The Tides Of War Pt. 05.5

So I'm delighted to say that I've full confidence in the ability of the 1^st Khana Rifles to carry out the task of guarding the Khana Pass."

David was surprised at Keeling's willingness to share with him such a frank assessment of the British situation.

Keeling continued, "On a personal note, there are going to be changes in the command structure here in India. General Fitzroy is to be retired along with his son."

David looked up, startled.

Keeling chuckled mirthlessly, "Command at Bombay are well aware of what transpired when you resigned your commission. It's not the first time an incident like that had happened. The fact that so many Ghurkhas had declined to reenlist and so few in Nepal were willing to enlist, had a significant bearing on his dismissal."

Stubbing out the remains of their cheroots, they turned to return to the reception.

"Thank you for being so honest with me, Major Keeling. I assure you, I'm deeply grateful," David said.

The following day, after the British officers' departure, David was once more in the company of the Prince, now dressed in shirt and trousers.

"I had a long discussion with Major Keeling last night," he told David, "He said he was confident that you could hold the Pass."

"He confided much the same to me Sir."

"This coming spring there will be a major battle at the Pass won't there, David?"

David shrugged his shoulders, "I would assume the Russians have reached their own understanding of the strained condition of the British Army, as Major Keeling described it for us. They may well realize they won't have a better opportunity of forcing their way into India than they will this spring. They know the Khyber has been the traditional route into India for centuries, and they know the British army is concentrated there. Khana Pass may look the easier target. If we manage to stop them here, they will have to concentrate on the Khyber. But I very much doubt that they would be willing to commit any significant numbers of Russian troops until a Pass has been breached."

The Prince chuckled, "Everyone knows that the Afghans raid into India. It's almost regarded as a national sport. So no one much cares or notices. But if the Russians invade, then that's a direct threat against a sovereign nation. For all intents and purposes, an attack on England itself."

David nodded his head in agreement.

"I think, when the Pass reopens, that Susan would be better positioned at the Fort, where her skills would be better appreciated and more readily available," The Prince added.

David nodded in acknowledgment, "She's returning with me to the Fort today, Sir, with supplies for the hospital."

Chapter 24

Susan rode Tana beside him, with a rifleman driving the cart behind them.

"So the Rifles passed the inspection?" she asked.

"Yes, it seems the Army does have some honourable officers who can see sense after all."

Susan laughed, "Have you decided how you are going to use the magnesium yet?"

David shook his head, "Turin and Sultar are working on it. Essentially, we need a fuse for igniting it and something to house it so it can be thrown in sufficient concentration and quantity to generate the required illumination when and where we need it."

"Well, make sure that they are careful. It's not the sort of material to take chances with. I've been giving this some though, and I think you'd be better using it in a rocket rather than throwing it," Susan replied.

David looked at her in surprise, "Darling, would that be possible?" he asked.

"I don't see why not. Rockets are propelled by gunpowder with a container at the end of the rocket for an explosive charge. Your rockets would contain Magnesium instead. The heat and flame of the gunpowder could be made to ignite it. Well, that's my theory anyway."

"Susan that's brilliant!" he said, excitedly, "If we only had a means of making them"

"Well I've seen them going up in the city, when someone gets married. Perhaps someone there makes them."

The Fort had returned to normal after the furor of preparing for the inspection. Men went about their duties supervised by their NCOs.

David wasted no time informing his officers of Keeling's decision regarding the Rifles' future, knowing they would pass on the information to the troops.

He turned to Subedar Hangar, "Can you return to the city and locate anyone who makes fireworks, rockets in particular. And bring them out to the Fort with their materials for making them."

Hangar frowned, "Of course, Colonel Sahib, I'll leave immediately".

David explained Susan's suggestion to them, seeing the light of understanding appearing in their eyes.

Turin said a patrol had been dispatched to the Pass and that they should have their report on conditions there the next day. Para said six mules and three carts had arrived from the Horse Master. Also, the building materials for improving defenses in the Pass had been arriving and were being stockpiled, but they were still waiting for sufficient rope to arrive for the blocks and tackles.

