"
"By all means," said Jenkins; "no man stays in the Guides against his
will. You are a free man from this moment."
And so, very near the same spot where he had taken service on the field
of battle, Bahaud-din Khan quietly took his discharge, and rode off,
like a knight of old, to place his sword at the service of any who
wanted it. "But riding-school, God forbid!" he muttered as he went.
It is not intended to follow the Guides through all the phases of the
Afghan War, but only to tell the story of some of their gallant
adventures. One of the earliest of these was at the little battle of
Fattehabad, where Wigram Battye was killed, and Walter Hamilton earned
the Victoria Cross.[19] A small force consisting of portions of the 10th
Hussars, Guides' cavalry, 17th Foot, forty-five Sikhs, together with a
battery of horse-artillery, were sent on from Jellalabad, as an advance
force to clear the road to Kabul. About twelve miles out, at the village
of Fattehabad, General Gough[20] was suddenly threatened in flank by a
great gathering of Afghan tribesmen.
[19] Here again I have had to depart from strict chronology.
[20] Afterwards General Sir Charles Gough, V.C., G.C.B., etc.
Acting on the principle that in dealing with Asiatics it is always wise,
whatever the odds, to attack, instead of waiting the onslaught, the
General moved out rapidly with the cavalry and horse-artillery, and
ordered the infantry to follow as quickly as possible.
Pages:
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131