ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
109 
made its appearance. Villages were left deserted, ttie inhabitants 
either carried off, destroyed, or concealed the stores of grain they might 
have sold with advantage, and soon like a dark shadow another column, 
gathering in size as it proceeded, dogged the footsteps of our men, 
ever kept pace with them as they moved, and hung, a continual menace, 
on the flank. 
Under such circumstances it will readily be understood how difficult 
and harassing a duty was that of obtaining supplies. At the end of a 
tiring march, on indifferent roads, with the enemy hovering within 
sight, weary men and jaded horses had again to turn out to hunt out 
and bring in forage and rations. The hiding places were by no means 
easy to discover, and the grain had frequently to be dug from beneath 
the floors of the houses where it had been buried. Where there were 
so many mouths, too, a wide area had to be covered to find enough for 
all. To obtain provender sufficient to supply the wants of a heavy bat¬ 
tery at war strength under such conditions would aloue have formed no 
easy task, 1 2 and in this instance the labours were added to by the presence 
round us of a horde of Hazaras, who crowded in upon the flanks, burn¬ 
ing, destroying, and plundering the houses and property of the hated 
Afghans, and many a village was cleared of grain that would have been 
welcome to ns by these unsatisfactory allies. 
On the 18th of April, General Stewart encamped at Mushaki, two 
long marches south of Ghazni, and the enemy also pitched his camp a 
few miles away from ours. Information reached him that evening that 
the tribesmen would on the morrow make their stroke, and would most 
probably be found drawn up to bar our progress on some hills dominating 
the line of our advance six miles ahead. The chance we had been wait¬ 
ing for had come, and, warned in time, the force moved out cautiously at 
dawn the next day in the following order :— 
General C. H. Palliser led the advanced guard, which was composed 
and moved as follows :—the 19th Bengal Lancers, “ A ” Battery, “ B” 
Brigade, R.H.A., 3 19th Punjaub Infantry, the Head-quarter Staff 
accompanied by two escort companies, one of the 2nd 60th Rifles, and 
the other of the 25th Punjaub Infantry, while one troop of the 19th 
Bengal Lancers, two companies of Bengal Sappers and Miners brought 
up the rear. 
Then followed the brigade commanded by Brigadier* General R. J. 
Hughes, which was formed of the 57th Foot, 2nd Ghoorkas, “ G ” 
Battery 4th Brigade, R.A. 3 with six 9-prs., 6th Battery 11th Brigade, 
R. A. armed with two 40-prs. and two G’B-inch howitzers, and the 2nd 
Punjaub Cavalry. 
In rear of these again moved the Field hospitals, baggage and 
other impedimenta, and, finally, Brigadier-General Barter's brigade, 
with which marched the Mountain Battery, 4 formed the tail of a column 
that extended for six long miles to the rear. 
1 An Indian heavy Field Battery’s war establishment comprises 13 horses, 18 elephants, and 300 
bullocks. 
2 Now “ F ” Battery, K.H.A. 
3 Now the 69th Field Battery. 
4 Commanded by Major Noel Harris, E.A. 
15 
