Part 15 (2/2)
The morning had broken; but it was still dark, and the path was almost invisible in the shadow of the trees. The Ghoorkas--their rifles loaded now--made their way quietly up the hill. Presently the challenge of the sentry was heard, followed by two shots.
It was a relief to the men, after ten hours of weary stumbling along in the cold and darkness, to know that they were, at length, face to face with their foe. Cold and fatigue were at once forgotten and, with eyes strained through the darkness, and rifles ready for use, every man pressed forward. Fifty yards up the hill, behind the sentry who had fired, was the first stockade of the enemy; formed by several large trees, which had been felled so as to completely block up the road, presenting an obstacle of about eight feet high to the attacking force.
The Afghan pickets lining the stockade poured a volley into the Ghoorkas who, led by Major Fitzhugh and Captain Cook, made a rush at the place. For a few minutes there was a fierce fight at the trees but, as fresh a.s.sailants momentarily poured up, the obstruction was scaled; and the Afghans retired on a second stockade, eighty yards back. Here another stand was made but, the spur being a little wider, the Ghoorkas were able to work round and, taking the defense in flank, soon drove the Afghans back.
Beyond this point the ground was clear of trees; and the road ran, in short zigzags, up the steep hill to the breastwork which lined the edge of the top zigzag. A mountain gun, at this point, swept the approach to the position; while the hill at its back was now covered with Afghans, who opened a heavy fire upon the troops as, in the dim morning light, they issued from the trees.
By the time that the Ghoorkas and the Rangers had cleared the second stockade, the wing of the 72nd Highlanders--ascending by the right flank--had made their way up to the front; and the whole now advanced together. As quickly as possible they pushed up the hill, under the heavy fire of the enemy. The latter fought well, and a number of them were killed before retiring. At the defense erected at the top of the zigzag, so obstinately did the Afghans in front hold their ground that their comrades, behind, were enabled to remove their mountain gun.
To the right of the enemy's position was a knoll, and the 72nd at once took possession of this; and two mountain guns were brought up to their a.s.sistance. The Afghans were seen, in great numbers, in the broken ground ahead. The Ghoorkas and the little body of Rangers pushed on against them. Presently the enemy gathered, and made a rush down upon them; and a desperate hand-to-hand fight took place, for a few minutes. The men were scattered among the trees, and each fought for himself.
William Gale had just reloaded his rifle when he saw Captain Herbert--who commanded his company--fall to the ground, and three Afghans spring forward to finish him. With a bound, Will reached the side of the officer. Two of the Afghans had already discharged their pieces. The third leveled and fired. So close was he that the flash almost burnt the soldier's face, and he felt a sharp pain, as if a hot iron had pa.s.sed across his cheek. In an instant, he shot his a.s.sailant dead; and then, with bayonet, stood at bay as the other two Afghans rushed upon him.
Ill.u.s.tration: Captain Herbert saved.
They had drawn their tulwars, and slashed fiercely at him; but he kept them off with his bayonet until a Ghoorka, running up, cut down one of them with his kookerie--a heavy, sword-like knife which the Ghoorkas carry, and which they always employ in preference to the bayonet, in fighting at close quarters. The remaining Afghan at once took to flight. The 29th Punjaubees had now come into action; and the Afghans, disheartened at the loss of their position, fell back and withdrew into the woods which cover the plateau.
At half-past seven o'clock the whole force--except the elephant guns--had reached the plateau; and General Roberts was able to flash the news, of the successful capture of the enemy's first position, to Brigadier General Cobbe, who was in command of the force which was to operate direct against the Peiwar-Khotal. A rest was given the troops after their long march and, at half-past nine, they again fell in for the attack upon the pine-covered slopes in the direction of the Peiwar-Khotal. How strong were the enemy who might be lurking there, they knew not. But it was certain that he would fight obstinately and, in so dense a forest, much of the advantage gained by drill and discipline is lost.
A change was made in the order of the advance. The troops who had before led the advance, and had done the fighting, were now placed in the rear; and the 23rd Pioneers led the way, followed by the 2nd and 29th Punjaubees. The column crossed the plateau without opposition, and began the ascent towards the enemy's position in the woods. Considerable caution was needed, as no one had any knowledge of the country, and all were ignorant of the position and numbers of the enemy; who might, for aught they knew, be ma.s.sing in great numbers for an attack upon the front, or one of the flanks.
The line of skirmishers entered the pine wood near the rocky hillside, and a rolling fire of musketry soon told that they were engaged, from end to end of the line. It was slow work; for fallen trees, rocks, and bushes everywhere hampered the advance. Still the skirmis.h.i.+ng line--reinforced from behind--pushed forward steadily and, presently, cleared the Afghans off the hillside.
When the troops reached the top, they found a valley in front of them and, from the woods on the opposite side, so heavy a musketry fire was kept up that it was evident the Afghans intended to make a desperate stand here. The valley--or rather ravine--was a narrow one: fifty yards wide, at its foot; and scarce three times as much, from brow to brow. The enemy--hidden among the trees--could not be made out, except by their continual fire. They did not content themselves, however, with the mere defense of their side of the hill but, from time to time, large numbers charged down, and tried to force their way up that held by the British. Each time, however, when they attempted this, the Punjaubees drove them back with slaughter.
