After the passage of the Malakand the road runs down between gently
sloping spurs into the Swat Valley. At the end of one of these spurs was
a rocky outcrop, which would now be called a _kopje_, and holding this
was a regiment of Dogras, while in support, under cover, lay the best
part of a brigade of infantry. Just under the tail end of the kopje
stood dismounted a squadron, fifty strong, of the Guides, under Captain
Adams and Lieutenant Baldwin. The neighbouring hills were covered with
dense masses of the enemy, firing heavily, and severely pressing the
Dogras. Evening was drawing on and the day too far advanced for the
British force to commit itself to any very forward or extended
operations.
At this moment a temporary non-combatant, the well-known Roddy Owen,
then acting as a newspaper correspondent, in the course of doing a
little scouting on his own account discovered a large force of the
enemy, estimated at two thousand men, committed to the open with the
evident intention of enveloping the left flank of the Dogras. This news
he at once communicated to Captain Adams, and that officer rode back a
short distance to take the General's orders. Just as he was returning,
Lieutenant Baldwin, seeing that the moment to strike had arrived,
boldly took the initiative and set off on his gallant venture. The
effect was little short of magical, and established irrevocably the
_moral_ of cavalry and the _arme blanche_ for the rest of the campaign.
Pages:
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167