The Tides Of War Pt. 06

Chapter 26

David was arranging his bedroll on a bunk. He'd placed his saddle pistol inside a saddlebag along with the ammunition for the pistols and his telescope.

A cloth bag containing forty clips of rifle ammunition hung by it's strap next to his rifle.

All the men had similar bags within arm's reach.

He had almost finished the cup of tea the mortar team had made for the men, when the Havildar report movement along the crest.

David rushed back to his position by the rim. Looking through the telescope he saw about twenty men emerging from broken ground some 800 yards away.

Sighting his rifle on the leader, David said, "Wait for my signal."

He waited until they were only 300 yards away before squeezing the trigger.

It was over in less than thirty seconds - at that range, the well-trained marksmen his men had become didn't miss. Not one of the bodies stirred.

David looked down into the gorge where hundreds of faces were looking up at the sound of gunfire.

The Ghurkhas efficiently stripped the bodies of their fur coats and weapons, bringing them back to the step.

One handed David a coat, "It will be more comfortable to lay on, Colonel Sahib."

David thanked the man noticing there was no blood on it.

Through his telescope, David could see a heated discussion going on between the tall Russian and the obvious leader of the Afghans. A discussion they were taking care to have well beyond effective rifle range of the 1^st Kana Rifles' position.

The Havildar came over to him, "The men only used two or three rounds of ammunition, Colonel Sahib, and they all aimed for the head."

David nodded, "They'll be back tonight, but there will be a lot more of them. They know we are here now."

"I will rig trip wires out by outcrop. It will give us some warning of their approach, Colonel Sahib"

David watched as the riflemen put pebbles into tin cans then attached them to a series of long cords placed across the most likely routes of approach for the Afghans.

He told the men to eat early and put out any fires before the sun went down. After they had eaten, leaving only a couple of men on the line for security, he gathered them around him, "When the rockets go up, don't look at them, the light will blind you. Instead, look to your front and fire fast and accurately. There will be many more tonight than today, but they must not get past us."

The men looked grimly at him. He continued, "The Afghans are tough fighters, but they have never fought a real battle against Ghurkhas before. We will make sure that, after this battle, they will never want to meet them again." The smiles on their faces looked more like snarls of pleasure.

He moved his position to the centre of the line and placed a rocket rest firmly into the ground at a slight angle. The Havildar and six men along the line did the same. They had divided the rockets and grenades between them. Each had a length of greased rope that, when lit, would smoulder for many minutes and thus act as a match for lighting the fuses of the new weapons.

Just before full dark David went along the lines checking each man. Their weapons bags were open revealing the clips of rifle ammunition ready for use. Some had clips resting on top of the firing step for more rapid access, others had their unsheathed kukri's there.

The night was moonless, its light hidden by dark clouds. Only the sound of the wind disturbed the darkness. David sat with his back against the step, his rifle in his gloved hands, the sights set for 500 yards. His pistols rested on top of the step. Strangely, he was thinking of Susan. He'd done everything he could think of, now it was a matter of waiting.

An hour passed, and then another, and then out of the blackness the wind brought the sound of pebbles rattling in a tin can.

David blew on the smouldering rope's end and touched the rocket fuse. The night sky was suddenly torn apart by a brilliant light as the rocket exploded.

A mass of men stood frozen their hands gripping rifles as they looked up at the light.

Twenty rifles fired as one, cutting them down as the night erupted into screams. David was working the rifle bolt as fast as he could, not bothering to aim, just firing into the sold mass of men. As the Havildar's rocket went up, David's rifle fell empty and he placed another rocket in the rest before reloading.

With suicidal courage, some of the Afghans charged forward, only to be met by death from the sustained fire of the .303's.

David was working like an automaton; firing, reloading and releasing rockets. Many of the Afghans had gone to ground to return fire from behind the dead bodies of their comrades, some less than a hundred yards away.

He lit the fuse of a grenade and threw it with all his strength at one group of Afghans bunched up behind a pile of bodies. The grenade ignited in a shower of burning magnesium, adding a new horror to the battlefield, igniting clothes and burning flesh.

