The Battle of Maiwand 1880 | 2nd Anglo Afghan War

in the town of reading in Berkshire England this stands an impressive 30-foot High statue of a lion and underneath it are the names of 329 men of the local regiment who were killed during the second anglo-afghan war 258 of them died in one battle on a Dusty plane in Afghanistan in 1880. they were part of a British Army that was destroyed by the Afghans at the Battle of maywand fought on the 27th of July 1880 the Battle of maywand was one of the greatest defeats ever suffered by one of Queen Victoria's armies over 900 men were wiped out largely overshadowed by The Last Stand at gandamag in the first anglo-afghan war over 30 years beforehand and of other Zulu victory at isantuana the previous year maywand tends to be a forgotten battle even local people in Reading probably wonder what's that lion statue is really all about like a lot of old memorials people walk past them without ever bothering to find out the story so here is the story of the British defeat at the Battle of maywand in Afghanistan 1880. but before we get to the battle what on Earth were the British doing in Afghanistan anyway well it's a complicated story of Imperial rivalries between Russia and Britain but here is a very top-line two-minute explanation Afghanistan was stuck between the expanding Russian Empire and the British Empire in India both Imperial Powers wanted to exert influence in Afghanistan at the expense of their rival thus when the Amira Afghanistan signed a treaty of Friendship with the Russians the British became alarmed and demanded a similar treaty when the Afghans refused the British decided to force the issue and invaded in 1878. it wasn't the first time the British had invaded Afghanistan on the previous occasion in the 1840s they'd met with initial success only to be forced to retreat from the capital Kabul that retreating column was massacred on their way out of the country with the 44th regiment making a Famous Last Stand at gandamag now this second anglo-afghan war followed the previous pattern marching to Kabul the British forced the Emir Jakob Khan to sign a treaty the Afghans as we know all too well from recent history are a fiercely independent people and ever since the 1840s they'd had a hatred for the British so despite the treaty and the British occupying Kabul and some other cities the Afghan tribesmen in the mountains refused to lie down soon in a repeat of the first anglo-afghan War the British found themselves Under Siege in Kabul so Donald Stewart now marched his army from Kandahar to release the British Garrison in Kabul which was commanded by a young officer Frederick Roberts behind him he left Kandahar garrisoned by a force under Major General Primrose the city itself was governed by a local Afghan Wally who seemed to be on their side Stewart's rivaling couple raised The Siege and the tribes the moon once more drifted off into the safety of the mountains meanwhile in the west of the country the emir's brother Ayub Khan had gathered an army and was now marching towards Kandahar in the city the Wally urged General Primrose to seek decisive action which brings us to the Battle of maywand on the 4th of July 1880 General Primrose sent out a field Force to deal with his threat commanded by Brigadier General George Burrows it consisted of some 1 500 infantry and 350 Cavalry it was a mixed force drawn from the Indian army and the regular British Army the latter comprising of the 66th regiment to foot the 66th would later become the Royal Berkshire regiment and after further amalgamations and now part of the rifles the Indian contingent was drawn from the Bombay Army the Infantry comprised of the first Bombay grenadiers and the 30th Bombay native infantry Jacob's rifles the Grenadier has been formed way back in 1778 and were one of the oldest regiments in the Indian army it was the Bombay Army that also contributed the Cavalry Force Under Brigadier General Nuttall they were the third Queen's own Cavalry and the third Sindh horse as a matter of Interest sir Evelyn wood who I've recently talked about was awarded his VC whilst on attachment with the third Queen's own Cavalry back in the 1850s also accompanying the forts were B and D batteries of the Royal Horse artillery and half a company of Bombay engineers and sappers the latter commanded by 31 year old lieutenant Thomas hen on attachment from the Royal engineers boris's Field Force would rendezvous with the Wally of kandahar's supporters who were already in the field despite the Wally of Kandahar being Keen to oppose ayok Khan his army were less than enthusiastic memories last a long time in Afghanistan and since the 1840s there was little love for the British I mean so why would the Wally's men fight for the British Invaders most of whom were not Muslims against their fellow Muslim countrymen when boro's Force arrived the Afghans