Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎108v] (222/312)

A FGHANISTAN .
Orders have been issued by the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
directing all officers on furlough belonging to regi
ments in Scinde and the Punjab, together with
those whose corps are detailed for the Afghan Ex
peditionary Force, to rejoin their posts by the first
mail. Those who are at home on medical certificate
have been directed to present themselves for exa
mination, in order that, should their health permit
it, they may be pushed on to the front. Many
anxious for the chance of distinguishing themselves
have requested permission to proceed out to India.
Lord Lytton seems to be|satistied with^the Medical
Staff, for no instructions have been issued for
surgeons to rejoin, although all Commissariat
officers in the Bengal Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. have been directed
to sail this week ; in fact, there is every indication
that extraordinary exertions are being made to
meet the storm which the Ameer has raised.
The reinforcement of the Ali Musjid Fort does
away with all hope of his coming to terms, and if
tumour is correct that it has been garrisoned with six
battalions and 18 guns, there is small hope of its
being taken by a cowp de main from Peshawur ;
indeed, the reports as to the intended assault were
altogether premature. The occupation of Jumrood
by a British force was a necessary step by no means
portending an immediate advance across our border.
Jumrood, as is generally known, is a small village
ten miles west of Peshawur and five from the
eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass. It is sur
rounded by a low mud wall and contains about 50
houses inhabited by the Kuki-Khel section of the
great Afridi clan. The Sikhs built a fort here in
1837, the ruins of which still remain. Its value as
a military post is nil, as it is dependent for its water
supply on a small stream issuing from the
Khyber and which can at any moment be dammed
up by the mountaineers. Jumrood was the scene
of a great battle in 1837 between the Afghans,
under Mahomed Afzal, and the Sikhs, under
Hurree Singh. The engagement resulted in a
victory for the Sikhs, whose General unfortunately
was slain ; he was buried at Hurree Singh Re
Boorj, which now is the most advanced British post
in the Khyber direction, and is situated midway
between the Pass and Peshawur ; for although
Jumrood is in British territory its proximity to
the mountains renders it unsafe as an outpost. Ever
since our occupation of the Peshawur Valley it has
been the residence of gangs of Afridi thieves. It ia
most probable that strong details of the Peshawur
Division were pushed on to this village, not for the
object of an attack on Ali Musjid, but for the pur
pose of watching our own frontier and thus pre
venting its violation by lawless bands of Afghan
levies. Now that the Ameer has moved down a
force to Ali Musjid, we may at any moment hear of
desultory skirmishing at or near the mouth of the
Khyber.
The alliance entered into between the Momunds
and the Ameer will necessitate great vigilance on
the part of the officer commanding the Peshawur
Valley ; one or two successful raids into our ter
ritory will set an example to the other frontier
tribes/ which they may not be slow to follow ; there
are none too many men in the valley to guard it
against carefully-planned surprises on the part of
the border clans, many of whom have long-stand
ing grievances against us.
Colonel T. D. Baker, C.B., 18th Royal Irish,
Assistant Adjutant-General at Head-Quarters,
leaves England this evening to take up the appoint
ment of Military Secretary to Lord Lytton, in the
place of Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. G. P. Villiers,
who has'proceeded on field service with the column
now being massed at Jumrood. Colonel Baker is
an officer of much distinction and varied war ser
vice, which is, likely to prove of great as
sistance to the Indian Viceroy at the present junc
ture. He served with the 18th Royal Irish in the
Crimean War, was mentioned in despatches,
and awarded the Sardinian medal for gallantry
displayed at the attack of the cemetery and suburbs
of Sebaatopol on the 18th of June, 1855 ; he also
served in India during the Mutiny in a fiel i force
under the command of Colonel Beatson. During
the New Zealand War, 1864-66, he acted first as
Deputy and afterwards as ^Assistant Adjutant-
General. For his conduct at the action of Ran-
giawhia he received the brevet rank of Major ; at
the attack and capture of Orakau he was again
mentioned in General Carey's despatches. He ac
companied Sir Garnet Wolseley to the Gold Coast,
and served throughout the Ashantee War, being
present at the battles of Amoaf ul, Ordahsoo, and
Coomassie, and was promoted to a lieutenant-
colonelcy and decorated with the Companionship
of the Bath. In addition to the Sardinian medal
and C.B., Colonel Baker possesses the Crimean,
Turkish, Mutiny, New Zealand, and Ashantee
medals, and is an A.D.C. to Her Majesty.