Men leapt up, their rifles forgotten while trying to beat out the flames, only to be shot down by the Ghurkhas.

The Havildar must have thrown one as well, David reasoned, as more burning clothes lit the battle area as the Afghans withdrew.

For the rest of that night they waited in the dark, listening to the screams and groans of the wounded and the smell of burning flesh carried to them by the wind.

Two of the Riflemen had been wounded: one in the arm and the other had an ear torn off by a bullet.

They were lowered down on a pallet to the gorge below.

The true horror of the battle was revealed the next morning.

Piles of bodies littered the area, some stacked three deep on top of each other.

David sent two riflemen forward to the outcrop 800 yards away to check if any Afghans remained. When they signaled all clear, the rest went out to clear the bodies.

David was sitting with his back against the blockhouse wall taking a drink from a flask when the Havildar reported.

"143 dead, Colonel Sahib. Some of their rifles were hit by our bullets and destroyed. We will lower their weapons down to the gorge. We have thrown the bodies down a fissure, and reset the alarm tripwires."

"Thank you Havildar. Return the rockets and grenades to their bins and have two more men sent up from the gorge to replace the wounded. Tell the men they fought well, like true Ghurkhas."

David took his telescope to the rim to look down at the enemy.

Twenty or thirty Afghans were surrounding the Russians, obviously angry as they pointed up at the crest.

David smiled grimly, 'So what's your next move,' he thought.

He returned to the valley floor to arrange for rockets to be sent up to replace the ones used. While there, he told Turin about the battle and the deadly effect of the grenades.

"Have the wounded been sent to the Fort," he asked.

"No, Colonel Sahib. Memsahib Doctor is at the entrance of the Pass. She has erected tents for the wounded and has two assistants with her as well as ten riflemen to help."

David was horrified at the news of Susan's close proximity to the battle. He gave the order to saddle his horse, but before it was acted upon frantic signals were seen at the crest.

David was torn between seeing Susan and knowing what was happening at the crest. He rescinded his order about the horse and hurried back up the path to the crest.

At the top, the Havildar met him, "They are repositioning the mortar, Colonel Sahib, to fire up here".

David rushed to the rim to look down. The mortar had been moved much closer to the buttress and now faced the lookout position. Wedges had been placed under the front of it giving the mortar a steeper angle so that,through his telescope, he could almost see down the barrel.

A cask of gunpowder stood alongside the mortar, as the Russians charged it from another cask.

David had to think fast. There was no cover for the riflemen to hide from the blast Russian mortar bombs.

"Tell the men to lay flat against the step and cover their ears," he yelled at the Havildar, before rushing to their mortar. He didn't wait to see if he was obeyed, as he began adjusting it to a 60-degree firing angle.

He heard the crashing boom as the Russian mortar fired and then the thud as the bomb landed just behind him. He spun round, expecting to be torn to shreds with the blast, but the ball lay there with the fuse hissing. Without really thinking, he rushed forward and nipped out the fuse, burning his fingers in the process.

With his heart pounding, he realised the Russians had not allowed for the shorter distance the round had travelled and had cut the detonating fuse too long.

The men climbed to their feet, amazed at what he had done. But he gave them no time to comment, ordering the mortar team to adjust it to his directions as he stood on the rim in line with the mortar below.

Bullets were whizzing past him, some plucking at his clothes, as the Afghans below opened fire on him. He dropped back down, satisfied with the alignment. As his crew fired, he raised his head between two rocks in order to observe the shell's impact.

The Russians were frantically trying to reload when the first mortar shell landed a hundred feet beyond them. With a savage crack, it exploded, scything down 20 or so Afghans among the hundreds crowding around the Russian mortar.

Once again moving up on the rim, David gave the hand signal indicating that the mortar team should to increase the firing angle to 70 degrees. The next shell fell at the correct range, but to the right of the enemy's mortar, killing more of the Afghans as they rushed to get away but leaving the mortar intact. The Russian carrying the ball for their next firing, dropped it as he dived for cover.

David rushed to his mortar team and twisted the base of the weapon a little to the left before nodding for them to fire.

