Siege of Jalalabad
British troops (right) attack the Afghan line.
| date | November 12, 1841 to April 7, 1842 |
|---|---|
| place | Jalalabad in Afghanistan |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 2,000 men | 6,000 men |
| losses | |
|
62 dead |
unknown |
The siege of Jalalabad lasted five months during the First Anglo-Afghan War .
prehistory
In the first phase of the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British were able to take Kabul on August 7, 1839 . Much of the Army of the Indus returned to British India . Brigadier Robert Henry Sale and his brigade were on their way back from Kabul to British India and were supposed to secure the passes as far as Jalalabad on the way there . He marched out of Butkhak on October 12, 1841 , and fought a number of skirmishes along the way.
On November 10, Sale received news of the outbreak of the uprising in Kabul and the assassination of Alexander Burnes , as well as an order from General William Elphinstone to return to Kabul. After consulting with his officers, he decided to move on to Jalalabad. The British reached their destination on November 12th.
Course of the siege
On November 15, Sale wrote to Elphinstone explaining the reasons for his decision, namely that for logistical reasons it had been almost impossible to break through to Kabul and, even if he had succeeded, the garrison in Kabul would not be able to hold on . It would be better to put the Jalalabad fort in defense readiness so that the Kabul garrison could withdraw to wait there for reinforcements from Peshawar . This decision was later criticized because a breakthrough to Kabul was possible or a position at Gandamak , i.e. closer to Kabul, would have been more useful.
The Jalalabad fort was in poor condition and had to be repaired first. Sale had about 2,000 men: 700 men in the 13th Light Infantry Regiment , 750 men in the 35th Native Infantry Regiment . 150 sappers , 40 Afghan infantry, a squadron with 130 5th Bengal Cavalry , 90 Shodja Shah Durranis and 180 train and artillery . On November 14, there was a sortie that cleared the area of the enemy and brought supplies to the fort. Around 6,000 Afghans had surrounded the fort by the end of the month. On December 1, there was another sortie, which enabled the defensive positions to be completed.
On January 6, 1842, the Kabul garrison began to withdraw under Elphinstone. On January 9, Sale received an order from Elphinstone to give up Jalalabad and retreat to Peshawar, as Mohammed Akbar , the leader of the insurgents, had promised free passage . Sale refused this order. On January 13, after the Battle of Gandamak , the military doctor William Brydon reached him as the only survivor of Elphinstone's army in Kabul.
Sale made the final decision to hold Jalalabad and await relief . On January 26, the besieged received an offer from Shodja Shah to give up the fort. Sale was inclined to leave Jalalabad; however, almost all of the other officers spoke out against it. Sales' behavior later led to criticism of his person.
On February 19, an earthquake severely damaged the fort.
On February 28, March 2 and March 3, the Afghans attacked the fort without success. On March 1st, March 24th and April 1st the British defenders made sorties. In the latter, they managed to capture 500 sheep from the Afghans, which greatly improved the supply situation. The 35th Native Infantry Regiment waived its share in favor of the British 13th Light Infantry Regiment , as they were of the opinion that the Europeans were more dependent on meat.
On April 5th, the fort received false news that a relief army under George Pollock had been defeated at the Chaiber Pass . In the evening it was announced that Pollock had been victorious. Nevertheless, Sale decided to attack the siege army. At sunrise on April 7th the British troops began their attack in three columns . Akbar Khan was defeated by seven o'clock and fled to Kabul. The Afghans' camp fell into the hands of the British.
On April 16, Pollock's relief army reached the fort.
consequences
All defenders of Jalalabad received the Jalalabad medal and a sum of money. All major British bases fired a 21-round salute in honor of the defenders. Sale was elevated to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) on June 16, 1842 in recognition of his achievement .
Literary processing
In 1859 Theodor Fontane wrote the poem "The Tragedy of Afghanistan", which is about the British withdrawal.
literature
- Byron Farwell: Queen Victoria's Little Wars. Wordsworth Editions Limited, Ware 1999, ISBN 1-84022-215-8 .
- Robert Hamilton Vetch : Sale, Robert Henry . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 50: Russians - Scobell. MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1897, pp 181 - 189 (English).
- James Lunt: Sale, Sir Robert Henry (1782-1845). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004