NEW ZEALAND.

This distinction has been conferred for three separate campaigns, but no attempt has been made by the addition of dates, as in the case of the wars in South Africa, to differentiate between the various operations.

New Zealand, 1846-47.

The first campaign took place in the years 1846-47, and the regiments which obtained the honour for these operations are the

Northamptons.
Manchesters.
Wiltshires.

New Zealand, 1860-61.

The regiments which earned this distinction are the

Suffolk.
West Yorkshire.
South Lancashire.
Middlesex.
York and Lancaster.

At the time of the dispute which led to these operations there was but one British battalion in the islands, and so critical was the situation that the city of Auckland was practically besieged by the natives. Urgent messages were sent to Australia and to Tasmania, where at that time we had garrisons, and the 12th (Suffolks) and 40th (North Lancashires) arrived very shortly from Sydney and Melbourne respectively. At the same time, on the news reaching England, the 68th (Durham Light Infantry) was ordered from Burmah, the 57th (Middlesex) and 70th (East Surrey) from India, and the 2nd Battalion of the 14th, a newly-raised corps, from the Curragh. General Pratt, who had arrived from Australia, took command of the operations, but some dissatisfaction was expressed at his strategy, and in March, 1863, he was superseded by Sir Duncan Cameron, an officer who had done good service in the Crimea.

The New Zealanders—or rather the Maori—showed themselves most gallant foes. Their pahs, or stockades, were constructed with much skill, and until these had been thoroughly searched out with artillery fire we found them almost impossible to carry.

It was generally conceded that the war was one which, with a little exercise of forbearance on the part of the Colonial Government, might have been avoided, and there was a good deal of friction between the civilian and military elements in consequence, many of the soldiers openly expressing an opinion that their foes had not been fairly dealt with. In the spring of 1861 a hollow truce was patched up. Our casualties during the operations, so far as the regular troops were concerned, had not been heavy, except in the case of the 40th (North Lancashires) and 65th (York and Lancasters).

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
Royal Artillery1-212
Roy. Engineers-114
12th Suffolks-117
14th West Yorks---2
40th N. Lancs233858
57th Middlesex---6
65th York and Lancaster11538
Naval Brigade-2520

New Zealand, 1863-1866.

The regiments which were present during the operations, which lasted for nearly three years, are the

Suffolks.
West Yorkshire.
Royal Irish.
North Lancashire.
Oxford Light Infantry.
Royal West Kent.
Middlesex.
York and Lancaster.
Durham Light Infantry.

The same causes which led to the war in 1860 were once more the origin of armed resistance to the Government. The natives considered that they were not being dealt fairly with in the matter of the sale of their lands, and, as I have said before, there was a very strong party in the Colony who sympathized with them. At the same time, it was felt that the Government must be supported until peace had been restored, and that then, but not till then, could the cause of the disturbance be removed. The troops, which included all the regiments named above, were under the command of Sir Duncan Cameron, and he had on his staff a number of exceptionally good men—men who came to the fore in our later wars—amongst them being Sir George Greaves and Sir Thomas Baker, both of whom became Adjutant-General in India. With them were Sir Henry Havelock and Sir John MacNeill, the latter of whom obtained the Victoria Cross in the campaign.

Casualties in New Zealand, 1864.

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
Naval Brigade381334
Royal Artillery1258
12th Suffolks1-724
14th W. Yorks281329
18th Roy. Irish111944
40th N. Lancs232242
43rd Oxford L.I.721319
50th W. Kent131830
57th Middlesex222347
65th York and Lancaster282449
68th Durham L.I.-4941
70th E. Surrey12816
Colonial Troops615650

Although the war dragged on for so long, it calls for no special remark. It resolved itself into the attack of the Maori stockades, which were constructed with great skill. On more than one occasion we certainly came off second best. One point, however, is worthy of note. It was found that the red coats and shakos of the soldiers were not the most suitable garments for Bush warfare, and, to the distress of the old soldiers of the leather stock and pipeclay school, the men fought in blue jumpers and forage-caps.