promptly deserted and headed off into the mountains as they left the 66 were able to capture Six smoothbore Guns which they're added to their own Arsenal on the night of the 26th of July Scouts reported that the Afghan Army was heading through the malmud pass towards the village of maywand about three and a half miles six kilometers from his Camp Burrows insisted that his baggage train accompanied them as they Advanced so it wasn't until the early hours of the morning of the 27th of July that the British finally moved off to intercept the Afghans by the time the sun was Rising boroughs could see the dust rising from the Afghan Army across the semi-arried plain and it was a heck of a lot of dust dust made by 12 000 Warriors Khan's Army consisted of 3 000 Cavalry and 9 000 infantry the British were horribly outnumbered by something like ten to one and whilst a large contingent of that Army was made up of tribesmen Khan also possessed trained regular soldiers formerly of his father and brothers Garrison at Kabul and there amidst his men were the former Warriors of the Wally of Kandahar furthermore Khan's Army also consisted of six batteries of artillery 36 guns in total against that Brigadier General Burrows had six guns from the Royal Horse artillery and the Six Guns captured won the Wally's men switched sides despite the size of the Afghan Army and all those guns borrow ordered his Force to advance and engage the enemy moving across the plain they suddenly found their route to the Afghans blocked by a ravine 25 feet deep in places do you ever think that sometimes you're being given a sign not to proceed well if Barro's had that thought he decided to ignore it and he ordered his men forward with the Royal Horse artillery leading the way once across the Ravine the guns cantored forward leaving the Infantry struggling in to keep up with them eventually Burrows brought his Force to a halt and deployed to meet the Afghans with his Cavalry holding the Left Flank the Infantry were formed up on the right the Bombay grenadiers were at the furthest point then Jacob's rifles many of whom were recent recruits and finally the 66th the Battle of maywand on the 27th of July 1880 began with an artillery Jewel between the 12 British guns and the 36 Afghan pieces throughout that long morning with the sun beating down on the plane the British tried to take cover from the Afghan guns their misery was compounded by the fact that most of them had eaten very little before the advance and the fact that the Afghan fire and Cavalry were preventing water supplies moving up from the baggage train with their guns pinning down the British the Afghans now started to mass for a frontal attack boroughs aware of this danger ordered the Bombay grenadiers to advance and break up the Afghan forces advancing over the dry Stony ground they were making good progress against their enemy when Burrows fearing that they might take excessive casualties ordered them to retire it was a pivotal moment in the Battle of maywand could they have beaten the Afghans and forced a general Retreat well it had happened elsewhere in this war but maybe Burrows was correct and the Afghans with the numbers on their side could have just whittled down the grenadiers until they were too weak to resist an all-out assault whatever might have happened what now happened was that over a third of his command was stuck out in no man's land trying to get back to the safety whilst Afghan foot soldiers gave Chase and their Cavalry dashed through the open space between the British lines Burrows rapidly detached two companies from Jacob's rifles and supported by some of those captured smoothbore guns ordered them into the Gap spreading his life even thinner when the grandiers finally got back to the British formation Burrows Force came under more artillery fire joined by musket shots that were getting closer and closer what boroughs had not been aware of when he chose his position that morning was that another deep ravine ran parallel to his right flank the Afghans were Now using this Ravine to move closer to the British lines in fact Ayub Khan was even able to move two of his guns along the Ravine and then open up on the grenadiers from just 300 meters 300 yards early in the afternoon the two smooth bores that had moved up to the head of the British position with the two companies from Jacob's rifles ran out of ammunition their Crews limbered up the guns and set off to find more ammunition the two companies at Jacob's Rifles made up of raw recruits suddenly felt very exposed as the Afghans once more began to mass for an attack events suddenly began to move very fast as they always do when a disaster strikes on the battlefield the Afghans rushed towards those two companies who took one look at their ferocious enemy and ran this left the grenadiers Left Flank exposed as the Afghans surged into the Gap the attackers