David was in his office when Susan came in. She smiled and sat down opposite his desk.

"Have you finished your restocking all ready" he asked.

She nodded, "All done. I've been checking some of the work your aid men have done. They brought their patients for me to check. They had done it right."

He smiled back, "So where did you store the Magnesium," he asked.

"I've put it in my bedroom, since I won't be using it as a bedroom anymore," she said demurely.

He looked at her, surprised by her frank admission, "Susan we should get married. The problem is there's no minister in Kanda."

She laughed, "Well, that's not the most romantic way of asking someone to marry you. But darling, I can wait until we find someone. Anyhow, in God's eyes we are already married," she said softly, coming around the desk and kissing him.

"I'll buy you a ring the next time I'm in the city, darling," he promised.

The following morning, Susan left with an escort of four riflemen. The parting had been sad, neither wanting it. But both knew they had duties to attend to that couldn't be put off.

Later that morning, three large wagons arrived with oats and fodder for the horses.

David was informed the wagons and twelve mules were to stay at the Fort after unloading.

With nearly 300 horses and mules to feed, it could have posed a problem except for the ready grazing available just outside of the Fort. The winter rains had assured an abundance of grass to feed them.

Turin suggested that some of the building materials could be transported and stored at the entrance to the Pass, to reduce the time of transportation from the Fort.

David agreed, and the wagons were reloaded ready for the following morning.

The patrol returned from the Pass, to say they had managed to get to within half a mile of the Cleft before being halted.

"The sun is melting the snow on the crests, Colonel Sahib, and causing avalanches. But in the narrowest passages it only gets sunlight for perhaps two or three hours a day," the Naik patrol leader reported.

At the Officers Call that day, David explained he wanted no hold ups, "Once we can safely get men up to the crests, I want those lookout posts expanding to take ten men. The key to holding the Pass will depend on the lookouts on either crest.

"If, as I suspect, the Russians intend to use artillery against us, then they will need a spotter to report the fall of shot. They must be prevented from this, therefore the lookouts must be our best marksmen."

"They will surely attack at night Colonel Sahib," Sultar murmured.

David nodded, "If it were me, I would," he replied.

Para coughed, "Do we have anything to illuminate the crests and cleft yet Colonel Sahib"

"I'm hoping when Subedar Hangar returns we may have a solution to the problem," David replied.

Hangar returned later that afternoon, David was in his office when he appeared at his door with a man and a boy, "This is Mr. Tamar and his son, Colonel Sahib" Hangar said.

Mr. Tamar looked to be in his late fifties, whilst the boy looked, to David, to be a teenager.

Mr. Tamar looked worriedly at David, wondering why he was here.

He tried to put him at ease and asked about his business, finding out that it was a family-run enterprise that stretched back four generations.

David explained he wanted a rocket that could explode with a dazzling white light, going on to say he had the material for the light, but could it be harnessed to Mr. Tamar's rockets?

Mr. Tamar explained he would need to see the material first.

David had Hanga bring the tin tub from Susan's bedroom. Expecting a powder, when David removed the lid he was surprised to find what looked like metallic shavings.

Tamar smelled the contents then picked up a pinch and rubbed it between his fingers. Finally, he took a small amount outside and placed it on the ground. Then, using a long taper, he placed the burning end into the small mound of shavings. Nothing happened for a second or two and then, with a whoosh, it ignited with a dazzling white light and a thick pall of white smoke.

Mr. Tamar looked satisfied, "How high does the Sahib wish the rocket to fly?" he asked.

"Only a hundred feet. We wish the bright light to show what is on the ground at night" David explained.

Tamar nodded understanding, "And how many rockets will the Sahib need?"

"At least a hundred," David replied.

Tamar looked worried, "Sahib I do not have here sufficient gunpowder or other materials to make that number."

"We can give you gunpowder and perhaps your son can return to bring the materials you need from the city."

Tamar smiled and began telling his son what was needed, while Hangar arranged for a mule cart and escort to take him to gather the necessary materials.

