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42-620: The Battle of Maiwand was fought at the village of Maiwand on 27 July 1880, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War . To this day a small fort remains from the British presence. One casualty was Paula Loyd, a member of a Human Terrain System team, who was doused with a flammable liquid and set afire on November 4, 2008, and later died at Brooke Army Medical Center on January 7, 2009. This Kandahar Province , Afghanistan location article

84-518: A Pontoon Train. The list of battle and theatre honours of the Bombay Sappers are as follows: European theatre Palestine Persia, Aden, East Africa Mesopotamia India North Africa & Europe South-East Asia Indo-Pak War (1947 – 48) Indo-Pak War (1965) Indo-Pak War (1971) Kargil incursion The Group presently has the following class composition: The training centre, titled Bombay Engineer Group and Centre,

126-400: A beggar squealin' out for quarter as 'e ran, An' I thought I knew the voice an' - it was me! We was 'idin' under bedsteads more than 'arf a march away; We was lyin' up like rabbits all about the countryside; An' the major cursed 'is Maker 'cause 'e lived to see that day' An' the colonel broke 'is sword acrost, an' cried." The events of the battle were also commemorated in a poem by

168-549: A high price: between 2,050 and 2,750 Afghan warriors were killed, and probably about 1,500 wounded. British and Indian forces suffered 1,200 dead. Before the battle, the campaign had gone well for the British. They had defeated Afghan tribesmen at Ali Masjid , Peiwar Kotal, Kabul , and the Battle of Ahmed Khel , and they had occupied numerous cities and towns, including Kandahar , Dakka, and Jalalabad . Ayub Khan , Sher Ali Khan 's younger son, who had been holding Herat during

210-816: A large number of Indian engineer troops required by the Empire. The Bombay Sappers fought against the Germans and the Turks in Europe, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Aden, Persia, East Africa and also in Afghanistan, Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province, winning as many as 29 battle and theatre honours. The very large losses of 20 and 21 Field Companies in Europe in 1914–15 led to the Malerkotla Sappers & Miners joining

252-686: A lion (the Maiwand Lion ) was built by George Blackall Simonds in Reading and unveiled in 1886 to commemorate those who died in battle. A monument was built in the 1950s on the Maiwand Square in Kabul in commemoration of the battle by an Afghan architect Is-matulla Saraj. A memorial was erected in central London to a remarkable canine survivor of the engagement: Bobbie , the Berkshires' regimental mascot. Bobbie

294-536: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Battle of Maiwand [REDACTED] British Empire The Battle of Maiwand ( Dari : نبرد میوند, Pashto : د ميوند جگړه), fought on 27 July 1880, was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War . Under the leadership of Ayub Khan , the Afghan forces defeated a much smaller British force consisting of two brigades of British and Indian troops under Brigadier-General George Burrows , albeit at

336-519: Is also mentioned in Jeffery Deaver 's short story The Westphalian Ring . The main character, Peter Goodcastle, had served in the Royal Horse Artillery there and had turned to burglary to avenge the shoddy treatment he had suffered on his return to Britain. In the short story, he was arrested by none other than Dr. Watson, but later managed to escape suspicion by outsmarting Sherlock Holmes, so

378-803: The Arabian coast and earned for itself the first battle honour of the Corps, Beni Boo Alli . In 1826, a second company was raised and the 'Sappers & Miners' made into the Engineer Corps in 1829. Earlier, in 1803, a pontoon train had been raised by the British at Bombay to help with the crossing of the rivers of the Deccan in monsoon. This proved unable to keep up with the swift movement of infantry and cavalry characteristic of Sir Arthur Wellesley's manoeuvres, but later proved to be useful for operations in Gujarat . This too

420-681: The Army of independent India . The Bombay Engineers is the only engineers who have the Parachute Field Company that is 411 (Independent) Parachute Field Company of 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade situated in Agra . The Bombay Sappers & Miners emerged from the amalgamation of two lineages, firstly, that of the Pioneer Lascars, raised in 1777, and secondly, the Sappers & Miners, raised in 1803 as

