Kabul to Kandahar Star - 3rd Punjab Cavy

[Brian Wolfe]

The subject of my post is the Kabul to Kandahar Star 1880 which now resides in my collection.

To begin here is a little background to the Battle of Kandahar.

1. The Siege of Kandahar.

After the death of the Afghan ruler in May 1879, Amir Sher Ali Khan's son and successor, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, signed a treaty with the British, part of which agreed to allow a British resident at Kabul. On 3 September the British representative in Residence, Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari and the other members of the mission were massacred by Afghan troops. Yaqub Kahn was removed from power by the British and exciled due to suspicions that he had a part in the massacre. During this time it was decided to withdraw all British troops from Afghanistan, however before this could take place, Yaqub Khan's brother, Ayub Khan stirred up anti-British sentiments and moved out of Herat where he was the Governor with 10,000 followers. A force of 1,500 British and Indian troops was dispatched to intercept his force.

The British commander, Brigadier George Burrows, clashed with Ayub Khan on 27 July 1880 at Maiwand. The British/Indian force was defeated and the survivors marched 45 miles to the city of Kandahar were they fortified the city and awaited the arrival of the Afghan force under Ayub Khan. Of the 1,500 British/Indian forces that met Ayub Khan in the battle at Maiwand only 540 had survived to reach Kandahar.

These troops, plus the garrison at Kandahar, brought the fighting strength of the city to 4,360. The population was evacuated and the city fortified for the upcoming siege. On 8 August Ayub Khan besieged the city with his forces including artillery pieces which started firing on the British/Indian forces from surrounding villages situated on higher ground.

2. The relief Force.

A relief force of 10,000 was sent from the garrison at Kabul under the command of General Roberts, who personally lead the division. The march was a grueling 320 miles but would take only 20 days to complete. Due to the need for speed the force travelled light carrying only 20-30 lbs. of kit per trooper. In addition to this no artillery or wheeled transport was taken along which would have only served to slow the pace.

The relief force arrived at Kandahar on 31 August 1880. However, possibly fearing he would be caught between th city's force and the relief column Ayub Khan lifted his siege and moves his forces to the village of Mazra in the Urgundab valley. The attack on Ayub Khan came on 1 September 1880. The Afghan force was defeated after heavy fighting and Auyb Khan was forced to abandon his camp at Mazra.

3. The 3rd Punjab Cavalary

The plan was for General Hugh Henry Gough to intercept the retreating Afghans with his cavalry which included the 417 members of the 3rd Punjab Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Colonel A. Vivian. The 3rd Punjab Cavalry pursued Ayub Kahn's forces toward Khakrez. A small remnant of the Afghan Army along with Ayub Khan escaped and became fugitives, later to raise another army and lead a revolt against the new British appointee to the position of power, Abdur Rahman. This new revolt was quickly put down ending in the death of Ayub Khan.

This brought to a close the Second Anglo-Afghan War and relative peace endured until the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 broke out.

The 3rd Punjab Cavalry were later involved in the expidetion against the MArris tribe of the North West Frontier and then returned to India.

You should research further into the interesting history of the actual battle but since my post is to deal with the medal shown below I have condensed the conflict's history drastically.

An interesting point about the Kabul to Kandahar Stars is that the bronze they were struck from came from Ayub Khan's guns that were captured at the battle of Kandahar, which was actually at Mazara.

Regards

Brian

Edited January 29, 2010 by Brian Wolfe

[Brian Wolfe]

Here is a view of the reverse.

This medal was awarded to:

SOWAR FUZL DAD, 3rd PUNJAB CAVY.

I find it interesting in the way they have strengthened the medal where the crown meets the Star. It's a good thing too as I would think very few would have survived these many years had they not taken these steps.

Regads

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

AS I was putting everything back in the file after the above post I came onto this photo. The copyright has expired and it is now in the public domaine so it should be alright to post it here.

The photo is of Mohammad Yaqub Khan (centre) with Major Cavagnari, C.S.I. to his right and then Mr. Jenkyns. To Yaqub Khan's left is seated Daoud Shah and Habibulla Moustafi. This was taken in May 1879 by John Burke at Gandmak, Afghanistan.

Regards

Brian

[Guest Darrell]

Brian, now you're talking ... finally another coming over to the dark side

Nice Star and correct engraving for Indian Troops ....