July 27th, 1880, the day Brigadier General George Burrows led his brigade of approximately 2,500 British and Indian troops to defeat at the hands of 15,000 – 18,000 Afghan regular army, tribal, and ghazi fanatic troops, on a bare plain across Mundabad Ravine from the twin hamlets of Mundabad and Khig, about 2.5 miles South-West of the village of Maiwand. It was the one major battle of the Second Afghan War which the Afghans won in a decisive victory.
The reasons for the Afghan victory and British defeat are generally agreed to be:
(1) a lack of quality on the part of the British command, which advanced across the ravine and onto the plain without first reconnoitering the ground and discovering it included 3 gullies, running the entire length of the plain and terminating in the ravine. These 3 "nullahs" provided cover and concealment for a large number of the Afghan troops as they advanced on the British position.
(2) the Afghans' tremendous advantage in artillery, outnumbering British guns by six to one, including Armstrong breechloaders, while the two British artillery batteries were both armed with muzzle-loaders.
(3) the terrible heat combined with unfortunate timing which kept all three Anglo-Indian infantry battalions from eating breakfast before moving into action, and from taking a sufficient water supply with them into the the fighting line.
Nearly 1,000 British and Indian officers and men KIA, and almost 200 WIA.
Afghan casualties were estimated at 3,000.
Despite the battlefield defeat, the substantial casualties suffered by the Afghan army, slowed their advance towards the strategic city of Kandahar, and appears to have downgraded their effectiveness when they when they arrived. A month-long siege of the walled city ensued, which ended when General Frederick Roberts pulled off the, "March to Kandahar," and defeated the same Afghan army, under the command of the same Ayub Khan, who had defeated the British at Maiwand.
Still, despite Ayub Khan's ultimate strategic defeat, the decisive tactical victory he won over the British at Maiwand made a mark on history.
looks at a fast-assembly naval kit for the Age of Sail.
