The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-01-20

ISM mission at haDul, MdJOT-1cileIdl
Roberts got the command of the center,
or Kuram Valley, column (about $500
men) of the force which was to ad-
vance on the defiant rebels capital by
three several routes. Crossing the from
tier (November, 1879, Roberts has
tened forward, only to find his path
barred by the superior force of the AT
ghans on the Peiwar Kotal. Making
circuitous night march, and developing
his attack at dawn. he launched the
Seventy-second Highlanders (Rossllire
Bufs) and the little Ghoorkas on the
first stockade OF the Afghans, which was
carried without a pause, save to bayo
net the defenders, and stockade after
stockade was thus stormed in rapid Sue
cession. After several hours fighting
the Peiwar Kotal was finally carried,
with British loss OF twenty-one killed
and seventy-two wounded. AS far as
Roberts was concerned, the fighting
was now over, and the spring brought
to the British camp Yakoub Khan, who
had meanwhile succeeded his father,
Shcre Ali, and who fastened to sign
the treaty O! Gundamuk, which virtu-
ally deprived Afghanistan OF its previ
Gus character as buffer state" and
made it a feudatory OF the British
crown At banquet given in his hon
or on his return to India, Roberts-now
K. C. B-was referred to by the vice
roy as "tle hero OF the Afghan war"
But greater war Of the kind was
still to come, for scarcely had the ink
on the treaty Of Gudamuk become dry
when that instrument was torn, to
bloody shreds" by the murder OF Sir
Louis Cavagnari and all the members
of his mission at Kabul. Whatever the
rights and wrongs OF the Afghan policy,
the massacre Of the mission called loud
ly for retributon, and the work Of
avcnging so foul and treacllerous an
outrage was intrustcd to Sir Frederick
Roberts, whose appointment to the task
was again hailed with general acclama
tion-especially by the private soldiers,
whose personal devotion to Little
Bobs" was SO intense that they would
checrfuly have followed him to the in
icrnal regions.
Roberts objective was again Kabul,
which he soon reached with his small
army, after clearing the way by fight
ing victorious action at Charasial. In
front of Kabul Roberts spent some con-
siderable time with varying military for
tune, being meanwhile joined by Sir
Donald Stewart, from Kandallar; and
the army was actually on the eve OF re-
turning to India when news came to
Kabul by wire. via Simla, of the British
disaster at Maiwand-a reverse more
severe than any that had befallen the
British army since Chillianwallah. In
the face OF this disaster, Roberts was
quick to resolve that he must relieve
Kandahar, back to which place from
Maiwand the broken regiments had
The marching out strength of his re-
licving force, including splendid High
land brigade OF the Gay Gordons" and
the Rosshire BuAfs-was about 10000
just the number which Xenophon led
back from the plains Of Cunaxa to the
banks of the Euxine. On August 9,
1879, the immortal column began its
march OF 3o3 miles, and it covered the
distance in twenty days, including one
day Of rest, which gave an average OF
over fifteen miles per day. On Septem-
Der 1.-The anniversary OF Sedan-Rob-
erts gave battle to and utterly defeated
Ayoob. After a brief rest he rode to
the various regiments in succession, be-
ginning with the Gordons, whose list OF
casualties was the longest, to thank
them for the successes they had achiev
ed for him; and he was everywhere re-
ccived with deafening cheers-cheers
which were repeated, so to speak, when
after the war was over, Roberts came
to England and received the thanks Of
both houses of parliament, peerage
from the queen and other lonors in
Vulnerable.
When, few years later, Mandalay
was captured and King Thcbaw dcposcd
from the throne OF Burmah, Roberts
took command, and soon, as usual
brought the operation to successful
issue Again, when the cry went up tc
wipe out the reverse OF Majuba, Rob
erts was selected as the avcnging angel
but peace had been concluded before til,
conqucror OF Kandahar had time tc
reach South Africa.
In 1885 Lord Roberts exchanged the
command OF the Madras army for Tho
post of communicative chief in India
and no sooner had he thus succeeded te
his old Abyssinian and Afghan com
radc-in-ar1ns than he addressed himsel
with the indomitablcc ncrgyoi his natur,
to the work OF army reform, as we'll a:
OF perfccting the dcfcnses of the empire
especially on the northwest frontier
establishing series OF fortihcation:
which, If not impregnable, at least rem
dered an invasion from the north G2us
sia) hopclcssly arduous. In his deal
ings with the British and native armies
he touched only to improve. Like