fell on the exhausted dehydrated and demoralized Bombay regiment with the Grenadier position crumbling around them the Royal Horse artillery desperately tried to limber up their guns to take them to safety as a Gallup back they spotted boroughs desperately ordering Brigadier nottle to charge the Afghans with his cavalry for whatever reason not all was only able to muster 150 men less than half of his command the gallop forward and a half-hearted charge and after a brief encounter with the advancing Afghans wheeled around what was left of the grenadiers had fallen back into the remaining companies from Jacob's rifles and both Indian units were now retreating past and into the 66th the Royal Horse artillery now swung their guns around to fire over the head to the 66th into the Afghans rising out of the Ravine but already their position was compromised Afghan Cavalry were charging towards them the cardinal sin of an artillery regiment in those days was to lose their guns it was like a French Napoleonic regiment having their Eagle captured or the enemy taking a British infantry regiment's colors there was no greater dishonor heroic deaths are a Hallmark of British artillery batteries throughout the Victorian period but above all they had to save their guns and now is one of those moments despite the 66th and what remained of the Indian infantry needing their support they limbered up their guns once more and retreated across the Ravine only hours before they had led the British Field Force across it going in the other direction who would have thought it would have come to this the surrounded infantry also made for the Ravine many of the grenadiers died struggling to cross it while some of the 66th had broken away and followed the Escape Route being taken by the Royal Horse artillery in the Cavalry the bulk tried to stay together falling back across the Ravine to the Tiny Village of Kik there about 100 of them made a desperate stand in a Walled Garden until they were overwhelmed by the Afghans and even then 11 of the regiment two officers and nine soldiers somehow managed to escape the Carnage and fought their way to a position outside the village there they made their last stand with their ammunitions spent they charged their attackers with their bayonets the 66th lost both a regimental and the Queen's colors at maywand it was the last time a British regiment lost their colors in battle what remained of Burrow's command including Burrows himself fled along the track towards Kandahar like a lot of Retreats for those trying to escape the Carnage it must have been almost as terrifying as the battle itself maybe more so gang Cavalry swept in to attack the fleeing British Army every now and then groups of soldiers would turn and make a stand sometimes they'd drive off the mounted Afghans other times they'd be overwhelmed two Victoria crosses were awarded for acts of Bravery both for trying to rescue wounded men in this debacle both to members of the Royal Horse artillery Sergeant Patrick Mullen ran through the attacking Afghans to grab a mortally wounded comrade and carried him to safety the other Victorian Cross story is a lot more interesting during that terrifying flight from the battlefield Gunner James Collis deliberately drew the fire from the pursuing Afghans away from his wounded comrades on a Limba towards himself for this dangerous and selfless Act of Bravery the 24 year old Collis was awarded Britain's highest medal for Valor cambridge-born James Collis is one of only eight men to forfeited his Victoria Cross in 1895 having left the Army he was convicted of bigamy and part of his punishment was to be stripped of his VC amazingly when the first world war broke out in 1914 Collis lh-48 joined the Suffolk regiment he served in the war for the next three years until being discharged on medical grounds in 1917. a year later James Collis died of a heart attack his BC was never restored to him although King George V was aware of his story and subsequently commanded that no man who earned the Victoria Cross should ever have to Forfeit in the future the Battle of maywand was a disastrous defeat for the British or a great victory for the Afghans history is all about perspectives the British lost 943 men killed on 175 wounded the 66th had lost 62 percent of their strength as casualties back in their Hometown in Reading in Berkshire a public subscription raised funds for that impressive lion Monument to be erected in honor of the 274 men and 12 officers killed in the battle and the others killed elsewhere in this war the maywon line stands in forbury Garden in the town even though most locals probably don't even know the story behind it Roger Kipling wrote his poem that day to honor those who fought there and the wonderful William McGonagall often called the worst poet in Britain also penned a salute the last Berkshire 11. an interesting