Mr. Tamar moved his cart outside of the Fort and set up his camp.

The next morning David rode out with the patrol to check the Pass.

At the entrance, the men put on their overcoats and gloves to combat the freezing cold wind that blew down it.

As they slowly rode down the Pass, David could see that the snow had gone from the heights. Not until they were three miles into it did they see remnants of it shaded spots along the route.

They were less then half a mile from the Cleft before the way became blocked. David could see the top of the buttress through his telescope. Icicles hung down, reflecting the sunlight, and he noticed they were dripping.

The ground underfoot was a mixture of mud and slush, with small streams of water soaking into the sand.

"It has retreated nearly fifty feet since the last patrol, Colonel Sahib," the Naik said pointing to a mark on one wall of the gorge. David watched as he marked the current position.

They returned to the entrance and made camp for the night.

As he and the patrol rode through the Fort gate, David noticed that Mr. Tamar's camp had grown. Several others were now helping and he saw Sultar amongst them.

Back in his quarters, he asked Hanga to prepare a bath and arrange a meeting with his officers in an hour's time.

Once the Officers were sat down he began, "At he rate that the snow is melting, I would expect us to be able to start work on improving the defenses in the Pass by next week. One of the things I have been thinking about is how we can register the fall of shells from the mortars. The cave lookout point is directly above our camp, as is the other one. As I remember it, the cave crest is fairly clear for about a mile along it. So in order to see the fall of the shells, we need to be looking down at the other end of the cleft."

He let his comments register with them.

Turin was the first to reply, "We would have to move the lookout post almost a thousand yards in order to do that, Colonel Sahib."

David nodded slowly.

"And how would we report the fall of the shells to the mortar crews in the valley, Colonel Sahib?" Rhana asked.

David smiled, "That is the next problem we must solve gentlemen"

He changed the subject and asked if any progress had been made with the rockets.

Sultar replied that he could see a demonstration that night. He went on to explain the problem had been igniting the Magnesium. The gunpowder propelling the rocket burned so quickly, that it would not reliably ignite the Magnesium, but Sultar had overcome this by placing three match heads inside it. The burning gunpowder had ignited the match heads and wooden shafts they were attached to. Experiments had proven the slower burning match heads were almost completely reliable igniters of the Magnesium flakes.

He then produced a bag made from cloth. It was tightly bound at the neck, from which a fuse stuck out.

David immediately grasped the idea: An illumination grenade!

"I've taken the idea of using match ends at the end of the fuse. The bag is soft enough not to burst when thrown. You can see the result tonight with Tamar's rockets."

He handed the bag to David. He hefted in his hand. It weighed about half a pound he judged.

"What about the fuse?" he asked.

"Its ordinary cotton cord soaked in tallow and gunpowder, Colonel Sahib."

He removed one from his pocket; the end of the fuse had three match heads bound to it. They went outside so Sultar could demonstrate.

"The fuses are all cut to give five seconds before exploding," he said, lighting it and tossing it on the ground in front of them.

The fuse hissed with a red glow until it reached the match heads then burst into flame.

"We could use these at the Cleft Colonel Sahib," Sultar said.

David congratulated him, saying he looked forward to the demonstration.

Only the oil lamps inside the barracks and offices cast their light across the parade ground as David, accompanied by his officers made, his way outside the Fort to Mr. Tamar's encampment.

Mr. Tamar welcomed, him introducing him to his two other sons who had come from Putan to help him.

"I think I have succeeded in what the Sahib asked for. It took a little trial and error to find the correct proportion of gunpowder to lift the rockets to the desired height. I also had a problem getting the Sahib's substance to ignite. But you may judge for yourself."

He picked up a rocket from a pile of about a dozen and showed it to David. The rocket was about 2inches in diameter and roughly two feet long. It was attached to a cane stick about 36 inches long.

"The Sahib's substance is packed in this part of the rocket," he said indicating about five inches from the tip of the rocket.

One of the sons stuck a metal rod with a vee-shaped end into the ground and Tamar placed the rocket so the cane rested in the vee, the end of which was just below the body of the rocket.