462-1012: The British Raj . The group has its centre in Khadki , Pune in Maharashtra state . The Bombay Sappers have gone on to win many honours and awards, both in battle and in peacetime, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, both before and after Independence . The gallantry awards won include the British Victoria Cross and the French Legion of Honour before independence, as well as the Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra as part of Independent India . The Group has also made its mark in peacetime activities such as sport, adventure, disaster relief, aid to civil authority and prestigious construction projects. The Bombay Sappers draw their origins back to

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504-662: The Mysore , Maratha and Anglo-Sikh Wars ; fought in the aftermath of the Mutiny in Mhow , Jhansi , Saugor and Kathiawar and many times over in the Punjab , North West Frontier Province and Afghanistan . In the 1903 reorganisation of the Indian Army , the Corps was renamed in the newly unified Indian Army as the 3rd Sappers & Miners . A mistaken interpretation of the historic records led to

546-663: The Second Maratha War under Sir Arthur Wellesley , later the Duke of Wellington , excelling at Gawilgarh and rendering sterling service in the many campaigns by maintaining lines of communication and helping the heavy cannons reach the battlefield. The successful defeat of Maratha ambitions South of the Vindhyas was followed by stringent economisation in 1807 which found the Bombay Pioneers reduced to only one company, till, in 1812,

588-574: The 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot at the Battle of Maiwand, following so soon upon the loss of the Colours of the 2nd/24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment at the Battle of Isandlwana (22 January 1879) during the Anglo-Zulu War , resulted in colours no longer being taken on active service . Rudyard Kipling , who had researched this battle in 1892, included the small yet dramatic poem entitled "That Day" about

630-683: The Afghans in this battle, because he had lost so many men to gain a small advantage. Ayub Khan did manage to shut the British up in Kandahar, resulting in General Frederick Roberts 's famous 314-mile (505 km) relief march from Kabul to Kandahar in August . The resulting Battle of Kandahar on 1 September was a decisive victory for the British. The loss of the Queen's Colour and regimental colour of

672-544: The Afghans to force the left battalion back. The left flank comprising Indian infantry regiments gave way and rolled in a great wave to the right; the 66th Regiment of Foot , as a result of this pressure was swept away by the pressure of the Ghazi attack. E Battery of B Brigade Royal Horse Artillery (Captain Slade commanding) and a half-company of Bombay Sappers and Miners under Lieutenant Henn (Royal Engineers) stood fast, covering

714-459: The Bombay Sappers being considered as junior to the Madras and Bengal Sappers whereas they could trace an unbroken descent from before the Madras or Bengal Sappers were formed; the case for reversion being taken up a number of times unsuccessfully, presumably due to inadequate records of the services of the Corps in the late 18th century. The Bombay Sappers expanded greatly during the 'Great War' to meet

756-469: The British operations at Kabul and Kandahar, set out towards Kandahar with a small army in June, and a brigade under Brigadier-General Burrows was detached from Kandahar to oppose him. Burrows' brigade, some 2,500 strong with about 500 British troops including a battery of 9-pounder guns (4.1 kg), advanced to Helmand , opposite Gereshk , to oppose Ayub Khan, but was there deserted by the levies of Shere Ali,

798-466: The British-appointed wali of Kandahar. Burrows's troops engaged and defeated the rebellious levies and captured four smoothbore 6-pounder guns and two smoothbore 12-pounder howitzers (5.4 kg). Burrows then fell back to a position at Kushk-i-Nakhud, halfway to Kandahar where he could intercept Ayub Khan if he headed for either Ghazni or Kandahar. He remained there a week, during which time

840-672: The Corps became the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners and were so-called right until the end of World War II. The Second World War once again saw a great wartime expansion and the Bombay Sappers fought the Germans, Italians and the Japanese in Malaya , Singapore, Burma , Abyssinia, Eritrea , North Africa, Syria, Italy and Greece . After independence, the Group became part of the Corps of Engineers of

882-404: The Corps being expanded to six companies in 1819 and to eight companies in 1822 when they were officially recognised as a battalion. Besides the Bombay Pioneers, a separate company of Engineer Lascars had been raised in 1820 and designated as 'Sappers and Miners Company'. This field company was the first Bombay Sapper unit to proceed abroad when in 1821 it sailed for operations against pirates on

