nadir shah and the afghans, 1732–47citadel, waving his forage cap. Assistant Surgeon William Brydon, who
had been attached to Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk’s regiments, was the sole British
soldier to survive the march. Even he was more dead than alive. He had a
sabre wound to his wrist and part of his skull was hanging off, yet despite
losing a great deal of blood, he lived to tell his story. However, contrary to
the popular imperial myth, Brydon was not the only European to survive
the massacre. Early on in the retreat both Elphinstone and Shelton had
been taken hostage after Akbar Khan tricked them into attending a confer-
ence and Shelton had to watch from afar as his regiment was annihilated.
In all 63 European men, women and children, including Lady Macnaghten,
General and Lady Elphinstone, Lady Sale and Trevor’s wife and children,
were held captive by Akbar Khan, while John Conolly, Eldred Pottinger and
Mohan Lal remained in Kabul under house arrest. Many Muslims, both
sepoys and camp followers, were spared but those that were taken pris-
oner were sold into slavery and their womenfolk ended up in the zananas
of local chieftains. Some ended up begging in the streets of Kabul, while
others deserted and joined one or other of the Afghan militias.
Despite the dire situation in Kabul, Sale’s Brigade had managed to
beat off all attempts to storm the Jalalabad fort. When he realized that a
mas sacre had taken place he decided to stay put to provide a refuge for
any other survivors and to act as a forward base for a relief army. This
was no easy matter, for a few days later Akbar Khan and his father-in-law,
Muhammad Shah Babakr Khel, arrived at the head of a large army and
placed the fort under siege. Yet despite overwhelming odds, Sale’s small
force held out until General Pollock relieved him three months later.
In Kandahar and Ghazni the situation was little better. In early
November 1841 the Tokhi and Hotak Ghilzais rebelled once more, attacked
Ghazni and eventually took control of the town, forcing the British forces to
retreat into the citadel. Qalat-i Ghilzai too was besieged but both gar risons
managed to hold out through the winter. Nott beat off an attempt to storm
Kandahar and then went on the offensive, defeating a Durrani army
commanded by Safdar Jan, Shah Shuja‘ al-Mulk’s son, who had defected
to the rebels. Nott also evicted thousands of men, women and children
from Kandahar since he was unsure where their loyalties lay.
When news of the Kabul uprising reached Auckland he ordered
reinforcements post-haste to Peshawar and Quetta, but the situation in
the eastern front was complicated when the Afridis blocked the Khyber
Pass and overran the fort of ‘Ali Masjid. In early February 1842 Brigadier
Wild tried unsuccessfully to force the Khyber so General Pollock, who
commanded what was known as the Army of Retribution, decided to wait