Battle of Kandahar The Battle of Kandahar , 1 September 1880 , was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo - Afghan War . The battle in southern Afghanistan was fought between the British forces under command of General Roberts and the Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan , ended with a decisive British victory , inflicting nearly 3 , 000 casualties in total . Background . In May 1879 , after the death of the Amir Sher Ali Khan , Sir Louis Cavagnari negotiated and signed the Treaty of Gandamak with his successor , Mohammad Yaqub Khan . The treaty obliged the Afghans to admit a British resident governor at Kabul ; a position Cavagnari himself took up in July . However on the 3 September , Cavagnari and the other European members of the mission were massacred in a sudden rising of Afghan rebel troops . After Yakub Khan had been dethroned and exiled for suspected collusion in the murder of Cavagnari , feelers were put out for two replacement candidates : his younger brother , Ayub Khan the Governor of Herat , and his nephew , Abdur Rahman Khan . However , in May 1880 , a new British Liberal government recalled the Viceroy of India , Lord Lytton from India and replaced him with Lord Ripon who had instructions to bring all troops out of Afghanistan . These plans for the evacuation were disrupted by Ayub Khan , who after stirring up anti - British feeling , had sallied out of Herat in early June with 10 , 000 followers . A force of 1 , 500 British and Indian troops , together with Afghan levies , was sent to intercept this force . The British , commanded by Brigadier George Burrows , met Ayub Khan at Maiwand , on 27 July 1880 . However , many of the Indian troops in British service were new , inadequately trained recruits , and crumpled under pressure ; the Afghan levies had already switched sides , unwilling to fight against their countrymen . Despite a heroic last stand by the 66th Regiment , and inflicting 2 , 500 casualties on his enemy , General Burrows was defeated by a determined adversary . Prelude . After the disastrous defeat at Maiwand , the remnants of General Burrows ’ battle - wearied army began the 45 mile retreat to the city of Kandahar . Armed local irregulars , exhaustion and thirst contributed to the breakdown of the column ’ s discipline , and were it not for Captain Slade ’ s rear guard action , far fewer would have made it to the refuge of the city : All over the wide expanse of desert are to be seen men in twos and threes retreating . Camels have thrown their loads ; sick men , almost naked , are astride donkeys , mules and camels ; the bearers have thrown down their " dhoolies " ( palanquin s ) and left the wounded to their fate . The guns and carriages are crowded with the helpless wounded suffering the tortures of the damned ; horses are limping along with ugly wounds and men are pressing eagerly to the rear in the hope of finding water . Hordes of irregular horsemen are to be seen amongst our baggage animals , relentlessly cutting our men down and looting . A few alone remain with Brigadier Burrows to try to turn the rout into an orderly retreat . – Captain Slade . Of the 1 , 500 ( approx ) British and Indian troops at Maiwand , a little over 960 succumbed in either the battle or the ensuing retreat . Only 161 of the wounded reached the citadel of Kandahar . The siege of Kandahar . The remnants of the straggling column reached Kandahar on the 28th raising the garrison numbers to 4360 — the Afghan population of 12 , 000 were compelled to leave . With the abandonment of the cantonment s , the whole garrison withdrew behind the walls of the fortified city and organised preparations for its defence . These defences included improving and facilitating communications along the city ' s walls , plugging breaches , constructing gun platforms and the laying of wire obstacles outside the walls to entangle their foe . The Afghans determined to harass and hinder the defenders ’ preparations throughout . On 8 August , Ayub Khan , the victor at Maiwand , opened fire on the citadel from Picquet hill north west of the city ; a few days later other guns volleyed forth from the villages of Deh Khoja and Deh Khati on the east and south . An attempt to neutralise the village of Deh Khoja , led by Brigadier General Brooke on the 16th , proved unsuccessful . During the extrication , both Brigadier General Brooke and Captain Cruickshank fell , adding to the casualty total of over 100 . Relief column . The Maiwand disaster had altered military plans for the evacuation of the Kabul garrison from Afghanistan . . . . the present question is the relief of Kandahar and the defeat of Ayub . I have a fine force ready for the work , and Bobs would go in command of it . – General Donald Stewart , Kabul . The ' Bobs ' in question , General Roberts , would personally lead a division from Kabul to rectify the recent calamity and relieve the besieged city of Kandahar . It was also arranged that General Phayre would march from Quetta in northern India with the same intention , and that General Stewart would proceed to evacuate the rest of the garrison back to India as originally planned . The Viceroy of Afghanistan was informed that Roberts would march on the 8 August with the expectation of reaching Kandahar by 2 September . Of the 10 , 000 men under Robert ’ s command , a little over 2800 were Europeans . Because of the unforgiving terrain of the Afghan country , and the necessity of speed , all troops were ordered to travel light ( 20 - 30 lbs of kit per trooper ) and controversially , no wheeled transport taken , with 6 and 9 pounder mountain guns being the only artillery taken . 