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924-529: The Corps where they remained affiliated till 1945 when all state forces sapper companies were transferred to the Bengal Sappers ostensibly on grounds of administrative convenience. In recognition of the prodigious contribution of the Bombay Sappers in World War I, the title 'Royal' was bestowed on the Corps in 1921 and they became the 3rd Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners . The numeral 3rd was removed in 1923 and

966-527: The Marathas, which along with diplomatic measures resulted in British overlordship over large parts of India. The earliest instance of recruitment of native sappers was the formation of a company of Pioneer Lascars , comprising 100 men, in 1777 by Major Lawrence Nilson , the first Chief Engineer of the Bombay Presidency . Over the next few years, these newly born Lascars saw action mostly in skirmishes with

1008-693: The Marathas. Soon after being recognised as a Pioneer Corps in 1781, they participated in 1782–84 expedition to the Malabar coast against Tipu Sultan 's forces in the Second Mysore War and also saw action in the Third Mysore War , when they served at Calicut and at the first siege of Seringapatam . In 1797, the Bombay Pioneer Corps was organised afresh with four companies of 100 men each, under Captain-Lieutenant Bryce Moncrieff (Bo.E.) into which

1050-519: The Pioneer Lascars were wholly absorbed. The Bombay Pioneers rendered sterling service in road construction and survey of the Malabar and Kanara for some years, in the midst of which they participated with merit in the Fourth Mysore War (1799), participating in the defense of Manatana, Battle of Seedaseer and the siege and capture of Seringapatam. The Bombay Pioneers next saw service in 1803 during

1092-451: The action at Maiwand in his Barrack-Room Ballads collection: "There was thirty dead an' wounded on the ground we wouldn't keep - No, there wasn't more than twenty when the front began to go; But, Christ! along the line o' flight they cut us up like sheep, An' that was all we gained by doing so. I 'eard the knives be'ind me, but I dursn't face my man, Nor I don't know where I went to, 'cause I didn't 'alt to see, Till I 'eard

1134-514: The action were also recovered at Kandahar. E Battery came into action again some 400 yd (370 m) back. The Sappers and Miners retreated as the guns withdrew. Henn and 14 of his men afterwards joined some remnants of the 66th Foot and Bombay Grenadiers in a small enclosure at a garden in a place called Khig where a determined last stand was made. Though the Afghans shot them down one by one, they fired steadily until only eleven of their number (two officers and nine other ranks) were left, and

1176-488: The captured guns were added to his force with additional gunners drawn from the British infantry. On the afternoon of 26 July information was received that the Afghan force was making for the Maiwand Pass a few miles away (half-dozen km). Burrows decided to move early the following day to break-up the Afghan advance guard. At about 10 am horsemen were seen and engaged, and the brigade started to deploy for battle. Burrows

1218-475: The cavalry losses were much smaller. British and Indian regimental casualties were: One estimate of Afghan casualties is 3,000, reflecting the desperate nature of much of the fighting, although other sources give 1,500 Afghan "regulars" and up to 4,000 Ghazis killed, and 1500 seriously wounded. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded for acts of valour performed during the battle and during the retreat to Kandahar. Both medals went to members of E/B Battery, RHA. One

1260-454: The disaster reached Kandahar the following day and a relief force was dispatched. This met the retreating force at Kokeran. The British were routed but managed a withdrawal due to their own efforts and the apathy of the Afghans. Of the 2,476 British troops engaged, the British and Indian force lost 1,200 men. The Grenadiers lost 64% of their strength and the 66th lost 62%, including twelve officers. Of those present (two companies being detached)

1302-538: The following landay (Pashto Poetry): The battle was the subject of several paintings and was covered extensively in the illustrated press. Frank Feller , a Swiss artist domiciled in England painted The Last Eleven at Maiwand in 1882 depicting a small group of men from the 66th Regiment making a last stand. The events surrounding E/B Battery Royal Horse Artillery were portrayed by Godfrey Douglas Giles , Richard Caton Woodville and Stanley Wood . A cast iron statue of