The shell landed almost on top of the gunpowder cask by the Russian mortar, exploding it and, in turn, setting off the other casks of gunpowder stacked in a nearby tent. The resulting blast shook even the crest.

The Russian mortar position was obscured by thick smoke and dust. As it cleared, bodies were strewn all over the place, some still displaying life as they tried to drag themselves away from the blast area.

The mortar had been blown over onto its side, with some of the thick timbers that supported it either blown off or smashed.

David sat down as the Ghurkhas cheered. He reached into his saddlebag, removing his flask, and took a long drink, noticing his hand was shaking violently as his adrenaline began to dissipate.

It had been close, he knew. Too close. If the ball had exploded he, along with half the men, would have been killed or wounded.

The Havildar stood in front of him and saluted, "Colonel Sahib, are you sure you were not born a Ghurkha?" he said with a grin. Then his face grew serious, "Sahib, you are wounded," grabbing David as he fell over.

Only then did David feel the pain lancing through him. A bullet had struck him and blood was running down his legs.

He'd never felt it, but now he was suddenly so tired that he struggled to keep his eyes opened as his strength deserted him.

He dimly remembered being lowered into the gorge on a pallet before everything went black.

For four days David's life hung in the balance. On the fifth day, he opened his eyes,

It took a while for his eyes to focus. As they did, he saw a pretty olive-skinned face peering down at him. He tried to open his mouth to talk but his lips seemed fused together.

The girl shook her head at him and placed a damp flannel against his mouth, at the same time twisting around to shout something to someone behind her.

David looked in that direction seeing a figure bent over a table with the head supported by folded arms. The head lifted and he realised it was Susan.

The next moment she was bending over him, her face glowing with relief.

She tenderly raised his head to allow him to drink.

"Where am I?" he mumbled.

"You are at the Pass entrance, in hospital, darling, now rest please."

He shook his head, "No I must get back," he said trying to raise up.

Susan firmly pushed him back, "David there's nothing to get back for. The Afghans have all gone."

He looked confused, "Where? How?"

"David, don't excite yourself. You have been very seriously wounded,and you almost bled to death. Now you have to regain your strength."

David noticed the blood stains on her white smock, "How long have I been here?"

Susan realised he would not rest until he knew some answers, "Four days. The day after you were brought in, there was a big battle at the Cleft. I'm afraid seven of your men were killed and 14 wounded, but after it, the Afghans left."

David's face registered shock at the loss of his men.

"Now if you will eat a little chicken soup, I'll send for Turin or Sultar and they can explain in detail."

David frowned at Sultar's name what was he doing here he thought.

Two hours later he saw Susan talking to both Turin and Sultar at the tent's entrance.

When they walked to his bed he noticed Turin had his left arm in a sling.

Both Officers gave him a salute, with broad grins on their faces.

"It is good to see the Colonel Sahib back amongst us again," Turin said.

David thanked him then asked for a report on what had occured.

Turin explained that, when David had been taken to the hospital, he had sent a pigeon requesting Sultar's presence at the Cleft. He had intended replacing David at the lookout post and wanted Sultar to take over the Cleft guard.

Sultar arrived three hours later, riding the spare horse he had taken with him in anticipation that his first mount would not be able to maintain the pace for the entire trip to the Pass.

Turin continued his report, "Down below, I saw the Afghans were in an angry mood as their chiefs argued with each other. I thought they would leave, but I forgot what a proud people they were, and you had hurt their pride.

"Just before darkness filled the gorge, I saw large bands of them moving up towards the buttress. I fired a rocket over them and saw many hundreds of them filling the area near the Cleft. I order the mortar at the crest position to open fire and signalled the ones in the gorge to fire as well. I gave the Havildar the order to have the men fire down into the gorge and keep the rockets going.

"Before leaving I lit the fuse of the ball you had extinguished and rolled it over the edge. It exploded in the air in the cleft and you could hear the screams of the wounded and roars of rage.

"I started down the path knowing the attack would come from the Cleft, but before I reached the bottom there was an explosion. That's when I got this little scratch."

"A scratch that needed ten stitches to close it," Sultar added.

