The detailed strength of the force is as follows:—
This gives a total of 9,987 fighting men, or for all practical purposes say 10,000. There are about 8,000 followers. We have thus to feed 18,000 men for three or four weeks, while 1,977 chargers, 750 artillery mules, and 7,235 transport animals have also to be provided for. The Amir sent in 700 baggage animals (yaboos),—a most acceptable gift,—and has despatched his agents into Logar to prepare the people for our coming. He has particularly asked that foraging parties may not be sent out between Cabul and Ghazni, as he believes that his power over the maliks is great enough to secure all supplies without trouble. Once well on the march, we shall be able to test the extent of his power by the willingness of such unruly clans as the Wardaks to bring in corn and sheep without coercion of any kind. The Commissariat Department are carrying for the British troops tea, sugar, and rum for thirty days, preserved meat for two days, bread stuffs for five days, 500 lbs. of army food, 200 gallons of lime-juice, and all available preserved vegetables are also being carried. Sheep for ten days are being driven with the force. The scale of baggage is very low, of necessity. Each British officer is allowed one mule, on which his tent and his kit have to be packed; but as arrangements have generally been made to “double up”—i.e. two officers to sleep in one tent—the allowance is quite enough. The allowance for each British soldier, as kit and equipage, is 30lbs., and for each native 20lbs.
Prior to our moving out all was hurry and confusion in Sherpur—not a confusion resulting from indecision and conflicting orders, but rather that exciting rush of work which follows sudden orders to reduce an army’s equipment. If Sir F. Roberts is to reach Candahar in time to be of any service to the garrison his division must really be a flying column, able to make forced marches, and so mobile that the fighting of an action in the morning shall not necessarily detain the whole line twenty-four hours. In order that the troops may be in the lightest marching order, their greatcoats are being carried for them, and the relief thus afforded is greater than at first sight appears. Six pounds is not in itself a heavy weight for a soldier to carry, but the rolled greatcoat presses upon a man’s chest, impedes his breathing, and makes him hot and uncomfortable on a long march. The 92nd Highlanders have sold all their greatcoats except a few for men on picquet duty; the Highlanders are of such physique that they do not dread the change of temperature which we are sure to experience when once Ghazni is reached. Our route, it will be seen, is viâ the Logar Valley, and not by way of Argandeh and Maidan (the shortest route). The reason of the Logar Road being chosen is that supplies are plentiful in the villages on the route. The late sojourn in Logar of General Hills’ force showed the great capabilities of the valley in the matter of corn and sheep, and the people are only too anxious to deal with us.
The order of march yesterday morning was:—Cavalry Brigade under General Hugh Gough to Charasia; 1st and 3rd Brigades under Generals Macpherson and Macgregor to Beni Hissar; and 2nd Brigade under General Baker to Indikee by way of the Dehmazung Gorge. Accordingly the cantonment was full of warlike pomp and circumstance—chiefly the latter—from 5 o’clock in the morning. All the troops told off for the Division were under canvas, with their kit ready at hand, and there remained nothing but to strike tents, load up baggage animals, and march away to a merry quick-step. Everything had been carefully prepared, all the men’s kits weighed and tested to a pound; and with little confusion, but much soldier-like energy, the line of march was formed in two columns, and the evacuation of Cabul began. Ten thousand men of the present garrison moved out, and their comrades, who filed in from Siah Sung to take their places, will probably start on the 11th for India. We are going so roundabout a road that civilization seems a long way off: our friends are within twenty days of Peshawur, where the untold luxuries of dak-bungalows and gharries begin. Sir Donald Stewart’s march will, it is expected, be a very peaceful one, for the chief Ghilzai leaders are with the Amir, who has been quietly warned to keep them with him and out of mischief until the troops have got to the east of Gundamak. What may happen to Sir Frederick Roberts between Cabul and Candahar no prophet, Kafir or Mahomedan, can venture to say. There may be a most resolute opposition at Shahjui or nearer Candahar, or the fanatical enthusiasm of the ghazis who beat back General Burrows at Khusk-i-Nakhud may have cooled somewhat, and our army may have only a few scattered bands to pursue. How far our pursuit will extend, also, cannot be foreseen. If Ayub shows the white feather, shall we tamely allow him to retain the 1,200 Snider and Martini rifles, and the two Horse Artillery guns he has captured? If so, his wisest course would be to retire upon Herat, raise and drill three or four regiments, whom he could arm with breech-loaders, and in a year try his fortune again, avoiding Candahar altogether, but striking for Cabul by way of Turkistan and Balkh. There are many questions involved in this march to Candahar, and whispers of “Herat!” are already being heard in camp. Every step we move threatens Abdur Rahman’s position in Cabul, so far; but unless we completely break Ayub’s power our nominal Amir will have a hard fight for his kingdom hereafter.
But I have wandered off from our march out. General Baker, with the 72nd Highlanders, 2nd and 3rd Sikhs, 4th Ghoorkas, and a Mountain Battery, reached Indikee during the morning, while the other two Brigades pitched camp in the fields beyond Beni Hissar. The tail-end of a thunderstorm laid the dust in the afternoon, and when Sir F. Roberts rode out in the evening to assume command of his division it was delightfully cool and fresh. Sir Donald Stewart, General Hills, and some of the Staff of the new 2nd Division, accompanied General Roberts, and much had to be said during the short ride. Some of our friends, who were bound for Peshawur, also came out to camp, and hand-shakings and cries of “good-bye and good-luck” were all the order of the evening. There were certain little signs of seriousness in some cases, which showed our errand was looked upon as spiced with danger; but in the majority of instances the farewells were as loud and merry as soldiers’ partings should be.
