For Name and Fame; Or, Through Afghan Passes

by G. A. Henty

On the evening of the 22nd the general received news that the Afghans, having prepared a great number of ladders for the assault, intended to attack that night. There had been several similar warnings but, this time, the news proved correct. A signal fire was lit upon one of the heights at four in the morning and, at five o'clock, the plain was covered with the enemy. Quietly they crept up in the darkness, towards the walls; and at six o'clock a prodigious shouting was heard, and from the villages, orchards, and enclosed ground upon all sides, the enemy dashed forward to the assault.

As they approached, they opened fire on all sides; pressing chiefly towards the weak point, near the foot of the hills. But, tremendous as was the roar of the Afghan fire, it was drowned by the roll of musketry which broke from the whole circuit of the walls; where the British troops, rifle in hand, had been lying for three hours, waiting the attack. So terrible was the storm of lead that swept the plain that the Afghans paused, in their advance. For two hours they remained around the walls--yelling, shouting, and firing heavily--but all the efforts of their leaders could not induce them to rise from the ground, and hazard a charge. Many dropped within eighty or ninety yards of the wall but, beyond that, the bravest dared not advance.

When morning broke, the welcome news was brought down--from the outlook on the top of the hill--that far across the plain could be seen the tents of the force of General Gough; who was coming up through the passes, to the relief of the garrison. The news had reached the assailants, also. Considerable bodies of the enemy were observed moving out from Cabul, as if with the intention of attacking the relieving force.

The assailants of the British position--finding their inability to produce the smallest impression--were now beginning to waver; and General Gough ordered the cavalry and horse artillery to go out, by the road which led through a gorge in a hill behind, and to sweep round and take them in the rear.

This they did, with immense success. At the moment that they fell upon the enemy, the British infantry sallied out from the cantonment and attacked them in front. A panic seized the Afghans. In a few minutes the whole plain was covered with flying fugitives; among whom our cavalry swept backward and forward, cutting them up in all directions; while the fire of our infantry, and of the guns on the walls, searched them through and through, whenever they attempted to gather in a knot, and make a stand.

By nightfall, the whole of the Afghans had either fled to the hills, or were driven into Cabul. Upon the following day General Gough's force marched in but, before their arrival, it was found that the enemy had again evacuated the city; and the British were, as before, masters of the position. After the decisive defeat which had been inflicted upon them, and the dispersion of the great force which had gathered, confident of victory, there was little fear of any further attempt on the part of the enemy. They had brought their whole force into the field and, as this was defeated and dispersed, before the arrival of General Gough with his reinforcements, it was evident that success could not be hoped for against the united strength of the English.

The time passed quietly, now. The Bala-Hissar and Cabul were reoccupied and, as the natives were cowed by the crushing defeat they had experienced, there was no longer any repetition of the insolent and defiant manner which they had, before, manifested.

On the 3rd of January a message was brought to the orderly room that the general wished to see Sergeant Gale. Upon his presenting himself at the general's quarters, Sir Frederick Roberts--to his surprise--at once advanced, and shook him warmly by the hand.

"Mr. Gale," he said, "I am very happy to inform you that the Horse Guards have acted upon my recommendation, seconded by that which was sent in by your colonel--who wrote at once, upon receiving a notification from me of the step I had taken, saying that you had distinguished yourself very highly, in the attack upon the Peiwar-Khotal, and that he was convinced that you would make, in all respects, an excellent officer. With my despatches that have just come in, I have received a notification that my request has been attended to; together with a copy of the Gazette, in which you are appointed to the 66th Regiment.

"I have to congratulate you, sir. You are now an officer; and will, I am quite sure, do every credit to my recommendation."