8500 mules , donkeys and ponies would be utilised to carry the main supplies . The march from Kabul to Kandahar is approximately 320 miles ( although the chosen route through the Logar Valley was not the shortest , the valley ' s fertile land would supplement their supplies ) . The army paid for everything they took throughout the march including grain , fresh animals and even firewood – the local Afghans more than pleased to barter with the troops . The stop at Ghazni proved to be brief ; the column set off again very early in the cool of the morning of the 16th . By the end of the day ’ s march in the early afternoon , the temperatures had exceeded 100 °F with very little shade ; sore feet and the constant scarcity of water adding to the extreme discomfort . " The method , of such marching as was now put in practice is not easy to describe ; it combined the extreme of freedom in movement with carefully regulated halts , and the closest control in every portion of the column ; it employed the individual intelligence of each man composing the masses in motion , and called on all for exertion in overcoming the difficulties of the march , in bearing its extraordinary toil , and in aiding the accomplishment of the object in view . " – General Chapman . By the 24th , the relief column had reached Khelat - i - Ghilzai . General Roberts received a letter from General Primrose at Kandahar describing the sortie in the village of Deh Khoja earlier on the 16th , and informing Roberts of the situation . On the 25th , the relief column , joined now by the garrison of Kelat - i - Ghilzai , resumed their march towards Kandahar . General Phayre ' s relief column however had suffered many problems from his arduous trek and was still some distance from Kandahar . The following day Roberts ' relief force reached Tir Andaz . It was here that Roberts learned that Ayub Khan had lifted the siege of Kandahar and had retired north to the village of Mazra in the Urgundab valley . On the 27th , General Hugh Gough proceeded to Robat with two cavalry regiments , whilst the remainder of the force , moving somewhat slower , joined them in Robat on the 28th . It was now only 19 miles to Kandahar . The long march from Kabul to Kandahar of the entire column of men , followers and baggage took 20 days – an average of just over 15 miles / day . The followers alone included nearly 2 , 200 dhooly - bearers , 4 , 700 transport men and over 1 , 200 servants . Although the march was unhindered by the Afghans , it was a historic and remarkable feat of human endurance and organisation . Battle . On the morning of the 31 August 1880 , the relief force reached Kandahar . However , for the last part of the trek General Roberts , struck down with fever , had to be carried in a dhooly ( though for dignity ' s sake , the general had forced himself upon a horse when within sight of the city ) . Ayub Khan ' s position . A rugged and precipitous spur separates the Arghandab valley from the Kandahar plain . Both valley and plain are linked via the Murcha Pass at the end of the spur , and the Babawali Pass cutting through it . The section of the spur from Babawali Pass to its tip , is known as the Pir Paimal Hill . Behind this spur lies the village of Mazra , around which Ayub Khan had camped . As well as the spur , the Afghans had other geographic advantages . Directly behind Pir Paimal Hill lies the Kharoti Hill ( both of which providing excellent firing positions ) and , between the hills , deep irrigation channels offered excellent defensive cover . A reconnaissance of the area on the afternoon of the 31st , carried out by General Gough and Colonel Chapman , garnered valuable information of these Afghan positions . However , their retirement from the reconnaissance came under concerted attack from Afghan regulars and irregulars . The Sikh infantry were so hard pressed that elements of the 1st and 3rd brigades were ordered into the action . Battle plan . Armed with this hard - won military intelligence , Roberts decided to attack the following day – the morning of 1 September 1880 . While the Babawali Pass would be bombarded by artillery , 1st and 2nd Infantry Brigades ( 3rd in Reserve ) would attack the enemy between the Pir Paimal and Kharoti hills and push up the Urgundab valley towards Ayub Khan ' s main camp at Mazra . The Murcha and Babawali passes were to be covered by cavalry elements supported by General Primrose ’ s infantry and artillery . Gough ' s cavalry