKIN
El-Teb } 1884 Hasheen } 1885
Tamai } Tofrek }
Everywhere throughout the Sudan the Mahdi, or False Prophet, had
waged a successful rebellion against the authority of the Egyptian
Government, which, since the crushing defeat of Arabi Pasha at
Tel-el-Kebir, had fallen under Britain's protection. In order to bring
this truculent disturber to submission it was necessary to send a
British army to the relief of Tokar near Suakin. The Sudan had for a
long time been the impenetrable stronghold of the slave trade. "If any
part of God's earth was dyed with human blood," said Lord Wolseley,
"it was this," and now in addition to this there was the memory of the
treachery at El-Obeid, the capital of Kordofan, where Hicks Pasha's
army was treacherously led into ambush and ultimately massacred. The
Mahdi was not present in this battle, but he came later to see the body
of Hicks, who was the last to die, and thrust his spear through the
Pasha's body as an example to be followed by all his sheikhs. All this
blood--more than the blood of slaves--cried out for vengeance.
As the rebellion spread eastward, Osman the Ugly hastened thither and
further inflamed it. This man was a slave trader, whose chief grievance
was that he had been ruined by the prohibition of the vile traffic. For
a time he had a victorious career, completely annihilating force after
force of Egyptian troops. During his investment of Sinkat and Tokar,
Baker Pasha was despatched with a force of 3,600 men to the relief of
those two towns. But here another terrible slaughter of the Egyptian
troops took place in the battle--or rather, the massacre--of El-Teb.
An eye witness says of this: "Inside the square the state of affairs
was almost indescribable. Cavalry, infantry, mules, camels, falling
baggage and dying men were crushed into a struggling, surging mass.
The Egyptians were shrieking madly, hardly attempting to run away, but
trying to shelter themselves one behind another."
"The conduct of the Egyptians was simply disgraceful," said another
English officer; "armed with rifle and bayonet, they allowed themselves
to be slaughtered without an effort at self-defence, by savages
inferior in numbers and armed only with spears and swords."
Seeing the uselessness of attempting to rally such material, Baker,
with his staff, put spurs to his horse and charged the enemy. This
small band of determined men cut their way through the formidable
array of swords and lances. Soon after this the defenders of Sinkat,
finding their stores almost exhausted, decided to fight their way out.
Accordingly, 400 men, with many women and children, set out from the
town. The men fought valiantly, but they were overpowered by numbers,
and only six men and thirty women were left to tell the horrible tale
of butchery.
Meanwhile Tokar was still under siege, and Sir Gerald Graham was sent
with a small force to relieve it. At El-Teb he came in contact with the
Mahdi's forces; this time the victory was on our side. Having crushed
the Mahdi for the time being, he set out for Suakin, which was the
concentration point of the Government in its now extensive preparations
to humble Osman Digna. They had called on the rebel chiefs to lay down
their arms, but the call had met with a most defiant reply. Sir Gerald
advanced on Tamai and bivouacked within a mile of the enemy's position.
All night long the British were harassed by shot and shell, but victory
came in the morning, though with regrettable loss of life. It was none
the less crushing, however, and was followed by a temporary cessation
of hostilities. It was not until the following spring that Osman Digna
had recuperated sufficiently to face the British troops again. In the
campaign which followed, his hordes were successful until after the
battles of Hasheen and Tofrek.
It was early in the morning that General Graham with less than 1,000
men arrived at the foot of the hills to the east of Hasheen. He
established himself with his staff on one of the hills, and from that
point directed the battle which ensued. The wells of Hasheen lay below
in the valley.
With the light of day the whole place was seen to be alive with
riflemen. Says an eye-witness: "They crowded on the Hasheen hill; they
swarmed through the underwood, and nothing could be seen but little
puffs of smoke rising over the trees. Here and there a shriek, a groan,
a gap in the ranks, instantly filled up, showed that some of the
enemy's bullets had found a billet. But for one that hit, a thousand
whistled harmlessly over us." Volley answered volley from both sides,
and the bullets began to fall thick and fast. Where the Sikhs were
engaged the fire was especially furious. The enemy showed considerable
bravery, but after a while the distant fire of our troops proved too
hot for them. Two squadrons of the Bengal Lancers, making a gallant
show with their turbans, streaming pennants, and flashing spears, were
launched against them, and some desperate fighting now took place
in this part of the field. One of the squadrons was dismounted for
the purpose of firing volleys, but, being taken at a disadvantage,
was driven back with the loss of nine men. The Arabs were led on to
the attack by an old sheikh mounted on a camel. He waved his spear
frantically, and his equally fanatical followers rushed round the
Bengalese flank to their rear. One Lancer officer--an Englishman--was
seen to hew down two Arabs in quick succession; while the life of
another officer was only saved by the steel breastplate underneath his
tunic, which before his departure his wife had insisted on his wearing.
On the right, too, about the same time, a similar charge was made by
the other two squadrons of Bengal Cavalry and the 5th Lancers. This
rapid movement completely checked and scattered a large body of the
enemy who were advancing down the Hasheen valley with the intention of
turning the British flank. The swarthy-faced Indian troops, with their
eyes flashing friendly rivalry beneath their turbans, vied with their
fresh-complexioned British comrades to carry off the chief honours of
that charge; and so strong was this admirable rivalry that history can
only say "Honours easy."
In the action at Tofrek the Indian Brigade were engaged and showed
striking gallantry. The 17th Bengal Native Infantry (the Loyal
Regiment) gave some ground at a very important moment, but it was
against fearful odds. No more need be said than that "Tofrek" is among
their battle honours.
Orders were given to Generals McNeill and Hudson to advance to a
certain spot and construct three zarebas at a distance of from six
to eight miles from Suakin. Here, at Tofrek, they suddenly found the
enemy upon them. In the conflict which ensued, the main brunt of the
assault fell upon the 15th Sikhs and the 28th Bombay Native Infantry.
Time after time they received assaults with heavy fire, firmly standing
their ground and maintaining an intact line. The battle raged most
furiously round the Sikhs, a fact which was afterwards confirmed by the
hundreds of dead Arabs which lay in front of their position. The Bombay
Regiment, though not in the thick of the fight, fought bravely, as
proved by the toll of the enemy's dead and wounded.
THE FRONTIER FIGHTING OF 1886
In the frontier fighting (1886) against the Afghans and Tibetans many
important events occurred. Those of greatest interest were the survey
by the Afghan Boundary Commission, under Colonel Sir West Ridgeway;
General Sir G. White's march with his Flying Column to the Zhob Valley;
the Manipur Massacre; the attack by tribesmen on the Fort of Chilas,
and the Wazaris' fierce assault on the troops encamped at Wano.
The Afghan Boundary Commission, which had returned to India in
1886, after a two years' survey in the wild country to the north,
was commanded by Colonel Sir West Ridgeway. Among his troops was a
detachment of the 11th Bengal Lancers and 20th Punjab Infantry, who,
to quote the Official Gazette, "have upheld throughout by discipline,
endurance, and good conduct the credit of Her Majesty's Army."
The work before them was difficult and dangerous, but the British
officers and native soldiers carried it to a successful issue with
unflagging cheerfulness and invincible courage.
Sir G. White's march into the Zhob Valley may be described in terms
of equal praise. The Flying Column marched rapidly through the valley,
and reached Thanispa on October 15th. From that point they hurried on,
meeting with little opposition, and finally took possession of the
entire country, bringing the chiefs to terms, and binding them over
to cease the predatory raids which had been the occasion of all the
trouble.