The siege of the Sherpur Cantonment was a battle fought in December 1879, during the

Second Anglo-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 l ...

Background

On 3 September 1879 Sir Pierre Cavagnari, the British Resident in Kabul, and his escort were massacred by mutinous Afghan troops, initiating the second phase of the

. A force was assembled and named 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 ...

, under the command of Major-General Frederick Roberts. After defeating Afghan forces at Chariasab on 6 October, Roberts marched into Kabul on 13 October. With Kabul itself vulnerable to attack, Roberts based his force in the unfinished Sherpur cantonment, a mile north of the city. A military commission was then set up to try those responsible for Cavagnari's death. While a strong response to the murders was considered necessary, the resultant public executions helped unite Afghan opposition against the British presence. At the end of November, an army of tribesmen under the command of

Mohammed Jan Khan Wardak Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

, who had denounced Amir

Mohammad Yaqub Khan Mohammad Yaqub Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1849November 15, 1923) was Emir of Afghanistan from February 21 to October 12, 1879. He was the son of the previous ruler, Sher Ali Khan. Mohammad Yaqub Khan was appointed as the governor of Herat province in ...

as a British puppet and instead declared Musa Jan the new amir, gathered in the area north of Kabul. On 11 December a small detachment (c.170 men) of the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...

and the 14th Bengal Lancers encountered a 10,000+ Afghan army advancing on Kabul.A Short History of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers 1715–1949 In an attempt to delay the advance, the outnumbered Lancers charged the Afghans. Heavy casualties were suffered and the Afghans continued their advance. Anglican chaplain James Adams was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing the wounded.

The siege

On 15 December, the Afghan army began to

besiege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

the British forces entrenched in the Sherpur Cantonment. As news of a

relief column A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

under the command of Brigadier General Charles Gough reached Mohammed Jan, he ordered his troops to storm the cantonment on 23 December. By midday, the assault had been repulsed, and the Afghan army dispersed.

No quarter The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed. According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...

was given to Afghans found in the area with weapons. The Sherpur Cantonment is maintained up to the present as a British

military cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be ...

.Afghanistan's 'graveyard of foreigners'
/ref>

Order of battle

British regiments

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

67th Foot The 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Hampshire Regiment (later the Ro ...

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) ...

92nd Highlanders The 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881. History Format ...

British Indian Army regiments

* 12th Cavalry * 14th Murray’s Lancers * Queen’s Own Corps of Guides *

5th Cavalry, Punjab Frontier Force The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force ...

* 1st PWO Sappers and Miners *

23rd Bengal Native Infantry (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 ...

28th Bengal Native Infantry (Punjabis) The 28th Punjabis were an infantry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 20th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 28th Punjabis in 1903 and became 4th Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, ...

* 3rd Sikh Infantry * 5th Punjabis (Vaughan’s Rifles) *

2nd Gurkha Rifles The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Bat ...

* 4th Gurkha Rifles *

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 ...

* 22nd (Derajat) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force) * 24th (Hazara) Mountain Battery (Frontier Force)

Gallery

File:Afghan charge at Sherpur Cantonment.jpg, The Afghan forces charge (illustration by

Sidney Paget Sidney Edward Paget () (4 October 1860 – 28 January 1908) was a British artist of the Victorian era, best known for his illustrations that accompanied Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories in ''The Strand Magazine''. Life Sidne ...

) File:Bengal Sapper and Miners Bastion, in Sherpur cantonment, Kabul, Second Afghan War, c. 1879.jpg, Bengal Sapper and Miners Bastion, in Sherpur Cantonment circa 1879 File:British Cemetery (1 of 1)-8.jpg, View inside the Sherpur Cantonment today

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege Of The Sherpur Cantonment

Sherpur Cantonment Sherpur Cantonment, or the British Cemetery, is located in Kabul, Afghanistan. The area was a British military camp or cantonment and the site of the 1879 Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Now officially called th ...

1879 in Afghanistan

History of Kabul 19th century in Kabul

December 1879 events