In the month of June we experienced rather a serious reverse at what was known as the Gate Pah; but the distinguished regiment which suffered heavily on that day showed a few weeks later that it had lost none of the dash for which it had been so famous in Wellington's days. In the early spring of 1866 peace was declared, and since then there have been no more loyal servants of the Crown than our Maori fellow-subjects.

Abyssinia, 1867-68.

The following regiments are authorized to bear this battle honour:

3rd Dragoon Guards.
King's Own Lancasters.
Cameronians.
West Riding.
Sherwood Foresters.
10th Hodson's Horse.
12th Cavalry.
33rd Q.O. Light Cavalry.
2nd Q.O. Sappers and Miners.
3rd Sappers and Miners.
21st Punjabis.
23rd Pioneers.
102nd K.E.O. Grenadiers.
103rd Mahratta Light Infantry.
104th Wellesley's Rifles.
121st Pioneers.
125th Napier's Rifles.
127th Baluch Light Infantry.

The above regiments formed the expeditionary force, under Sir Robert Napier, then Commander-in-Chief in Bombay, which had for its object the release of a number of English and German prisoners held in captivity by Theodore, King of Abyssinia. Until the year 1861 our relations with this half-savage, half-Christian potentate had been of the most cordial nature. He looked on Mr. Plowden, the British Consul, as his most trusted adviser, and amongst the members of his personal household was more than one Englishman. On Mr. Plowden's death a change occurred. The new Consul seems not to have been on the best terms either with the King or with the Foreign Office, and the neglect of the latter to take any notice of an autograph letter addressed to our Queen by King Theodore led to an open rupture. The King swept all Europeans into prison, including the Consul, and on remonstrances being made detained other emissaries. As Theodore had contracted a habit of doing away with his prisoners, it was considered necessary to back up verbal remonstrances with force, and the conduct of the negotiations was removed from the Foreign Office and placed in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief in Bombay.

Little was known of the country, and the most pessimistic forebodings were indulged in by the English Press. The result proved the falsity of the critics. Sir Robert Napier was a master of the art of organization, and from the date of the landing of the troops in Zoulla Bay until their final embarkation there was not a single mishap. There was practically no fighting. The army traversed close on 300 miles of country destitute of roads, crossed mountain-ranges 9,000 feet in height, stormed what Theodore fancied was an impregnable fortress, effected the release of the European prisoners, and freed the Abyssinians from the tyranny of a bloodthirsty King, without the loss of a single man killed in action, and of only thirty-seven who died by disease. The result was due to one man, and to one man alone, and it proved the wisdom of not interfering with the General in command when once he has been entrusted with the conduct of military operations. The House of Commons grumbled at the cost of the expedition, but Sir Robert Napier judged the value of a British soldier at a higher price than mere pounds, shillings, and pence, and preferred that the tax-payer should pay for the mistakes of the Foreign Office in hard cash rather than that the army should pay in the lives of its men.

Thirty years later the Italians tried their 'prentice hand in the same country. The annihilation of their army threw into stronger relief the wisdom of the tactics employed by Lord Napier, where, by utilizing native labour for the construction of the necessary military roads, he saved the health and the lives of his soldiers.

It is impossible to write of the Abyssinian Expedition without adding a word as to the marvellous manner in which the disembarkation and final embarkation of the army was conducted, without hitch or loss, by the Quartermaster-General at Zoulla Bay, then Major Fred Roberts,[27]

The casualty rolls are instructive, and may be compared with advantage with those of the Italian army which was cut to pieces in Abyssinia thirty years later:

Casualties in Abyssinia, 1867-68.

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
Roy. Engineers-1-3
4th King's Own-1-6
33rd West Riding---5
33rd Q.O. Light Cavalry---1
23rd Punjab Pioneers---12

Ashantee, 1873.

This distinction has been conferred on the

23rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers).
Black Watch.
Rifle Brigade.
West India Regiment.

