rsistent pressure of the British
onset the Afghans fell back from position to position, north-west of
Candahar; until finally Major White with the 92nd, supported by Gurkhas
and the 23rd Pioneers, drove them back to their last ridge, the Baba
Wali Kotal, swarmed up its western flank, and threw the whole of the
hostile mass in utter confusion into the plain beyond. Owing to the very
broken nature of the ground, few British and Indian horsemen were at
hand to reap the full fruits of victory; but many of Ayub's regulars and
ghazis fell under their avenging sabres. The beaten force deserved no
mercy. When the British triumph was assured, the Afghan chief ordered
his prisoner, Lieutenant Maclaine, to be butchered; whereupon he himself
and his suite took to flight. The whole of his artillery, twenty-seven
pieces, including the two British guns lost at Maiwand, fell into the
victor's hands. In fact, Ayub's force ceased to exist; many of his
troops at once assumed the garb of peaceful cultivators, and the
Pretender himself fled to Herat[326].

[Footnote 325: Roberts, _op. cit._ vol. ii. p. 357.]

[Footnote 326: Parl. Papers, Afghanistan, No. 3 (1880), p. 82. Hensman,
_The Afghan War;_ Shadbolt, _op. cit._ pp. 108-110. The last reckons
Ayub's force at 12,800, of whom 1200 were slain.]

Thus ended an enterprise which, but for the exercise of the highest
qualities on the part of General Roberts, his Staff, the officers, and
rank and file, might easily have ended in irretrievable disaster. This
will appear from the following considerations. The question of food and
water during a prolonged march in that parched season of the year might
have caused the gravest difficulties; but they were solved by a wise
choice of route along or near water-courses where water could generally
be procured. The few days when little or no water could be had showed
what might have happened. Further, the help assured by the action of the
Ameer's emissaries among the tribesmen was of little avail after the
valley of the Logar was left behind. Many of the tribes were actively
hostile, and cut off stragglers and baggage-animals.

Above and beyond these daily difficulties, there was the problem as to
the line of retreat to be taken in case of a reverse inflicted by the
tribes _en route._ The army had given up its base of operations; for at
the same time the remaining British and Indian regiments at Cabul were
withdrawn to the Khyber Pass. True, there was G