The battle of Maiwand was fought on the 27th of July 1880.
[1]
On the evening of the 26th, spies reported that a small body
of the enemy were moving on the Maiwand Pass. General Burrows decided that
he would move on the pass the next morning to, "turn out the few hundred Ghazis",
who occupied it. General Burrow's force consisted of :
British Troops:
This force was 2,565 strong. They did have the problem of the added
responsibility of guarding a large baggage train which General Burrows had
decided to take with him as he had insufficient forces to leave it behind
with an adequate guard. They were moving to meet an Afghan Army under Ayoub
Khan variously estimated at between 12 to 20 thousand men with a large force
of cavalry, estimated at a fourth of the total force.
At half past six on the morning of the 27th of July General
Burrows force marched for the Maiwand Pass weakened by sickness and the necessity
of guarding the baggage. At ten o'clock a body of Afghan cavalry was sighted
to the left front of the British advance. An officers was sent forward to
reconnoiter and reported the cavalry to be retiring. Between the British and
the Afghan positions was a broad "torrent-bed" which Lieutenant MacLaine crossed
with two guns, eager to pursue the retreating Afghans. An order was sent
to recall him, but the order was not followed. This resulted in two more
guns and some cavalry being sent out to support him. Shortly, the entire Afghan
Army was seen through the morning mist marching in a long line toward Kandahar.
At first the fight was not general, but after about half an hour's
maneuvering, the enemy began to appear in force on the British right and
their fire gradually extended along the entire British line of advance. Simultaneously,
swarms of armed villagers appeared on the right rear, while on the left flank,
Ayoub's splendid cavalry kept up a succession of desperate charges. This
fight continued for about three hours at the end of which about one fourth
of the British force was hors de combat.
At this point, the British position began to have serious problems
on the left when two companies of Jacob's Rifles, who had lost all of their
officers, except for one Indian officer, broke under the pressure of the Afghan
fire. The fanatical Ghazis pressed forward with a charge and the British line
simply, "curled up like a wave". Both regiments of Bombay Native Infantry
now fell back in confusion on the position of the 66th Foot who
found themselves pressed on by mixed masses of Ghazis and their own Native
Infantry. The 66th Foot was forced to retire back into the enclosures
and gardens on the other side of the dry torrent bed.
It was here that the men of the 66th Foot (along with Maj.
Blackwood) made a gallant stand, while the Native Infantry, who were now thoroughly
disorganized, retired to Kandahar under pursuit of the Afghan cavalry. The
66th Foot, along with the Native Infantry that did not retire,
were hard pressed and fought in a number of well organized and disciplined
small groups. One party stood back to back and kept the Ghazis at bay until
their numbers were so reduced that the remaining men rushed out and died
in hand-to-hand fighting. Another party, retiring to a more defensible position
behind a low wall, were eventually nearly all killed.
The fight continued as a desperate struggle for survival for the rest of the day, all through the night, and until the evening of the next day. The path of retreat was now blocked by armed villagers and the Afghan cavalry. At 2 a.m. on the 28th of July, news of the disaster reached General Primrose via some of the Native cavalry. He at once ordered General Brooke with a relief force in the direction of the battlefield. But for this timely assistance, it is probable that none of General Burrow's force would have survived a retreat to Kandahar. As it was the force suffered a total of 44% casualties. The 66th Foot had 61 % casualties and E/B Royal Horse Artillery had 23% casualities. Two of the Horse Artillery guns and five of the smooth-bores were abandoned on the battlefield.