Battle of Kandahar
The Battle of Kandahar, fought on September 1, 1880, marked the final major engagement of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Following a severe British defeat at Maiwand, a contingent of 4,000 British and native troops under Major General James Primrose was besieged in the city of Kandahar. In response, Lieutenant General Frederick Sleigh Roberts led a relief force of nearly 10,000 troops from Kabul, completing a challenging 320-mile march in time to confront the besieging Afghani forces, led by Ayub Khan. Upon arrival, Roberts discovered that the British defenders were secure behind robust fortifications and had sufficient supplies. The Afghani tribesmen, recognizing the approach of Roberts's large force, abandoned the siege and positioned themselves nearby. In the ensuing battle, Roberts achieved a significant victory, routing the Afghani forces and capturing their artillery, while suffering relatively light casualties. Although this victory bolstered Roberts’s reputation on the international stage, it ultimately did not prevent the British military withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking a complex end to British involvement in the region during this period.
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Battle of Kandahar
Type of action: Ground battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Date: September 1, 1880
Location: Kandahar, Afghanistan (300 miles southwest of Kabul)
Combatants: 9,986 British and native troops vs. unknown number of Afghani tribesmen
Principal commanders:British, Lieutenant General Frederick Sleigh Roberts (1832–1914); Afghani, Ayub Khan (1855–1914)
Result: Successful British relief of besieged force
Following a decisive British defeat at Maiwand, in which a brigade under Brigadier General George Burrows was nearly annihilated, news arrived in Kabul that 4,000 men under Major General James Primrose were being besieged in the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar. On August 8, Lieutenant General Frederick Sleigh Roberts was dispatched from Kabul with 9,986 British and native troops to relieve the besieged force.
After completing the 320-mile march on August 31, Roberts found the British force in Kandahar to be in little danger, with ample stores and ammunition and situated behind thick walls. The Afghani tribesmen, under the able leadership of Ayub Khan, had abandoned the siege upon Roberts’s approach and had established camp nearby at Mazra. On September 1, Roberts hastened to engage the Afghani forces in battle and won a decisive victory. The Afghani force was routed, and all of its artillery captured. The British casualties amounted to 40 dead and 210 wounded, and the Afghani dead were estimated at greater than 600.
Significance
Despite the victory at Kandahar, the British withdrew their forces from Afghanistan. The greatest significance of the operation was that it propelled Roberts to international fame.
Bibliography
Farwell, Byron. Eminent Victorian Soldiers: Seekers of Glory. New York: W. W. Norton, 1985.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Queen Victoria’s Little Wars. New York: W. W. Norton, 1972.
Hannah, W. H. Bobs, Kipling’s General: The Life of Field-Marshal Earl Roberts of Kandahar, V.C. London: Lee Cooper, 1972.