The Battle of Maiwand through the eyes of a witness

[mightymads]

Found this in an article called Forgotten Voices of Empire: The Battle of Maiwand 27th July 1880 Part 1:

A medical officer who was present describes the the battle and the retreat to Kandahar.

Candahar (sic) August 21

On the morning of the fight we made a march of seven miles to Maiwand for the sole purpose of attacking a force of 1000 Ghaisais (Afghan fanatics), who were said to have occupied the place; but when we got within two miles of Maiwand we came across the whole force of Ayoob Khan _ I suppose between 15,000 and 20,000 troops, with 30 guns, occupying a very strong position.

Our force was a little over 3,000 strong, with six guns of the Royal Horse Artillery and four guns we had taken from the mutinous army of Shere Ali at Giriakh. The order was given to attack at once. The battle commenced about 11am and there was hard fighting up to about three pm, when our two native infantry regiments broke. This caused the retirement of the 66th, who I hear, fought splendidly.

In the opinion of everyone all might yet have been well had the cavalry charged, but they refused to obey orders. They did not cover our retreat or protect the guns at all. The cavalry loss was very very small compared with the losses of all the other regiments and there is a very bitter feeling against them as they might have done so much to save the force.

When once the retreat commenced all the horrors of fighting savage nations began. Most of our wounded, poor fellows had to be left on the ground, and their fate, of course was sealed. It makes one’s blood run cold to think of the sad fate of such a number of gallant men.

That day we lost 20 officers killed and missing, and five were wounded, who I’m thankful to say, were all brought in here. The retreat from Maiwand to Candahar (sic) – close upon sixty miles – is an event that was never be forgotten by anyone who participated in it. We left Maiwand just a little after three pm and we reached Candahar at 3.30 pm on the following day.

During the whole of our march, up to within five miles of Candahar, there was not a drop of water to be obtained anywhere. This is one of the reasons why we lost so many men. They simply dropped on account of great thirst. In addition to this the inhabitants, of every village en route turned out and had shots at us. In fact many of the forces were under fire more or less, the whole way. [...]

All this time I was feeling far from well and most awfully faint. I had only had a cup of tea and a biscuit in the early morning. Luckily I managed to get hold of a mule, and on this animal I got into Candahar. How I ever got in here alive I do not know. I have much to be thankful for. [...]

How I got in will always be the greatest mystery to me, I lost all my kit, my horse and my salary. The first fortnight after this terrible affair I was laid up again with the fever.

Such a nice lot of officers have been taken away by this calamity – young fellows, mere boys, full of pluck. It is dreadfully sad and sickening when one thinks of how many good and valuable lives have been lost and of the number of homes that have been desolated.

Comments

[colebaltblue]

I wrote an essay about Watson's likely experiences in Afghanistan for a Holmesian journal once (I had always intended to write a fanfic about it, but this was an essay based on the fic research) that used this article quite heavily. I really am quite enamored with Watson and his experiences and how they shaped who he was when he met Holmes. I'll see if I can unearth anything more that I used. But this is excellent material if you are interested at all in Watson.

[mightymads]

I am! This period of his life is very important and affected him for the rest of his life. If you have more material, do share, and I’d love to read your essay if it’s available online. I used a flashback of Maiwand in one of my fics too and found a couple of sources when researching. The first one was from ‘Arthur Conan Doyle and the Meaning of Masculinity’ by Diana Barsham:

"[...] the staff of the field hospital to which Watson was attached reputedly fled, leaving the wounded behind."

https://books.google.ru/books?id=kU2oDQAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=arthur%20conan%20doyle%20and%20the%20meaning%20of%20masculinity&pg=PT99#v=onepage&q&f=false

And the second from a Daily Mail article:

"There was not enough transport for all the wounded, so many were left to their fate. They knew what it would be. The Afghans were infamous for mutilating the wounded, hence Rudyard Kipling’s advice to British soldiers wounded in Afghanistan to ‘roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your Gawd like a soldier’".

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2095088/The-REAL-Dr-Watson-The-Victorian-army-medic-inspiration-Sherlocks-trusty-sidekick.html

I’ve also found an interesting fragment about Watson’s prep studies at Netley and his later service. I didn’t post it in the comm, but it’s backed up in my blog
https://mightymads.dreamwidth.org/3929.html

[colebaltblue]

Here it is: http://retiredbeekeepers.tumblr.com/post/162201619653/happy-solstice-issue-5-of-the-practical-handbook

That's the tumblr post announcing it, but I linked to it because it has a little discussion of what it is. I think it actually focuses fairly heavily on the when/how he made it back to England I included references in the essay above, but here's what I found in a google doc of a fairly final draft of what got published:
The Website of the Queens Royal Surrey Regiment, "Troopships and the Regiment" http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/troopships/ts001.shtml, June 2017.

The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Garen Wing), "Ships embarkation dates…" http://www.garenewing.co.uk/angloafghanwar/resources/regiments_englandindia.php, June 2017.

Major Roland Pillinger, "Boer War 2 (Picture Gallery)" http://majorpillinger.com/picture-gallery/boer-war-2/, June 2017.

Victorian Wars, "Journal of 10th Company, Sherwood Rangers, Imperial Yeomanry" http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=11532&p=59819&hilit=ship+letter#p59819, June 2017.

Army Medical Department Report for the Year 1880, page 112, accessed via Google Books, June 2017.

"Letters from a Victorian Governess/Companion to Royal families written during the period 1883-1894 from India/Prussia/Greece" http://web.archive.org/web/19970702213629/http://barnardf.demon.co.uk/, June 2017


Thanks for the links above, I now have some reading materials :D

[mightymads]

Thanks so much! Looking forward to delving into all the material! I read your essay—it was very informative and insightful. I could easily imagine Watson aboard the ship, travelling back to England and recuperating little by little.

[a_candle_for_sherlock]

That's fascinating. And heartbreaking.

[mightymads]

Yes, words from eyewitnesses make those events feel very real, not merely names and dates in a textbook.