Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80 | Page 8

better than the Ottoman army
that was so drilled forty years ago. These might have been mistaken for
European troops if most of them had not had on their bare feet the
pointed Kabuli shoe, and had not had their short trowsers so tightly
stretched by their straps that they threatened every moment to burst and
fly up above the knee."
The adventurous O'Donovan thus describes an Afghan cavalryman
whom he met unexpectedly, near Herat, in 1880: "He wore a
dark-colored turban, one end of the cloth pulled up in front so as to
resemble a small cockade. His uniform was blue-black, and he wore
long boots. A broad black leather cross-belt, with two very large brass
buckles, crossed his breast. He had sabre, pistols, and carbine."
[Illustration: Zool Kuddar, an Adam Khel Afreedi. Mousa, a Kizilbash,
Born in Peshawur.]
The actual fighting strength of the army of Afghanistan cannot be
definitely stated. Major Lumsden, who has represented the British
Government in that country in various diplomatic capacities, stated
(some years since) that the regular army of the Ameer consisted of
sixteen regiments of infantry, three of cavalry, and seventy-six field
guns. The infantry regiments numbered about 800 men each; the men
were obtained by compulsory levy. Their uniform consisted of English
cast-off clothes purchased at auction. The pay, about five rupees per
mensem, was paid irregularly and often in kind; two months' pay was
deducted for clothing. The cavalry and artillery were badly horsed; and
the horses were sent to graze in summer. A Russian report of 1868
estimates the infantry at 10,000 men. The armament, equipment, and
instruction of the troops have doubtless improved since that time, as ten
years later the British Government supplied the Afghan Government
with 10,000 Enfield and 5,000 Snider rifles and one field battery, and
very recently (1885) it was announced that a present of Martini-Henry
rifles and improved field guns had been sent to Abdurrahman by the
Indian authorities.
Besides the regular army there is a paid irregular mounted force of
about 20,000 men, active and formidable in "hill operations," and

known as Jezailchis.
The late General Colin Mackenzie, in an account of his experiences in
the Elphinstone disaster of 1842, says:
"The Jezailchis are so called from their jezails or long rifles. The
Afghans are said to be among the best marksmen in the world. They are
accustomed to arms from early boyhood, live in a chronic state of
warfare with their neighbors, and are most skilful in taking advantage
of cover. An Afghan will throw himself flat, behind a stone barely big
enough to cover his head, and scoop a hollow in the ground with his
left elbow as he loads. Men like these only require training to make
first-rate irregular troops.
"As a trait of Afghan character, I must mention that whenever the
Jezailchis could snatch five minutes to refresh themselves with a pipe,
one of them would twang a sort of a rude guitar as an accompaniment
to some martial song, which, mingling with the notes of war, sounded
very strangely."
The Russian General Staff have also estimated the Ameer's force,
exclusive of the irregulars, at 66,400 men with 30 guns.
The efficiency of this body, by reason of their peculiar surroundings,
must vary with the character of the operations. For
defence--particularly of their own section--they form an important
consideration; for aggressive purposes their strength lies in partisan
operations, in small detachments, requiring great mobility.
Just as it is difficult to understand the rapidity with which large
numbers are assembled in Afghanistan for fighting purposes, so the
dispersing of an Afghan army together with its attendant masses of
tribal levies in flight is almost beyond comprehension; men who have
been actually engaged in hand-to-hand combat dispose of their arms in
the villages they pass through, and meet their pursuers with melons or
other fruit in their hands, While they adopt the role of peaceful
inhabitants.
A brief description of some of the more noted cities of Afghanistan
may be appropriate here.
Sir Henry Rawlinson gives the following details respecting the
so-called Key of India--the city of Herat:
"That which distinguishes Herat from all other Oriental cities, and at
the same time constitutes its main defence, is the stupendous character

of the earthwork upon which the city wall is built. This earthwork
averages 250 feet in width at the base and about 50 feet in height, and
as it is crowned by a wall 25 feet high and 14 feet thick at the base,
supported by about 150 semicircular towers, and is further protected by
a ditch 45 feet in width and 16 feet in depth, it presents an appearance
of imposing strength. Whether the place is really as strong as it looks
has been differently estimated. General Ferrier, who resided