Survivor although fictional was Arthur Conan Doyle's character Dr Watson in one story Conan Doyle claimed that the assistant to Sherlock Holmes had been an army surgeon at the battle the casualties weren't limited to the 66th or to the Europeans serving in the Royal Horse artillery the regiments from the British Indian army lost over 600 men dead a Bombay grenadier's casualty rate was 64 including 366 dead the 30th Bombay native infantry Jacob's rifles had lost 241 dead and 32 wounded 16 men from the Bombay sappers and Engineers had died alongside their commanding officer lieutenant Thomas hen when they had tried to hold the line as the men from Jacob's rifles collapsed around them what is interesting about this battle is the numbers killed versus wounded in most battles the wounded outnumber the killed not at maywand where over three quarters of the casualties were killed the Afghans weren't interested in taking any prisoners despite impressive lion statues and poems from Kipling and McGonagall nothing could disguise the sheer size of the defeat with 973 men dead from a fighting force of 1500 maywarned ranks as one of the worst defeats the British suffered during the late 19th century for the Afghans it was a famous Victory however it had been a costly Victory counts various to their losses mainly because no roles were kept but estimates suggest two thousand killed possibly even higher the Victorious Ayub Khan now laid Siege to the British Garrison in Kandahar for nearly a month he took the arrival of Lieutenant General Frederick Roberts at the head of an army from Kabul to raise the siege his March and his victory at the Battle of Kandahar would Propel Roberts up the greasy pole of command in the British army he would ultimately command the British forces in South Africa during the Boer War and ultimately take over from his great rival Sagan at walsley as commander-in-chief of the British army there's one last story from the Battle of maywand that I'd like to share with you Bobby was a Mongrel dog who had been adopted by Lance Sergeant Peter Kelly back when the 66th was stationed at Brock barracks in Reading the little dog swiftly became an unofficial mascot and Bobby accompanied the 66th when they were sent to India Sergeant Kelly was one of the lucky ones at maywand despite being injured he managed to reach safety so too did Bobby but not before being in the thick of the fighting barking and snarling at the attacking Afghans Witnesses recall Bobby being present in the Walled Garden and some claim the loyal Mongrel was even with the last 11. well be that as it may the following day a scouting party coming down the road from Kandahar came across the injured little dog hobbling in the wake of the survivors reunited with the wounded Sergeant Kelly later that Year Bobby was presented to Queen Victoria who insisted on awarding the dog with the Afghanistan campaign medal I would like to say it was a happy ending to an unhappy story but unfortunately Bobby was killed a year later when he was run over by a handsome cab Bobby was so adored by the men of the 66th who by now have been Amalgamated with the 49th regiment to form the Royal Berkshires that he was stuffed and put on display in the regimental Museum the last I heard Bobby well stuffed Bobby can still be seen at the rivals Museum in Salisbury stuffed Bobby is not quite the roaring lion monument in Reading but in his own little way he is a reminder of battle where over 900 soldiers from the British and British Indian armies died long ago on a Dusty plane in Afghanistan well thanks for joining me today and I hope you enjoyed that story about the Battle of maywand check out all my other stories from British and British military history on my channel you can also get more exclusive stories like my recent one about the man awarded the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross by joining my membership Channel click on the join button below and there's also a link in the description and thanks to Bill Rhys and Ragnar for joining already coming soon at the Battle of atbara in Sudan Nelson at Copenhagen and the angels of mons but in the meantime thanks for your support keep well and I'll see you very soon foreign [Music]

Channel: The History Chap

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Keywords: british history, the history chap, history of england, military history, british military history, british empire, the battle of maiwand, the battle of maiwand 1880, battle of maiwand 1880, battle of maiwand, british army, lion of maiwand, the lion of maiwand, reading fc, reading history, royal berkshire regiment, 66th regiment of foot, royal horse artillery, afghanistan, second anglo afghan war, second anglo-afghan war, 2nd anglo afghan war, 2nd anglo-afghan war

Id: xaWv5hkrOLc

Length: 19min 20sec (1160 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 14 2023