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Engagement in the Khost Country from a Drawing WDL11494

The Kurram Valley Field ForceOften referred to at the time as the ''Kuram Field Force''. e.g.: was a British military formation during the first phase of the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the ...

, 1878–79. It was one of three military columns created by the British in November 1878 at the start of the Second Afghan War, each of which invaded

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

by a different route. Commanded by Major General Frederick Roberts, the Kurram Valley Field Force was the smallest of the three columns, with an initial strength of 6,665 officers and men of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

armies and 18 guns. Roberts' force crossed into

from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 21 November 1878 and advanced up the

Kurram Valley Kurram District ( ps, کرم ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá ( ps, کورمه) in Pashto which itself derives from the Sanskrit name Kr ...

in the direction of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. After defeating Afghan regular forces, reinforced by local tribesman, at the

battle of Peiwar Kotal 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 ...

on 2 December 1878, there followed a number of minor engagements, after which Roberts' force occupied the whole of the Kurram Valley. Here the Kurram Field Force was reinforced by a further 3,500 men, many of whom were placed along the line of communication back to India. The Afghan government soon sued for peace, and the first phase of the Afghan War ended in May 1879 with the

Treaty of Gandamak The Treaty of Gandamak (Dari: معاهده گندمک, Pashto: د گندمک تړون) officially ended the first phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Mohammad Yaqub Khan ceded various frontier areas to Britain while retaining full control of ...

. However, on 3 September 1879 the British envoy in

and his staff were murdered, and the second phase of the war commenced. The Kurram Valley Field Force was then the only British formation in Afghanistan, and were speedily reinforced from India by new units and renamed the

Kabul Field Force The Kabul Field Force was a field force created in September 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, under the command of General Frederick Roberts. It combined British and Indian Army regiments, and initially numbered around 7,500 men, but la ...

. Still commanded by General Roberts, this force was ordered to advance on Kabul with the objective of taking punitive action against the killers of the British envoy. The remaining troops in the Kurram Valley then ceased to be a separate field force and acted as line of communications troops for the Kabul Force, with local command passing from Roberts to Brigadier General T. Gordon on 27 September 1879.

Composition

The following units were attached to the Kurram Valley Field Force when it crossed into Afghanistan on 21 November 1878. The force's then strength totalled 5,335 officers and men with 13 guns.

British Army Regiments

*F Battery, A Brigade,

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...

, (6 guns) *G Battery, 3rd Brigade,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, (3 guns) *One squadron, 10th Hussars *2nd battalion, 8th King's Regiment *

72nd Highlanders The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line. Raised in 1778, it was originally numbered 78th, before being redesignated the 72nd in 1786. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 78th (Highlanders) ...

(half-battalion) Total British troops: 1,345 officers and men; 9 guns.

Indian Army Regiments

* No. 1 Mountain Battery, (4 guns) * 12th Bengal Cavalry *7th Company,

Bengal Sappers and Miners Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

* 2nd Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force * 5th Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force * 21st Punjab Infantry *

23rd Bengal Native Infantry (Punjab Pioneers) The 23rd Sikh Pioneers were a regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1857, when they were known as the 15th (Pioneer) Regiment of Punjab Infantry. The regiment recruited the Mazhabi Sikhs and Ramdasia Sikhs of Pu ...

29th Bengal Native Infantry (Punjabis) The 29th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 21st Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 29th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th (Training) Battalion of 15th Punjab Regiment in 19 ...

5th Gurkha Rifles 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served ...

, Punjab Frontier Force Total Indian troops: 3,990 officers and men; 4 guns. At the end of December 1878 the Kurram Field Force was reinforced with a further 2,685 infantry, 868 cavalry and 13 guns. Many of the new troops were used as line of communications troops.

References

Sources

* * * *{{cite book , last=Wilkinson-Latham , first=Robert , title=North-West Frontier, 1837–1947, url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/North_West_Frontier_1837_1947/6AQ_vgAACAAJ?hl=en, year=1977 , publisher=Macmillan & Co , location=London, isbn=0850452759 Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army British Army deployments Second Anglo-Afghan War

Composition

British Army Regiments

Indian Army Regiments

See also

References

Sources