BRITISH VICTORIES IN AFGHANISTAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5364, 25 January 1879, Page 7

BRITISH VICTORIES IN AFGHANISTAN.

FUI-I- IJKi'.ULS OFPEIWAIi 3'ASS BATTLE. ; / ;»M -1' JAL TKLEGKAM3 TO TII ii: CiVI.ON "observer."] I'ICiUAH, through Thui 1 . O o-mber 2. (•* f'VRKAL KoBKRT.S'S diVl- ifc<i V«iii .cd ye*. Urd ty in two columns, the left column bein.» commanded by Brigadier Uubb«, and the right by Brigadier Thellwell. The advance was covered by the 12th Bengal Cavalry, who threw out vidcttes to examine the valley in front and the tidc3 of the hill. Our scout* reported the country free .15 far as Peiwar village, and stated that three regiments of the eiiMuy, With some guns, were retreating ni> Peiwar hill, and experienced such great difliculty in carrying their gu-in, t'iat moit probably they would bj compelled to abandon them in retreat. General Roberto, after examining spi-s from the front, determined, by a ll mk move raent,to cutoff tbe enemy's retreat altogether. Ho detached from the Ist Brigade the 2Dth Punjab infantry, the sih Punjab Infantry, and No. 1 Mountain Battery. The 23rd Brigade reached Peiwar ascent about 2 p. iu , after being joined by the remaiudrr of the forces composing the Ist Brigade. The sth Punjab lnfautiy under Major M'Queeu led the advauce thinking column. Col. Gordon took the 2'Jth by a route high up,Bo as to gain the hill to the wes*. ot Peiwar Kothal. Major M'Queen t-o->k up an excellent position on the spuropp -5-itethe enemy's position, with a portion of the s:h Punj ib Infantry and two mountain guns. Meantime the 20th felt the enemy in the valley in tbe north-west, and now our lighting l>egau. It was difficult to restrain our men. The euemy tired with the utmost rapidity and precision, and had not our troops b en well under cover, we must have Miff.*re i heavily. We were divided in opinion as t ) whether they were aruK-d with biec.li or muzzle loaders. Their tiro was wonderfully quick. Meauwhile, the 2nd Brigade aad portions of the Ist Brigade, with Gemral Huberts and his btatf, had felt the way up ti.e rout.? to th» very mouth of the pas?, and wore speculating whether the enemy wuul 1 throw .-.hell, when oue came shrieking over out heads and rushed iu amongst the horses. We. to. went a li'tle further down to tike shelter behind the hill. In the meantime the enemy kept throw lug shells and round shot amongst ntir troop-* General Cobbe ami some ollLvrs an 1 myself then ascended a hillock with 'ps, an I could examine the enemy's oa-te»j. The horse artillery now began to reply from the open ground just below us but w» re not allowed to remain long. After some good shooting, they limb?red up th-ir g ms and went lower down. The enemy's pr.. <_*,;ce was admirable. .Not only did tiny fi;:d ranges with our guns at will, but ti.ir s?h- Ms burst capitally. The enemy's p"=Uio:i had now been well ascei taiucd. and it was d- T »rmmcd to withdraw the 2i>eh ai.d the 5 h cavalry, rhe 29th retired, and the enemy bul.ily advanced, and then the sth,riuih i commanding held behind s ?me high rucks, tired with apparently deadly ili'eet, which gave \ dead check to tlr. ir fbrther advance. The 31li Goorkhas wore now extended to cover [he retirement of our mm from the positions they had so gallantly held. Tbe -ud Punjab Infantry and the 7th Highlanders were thrown out in support of our tn.ops, who were greatly exhausted. They hi Ino food ill day, but ouly water. Caj.ttiu Keid, of ihe29:h, was severely wounded m ihe back. Jne of our men was killed, and 11 wounded. Tbe loss ot the enemy is not known, but it s estimated to be heavy. 