-General John Ross as second in command; while Major-General
Hills was given the brigades from Kandahar, which now became the third
division of the Force.

The idea in bringing Stewart away from Kandahar was that he should
occupy Ghazni and Kabul; that my divisions should operate in Kohistan
and in the direction of Bamian; that General Bright should move
against the Ghilzais; and that a column from Kuram should march over
the Shutargardan to Kabul. It was hoped that these operations would
have the effect of quieting the country, and, by the time they
had been carried out, it would be possible to evacuate northern
Afghanistan.

With a view to having my divisions thoroughly efficient and mobile for
the service they were expected to perform, I had largely replenished
the numbers of my transport animals, which had suffered greatly from
the strain put upon them in supplying the troops with food and other
necessaries during the winter months; they had been continuously at
work in the most inclement weather, numbers had died, and those that
remained required to be carefully looked after and given complete
rest to render them fit for the contemplated operations. Major Mark
Heathcote, who had taken, at my particular request, the arduous charge
of this department, wished to revert to regimental duty, so I applied
for, and obtained, the services of Lieutenant Colonel B. Low[4]
as Director of Transport, under whose energetic and intelligent
management the transport service was rendered as perfect as it was
possible to make it. In the end, circumstances prevented the concerted
movements for which these preparations were made being carried out,
but I reaped the benefit of them when later in the year I was required
to undertake a rapid march to Kandahar, which could not possibly have
been successfully accomplished had my transport not been in such
admirable condition.

In order to relieve the great pressure put upon the Commissariat
Department by having to provide for the increased number of troops at
Kabul, and with a view to opening up the roads upon which traffic had
been more or less impeded for some months, it was considered desirable
to send a strong brigade towards Maidan, which I accompanied, and
remained away from Kabul for some weeks. On my return, I found a
considerable change had taken place in the political situation. The
Mustaufi had been deported to India; the correspondence between Abdur
Rahman and Mr. Griffin had