Turin glared at Sultar before going on with his report, "The explosion had taken us by surprise, killing three of the mortar teams and wrecking two of the mortars. Then a few seconds later there was another explosion, but muffled this time.

"The Afghans were rolling the mortar balls down the cleft after lighting the fuses. The second ball had rolled into a rifle pit where two riflemen were. The sides of the pit took most of the force of the explosion and nothing was found of the riflemen in it.

We were still stunned when the Afghans came charging out of the cleft. It was hard to see in the darkness until Sultar started throwing his grenades. They landed near the entrance slowing down the Afghans. My arm was useless for firing a rifle, so I joined Sultar in throwing them and firing my pistol.

"In places, the men were fighting hand to hand. The men on the other lookout post started dropping grenades down into the Cleft, effectively stopping any more from coming through. It was a scene from hell. The Afghans could not retreat on our side of it, so it was either be shot down or burnt alive.

The battle essentially ended at that point and we gathered up our wounded and dead. Most were caused by the first explosion. The Memsahib would not rest as she treated the wounded, but two died later. Their wounds were too severe for her to save them.

We gathered 289 Afghan bodies up from the camp area and the Cleft the next day. By then the Afghans had left, taking with them the bodies of those who died on their side of the buttress. I examined the Russian mortar. The casting was split. It will never fire again. We also found 36 Russian mortar bomb balls by the buttress. I had them divided between the two lookout posts. They can be lit and rolled over the edge should the Afghans attack again.

"The wounded," David asked, "How bad is it?"

"One has lost an arm, but Memsahib Doctor says he will live. The others are not so bad and all will recover in time."

David looked at the two Officers, "Gentlemen Kana owes you a debt of gratitude for what you achieved."

Turin shook his head, "Colonel Sahib, it is you who is owed the gratitude. When you were brought down on the pallet, the men had to be stopped from rushing through the Cleft to seek revenge on the Afghans. They fought for you that night. Not for Kana, but for you."

Susan came to his bed, "The Colonel Sahib must rest now gentlemen."

"And you must rest too, Memsahib Doctor. You have had none for over three days now,"

Sultar murmured.

Susan pushed a stray strand of hair from her face and nodded tiredly.

Chapter 27

It was another three days before Susan would let him get out of bed for an hour.

As he recuperated, he expressed his alarm about her putting herself so close to the battle by placing the aid station at the entrance to the Pass instead of at the Fort.

"If I had," she replied, sweetly, "you, along with half the wounded would be dead by now."

On the fifth day, against her protests, he said he was fit enough to return to the Fort and gave the order to prepare to move. The tents were broken down and the equipment packed, then loaded into carts.

When he emerged from his tent, David found Kahn tied to one of the carts. He whinnied when he saw him and tried to lick his face, as David fondled him. He mounted awkwardly, his chest still bound where the bullet had broken two ribs. Then, with Susan mounted on Tana beside him, they started back slowly, following the carts.

It was late afternoon when the Fort came into sight. The escort had trotted on ahead, but David had been more than content just to let Kahn walk slowly, his chest feeling each step Kahn took.

At the gate, the cart stopped and Susan dismounted, "Go on ahead darling I need to check something," she said.

He passed through the gate and then stopped. His entire command was lined up on parade.

Subedar Major Para roared out the order and, as the entire command came to 'present arms,' he wheeled about and saluted David.

David's throat constricted with emotion as he returned the salute. Then the entire command started cheering throwing their hats into the air.

He managed to dismount by his quarters where Hanga, a huge smile on his face, took charge of Kahn. It was only then that he noticed the Prince and Ashar Kahn standing on his porch watching him.

David stopped and started to bow his head but the Prince took hold of his shoulders,

"You will never bow to me again David," his voice filled with emotion, "it is I who should bow to you."

David tried to protest as the Prince led him inside, placing him in an armchair.

Ashar Kahn handed him a whisky, "My Son, I think you have a need of this," he said, smiling.

David took a sip as the Prince and Ashar sat down with their drinks.

"Your Officers have given me a full report of what happened in the Pass."