Sir John Keane, against the advice of his artillery officers, had left his siege-train behind, owing to difficulties of carriage, and there was nothing to be done but to carry Ghuznee by storm. There were men present who had assisted at the storming of Bhurtpore in 1826, and all remembered the terrible losses incurred by Lord Lake's army at the unsuccessful assaults of that fortress in 1805. The prospect was not a pleasing one, but with the Oriental l'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace is the best policy in the long-run. On July 23 Keane carried the place by assault with but trifling loss, and so earned a peerage.

Casualties at the Storming of Ghuznee, July 28, 1839.

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
4th Hussars----
16th Lancers----
2nd Queen's-6427
17th Leicester----
13th Somerset L.I.-1130
Munster Fus.-9151
Bengal Artillery----
Bombay Artlly.----
Bombay Engrs.-1--
3rd Skinner's H.????
31st Lancers????
34th Poona H.----
119th Mult. R.----

On August 8 the army reached Kabul, and the puppet Shah Sujah was installed on the throne, the brave Dost Mohammed flying before our arms, only to rally for a fresh desperate venture for the kingdom. The Bombay column was now ordered back by way of Ghuznee and Kandahar, and the Commander-in-Chief, with the 16th Lancers and some details of the 13th Light Infantry and of the Bengal regiments, returned to India by the Khyber.

Khelat, November 13, 1839.

This battle honour is borne by the

Queen's (Royal West Surrey).
Leicesters.
3rd Skinner's Horse.
3rd Sappers and Miners.
2nd Q.O. Rajput L.I.

It commemorates a scarcely remembered, but very successful, affair carried out by a column of the invading army of Afghanistan. On the capture of Ghuznee ([p. 254]) and the flight of Dost Mohammed, it was erroneously anticipated that the people of the country were willing to accept Shah Sujah as their Sovereign. Sir John Keane, misled by the political officers, determined to send back a large portion of his army to India, and whilst one column was to return by the Khyber Pass, in the north, another was told off to return by the Bolan, in the south. This column was placed under the command of Major-General Willshire, and comprised the regiments above named, with a company of Bombay Artillery and one of Sappers. All were much under their proper strength, and this I touch upon in passing, as it brings out into stronger relief the nature of the task achieved by General Willshire's force.

Strength of British Troops.

The Queen's13officers,331other ranks.
Leicesters24"374" "
Artillery2"38" "