It commemorates the services of a force, under the command of Major-General Garnet Wolseley (now Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley), which was organized for the purpose of putting a stop to the intolerable cruelties and depredations of the Ashantee monarch on the West Coast of Africa. In February, 1873, King Coffee Kalkali, not content with ravaging the territories of our allies, actually invaded our own territories in the neighbourhood of Cape Coast Castle. He was beaten off by Colonel Harley, then in command of the troops, and a second invasion was also repulsed by Colonel Festing, of the Royal Marine Artillery. Our relations with the Ashantees had been clouded by the memory of a severe defeat we suffered at their hands when Sir Charles Macartney, the Governor of the Colony, had been killed, and his head carried in triumph to Coomassie, the capital. It was now deemed imperative to teach the Ashantees that the English arm was longer than they imagined, and Sir Garnet Wolseley, who had only recently carried through a most successful little expedition in the North-West Territory of Canada, was selected for the command of the Ashantee Expeditionary Force. With him were associated a number of special-service officers, whose duty it was to raise regiments from the tribes which had suffered at the hands of King Coffee Kalkali, and to act in co-operation with our own advancing troops.

The expedition was perfectly successful. After penetrating to the capital, the force returned to the coast, and re-embarked for England. There were several sharp skirmishes during the advance, in which the 42nd (Royal Highlanders) particularly distinguished themselves, and in which they suffered severely. The expedition, however, is more noticeable in that it produced a school of officers for long known as "the Wolseley Gang," to whom the army and the nation owe a deep debt of gratitude for the institution of many of the most valuable military reforms.

At the conclusion of the war a medal was granted to the officers and men who took part in the expedition, with a special clasp—"Coomassie"—to those who were fortunate enough to have been present at the final advance on the capital.

Casualties in Ashantee War, 1873.

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
Staff-3--
Royal Artillery1116
Roy. Engineers11-4
Naval Brigade-7-32
R. Welsh Fus.-1-4
42nd R. Highl.-116120
Rifle Brigade-3330
Native Levies2115122

Sierra Leone, 1898.

This distinction is borne by the West India Regiment and West African Regiment, and commemorates their conduct in the campaign undertaken for the purpose of putting down the rebellion in the Colony of Sierra Leone in that year. The rising was a most serious one, and for a time the lives of all the whites on the West Coast were in danger. Nominally the cause of offence was the imposition of a hut-tax; in reality the grievance was a stricter interpretation of the laws regarding slavery. Little heed was paid to the warnings of disaffection. A number of towns in the hinterland were burnt and many English were massacred before we were in a position to cope with the rebels. The command of the operations was entrusted at first to Major-General Woodgate, who afterwards met a soldier's death at the head of his brigade at the Battle of Spionkop, in the Boer War. On his falling ill, the operations were brought to a successful conclusion by Colonel Cunningham, of the Cornwall Light Infantry. The losses of the West India Regiment amounted to 3 officers and 8 men killed, 8 officers and 39 men wounded.

WEST AFRICA.[28]

West Africa, 1887.

The above distinction is borne on the colours of the West India Regiment, and has been conferred on that hard-working corps for a series of arduous campaigns on the West Coast of Africa.

The campaign of 1887 was under the command of Major-General Sir Francis de Winton, the troops being accompanied by a naval brigade furnished by H.M.S. Icarus and Royalist. It was undertaken for the subjugation of a powerful tribe called the Yonnies, who had carried fire, sword, and rapine through the hinterland of the Colony.

West Africa, 1892.

The campaign of 1892 was under the command of Colonel Scott, an officer who had served in the 42nd Highlanders through the Crimea, the Mutiny, and the two Ashantee wars of 1874 and 1890. It was necessitated by the conduct of the Egbas and Jebus, two tribes who were blocking all the trade-routes from Lagos into the interior.

West Africa, 1893.

The campaign of 1893 was under the command of Colonel Ellis, of the West India Regiment, and was undertaken for the punishment of the Sofas, a tribe which had been giving much trouble on our own and on the French frontier. The expedition was marred by an unfortunate contretemps between our forces and the French Senegalese troops, in which we lost three officers killed, the subaltern in command of the French detachment falling a victim to the mistake of his men.