'I he enemy's position is very strong, and is being recennoi;ied to-'Ja3 - . A determiyt-d advance will probably be made to-morrow. La)ioi:£, December 5. A telegram from General Huberts says that >y a turning movement by the Spiugawai fass during the night of the Ist, he most uccessfully reached the e- e:ny's position at laybrealv. and took them e nuletdy by surprise. The 72ud iiighlauderd and the sth drove them successfully from th- ir the regiments vying wi h each v.her in the attack. Owing to the dillieulties >i the ground, &c., the assault on Kothat rould not be delivered this side. General Ivoberts decided to withdraw the troops rom this liue of plan, in column threatening ;he enemy's rear, and to attack Kothat Pass >u the morning of the 3rd. The movement was aided very efticirutly by the Sell Foot wid the sth Punjab infantry coming from ;he direction of the camp under General Jobbe, Which had the desired eilect of lrawing the enemy from Kothat, which our :roops occupied about 4 p.m. Tue euemy iad been reinforced by a regiment of infautry rod Khasti on the previous evening, and Dade a very übatinafco resistance the a**tilery especially. The defeat was complete, and the enemy is reported to have lost heavily. Fifteen guns are in our possession, \ large amount of ammunition, and two or :hree more guns abandoned by the enemy. Uur loss, considering the country and the numbers opposed to us, is moderate. L-'aptain Kelso, of the .Royal ArfciJery, and Major Anderson, of the 23rd Pmueers, were tilled, and .General Cobbe and Lieutenant Vlunro, of the 7-ud Highlanders, wounded, jut neither very severely. The number of oldiers killed and wounded is about 50. General Roberts had practically onl}* one regiment, the wing of the 72nd md the Stb, and it 13 impossible to follow he battle along the course <-»f the country ought over without being amazed at the >rilliant success achieved, but to reap the all effect 3 of this crushing blow inflicted, we mist have more troops. The number of the memy killed is not known. Behind the barricades at the top of the Shinghur Pa-s fc2 bodies were counted, and on the hill above 100 men must have fallen. The youthful ippearance of the enemy's dead was surjrising, the average age being not much over 20. All the bodies were stripped by Jagis, md the dead on Peiwar Kothal were slashed ind hacked when we came up. Some of the iueiny'a troops were dressed very much like ;he 20th on the Shinghur Pass, and were led >y a flaxen-haired man, who wore a headiress eomewhat like a Glengarry cap. The irtitlery at Kothal were well served. At fun Top Pass the gunners were picked off jne by one by our ritk-men, with the excep:ion of one gallant fellow, who served his gun llmcst to the last, and then attempted to iake it off. The troops appeared to be commanded by a man who rode a grey horse, and displayed great gallantry. He was ■severely wounded, but not captured. Mr. Macpherson, the special correspondent of the is prostrate from fever, and has been removed to the field-hospital. The loss on our side is now ascertained to be : — Killed, oilizcrs 2, men IS; wounded, 2 aflicers and 75 men. General Roberts was at Alikhel on the Gth and Kokeiar on the 7th, and is proceeding with a reconnoitring party towards Shutargardan. It is probable that the column will rjot advance beyond Shutargardan, and with the exception of the 2Sth, will return to Kuram. The Jagis, although friendly in [>roteatations, are not caqer *tr> supply provisions. Piewar will bo fortified for the winter. Zcj;a i':!>a*t Kill.*, through Thull, lJecember 6. The general and staff arrived here last night, and are awaiting thcother brigade and commissariat. The enemy has fled in tfreat confusion. The Shutargardan Pass has been left, aud a large quantity of grain in the adjoining village. The victory is complete and crushing. Eighteen guns were captured, and large stores and ammunition supplies. liAiioitK. December 6. The Viceroy has received the telegram from Her Majesty the Queen :—•• I have reeieved the news of the decisive victory of General Roberts,and the splendid behaviour of roy brave soldiers with pride and satisfaction, though I must ever deplore the unavoidable Joss of life. Pray inquire after the wounded in my name. May \vc continue to receive good news." Almost all theguns captured are rilled guns 'A bras?, iron, or steel, throwing shells jf native manufacture, similar to the mountain batteries preseuted by the British, and [iring with great precision up to 2,500 yards. According to the correctcd version of a f.ondon