Battle of Ghazni

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Battle of Ghazni
Part of the First Anglo-Afghan War
British and Indian soldiers storming the gates of Ghazni.
Date 23 July 1839 Location Ghazni, Afghanistan Result Decisive British victory.
Combatants
British Empire	Afghanistan
Commanders
Sir John Keane	Hyder Khan
Strength
20,500	3,500
Casualties
200 killed and wounded	500 killed, 1,600 captured

First Anglo-Afghan War
Ghazni – Gandamak – Jellalabad – Kabul

The Battle of Ghazni or called Ghuznee took place in city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on July 23, 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 Invasion of Afghanistan 3 Battle for the city 4 Aftermath 5 British Order of Battle 5.1 British Forces[2] 5.2 Native Indian Forces[2] 6 Notes

[edit] Prelude

In the 1830s, the British were firmly entrenched in India but by 1837, the British feared a Russian invasion of India through the Khyber and Bolan Passes as the Russian Empire had expanded towards the British dominion of India. The British send an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistan's emir, Dost Muhammad against Russia. The Emir was in favour of an alliance but wanted British help in recapturing Peshawar which the Sikhs had captured in 1834.^[1] The British were no mood for war with the Sikh's in Punjab and refused to help. Dost Muhammad then started negotiating with the Russians who had also sent an envoy to Kabul.^[1] This led the Governor-General of India, Lord Auckland to conclude that Dost Muhammad was anti-British.^[1] British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. This led to Persian troops along with their Russian allies to attack the Afghan city of Herat in western Afghanistan in an attempt to annex it. Russia wanting to increase its presence in South and Central Asia had formed an alliance with Persia which had territorial disputes with Afghanistan as Herat had been part of the Persian empire and only in 1750 had it been taken over by Afghanistan. Lord Auckland's plan was to drive away the besiegers and install a ruler in Afghanistan who was pro-British in place of the current Afghan ruler. The British chose Shuja Shah Durrani to be the new leader of Afghanistan. He was the former ruler of Afghanistan and had formed a strategic alliances with Britain during the Napoleonic Wars against Russia and France but was deposed and was living in exile in Lahore.

[edit] Invasion of Afghanistan

The British assembled two divisions from their Bengal Army led by Sir Harry Fane and another force of a single division led from Bombay by Sir John Keane.^[2] The Bombay Army, numbering some 6,000 men, would sail by sea and land near the Indus river and then march into Afghanistan to join Fane's forces. Before the invasion was set to begin, news had reached India that the Persians and the Russians had abandoned the siege of Herat. Many British officers now believed that there is no longer a reason to invade Afghanistan. However, Lord Aukland was adamant and pressed on with the invasion of Afghanistan. The size of the invasion force was reduced from three divisions to two because there was no longer any prospect of confronting Persian and Russian forces. The second Bengal division which was originally suppose to take part in the invasion was now relegated as a reserve force and would remain in India.^[2] The quickest route to Kabul was to march across the Punjab and enter Afghanistan by way of Peshawar and the Khyber Pass, but Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab would never consent to such a large force crossing the Punjab. The invasion route had to be through the southern passes, with the approach to Kabul via Kandahar and Ghazni; a journey three times the distance of the direct route.^[2]

The Bengal Army which now numbered some 9,500 men would march inland towards Quetta after assembling in Ferozpur. In Quetta, it would link up with the Bombay Army and then invade Afghanistan. The Bengal Army would also be accompanied by 6,000 men led by Shuja Shah Durrani. The men under Durrani's command were Afghan exiles who believed that he was the rightful ruler of Afghanistan. The total size of the invasion force now numbered some 20,500 men. Sir Harry Fane refused to take part in the invasion because the Russians and Persians had abandoned the siege of Herat and the pretext for the invasion of Afghanistan was no longer there and so the command of the invasion force passed to Sir John Keane.

The Bombay Army landed near the Indus river in December in 1838 and continued to march where it met with the Bengal Army in Quetta. However, the Invasion force was short on supplies as taking the longer Southern route into Afghanistan had caused supplies to be exhausted and also many British supply convoys were lost due to harassing attacks by tribesman in Baluchistan.

