THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN.

Taihape Daily Times, 17 June 1919, Page 5

THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN.

Union}: CAV_A‘LRY.CHARGE. . ‘ ENEMY ’S SLIGHT RESISTANCE. SIMLA, May 23. All is quiet on the Dakka front. The inhabitants of Ningrahr have realised that if they abstain from hostile action they have nothing to fear from the presence of our troops. Our .foraglng parties are collecting supplies, mid the villagers are bringing in -local produce for sale. _ , Two of our airnienwere recently forced to land in the Bdzar Valley, but. reached Landh Kotal safely. Hostile troops and armed tribesxnen who recently collected in Gando Valley have been bombed. Our aeroplanes reported that ‘parties of Afridis and other tribesmen arrived at Jellalabad, aztfter our aerial bonlb:lrdmerit of the fortifications and barracks 011 May 21, and freely looted the almost deserted city. 'J_‘he troops fled panic-stricken_. and the looters helped themselves liberally to the unprotected army stores. - The Nawab of Dir h.-as repeated his congratulations to th_e British on their successes, and is confident of the Amir’s ultimate ruin. The leading Maliks and the important Achakzai tribe of the Ch.-aman have assured the Government. of their loyalty. Our aeroplaiiefs effectively bombed troops at Bolak Pass, and at Kahi. The aerial force reports no important Ino'vements of enemy troops_\\'est of Dakkzl. The morale of the Afghans in the Jellalabad area is stated to be deteriorating. Their supply shortage still appears to be acute, and the diffic.ult_V of transporting provisions admits of rations being issued only to the regular troops. A A rumour is current that a change has been made in -the Afghan chief command. General Nadir Khan is reported to have arrived at Matonin, in Khost. His dilatory movements and vacillating“ policy are creating an riiifavounnblei ‘i'lnpressioll ‘locally. p _ V‘_ There is‘ no change‘ in" the situation at Paiwar Katal, or in other" parts of the Kurram border. ’Generally the tribal situation is described its more settled. a ~ MILITARY SITUATION GOOD.

Afghan plans have failed everywhere. The Afghan rising at Peshaful City, wliieh was to coincide with the seizure of Khyber Pass, was stop—ped in time. and the Afglizms were driven off from the south of the pass. The enemy next hoped to raise the frontier tribes, but, with the exception of «a few outlaws, no Afi-idis responded, although there was a igiathering in the Mohmad country, supportetl by a few Afglian regulars. No Lashkar have yet crossed the Karappa Pass. Again, after the defeat of the .Tell.alabad force at Dakka. the Afgliaiis hoped t‘.'o make‘ zsomietliing of their army in Khost, under Nadir Khan. This last gentlenlan has been rlinning up and down the Km-ram frontier. At one moment he -is on Peiwar Kotal; then he is hc'ard of threa’tening .Toe.hi; then the report spl‘eadSiyt.ileßt‘ he -is about. to lead a. force from 'Ghazni.down the Gomil._PaSs. » ; .l,- 1 . ' . . The fact that Nadir~'Khan'has, also‘ failed to raise the tribes, and .-his Afghan regulars will not move» into ‘the Khost Passes till they are certain that they have the iribesnxeii with them. SIMLA, May 26. The chief authority in Afghanistan to-day is not the Amir, but Sales Mahomed, the chief commander, who will probably dictate the answer to General Barett’s reply to the Afghan proposals for an armistice

I The fact. that our airmen have blown lnp the arsenal at Kabul makes it imlperative that such an illl.\‘\\'(?l' should be a real appeal fol' peace. DEAD NUT REMOVED. The cavalry charge at Dakka \v;~.._< unique in the annals of frontier warfare. The Afghans attempted the same tactics as when the Lancers charged at Shabkadai-_ Some ran when the horsemen descended on‘ them, but large numbers stood their ground, kneeling to fire, the Others firing standing. Their shooting, however, was wild and erratic. The ‘Afghans formed no kind of'lille’, 01' Inass to withstand -the charge, ‘but stood in small groups or alone. The result was that our men get in among them. and did great execution ' A feature of thc‘Afghan‘s‘ fighting is that, contrary to the (31151-gms of the border tribes, the enemy makes no attempt to remove the bodies of the dead, with the result that it is far easier to arrive at an estimate of their casualties. l

Our troops on May 16 made a reconnaissance towards‘ Basawal, which disclosed large bodies of thg enemy six miles west of Dakka. Adopting their usual tactics, the enemy followed our withdrawal, but‘ ventured too close and afforded our cavalry an Opportunity, one squadron charging several times with great effect over fzivourable ground. On nearing Dakka' the Afghans took up a position in the hills :1. mile and a-half west of our camp. . ‘ CAPTURE OF A RIDGE. ' After dusk they attempted small af-

tacks, which_wcre repulsed and the remainder of the night passed quietly. Early on the morning of M 537 1?, we commenced an attack against‘ "the ridge, Cavalry and machine-guns eooperated with the infantry, and aeroplanes bombed the enemy, Our howitzcrs from Landi Kotal commenced the action at 11.15 and by 4 p.m. the infantry had carried the heights. The enemy left about 300 dead, and we captured five /Krupp guns. Our howitzer fire was very accfirate. The complete success of the ‘whole action as reported has had a dispiri’c—ing efiect on the Afghans On this front. SIML'A. May 27. Reuter-’s special correspondent at Peshawar states that British arms, followed by British rupees, had a wonderful effect in the occupied territories on the Khyber front. The local peasantry, who first fled, are fast returning, and are ‘busy with an almost record harvest. Supplies are arriving freely, and the peasants naively, say, “If we promised not to tax them they would welcome British rule.’ ’ During the recent fighting bombs were freely used for turning out the gunners from their shelters and clearing thc brows of hills. Doubtless they will form essential weapons for future mountain warfare.