101st Grenadiers - The Second Afghan War

The Second Afghan War

The Second Afghan War began in 1878 and the regiment were employed in the vicinity of the Bolan Pass in 1879, until finally moving up to Kandahar in March 1880. Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson, they were part of a British-Indian column intended to assist an Afghan Army in quelling a revolt led by Ayub Khan, the ruler of Herat, who sought to depose the newley-appointed British-backed Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan. The Regiment took part in the Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880. At the battle the British-Indian column, which was composed of just under 2,600 troops and led by Brigadier Burrows, fought an Afghan force of about 25,000.

The British began the battle with an artillery barrage that the Afghans responded to via their own artillery at about 11:20am; the Grenadiers were on the left flank of the British-Indian force and were in an exposed position that saw them take the brunt of the Afghan barrage, sustaining significant casualties. Shortly after noon, the Afghan infantry began the attack and the Grenadiers were heavily involved in the attempts to repulse the constant attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the Afghans. At about 1:00pm the Grenadiers confronted a large group of Afghans and at about 2:30pm. two companies of Jacob's Rifles, who had been positioned to the left of the Grenadiers, were attacked; they eventually wavered in the face of such an ovewhelming force, straight into the ranks of the Grenadiers. The battery of the Royal Horse Artillery subsequently withdrew and the Grenadiers, as well as the rest of the Indian forces, fled towards the 66th Foot, the sole British infantry regiment present. The column's cavalry attempted to restore some stability to the situation but to no avail. Parts of the Grenadiers and Jacob's Rifles withdrew to Mahmudabad while the 66th Foot and the rest of the Grenadiers withdrew towards Khig; there, the 66th made a gallant last stand in a garden, fighting to the last man.

The battle had been a devastating defeat for the British-Indian forces: over 1,100 casualties had been sustained, but they had inflicted over 7,000 casualties upon the Afghan forces. The Grenadiers commanding officer (CO) was severely wounded during the battle and his life was saved by Risaldar Dhonkhul Singh of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry. The British-Indian survivors eventually made it back to British-held Kandahar. The city was soon besieged by Afghan rebels until a relief force, led by Major-General Roberts, arrived from the capital city, Kabul, on 31 August.