Login
Login

Battle of Peiwar Kotal

{{Short description|1878 battle of the Second Anglo-Afghan War}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battle of Peiwar Kotal

| partof = Second Anglo-Afghan War

| image = Battle of Peiwar Kotal.JPG

| image_size = 250px

| caption = "The attack on the Peiwar Kotal" by Vereker Monteith Hamilton

| date = 2 December 1878

| place = Kurram Valley, Afghanistan

| result = British Victory

| combatant1 = {{flagicon|British Empire}} British Empire

  • {{flagicon|British Raj}} India

| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Emirate of Afghanistan|1709}} Afghanistan

| commander1 = Major General Frederick Roberts

| commander2 = Karim Khan

| strength1 = 73 officers, 3,058 men
13 guns{{sfn|Roberts|1879|p=528}}

| strength2 = 4,000–5,000
25 guns

| casualties1 = 21 killed, 72 wounded{{sfn|Roberts|1879|p=529}}

| casualties2 = 200 casualties (Estimate)

| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Afghan War}}

}}

The Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on 2 December 1878 between British forces under Major General Frederick Roberts and Afghan forces under Karim Khan, during the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The British were victorious, and seized the strategic Peiwar Kotal Pass leading into the interior of Afghanistan.

The battle

After the outbreak of the Second Afghan War in November 1878, British-led forces invaded Afghanistan in three separate columns, the smallest of which was commanded by Major General Roberts. This column entered Afghanistan via the Kurram Valley on 21 November 1878, heading towards Kabul. The pass was however heavily defended at the Peiwar Kotal. This included Afghan regular forces, reinforced by local tribesman, who had established themselves in a strongly fortified position on a mountain overlooking the pass,{{sfn|Farwell|1973|pp=203–204}} which Robert described as an 'apparently impregnable position'.{{sfn|Roberts|1897|p=355}}

Roberts halted and camped just outside Afghan artillery range for several days, sending out reconnaissance parties before deciding on his response. Finally, on 1 December, he ordered preparations for a frontal attack, including marking out artillery emplacements directly facing the main Afghan position. This was however a feint, and that night Roberts led the main body of his force around the flank of the Afghan defences. His attack on the morning of 2 December took the Afghans by surprise. After Roberts' forces, led by the Highlanders and Gurkhas, took a number of strongly held positions, the Afghans realised that their line of retreat was threatened and retreated from the battlefield.{{sfn|Roberts|1897|pp=355–364}}

=Aftermath=

This victory, against a well positioned superior force, opened the route to Kabul and helped lead to the Afghan government suing for peace and accepting a British Resident in Kabul, the first phase of the war ending on 26 May 1879. It also brought General Roberts, until then a little known staff officer, into public prominence, both in Britain and the wider Empire.{{sfn|Farwell|1973|p=205}}

Captain John Cook was awarded the Victoria Cross for his role in the battle, while his regiment, the 5th Gurkha Rifles, was awarded its first battle honour.

At least 16 cannon were captured from the Afghans. These were photographed by John Burke, who accompanied British forces.{{cite journal |last1=Jenzen-Jones |first1=N.R. |last2=Shanley |first2=Jack |title=Hubris or haplessness? The modernisation and loss of Afghanistan’s artillery, 1869–79 |journal=Journal of the Ordnance Society |date=2021 |volume=28 |pages=90–96}}

Order of battle

The following regiments participated in the battle:{{sfn|Roberts|1879|pp=525–529}}

=British Regiments=

=Indian Regiments=

Thirty-eight members of the 10th Hussars were also present.{{sfn|Joslin|Litherland|Simpkin|1988|p=155}}

Prior to the battle, the total strength of the force in camp was 889 Europeans, including officers, and 2,415 native Indians.{{sfn|Roberts|1897|p=357}}

References

{{reflist}}

Sources

  • {{cite book|last=Farwell |first=Byron|title=Queen Victoria's Little Wars |year= 1973 |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |isbn=0713904577 }}
  • {{cite book |last1=Joslin |last2=Litherland |last3=Simpkin |title=British Battles and Medals |year= 1988 |publisher= Spink & Son |location=London |isbn=0-907605-25-7}}
  • {{cite book |last=Richards |first=D.S. |title=The Savage Frontier, A History of the Anglo-Afghan Wars |year= 1990 |publisher= Pan MacMillan |location=London |isbn= 0-330-42052-6}}
  • {{cite book|last=Roberts |first=Frederick|title=General Robert's dispatch for the Battle of Peiwar Kotal |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24674/page/526 |year= 1879 |publisher=London Gazette, 4 February 1879 |location=London}}
  • {{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Sir Frederick |title=Forty-one Years in India|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16528 |year=1897 |publisher=Macmillan & Co |location=London}}
  • {{cite book |last=Robson |first=Brian |title=The Road to Kabul: The Second Afghan War 1878–1881 |year= 2007 |publisher= Spellmount |location=Stroud |isbn= 978-1-86227-416-7}}

{{Anglo-Afghan War}}

{{coord missing|Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Afghanistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peiwar Kotal, Battle of 1878}}

Category:Battles in 1878

Category:1878 in India

Category:Battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War

Category:Battles involving the United Kingdom

Category:Battles involving Afghanistan

Category:December 1878