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1344-572: The inescapable demands of a vibrant and growing Presidency led to the Corps being increased to a strength of four companies, Numbers 1 to 4. Soon after during the Third Maratha War (1818–1820), the four companies paid a vital role in the capture of the erstwhile Peshwa's territories by the reduction of as many as 33 forts in the Konkan, Khandesh and Deccan. Impending operations in Central India led to

1386-454: The late 18th century when the British had become a new force in the politics of India which then consisted of a large number of kingdoms and fiefdoms; the principal ones being the Maratha confederacy , Mysore , Hyderabad and Berar , with British presidencies at Bombay , Madras and Bengal in addition to their factories at Surat . The British engaged in conflict with Tipu Sultan and later

1428-420: The notoriously bad Scottish poet William McGonagall entitled "The Last Berkshire Eleven". Poems of the victory at Maiwand have passed into Pashtun and Afghan folklore. As Afghan legend would have it, the battle created an unlikely hero in the shape of an Afghan woman called Malalai , who on seeing the Afghan forces falter, used her veil as a standard and encouraged the men by shouting out: She also spoke

1470-636: The pioneer companies were converted into Sappers & Miners and the 'Engineer Corps' renamed as the Bombay Sappers & Miners . The Corps took part in many operations both in India and abroad, the long list of battle and theatre honours earned giving an idea of the sterling service rendered by the Corps both in peace and war. In the 19th century and prior to World War I, the Bombay Sappers served in Arabia , Persia , Abyssinia , China, Somaliland ; in India fought in

1512-458: The retreat of the entire British brigade. E Battery kept firing until the last moment, two sections (four guns) limbering up when the Afghans were 15 yards (14 m) away, but the third section (Lieutenant Maclaine) was overrun. Maclaine was captured and held as a prisoner in Kandahar, where his body was found at Ayub Khan's tent during the British attack on 1 September, apparently murdered to prevent his liberation. The British guns captured during

1554-478: The survivors then charged out into the masses of the enemy and perished. Henn is the only officer who has been positively identified in that band and he led the final charge. No Englishman lived to tell the story of the Last Eleven at Maiwand. It was reported to the British later that year by a former officer of Ayub Khan's army, who said that the Afghans had been truly impressed by the bravery of those men. Word of

1596-538: The two men may have already met earlier. 31°44′00″N 65°08′00″E  /  31.7333°N 65.1333°E  / 31.7333; 65.1333 Bombay Sappers and Miners The Bombay Engineer Group , or the Bombay Sappers as they are informally known, are a regiment of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army . The Bombay Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency army of

1638-449: Was awarded to Sergeant Patrick Mullane , for attempting to save the life of a wounded colleague during the withdrawal of their battery from the field; the other went to Gunner James Collis , who during the retreat to Kandahar drew the attention of enemy fire upon himself instead of upon wounded colleagues. The battle dampened morale for the British side, but was also partly a disappointment for Ayub Khan, Governor of Herat and commander of

1680-649: Was merged with the Engineer Corps. In 1830 the Bombay Pioneers were reduced from eight to six companies and the pioneer companies merged into the Engineer Corps. The Engineer Corps was reduced in strength yet again in 1834 as part of a general retrenchment to just one Sapper & Miner and three Pioneer companies. Soon after in 1839, the Bombay Engineer companies took part in operations in Afghanistan , distinguishing themselves at Ghuznee and Khelat . In 1840, all

1722-453: Was not aware that it was Ayub's main force. The Afghans numbered 25,000 including Afghan regular troops and five batteries of artillery, including some very modern Armstrong guns . The Afghan guns gradually came into action and a three-hour artillery duel ensued at an opening range of about 1,700 yards (1,600 m), during which the British captured smoothbore guns on the left expended their ammunition and withdrew to replenish it. This enabled

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1764-619: Was wounded during the fighting, but was spotted the following day by survivors, making his way back to the fort. The fictional Doctor Watson , companion of Sherlock Holmes , was wounded in the Battle of Maiwand (as described in the opening chapter of A Study in Scarlet ). He may have been based upon the 66th regiment's Medical Officer, Surgeon Major Alexander Francis Preston. The battle has also been documented in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's short story The Summer . The Battle of Maiwand

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