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Engagement in the Khost Country from a Drawing WDL11494

The Kurram Valley Field ForceOften referred to at the time as the ''Kuram Field Force''. e.g.: was a British military formation during the first phase of the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai ...

, 1878–79. It was one of three military columns created by the British in November 1878 at the start of the Second Afghan War, each of which invaded

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

by a different route. Commanded by Major General Frederick Roberts, the Kurram Valley Field Force was the smallest of the three columns, with an initial strength of 6,665 officers and men of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Indian armies and 18 guns. Roberts' force crossed into

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 21 November 1878 and advanced up the

Kurram Valley Kurram District () is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river ''Kwarma'' () in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word ''Krumu'' (). Until 2018, it funct ...

in the direction of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. After defeating Afghan regular forces, reinforced by local tribesman, at the battle of Peiwar Kotal on 2 December 1878, there followed a number of minor engagements, after which Roberts' force occupied the whole of the Kurram Valley. Here the Kurram Field Force was reinforced by a further 3,500 men, many of whom were placed along the

line of communication A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communicat ...

back to India. The Afghan government soon sued for peace, and the first phase of the Afghan War ended in May 1879 with the Treaty of Gandamak. However, on 3 September 1879 the British envoy in

and his staff were murdered, and the second phase of the war commenced. The Kurram Valley Field Force was then the only British formation in Afghanistan, and were speedily reinforced from India by new units and renamed the Kabul Field Force. Still commanded by General Roberts, this force was ordered to advance on Kabul with the objective of taking punitive action against the killers of the British envoy. The remaining troops in the Kurram Valley then ceased to be a separate field force and acted as line of communications troops for the Kabul Force, with local command passing from Roberts to Brigadier General T. Gordon on 27 September 1879.

Composition

The following units were attached to the Kurram Valley Field Force when it crossed into Afghanistan on 21 November 1878. The force's then strength totalled 5,335 officers and men with 13 guns.

British Army Regiments

*F Battery, A Brigade,

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

, (6 guns) *G Battery, 3rd Brigade,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, (3 guns) *One squadron, 10th Hussars *2nd battalion, 8th King's Regiment * 72nd Highlanders (half-battalion) Total British troops: 1,345 officers and men; 9 guns.

Indian Army Regiments

* No. 1 Mountain Battery, (4 guns) * 12th Bengal Cavalry *7th Company,

Bengal Sappers and Miners Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

* 2nd Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force * 5th Punjab Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force * 21st Punjab Infantry * 23rd Bengal Native Infantry (Punjab Pioneers) * 29th Bengal Native Infantry (Punjabis) * 5th Gurkha Rifles, Punjab Frontier Force Total Indian troops: 3,990 officers and men; 4 guns. At the end of December 1878 the Kurram Field Force was reinforced with a further 2,685 infantry, 868 cavalry and 13 guns. Many of the new troops were used as line of communications troops.

References

Sources

* * * *{{cite book , last=Wilkinson-Latham , first=Robert , title=North-West Frontier, 1837–1947, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AQ_vgAACAAJ, year=1977 , publisher=Macmillan & Co , location=London, isbn=0850452759 Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army British Army deployments Second Anglo-Afghan War

Composition

British Army Regiments

Indian Army Regiments

See also

References

Sources