dreams melted into air, 1919–29armed levies. As a result, the plan to coordinate the attack on the Khyber
Pass with the uprising in Peshawar was thrown into disarray. The British
hastily evacuated their forward positions, but Saleh Muhammad Khan
failed to drive home his advantage and, instead of storming Landi Kotal,
he decided to besiege it instead. This gave the Indian government the
breathing space it needed to move reinforcements up to the railhead at
Landi Kotal. Meanwhile British intelligence uncovered Tarzi’s plot for an
uprising in Peshawar in the nick of time. The police and military sealed
off the Old City, cut off its water, electricity and food supplies, and Ross-
Kepel, the Commissioner, informed the rebels that the blockade would
not be lifted until the ringleaders either surrendered or were handed over.
Two days later the Amir’s agent and other conspirators gave themselves up
and the uprising petered out.
By the time the Peshawar revolt ended, thousands of troops with
heavy equipment had arrived at Landi Kotal. On 11 May British forces
under General Fowler attacked and defeated the Afghan army and Saleh
Muhammad Khan, who had been wounded in the leg, fled to Jalalabad
where he was promptly relieved of his command. General Fowler mean-
while continued his advance and, despite heavy resistance, retook Dakka,
‘Ali Masjid and Jamrud. When he reached the Afghan frontier, Fowler
halted to await orders to attack Jalalabad, but the invasion never took place.
Instead, Dyer’s battalion was sent to relieve the siege of Thal.
During Fowler’s brief campaign, for the first time the Royal Air Force
was deployed in Afghanistan, bombing Afghan trenches. raf planes also
bombed Jalalabad and Kabul, severely damaging Habib Allah’s unfinished
mausoleum and the tomb of ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan. Aerial warfare was new
to Afghans, indeed hardly any Afghan had even seen an aeroplane, and it
had a devastating psychological impact. ’Aman Allah Khan complained to
the Viceroy that this form of warfare was unjust, since it led to the deaths
and injury of civilians, including women and children, while the pleas of
the terrified victims of the bombing raids were a key factor in the Amir’s
decision to agree to a truce.
Nadir Khan’s division had far greater success, at least initially. On 23
May 1919 two columns entered northern Waziristan and Parachinar, forc-
ing the evacuation of Wana and Gomal, while the North Wazir Militia
mutinied. Quick action by the commander at Parachinar foiled a pincer
movement by Nadir Khan, but despite this setback he crossed the ranges
into south Khurram by an extremely difficult route in an attempt to
outflank the British, and appeared unexpectedly within 32 kilometres
(20 mi.) of Thal. Brigadier General Eustace, who commanded the Thal