Sherpur looked the ghost of its former self when we left it in the evening. The barracks of the south-western end were nearly all empty; there were no figures visible beyond those of Cabuli chiffonniers, intent upon looting everything, from old tin cans to charpoys and newspapers; and, saddest of all, our well-beloved Club was no more. The walls were still standing in skeleton bareness, but the large tent which had seen many a genial rubber played, and heard many a quip and crank—“bar-made jokes” we call them—over good wholesome liquor, was a prey to the Afghan. It had been bought for a song, equally with the “fittings” and spare stores, and was being carried off to the city. How we have hated our sojourn in Afghanistan of late, when the hot weather found matters not yet settled, only the record of our curses, an’ it be kept, can never reveal. The bare, brown hills of Bemaru and the higher ranges about had grown so wearisome in our sight that we bore with philosophy the dust-storms which visited us daily: they hid the hated landscape for a time, and made us forget everything but the dust in our eyes and the dryness of our throats. Sherpur is not a “desirable place of residence,” although it has had its pleasures and fortunes, which I have faithfully chronicled; and can we be blamed for shaking its dust from our feet with unholy joy, even though we know that many a weary mile lies between Cabul and the Sibi Railway? Last night General Roberts issued an order to the troops which stirred our blood a little, for if Candahar and Khelat-i-Ghilzai have really to be relieved, there may be some pretty work cut out for us. The order was as follows:—
“It has been decided by the Government of India that a force shall proceed with all possible despatch from Cabul towards Khelat-i-Ghilzai and Candahar for the relief of the British garrison in those places, now threatened by a large Afghan army under the leadership of Sirdar Mahomed Ayub Khan. Sir Frederick Roberts feels sure that the troops placed under his command for this important duty will cheerfully respond to the call made upon them, notwithstanding the privations and hardships inseparable from a long march through a hostile country. The Lieutenant-General wishes to impress on both officers and men the necessity of preserving the same strict discipline which has been so successfully and uniformly maintained since the commencement of the war, and to treat all the people who may be well disposed towards the British with justice and forbearance. Sir Frederick Roberts looks confidently forward to the successful accomplishment of the object of the expedition, convinced as he is that all ranks are animated with the proud feeling that to them is entrusted the duty and privilege of relieving their fellow-soldiers and restoring the prestige of the British army.”
We are not letting the grass grow under our feet, for we have only mule and pony carriage, and our progress is not delayed by camels or bullocks persistently casting their loads. To-day we have marched (that is the 1st and 3rd Brigades, and Divisional Head-Quarters) about 14 miles, while General Baker, who is encamped higher up the Logar, must have done 16 or 17. To-morrow the whole force crosses the river, and then we shall push on for Ghazni, which we hope to reach in four or five days. This will, in all likelihood, be the last letter which I can hope to get through, though runners may try to reach Sir Donald Stewart as he retires upon Gundamak. The troops are all very fit, and march splendidly; the mornings are cold and bracing; while during the day a cool wind prevents the sun from making itself felt. We shall have a most enjoyable march for the next few days so far as climate is concerned, and we hope for the best in the matter of supplies. To-day they are coming in very fairly. The moollah, Ahdurrahim, the eldest son of Mushk-i-Alam, who is accompanying the force, has been created Khan-ul-Alam, or chief moollah, by the Amir. This appointment has had a good effect, and Mushk-i-Alam with his party is reported to be proceeding to join the Amir.[[47]]
Zerghun Shahr, 10th August.
To-day we look upon as the last we shall be in communication with Cabul, and consequently with India; but we are not in the least depressed thereby, as we have our work before us and have made up our minds to do it thoroughly. The diary of our march should be of interest, as it is of a kind not often undertaken. We have cut ourselves off completely from any supports; we are self-supporting in every sense of the word; and we have as our objective point a town nominally held by our own troops, but which may, before our arrival, be surrounded by an army far surpassing our own in numbers and guns. The effect of the disastrous action at Khusk-i-Nakhud will have raised the whole country about Candahar against us, and Afghans never show so bold a front as when living on the fruits of a victory. If Candahar were held in force by an unbeaten army of British soldiers, we should have little to do beyond making the best of our way to the place and joining hands with the garrison; there would be little danger and less glory in such an undertaking; but as it is we are a body of 10,000 men, making forced marches and not knowing from day to day what may be before us. So long as we are north of Ghazni we shall have no anxiety regarding supplies, but once we have passed that fortress our very food will have to be sought for at every halting-place, and the prospect of deserted villages and crops secretly stored is not a very encouraging one. But it will be time enough to deal with our difficulties when they occur, and as we are now in the rich Logar Valley, where corn and forage are plentiful, I will not speculate further as to what the marches to Khelat-i-Ghilzai may bring forth. Our chief source of anxiety is that the Herat army and its ghazi allies may not give us a fair chance of what the soldiers call “getting at them.” That would indeed be a disappointment[disappointment] too grievous to be borne.