Casualty/ Survivor from the Battle of Maiwand (July 1880).
Single clasp 'Kandahar' awarded to: 4262. BOMB. R. R. MULLANE. E. BATT: B. B. DE. R.H.A.
The Afghanistan Medal, sanctioned on 19 March 1881, was awarded to members of the British and Indian armies who served in Afghanistan between 1878 and 1880 during the Second Afghan War, the first war being from 1839 to 1842. Obverse and reverse of the medal.
The Battle of Maiwand, fought on 27th July 1880, was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghan forces defeated a much smaller British force consisting of two brigades of British and Indian troops under Brigadier-General George Burrows, albeit at a high price: between 2,050 and 2,750 Afghan warriors were killed, and probably about 1,500 wounded. British and Indian forces suffered 1,200 dead.
On the afternoon of 26th July information was received that the Afghan force was making for the Maiwand Pass a few miles away (half-dozen km). Burrows decided to move early the following day to break-up the Afghan advance guard. At about 10 am horsemen were seen and engaged, and the brigade started to deploy for battle. Burrows was not aware that it was Ayub's main force. The Afghans numbered 25,000 including Afghan regular troops and five batteries of artillery, including some very modern Armstrong guns. The Afghan guns gradually came into action and a three-hour artillery duel ensued at an opening range of about 1,700 yards (1,600 m), during which the British captured smoothbore guns on the left expended their ammunition and withdrew to replenish it. This enabled the Afghans to force the left battalion back. The left flank comprising Indian infantry regiments gave way and rolled in a great wave to the right; the 66th Regiment of Foot, as a result of this pressure was swept away by the pressure of the Ghazi attack.
E Battery of B Brigade Royal Horse Artillery (Captain Slade commanding) and a half-company of Bombay Sappers and Miners under Lieutenant Henn (Royal Engineers) stood fast, covering the retreat of the entire British brigade. E Battery kept firing until the last moment, two sections (four guns) limbering up when the Afghans were 15 yards (14 m) away, but the third section (Lieutenant Maclaine) was overrun. Maclaine was captured and held as a prisoner in Kandahar, where his body was found at Ayub Khan's tent during the British attack on 1 September, apparently murdered to prevent his liberation. The British guns captured during the action were also recovered at Kandahar.
E Battery came into action again some 400 yd (370 m) back. The Sappers and Miners retreated as the guns withdrew. Henn and 14 of his men afterwards joined some remnants of the 66th Foot and Bombay Grenadiers in a small enclosure at a garden in a place called Khig where a determined last stand was made. Though the Afghans shot them down one by one, they fired steadily until only eleven of their number (two officers and nine other ranks) were left, and the survivors then charged out into the masses of the enemy and perished. Henn is the only officer who has been positively identified in that band and he led the final charge. No Englishman lived to tell the story of the Last Eleven at Maiwand. It was reported to the British later that year by a former officer of Ayub Khan's army, who said that the Afghans had been truly impressed by the bravery of those men.
Word of the disaster reached Kandahar the following day and a relief force was dispatched. This met the retreating force at Kokeran.
The British were routed but managed a withdrawal due to their own efforts and the apathy of the Afghans. Of the 2,476 British troops engaged, the British and Indian force lost 1,200 men. The Grenadiers lost 64% of their strength and the 66th lost 62%, including twelve officers. Of those present (two companies being detached) the cavalry losses were much smaller. British and Indian regimental casualties were:
- 1st Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General George Burrows, commanding)
- 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot: 286 dead, 32 wounded.
- 1st Bombay Native Infantry (Grenadiers): 366 dead 61 wounded.
- 30th Bombay Native Infantry (Jacob's Rifles): 241 dead, 32 wounded.
- Bombay Sappers and Miners (No.2 Company): 16 dead, 6 wounded.
- 1st Cavalry Brigade (Brigadier-General Thomas Nuttall, commanding)
- E Battery / B Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery: 19 dead, 16 wounded.
- 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry: 27 dead, 18 wounded.
- 3rd Scinde Horse: 15 dead, 1 wounded
One estimate of Afghan casualties is 3,000, reflecting the desperate nature of much of the fighting, although other sources give 1,500 Afghan "regulars" and up to 4,000 Ghazis killed, and 1500 seriously wounded.
Two Victoria Crosses were awarded for acts of valour performed during the battle and during the retreat to Kandahar. Both medals went to members of E/B Battery, RHA. One was awarded to Sergeant Patrick Mullane, for attempting to save the life of a wounded colleague during the withdrawal of their battery from the field; the other went to Gunner James Collis, who during the retreat to Kandahar drew the attention of enemy fire upon himself instead of upon wounded colleagues.
(Medal Year Book, 2024: 136)
A very rare and highly sought example - UK postage included.