Every one moved back as Tamar lit the fuse.

For a few seconds nothing happened and then, with a whoosh, the rocket took off, climbing almost straight up and leaving a trail of red sparks behind it.

David followed the red glow until it faded and then, suddenly, the night sky was lit up with a brilliant white light that illuminated everything below.

David's eyes were for a moment dazzled by the light, which lasted for about six seconds before it went out, leaving a shower of brilliant sparks falling to the earth.

"That rocket Sahib climbs the highest, but I have made others that explode closer to the ground."

He demonstrated the second design. This one didn't illuminate as much area as the first, but the light lasted slightly longer.

David ordered 150 of this size and 100 of the longer range size, an order that delighted Mr. Tamar. He told David it would take four days to complete the order.

Sultar then demonstrated his 'grenade.' After lighting the fuse, he threw it overarm out into the darkened waste ground. David heard the plop as it landed, and then a second later it exploded in a shower of white sparks and a brilliant white light that lasted for eight or nine seconds before fading.

"If the Magnesium is not so tightly packed it burns longer, Colonel Sahib," a smiling Sultar explained.

David laughed, congratulating him, "It seems, gentlemen, that our illumination problem has been solved"

Turin solved the problem of signaling the fall of shells two days later.

"I got the idea from the rifle range, Colonel Sahib. We use flags to warn the butts when we are about to fire and to help indicate where on the target the bullet has hit. So why not use flags during the day to direct the fire?

If we had two flags - say a red one and a green one - the red would mean to increase the range and the green one to reduce it. There are only four marks on a mortar, so one wave of a flag would mean either reduce it by one mark, or increase it by one mark depending on the colour of the flag, Two waves would mean reduce or increase by two marks and so on.

"Waving both flags together could be used to adjust the fall of the shells to the left or right: Wave both flags in the direction - left or right - the fall of the shell needs to move and the mortar crews would move their alignment in that direction.

Someone on the forward lookout could signal someone overlooking the camp, and they could signal the ones firing the mortars. We could use a similar method at night using a white lantern and lanterns with coloured glass. The white lantern would let our people know where to look for directions. Moving a red lantern up and down over the white lantern would mean to increase the range, a green lantern moved up and down over it would mean a decrease. Moving the red and green lanterns sideways to the left of the white lantern would mean move the shot left, waving them sideways to the right of it would mean right. We would shield the lanterns so they couldn't be seen from the enemy side."

David was amazed at the simplicity of it, giving it his immediate approval.

Turin had teams practicing the new signaling system, with one man outside the Forts wall signaling a man on the Fort's wall, relaying it down to the mortar crews inside the Fort. This reproduced, in miniature, the situation they would face in the Pass: Sending signals from one high point to another and then down into the mortars in the Pass.

They practiced both day and night signaling, using specially adapted oil lamps Hangar had altered for night firing. While David did not expect much mortar firing at night, having the ability to do it might prove critical and he suspected the Russians were unlikely themselves to have solved that problem for the type of situation they would find in the Pass.

Meanwhile, the clothing, blankets and other equipment necessary for doing battle in the Pass was checked and rechecked. Men were clipping cartridges into clips and placing them in ammunition boxes. Weapons were cleaned, tested, and cleaned again. Saddles, bridles, and horseshoes were subjected to similar scrutiny. The sense of urgency affected the entire Fort.

They all knew that spring would soon open the Pass and the Afghans would be close behind. Battle was a certainty.

An argument broke out at an Officers Call when Turin, Sultar and Rhana all claimed the honor of being the first company to guard it, each insisting it should be them. David solved the problem with straws and Turin won. Half of Tiger Company - 50 men - would be the first at the buttress. It would fall to them to carry out all the new construction and other defensive preparations.

Turin had the blacksmith forge additional picks and crowbars, along with heavy hammers and chisels, to help force the granite rock of the Pass to help them defend it.

Chapter 25

A week later, the patrol reported that, although the cleft was still blocked, the buttress camp was now accessible.