It was clear that the Afghans were in great numbers, for their line extended for a mile and a half along the hillside. Major Anderson of the 23rd Pioneers, after repulsing one of these attacks, led four companies to the a.s.sault of the Afghan position, and drove the enemy back for some little distance; but Major Anderson fell, and the party retired. Colonel Curry--who commanded the regiment--again led the men forward and, for a time, a hand-to-hand fight took place. For two hours the rifle contest continued, without cessation. The storm of bullets was tremendous, but no very great execution was done, on either side, both parties lying behind the shelter of trees.
So far, no advantage had been gained by the British; and General Roberts felt that, with the force under his command, it would be rash to attempt to carry so strong a position, held by a greatly superior force.
In the meantime, the attack upon the Peiwar-Khotal from the valley had commenced. Before daylight Brigadier General Cobbe, with the 5th Punjaub Infantry and the 8th Regiment, left camp; his object being to cooperate with the flank attack. The 8th Regiment moved directly towards the pa.s.s, while the 5th Punjaubees climbed one of the princ.i.p.al spurs between the Peiwar and Spingawi Khotals.
The ascent was extremely difficult, and it took the troops six hours to reach the summit. During the last portion of the ascent, they came under the fire of the enemy. When near the summit, Major Macqueen of the 5th Punjaubees saw, through an opening in the pine wood, the Afghan camp, with their baggage animals; which were placed, for shelter, in the glade behind the Peiwar-Khotal. Two mountain guns were at once brought up, and a fire opened upon the Afghan camp. In a few minutes the tents caught fire, the animals stampeded in all directions; and the enemy in front, seized with a panic, began rapidly to retreat.
The Afghan troops facing General Roberts' column, when they found their comrades on their right retreating, began to draw off, and the fire sensibly diminished. The movement was accelerated by the four elephant guns--which had, at length, come up--opening fire into the pine-wood forest. As the fire slackened, a reconnaissance of the hill was made by General Roberts and his staff; but the result showed that the mountain was so covered with pines, and brushwood, that it formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the advance of troops--for the growth was so thick that it was impossible to say in which direction any movement should be made.
The experience gained, in the last six hours of hard fighting, had shown how difficult it was to keep command over troops scattered along a front of half a mile long, in the forest, where nothing could be seen beyond a radius of a few yards.
The general, therefore, determined to desist from the attempt to force his way direct to the top of the Peiwar-Khotal; and to march to his left and so, by menacing the Afghan line of retreat, to hasten the movement towards the rear which had evidently begun. The men were, therefore, brought back to the plateau to the east of the ravine. Here they were halted for a time, and the contents of their haversacks furnished them with a meal.
At two o'clock they again drew up on the Spingawi plateau. The 2nd Punjaub Infantry being left on the hill, to oppose the Afghans, should they again advance in that direction; the rest of the column entered the defile leading into the Hurriab valley, far in the rear of the Peiwar-Khotal. As soon as the enemy--who were still opposing the 2nd Punjaub Infantry--saw the head of the column enter the defile, they were seized with a panic lest their retreat should be cut off; and began to retreat with the greatest haste, as they had to make their way across two mountain ridges, before they could pa.s.s the spot towards which our troops were moving. The advance of the column, however, was necessarily slow; as the woods and side valleys had to be carefully examined, lest a flank attack should be made upon them.
In two hours the head of the column emerged from the forest on to the open slopes above the highest cultivated point in the Hurriab valley. It was now four o'clock. The short December day was drawing to a close. No enemy were in sight, for their line of retreat was hidden in the bed of the stream, a couple of miles further on; and no one knew where they were to be found. The troops were much exhausted with the want of rest, and with their heavy work--for they had now been marching, and fighting, for eighteen hours--and they were glad to receive the order to bivouac; although they had no tents, or food, and the cold--as might be expected on a winter day, at an elevation of over 9000 feet above the sea--began to be very severe.
A number of the nearest trees were felled by the pioneers, and huge fires were soon alight. There was still some uneasiness, as no one knew where the force under General Cobbe was, or whether the attack on the Peiwar-Khotal had been successful or not.
While the 5th Punjaub Infantry had been mounting the spur, halfway between the Peiwar and the Spingawi Khotal, the 8th Regiment had moved directly upon the pa.s.s. The Afghans, who had expected an attack, had remained under arms until three in the morning when, hearing no sounds in our camp, they had been dismissed to rest.
Three guns of the Royal Artillery, and two of the Royal Horse Artillery took up their post 800 yards in front of our camp; where their fire, at the crest of the pa.s.s, would a.s.sist the advance of the 8th. These, after two hours' march, found themselves at seven in the morning on the last spur, which is separated from the Peiwar-Khotal by a deep ravine. When it became daylight, a few minutes later, the enemy caught sight of our artillery in the valley, and at once opened fire. Although they had six field pieces at the top of the hill, only three had been placed in position to command the valley and the ascent; and the mountain battery, which had arrived the afternoon before, was not brought to the front.
<script>