West Africa, 1894.

This year was marked by two expeditions—the one from Bathurst, under Captain Gamble, of the Royal Navy, accompanied by a detachment of the West India Regiment. In this the navy were roughly handled, losing 3 officers and 14 men killed, 6 officers and 32 men wounded. In the following month Major Fairtlough, of the Royal Artillery, took up the threads of the affair, and brought it to a successful conclusion. The recalcitrant chief, Foda Silah, took refuge in French territory, and was handed over to us for deportation.

In the month of September, 1894, the attitude of the ruler of Benin compelled us to destroy the armed towns on his frontier. Admiral Bedford, commanding the Cape of Good Hope Station, was entrusted with the chief command. The bulk of the forces were drawn from the ships on the Cape Station, but a detachment of the West India Regiment well and worthily upheld the fame of that corps. Our trophies included 106 guns of all calibres, a large number of small arms, 14 tons of gunpowder, and 8,300 dozens of gin!

British East Africa, 1896-1899, 1901.

This battle honour has been conferred on the

104th Wellesley's Rifles.
116th Mahrattas.
124th D.C.O. Baluchistan Infantry.
127th P.W.O. Baluch Light Infantry.

It commemorates arduous work, of which little is heard in England, in tropical regions of East Africa and the fever-haunted hinterland of Zanzibar. Split up into a number of small detachments, these regiments have showed themselves worthy successors to the old Bombay army, which more than a century ago broke the power of the Mahrattas and set the stamp of civilization on the coast of Malabar. The list of casualties shows that sickness was not the only foe these distinguished regiments had to face.

Casualties during the Operations in East Africa.

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
104th Wellesley's Rifles1-274
124th D.C.O. Baluchis----
116th Mahrattas-126
127th P.W.O. Baluch L.I.231920

Ashanti, 1900.

This distinction has been conferred on the West African Regiment, in commemoration of its services in the campaign undertaken for the relief of the Residency of Coomassie during the rebellion in Ashantee in the year 1900. The practical annexation of the kingdom of Ashantee after the campaign of 1890, for which no battle honour was granted, though a bronze decoration was awarded to the troops, had not been accepted with any degree of heartfelt loyalty by the people, and, though peace had been maintained, it was known that this was due to the personal ascendancy of successive Residents rather than to the acquiescence of the people in the new state of affairs. During the absence of the permanent Resident it was determined to obtain possession of the Golden Stool, the emblem of royalty. To effect this, a small expedition was despatched from Kumassi, the capital and seat of the Residency. This expedition was repulsed, and the repulse was followed by a general upheaval of the tribes. The Residency was closely besieged, and there were no troops on the coast to despatch to its relief.

Brigadier-General Willcocks, an officer who to youth added experience, was selected to command an expeditionary force; but, in consequence of the war in South Africa, it was found inexpedient to employ British troops. The General set out on his mission with a mixed force, made up of detachments from the various corps in West Africa. The West India Regiment furnished its quota, as did the West African Frontier Force, the Central African Frontier Regiment, and the West African Regiment, of which the greater part was engaged. The country was an exceedingly difficult one, but its difficulties were known. Although the rising commenced in the month of April, it was not until July that Sir William James Willcocks was ready to move forward. His force numbered, all told, 152 whites and 2,800 natives, the former including a number of invaluable non-commissioned officers. It was fiercely opposed the whole way from the coast to Kumassi, and the severity of the fighting may be gauged from the fact that the total losses amounted to 9 Englishmen and 113 natives killed, and 53 English and 680 natives wounded.

[CHAPTER XXIV]

BATTLE HONOURS FOR THE SECOND AFGHAN WAR

Afghanistan, 1878-1880—Ali Masjid—Peiwar Kotal—Charasiah—Kabul, 1879—Ahmad Khel—Kandahar, 1880.