would move across the Urgundab , so as to reach by a wide circuit the anticipated line of the Afghan retreat . Battle begins in earnest . A little after 9am , the artillery to the right of Picquet Hill began its bombardment of the Babawali pass – the Afghans replied with a three field - gun battery . However , before Roberts could push his army forward , Afghan positions in the villages of Gundi Mulla Sahibdad on the British right and Gundigan on the British left , had to be cleared . The battle at Gundi Mulla Sahibdad was hard fought . General Macpherson advancing his 92nd Highlanders and 2nd Gurkhas met determined resistance to the attack that included a bayonet charge by the Highlanders . Both sides suffered casualties , but the Afghans came off far worse – possibly losing up to 200 men . After the village had been pacified , the brigade pushed towards the southwesterly point of Pir Paimal , constantly harassed by determined Afghan resistance . Whilst General Macpherson advanced against Gundi Mulla Sahibdad , General Baker moved against Gundigan – the 72nd Highlanders and the 2nd Sikh Infantry in the van . Again the fighting was hard fought – the Afghans holding well - defended positions that only a concerted effort by the attackers could dislodge . However , the left wing of the 72nd ( supported by 5th Gurkhas ) finally took the village , whilst the right wing supported the Sikhs , battling through the orchards between the two villages . As General Baker ’ s brigade moved forward into the open it came under artillery fire from the extremity of the Pir Paimal hill and massed attacks from Ghazis ; the latter resolutely repelled by the Highlanders and Sikhs . The two brigades could now together move forward . Mcpherson ’ s brigade moved close around the spur to take the village of Pir Paimal . Having passed the village , the 92nd Highlanders under command of Major White met with determined resistance south west of the Babawali Pass . Despite reinforcements from Ayub Khan ’ s main camp at Mazra , Macpherson stormed the position - Major White ’ s Highlanders in the van supported by the 5th Gurkhas and 23rd Pioneers . Again a determined resistance and steady fire from the Afghans ( many of whom firing from the slopes of the Pir Paimal hill ) caused many Highlander casualties , but despite heavy losses , the British dispersed some 8000 Afghans at bayonet point . While Macpherson ' s brigade advanced close under the ridge , Baker ’ s troops swept wider on the left ; Colonel Money having been assigned to take possession of the Kharoti hill . From the northern end of the hill , Colonel Money could see Ayub Khan abandon his camp at Mazra in the face of the advancing forces of Macpherson and Baker . Roberts had by now ordered MacGregor ’ s 3rd brigade to Pir Paimal village to where he himself and General Ross ( commander of the whole infantry division ) were to move . Here , General Ross , unable to discern the situation , ordered the forward brigades to halt and replenish their spent ammunition . However , this delay provided Ayub Khan some respite . When the British finally entered the camp at 1pm , it was deserted , save for the smartly abandoned detritus of an army in retreat . Ayub Khan ' s army was now in full rout . Although the plan for General Gough ’ s cavalry to intercept the retreating Afghans did not work in practice , it was clear the British had achieved a decisive victory . Aftermath . The Battle of Kandahar brought a close to the Second Anglo - Afghan War . Ayub Khan had been decisively beaten . He had lost the whole of his artillery , his camp , enormous quantities of ammunition , and about 1 , 000 men killed . Ayub Khan became a fugitive along with the small remnants of his battered army . The British appointee Abdur Rahman was thus securely established as emir of Afghanistan , under a protectorate which gave Britain control of Afghanistan ' s foreign policy , while the British government of India retained the frontier territories ceded by the Treaty of Gandamak . Having achieved the aims of their invasion of Afghanistan , the British withdrew . Ayub Khan subsequently raised a fresh rebellion against Abdur Rahman , but was swiftly defeated and killed , ending the threat to the new regime . ( Note : according to the Wikipedia entry for Mohammad Ayub Khan , he died in 1914 in India . Also , the same page says that he was unable to attack Abdur Rahman due to not paying his soldiers , who refused to march . ) This political settlement was to endure until the Third Anglo - Afghan War in 1919 . Roberts left Kandahar on 9 September and marched to Quetta with part of his division . On the 15 October , at Sibi , he resigned his command , and sailed from Bombay on the 30th , taking sick leave in England . The exploits of General Roberts in Afghanistan greatly boosted his reputation as a skillful and enterprising soldier . Many years later , Roberts ' heroic march was commemorated by a statue in Glasgow ' s Kelvingrove Park upon which the motto " Virtute et valore " ( by Virtue and Courage ) is inscribed .