Our Soldiers | Page 4

to capture it, with the 2nd and 17th Queen's
Regiments, the 31st Bengal Native Infantry, with two howitzers, four
of the Shah's 6-pounder guns, and a detachment of local horse. On the
morning of the 13th of November he found himself before the place.
The Engineer officers reported that until the heights were carried it
would be impossible to proceed against the fortress; accordingly orders
were issued for the attack. It was Willshire's hope that the enemy might
be driven down to the gate of the fortress, and that the stormers might
rush in with them. Gallantly our brave soldiers made their way up the
heights--gallantly they were carried, and right nobly the guns were
captured.
The shrapnel shot from Stephenson's batteries fell with too deadly an
aim among the Beloochee footmen for them to hold their position on
the hills. They fled towards the walls of their fortress, and the British
infantry pushed hotly after them; but, in spite of all their exertions, our
brave soldiers were not in time to secure an entrance--the gates were
closed against their advance. The enemy's artillery, planted on the walls,
was now brought into play. The British infantry were compelled to find
shelter behind some ruined buildings, while our batteries, planted on
the heights, opened upon the gate and the neighbouring defences. Two
of Cooper's guns were brought within 200 yards of the walls. The
gunners suffered much from the matchlocks of the enemy, but
undauntedly continued to fire full upon the gate. At length it gave way.
Pointing his hand towards the gateway, Willshire boldly rode down to
show the infantry that an entrance was ready for them. Rising at once
from their cover, with a loud hurrah they rushed on. Pennycuick and his
men were the first to enter. The other companies eagerly followed, till
the whole of the storming column were within the walls of Khelat.

Onward they struggled manfully towards the citadel. Every inch of
ground was obstinately disputed. The citadel was reached, but there
was here a desperate resistance. Sword in hand, Mehrab Khan and
some of his principal chiefs stood to give battle to their enemies. The
Khan himself fell dead with a musket-ball through his breast. Eight of
his principal sirdars fell beside him. Heaps of dead lay around,--many
fine-looking men,--their shields shot through and broken, swords and
matchlocks scattered about in every direction, telling of the fierce fight.
A small party held out in an inner apartment; there was no reaching
them, except by a narrow passage which admitted but of one at a time.
Three or four attempted it, and were instantly shot dead. The little band
of Beloochees would not trust the British. At length Lieutenant
Loveday was sent up to them alone. It was a critical moment for him;
but they listened to his proposals, and surrendered. And Khelat was
won, the British loss being 138 killed and wounded.
These defeats had a very depressing effect upon the followers of Dost
Mahomed, who, although still at the head of an army of 14,000 men,
found that there was no courage in his faint-hearted followers, and that
they could not be trusted even to be true to himself. His position being
thus hopeless, Dost Mahomed fled from Cabul on the 2nd of August,
and that city was entered in state by Shah Soojah, who then, though for
a short time, was restored to the throne which he had lost thirty years
before.
The army now ceased to be an expeditionary force, and became settled
as an army of occupation. The officers sent for their wives and families,
and for a time English society and English amusements may be said to
have been established in Cabul. Still Shah Soojah was not accepted by
the people, his rule was exacting and cruel, and disaffection was rife in
the country, which was rapidly preparing to rise.
In the meantime, Dost Mahomed was still to be reckoned with. After
his flight from Cabul he and his son Akbar had gone to Bokhara, where
for a time they were in captivity. Escaping thence, they reached
Khartoum, where the Dost's family were under the protection of his
brother Jubbar Khan. Here he found the tribes strongly in his favour,

and soon gathered force wherewith to oppose the British who were
concentrating at Bamian, where a small force under Colonel Dennie
arrived on the 14th of September 1840.
THE BATTLE OF BAMIAN.
On the 18th of September Colonel Dennie moved out with a
detachment to drive a force of the enemy out of a valley near Bamian.
Soon after eight o'clock, two horse artillery guns, under Lieutenant
Murray Mackenzie, two companies of the 35th Native Infantry, two
companies of the Goorkha corps, and about four hundred Afghan horse,
marched out to