176 
THE ARTILLERY AT DARGAI. 
advance began, the pipes striking up the “Cock o’ the North.” Those 
who were present say it was worth living for, to see the air with which 
the pipe major swung his plaid and drones back over his shoulder as 
he stepped to the front. 
Thus led, the Gordons almost simultaneously with the head of the 
3rd Sikhs rushed across the neck, both corps losing heavily. Having 
reached shelter at A, they pushed on to B, by which time the enemy's 
fire slackened very considerably, and a confused mass of Highlanders, 
Sikhs, Goorkhas, Dorsets and Derbys surged up to the ridge, cheering 
wildly with all the excitement of dearly bought victory. For the last 
200 yards or so of the advance, not a shot was fired, the enemy had 
fled, and the ridge of Dargai was curs with the loss of 205 men, 
not a large percentage of the force, engaged, if it had taken place 
along a considerable front, but happening all on one fatal narrow 
tongue of land, other than which there was no road, it was a severe 
trial to men's nerves, and the discipline and elan which took the 
Highlanders and Sikhs across that patch already covered with corpses, 
was beyond all praise. The foregoing account, however is but a feeble 
one. The exact details are hard to come by, and small as the area was 
almost every one there has a ditfierent conception of what took place. 
It is only meant to give sufficient idea of events, to allow the part 
played by the artillery to be understood. 
That part was as follows :—- 
About 8 or 9 a.m., as has been said, Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Mountain 
Batteries opened fire from the Chagru Kotal, at ranges varying from 
1,700 to 2,000 yards, while No. 9 Mountain Batteiy opened from the 
Samana Sukli, at something over 3,000 yards. 
The position on the Chagru Kotal was perhaps 700 feet below the 
Dargai ridge. Thus the bullets from the shrapnel of the batteries 
there, would be flying upwards after burst or at least horizontally. 
The battery on the Samana Sukh was on about the same level as 
Dargai, and its shell would have a considerable angle of descent. 
Now the enemy's sangars were made of large loose stones, but there 
were any number of natural crevices on the top of the cliffs in which their 
marksman lay absolutely safe, save from a very plunging fire, while 
numerous other ledges and crevices only needed the addition of a large 
stone to make them equally secure rifle pits. 
It is very evident that no metal that can be taken into the field could 
touch these, and as the sangars were on the absolute edge of a 
precipice, direct hits only by ring or common shell on the sangars 
could have done any harm. 
The sangars too, were not more than a couple of feet high and pre¬ 
sented no target for direct battering, even if such Lad been worth 
trying with a 7-pound shell of 2'5 // diameter. The only possible 
course was sustained, time shrapnel and ring shell fire, by which any 
men showing from behind cover or leaning over to shoot down at our 
men getting close under them, w r ould bo hit. The batteries w r ere 
unmolested by the enemy, and as might be expected under such cir- 