The appointment of Quartermaster-General of
the main expeditionary column has, it is stated,
been bestowed on Colonel C. M. Macgregor,
C.S.I., C.I.E. A better selection could not
have been made. No man knows the fron
tier more thoroughly, or is better qualified
to act as head of the intelligence department
in any operations towards Central Asia. He
has an intimate knowledge both of Pushtoo and
Persian, is gifted with a rare faculty for winning
the confidence of his subordinates, and has earned
the respect of all under whom he has served, not
only for his painstaking work, but also for his in
domitable gallantry in the field. Colonel Macgregor
was employed for some years under the direction of
Lord Napier of Magdala in the compilation of a
Gazetteer of the North-West Frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. of India and
of CentralAsia—a work which contains all we know
of those regions. It was with a view of making
the book as complete as possible that he twice
traversed the country between Herat and Can-
dahar and between that city and our border.
His personal acquaintance with the ground to
be passed over by our troops will be of
inestimable value to the General commanding
the force. His services in the field are no less
brilliant than those performed in times of peace.
He served through the Indian Mutiny, including
the siege and capture of Lucknow and many minor
engagements ; during this campaign he was
three times wounded and four times mentioned
in despatches. In the China campaign he was
again complimented for his gallant conduct, again
twice wounded ; in the Bhootan Expedition,
through which he served as Assistant Quarter
master-General, he was twice severely wounded,
and three times mentioned in orders. He served
in the Abyssinian War on the Quartermaster-Gene - >
ral's Staff ; so it may safely be said that he has
had stern experience of the working of that Depart
ment in the field, and is not likely to fail for want
of a practical knowledge of its requirements in
war.
The announcement that the Ameer has sum
moned the Jhirgahs, or councils, of the tribes is
scarcely worthy of comment. The majority of the
border clans nominally owe him allegiance, and
would, as a matter of course, send representatives
to him as readily as they would to the Com
missioner of Peshawur if he called them into ■
our territory. It is probable, indeed, that
efforts have been made to win over even the j
Ameer's subjects to our standard, but it by no
means follows that they will openly declare them- (
selves prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Many j
of the tribes actually pay tribute to the ruler of I
Afghanistan; others receive annual allowances from
him as a reward conditional on their good beha
viour. These latter probably will side with Shere Ali.
It is not known whether the subsidy paid by the
fallen Dost Mahomed to the Khyber Mullicks has
been continued by Shere Ali; but it is known that in '
1868, in consequence of the continued misconduct
of the tribes, he refused to make the payments. ,
It has lately been rumoured, however, that the sub
sidies have been resumed,in which case it is probable s
that the following Afridi sections will throw in their
lot with Cabul Zaka Khel, Siphas, Kuki Khel,
Khambar Khel, and Malikdin Khel, with the
Shinwaris ; they may be estimated to number
about 18,000 fighting men, fairly well armed.
These are the clans that gave us such constant
trouble during our occupation of the Khyber in the
last Afghan war. Indeed, so aggressive were
the Shinwaris that General Pollock detached
a force in July, 1842, to punish them. Bri- ;
gadier Monteath seems to have carried out his
instructions to the letter, for it appears he
destroyed 35 of their forts before he left their
hills. Rumours of collisions between the Ameer's
troops and the Afridis must be received with great
caution, as must also the report of an advance on
Ali Musjid. Until reinforcements have reached
Peshawur from Lahore, Umballa, and Jullundur it \
would be most imprudent to make any forward
movement ; the valley is surrounded by a series
of Pathan tribes, all of whom at one time or
another within the last 30 years have been at
ooen war with us. and who would be Quit© ready,
and only too willing, to commit raids in our
territory while our troops were engaged else
where. It is necessary to prevent this, and to
PI do so it will be requisite to watch the whole border
"'isl from Torbela to Fort Mackeson, a distance of <
^ close on 80 miles. Moreover, an assault on All
Musjid, unless it formed part of a plan for the
- seizure of the Khyber from Dhaka to Jumrood,
sS would be absolutely valueless, and we have not a ^
li sufficient force in the neighbourhood to warrant
; such a comprehensive plan being undertaken.
It may be of interest to some to learn that the total
strength of our forces on the immediate frontier,
from the sea to Abbottabad, including Kurrachee,
Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Rajanpore, Dera Ghazee
: Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bunnoo, Kohat, i J eslia-
wur, Hoti Mardan, Nowshera, Attock, Abbottabad,
H together with the reserves atBawulPindee,Sealkot,
' Jhelum, Lahore, Umritsir, Ferozepore, Mooltan,
Jullunder, and the advanced post of Quettah,
amounts to 800 British and 7,000 Native Cavalry,
I 12,000 British and 21,000 Native Infantry, with
I 102 guns, many of these are at stations which
it is obviously impossible to denude of British troops
I —namelv, Umritsir, the head-quarters of the bikh
religion Lahore, with its fort and large fanatical
population ; Ferozepore, with its arsenal ; Attock,
with its bridge of boats over the Indus. Then, too,
the stoppage of the rail at Jhelum will prevent any
very rapid movement up country. We may be quite
I sure, however, that the enthusiasm of the native
* troops for war service is loudly echoed by their
British comrades, and that all are striving their
utmost to reach the frontier as soon as possible.