Many soldiers were starving and there was only enough water to feed the men which caused many horses to die. However, Sir John Keane pressed on with the advance into Afghanistan through the Bolan and Kojuk passes. His forces marched 147 miles into Afghanistan and reached Kandahar on May 4, 1839.^[2] The local city leaders escaped to Western Afghanistan and the city was captured without the British even firing a shot.^[1] The Army next objective was the fortress city of Ghazni as it commanded the trade routes and roads leading into Kabul. Before a final advance towards Kabul can be made, Ghazni had to be captured.

[edit] Battle for the city

The severe shortages of supplies along with the lack of draft horses had led to heavy siege equipment to be left in Kandahar as the Army no longer had the necessary number of draft horses to pull the equipment. The Army arrived at Ghazni on July 21, 1839. Initial reconnaissance showed the city to be heavily fortified with a 70 foot wall and a flooded moat. The defense of the city was led by Hyder Khan, the son of Dost Muhammad. Lacking siege equipment meant that the only way for the British to capture the city was through a frontal attack which would result in heavy casualties.

However, captured Afghan soldiers were interrogated by the Army's chief engineer, Colonel Thompson to whom they revealed that all of the gates into the Ghazni had been sealed with rocks and debris except the Kabul Gate which was in the north. Thompson spied on the gate and observed an Afghan courier entering the city which confirmed what the prisoners have said. Further inspection showed the gate to be lightly guarded and inadequately defended. It was then decided to attack the city through Kabul gate. The Army went around the city and camped in the north side facing Kabul gate.

While the British forces had encircled the city, Shuja Shah Durrani and his forces had set up camp few miles away from the city to prevent any Afghan forces trying to relieve the besieged city. On July 22, 1839, thousands of Ghilzai tribesmen attacked Shuja Shah Durrani’s contingent but were repelled.^[2] With the Afghan relief forces driven away, the British were ready to mount an attack to capture the city.

British artillery was positioned to give covering fire to the advancing troops and 4 British regiments were formed into a storming party commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Dennie.^[2] The rest of the three British regiments formed the main attacking column commanded by Brigadier Sale. High winds prevented the garrison from realizing they were about to be attacked.

At 3am on July 23, 1839, British engineers moved towards the gate.^[2] As the engineers neared the gate they were fired upon by the Afghans inside the city. The British artillery bombarded the city and gave cover to the British engineers as they reached the gate. Gunpowder was piled besides the door and the subsequent explosion destroyed the gate. The signal was given to attack and the 4 regiments led by Lieutenant Colonel Dennie rushed through the shattered gate. Bitter hand to hand fighting during the darkness of the night ensued. The Afghan defenders launched a counterattack which cut off the storming party from the supporting columns. Brigadier Sale's forces fought their way through the gate to link up with Dennie's encircled forces. Sale's regiments linked up with Dennie's but Sale was severely wounded. The British then fought their way into the center of the city and by dawn the city was captured. The British forces suffered 200 men killed and wounded while the Afghans lost nearly 500 men and 1,600 were taken prisoner with an unknown number wounded.^[2]

[edit] Aftermath

General Keane was, for his service, elevated to the Peerage as Baron Keane of Ghazni. He left a small garrison in Ghazni and began to march his forces towards Kabul on July 30, 1839. When the Afghan ruler, Dost Muhammad, heard about the fall of Ghazni, he asked for terms of surrender but the British offer was exile in India, which was unacceptable to him. He fled Kabul towards Western Afghanistan and the Afghan army surrendered. The British installed their puppet, Shuja Shah Durrani, as the new ruler of Afghanistan.

[edit] British Order of Battle

[edit] British Forces^[2]

• 4th Hussars
• 16th Lancers
• 2nd Queen's Foot
• 13th Foot
• 17th Foot

[edit] Native Indian Forces^[2]

• 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry
• 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry
• 3rd Skinner’s Horse
• 31st Lancers
• 34th Poona Horse
• 3rd Sappers and Miners
• Shah Shujah’s Regiment
• 1st Bengal Fusiliers (European Regiment) later the Munster Fusiliers
• 16th Bengal Native Infantry
• 48th Bengal Native Infantry
• 31st Bengal Native Infantry
• 42nd Bengal Native Infantry
• 43rd Bengal Native Infantry
• 2nd Bengal Native Infantry
• 27th Bengal Native Infantry
• 19th Bombay Infantry later the 119th Multan Regiment

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} First Afghan War.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} British Battles: Battle of Ghazni. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.