telegram received by the Times of (mlhji the new frontier line will extend from fishen Valley to Jellalabad, and our frontier will embrace all the mountain ranges between tjjat liue and the Indus. When Kandahar ind the valley beyond Shutargardau is occupied, the Object of the present campaign will be attained, at an estimated cost of a million sterling. St'KKUR, December 7. It is understood that General steward has jeen appointed to the chief military and political authority in Southern Afghanistan, md now takes the directiou of the operations. A letter lias arrived to-day from the Amir, which is a reply to the ultimatum. He professes to have written on IfJfch November, but it did not reach-Dhaka till November 30, and is believed to have been rc-written by the Amir after the news of the Ali Musjid de-

rVat The general contents are aa follow:— lb acknowledges the ultimatum.criticiseß the reported friendly intentions of th*i British Government, and alludes t) its past action, "specially the intercession for Yakoob Khan, is fiontr.idic'ory to such intention.®. The refusal to reccive the mission was not intended • * a hostile aet'on, but arose from fear of th«* ] ).,h of independence to which allusion was made in the ultimatum, and which the pro taction of the IChyber tribes who esorted the mission confirmed. The Amir atates that th»-re is no enmity between Afghanistan and the British Government, and that he desire* to resume his former fri< lidly rel itions lie concludes hy stating that he will not resist a small temporary mission. Raaval Pindkk, December S. Letters from the Kuram force state that no serious resistance is expected. At the Shutargardan Pass our loss on the 2nd was comparatively small ; two European oliioers killed, two wounded, 30 European soldiers killed and wounded, and GO natives. The Sth Kind's and the 72nd Highlanders of the European corps suffered most. Bombay, December 0. The strength of the Ali Musjid garrison is ascertained ta have b< cn as follow*: — Cavalry, 200 ; artillery, two fields and two mountain batteries ; infantry, six retjirn nts, containing 2,0'>0 men, armed with EutieLU : levies, six standard, containing GOO men ; total, about 3,700 men and 24 guns. The guns were alFcaptured. The enemy's cavalry were fired into by the guides as they ga loped down the Pas*, and lost many men and horses. Of the infantry only one regiment got away with their arrn-j. Some were captured and disarmed by the guides ; the r«st were plundered by the Afri.tis. ' ZuisßCJUiusr K.ILL4, through Thull, December 9. At the Peiwar affair the enemy were completely demoralised. Their guns were iu excellent condition, and the ammunition admirably made. Had they a general with any strategic fckill, 20,000 men would not have accomplished what our small force Ins done. Our loss, had it not b cn for the cover of the felled trees and boulders, would have been immense. It is difficult to conceive why the enemy neglected removing the trees ami loose stonc3 below their portions, and why they had only three guns at the top of the Spitighur Pass. It is probable they only half-believed in the possibility of a turning movement being attempted, and had no conception of thweight of our forces being swung round to their Hank and rear by the Spinghur route The stockades they threw up were excellent, but not . £ a nature to offer serious obstruction. They fought most resolutely. Again and again they came down from the hills and uttcmpiud to re take with sword and bayonet their stockades. .Siuce the battle I have gone round the positions held by the enemy. Their natuial strength is marvellous. That wo succeeded is marvellous, considering the wretchedly small force we had. Ivi'RKAciiKE, December 4. Major llutler, of tlie 9th Kogiment, has returned from Turkistan, after completing \ survey of nearly GOOO miles ot the country. 1 hear he has so managed matters with the Turcomans that they are ready with their splendid cavalry to co-operate with the British iu attaeking the Kussians or Af ghaus. He starts to-morrow to have an interview with Lord Lytton.