The main army left Cabul for Hindustan in October, 1839; the 2nd company 6th battalion with No. 6 battery alone remained. The camel draught had proved so useless for such a country, that horses were now directed to be substituted, and so promptly was this order carried out by Captain Abbott, that within fifteen days after receiving it, half the battery was equipped, and marched against the Ghilzies, under Lieutenant Dawes, moving upwards of 400 miles ere it returned. The other half of the battery was employed in the following January in the Koh-i-daman under Captain Abbott. Pushoot held out, and the 9–pounders being placed in battery at daylight, a breach was formed on both sides of the outer gate, but an inner one existing, against which the guns could not be brought to bear, bags of powder were tried without avail, and the troops were forced to withdraw; but the enemy fled during the night. “To Captain Abbott,” Colonel Orchard wrote, “the highest praise is due, for the manner in which he has conducted the arduous duties devolving on him, as well as the great service rendered by him yesterday.”
We have now to notice perhaps the most extraordinary march ever performed by artillery,—that of a native troop of horse artillery across the Hindoo Kosh to Bamian; extraordinary both from obstacles overcome, and the circumstance of the men of this troop being natives of Hindostan. The 4th troop 3rd brigade was ordered for this trip in September, 1839, and, Captain Timmings having just died, it was under the command of a subaltern, Lieutenant M. Mackenzie, with whom was Lieutenant E. Kaye.
The valley of Bamian lies about N. W. from Cabul, distant only 112 miles; but it is separated from the valley in which the capital is situate by a broad belt of stupendous mountains, the highest range of which exceeds in altitude 12,000 feet. The troop entered upon its mountain road near the village of Urghundee, and while toiling up the first laborious ascent (steep in itself, but rendered still more difficult by huge stones and fragments of rock), it was met by Major Thomson, of the engineers, and some other officers,[[88]] who were just returning from an excursion to Bamian. Major Thomson immediately declared the road to Bamian to be impracticable for guns,—that the passes in advance were still more difficult in their nature than that of Urghundee, and said that he would, immediately on arrival at Cabul, report to the envoy that it would be useless to attempt to reach Bamian. The troop, however, continued its march, and, the passage of the Urghundee ghât accomplished, descended into the beautiful valley of the Cabul river, along the banks of which the route continued for three marches, passing Julraiz and Sir-i-Chushmeh. The road was at times difficult, being frequently in the rocky bed of the stream, and always ascending, gradually becoming steeper and more toilsome.
The summit of the Oonai pass is said to be 11,400 feet in elevation; at this great elevation, even in September, the cold was intense. The passage of the range was a work of great toil, as the ascents and descents were numerous. The summit of the range is in general a table-land, gradually sloping towards the north-west; not one continuous table-land, but intersected by numerous deep glens, running parallel to each other, with steep precipitous sides, difficult to ascend or descend. On the 21st, a small mud fort, named Youatt, was reached, and on the 23rd the troop, after crossing several spurs from the range just surmounted, descended to the banks of the Helmund, beyond which towered the snow-capped peaks of Koh-i-Baba.
In consequence of the report received from Major Thomson of the impracticable nature of the road to Bamian, the envoy had sent instructions for three guns and all the ammunition-waggons to return to Cabul, the other three guns to halt until elephants sent from Cabul should arrive; it was then intended that the three guns should be dismounted and carried over the remaining passes on elephants. These instructions were received at Youatt, but the neighbourhood being entirely destitute of forage, it was considered advisable to move the troop on to Gurden Dewaal, on the river Helmund. Having arrived there, the troop halted, and Lieutenant Mackenzie went forward and examined the pass over the Hindoo-Koosh range. This officer having considered the passage practicable, forwarded a report to that effect to head-quarters, and requested permission to proceed with the whole of the troop. Permission was at length received, and on the 30th the march was resumed. The foot of the Irak pass was attained in three difficult marches, the ascent being constant and fatiguing. The passage was commenced immediately, nearly all the guns and carriages being pulled up by hand (the horses being taken out); at this work, the artillery and infantry soldiers and some 200 Hazarehs were employed during the whole day, and it was not until dark that the entire battery had reached the foot of the western face of the mountain, which was found to be considerably steeper than that up which the ascent led. On the following day the march was resumed through a deep and dreary defile, abounding in rocks, and the precipices enclosing it so steep and lofty, that the sun’s rays scarcely ever penetrated to its lowest depths. Through this tortuous glen the troop wound its way, until, after many an interruption from rocky ledges of dangerous descent, the small valley of Meeanee Irak was reached on the 4th of October, and vegetation and human habitations were once more seen.
The whole of the 5th was occupied in passing the Kuski ghât, over a range of no great elevation (a spur only of the Hindoo-Koosh) but of great difficulty. The ascent was occasionally so steep (at an angle of 45°) that the men working at the drag-ropes could not keep their footing; horses, of course, were out of the question. The ascent was, however, accomplished in the afternoon, and the descent by the edge of a precipice, where a false step would have insured instant destruction, commenced. This, too, was effected, but night found the troop in a defile so narrow, and enclosed by such steep walls, that it seemed to be but a fissure in the mountain, caused by some convulsion of nature. Nothing further could be done till daylight; early on the morning of the 6th of October, the troop crossed the last intervening ridge and entered the valley of Bamian at Zohauk. Next day the troop reached Bamian, and encamped close to some mud forts, which were destined now, for the first time, to become the dwelling-places of British officers and soldiers.
This march to Bamian has been dwelt upon somewhat longer than is altogether suitable to the pages of a work of this nature; but, within a smaller space it would have been scarcely practicable to give an idea of the service performed. It was certainly one of the most arduous undertakings ever accomplished by horse-artillery.[[89]]
Nor less singular the position of the troop after its arrival; in the midst of a belt of mountains more than 200 miles in width, separated from Cabul by the highest range, impassable by troops during some months in the year, and in a valley scarcely ever exceeding 500 yards in breadth (generally much less), and only a few miles long. As might have been expected, the horses had suffered, though not in a very great degree, from the severity of the march, the cold, and the great scarcity of forage. The two latter evils continued to press upon the troop for many months, until the returning summer brought the green crops and more genial weather. The carriages of the troop had, however stood the hard work over rocky roads admirably, and a most favourable report was made on them by Lieutenant Mackenzie.
On the 15th of October, the troop went into winter quarters in a large mud fort.
With the exception of a movement to Syghan, at the beginning of November, in which sixty horse-artillery troopers, acting as cavalry, took part, and an attack on Mahomed Ali Beg’s fort in December, when two small mortars and a 3–pounder mountain-gun, mounted on ponies, were sent with the troopers, the long dreary winter season passed over quietly—the soldiers of the artillery and infantry being employed for some time in throwing up intrenchments, connecting the various forts in possession of the British. This was done at the suggestion of Dr. Lord, the political agent, there having been some probability of a coalition among the Usbeg powers to support the ex-Ameer. Had such an event occurred during the winter, the Bamian detachment would have been thrown entirely on its own resources, as no help could come from Cabul, while, on the other hand, the roads from Toorkhistan were open. The cold was intense during the winter, the thermometer at sunrise being often as low as 12° below zero. All the rivers were frozen over.