Rebellion of Mohammad Yaqub Khan [‎161r] (11/174)

August 1868.]
BREAK UP OF AZIM KHAN’S ARMY.
53
267. Whether those who now had the keeping of Shere Ali’s young sons
saw the opportunity, and availed themselves of it, we are not told; hut at all
events it was not neglected by Ismail Khan, who, on the 4th August, descend
ed on the city from the Kohistan, easily mastered it, and besieged the Bala
Hissar, which was defended by no more than 800 men—Jezailchee levies
and regulars—with but two horse and two mule guns. Shumsooddeen,
when summoned to surrender, said the place had been left under the
command of Abdoollah, son of Abdool Bahman, who would not give in till
the result of the approaching combat between Azim and Shere Ali was known.
268. Ismail’s force was soon increased by Ameen-ood-dowla from Loghur,
and by the headmen of the hill tribes who came in from ail quarters. On the
8th August, leaving a force to beleaguer the Bala Hissar, he went out of the
city to meet and defeat a body of men under Gholam Jan, who had come in
from Chareckar, and Shumsooddeen’s son, who had come up to relieve his
father. The defeated leaders betook themselves to Toorkistan,. and Ismail
announced to Shere Ali that he was prepared to storm the Bala Hissan Shere
Ali, however, warned him of the possible consequences to their families, and
as each day men, pinched by the want of food, deserted from the citadel, he
was content to wait.
269. He might well do so, for the accounts from the opposing leaders
showed that Azim’s army was in a most deplorable condition; that there were
daily desertions, and that he himself was in Ghuznee with but a small force.
It was even said thus early that he meditated dighUnto Toorkistan. Presently
too there came news that, on the 2nd August, while the outposts of the two
forces were facing each other at Karabagh, Shere Ali slipped past and took
the road to Cabul, via Zoormut. Azim followed, and as soon as he left Ghuznee,
it was occupied by two of Shere Ali’s adherents, who even attacked the rear
of Azim’s force and threw it into confusion, taking four guns. Shere Ali s
• force soon after this turned and attacked the following army with some success,
killing, so Shere Ali wrote to Ismail, 50 or 60 men, and taking 400 prisoners
and 4 guns. The two armies then entrenched themselves,—Shere Ah s at
Deh Taran, near Koh Marsal, on the border of Ghuznee and Zoormut; Azim s
at Jehanabad. And while the two armies were thus facing each other,
desertions from Azim’s to Shere Ali’s force ceased not.
270. On the 15th August a salute of 21 guns was fired in the Bala
Hissar as a ruse to encourage the garrison, the pretext being news of the
arrival at Chareekar of succours from Toorkistan. Eive days afterwards Ismail,
weary of waiting any longer, stormed the Bala Hissar and enected a
lodgment, whereupon the garrison fled. Plundering was commencing when
Hashim Khan, Shureef Khan’s son, proclaimed an amnesty m the name ol
Shere Ali, and thus restored order. 271
271. When the news of the capture of the citadel reached Azim’s army,
five hundred of his men deserted in a body, and men continued to desert singly.
Azim was reported to be meditating flight; but, on the 26th he concocted a
midnight attack on Shere Ali’s camp under Surwur Khan and himself. About
10 r. M., however, he heard cannon-shots m his camp, knew what it meani,
viz., that his army was in mutiny, and fled with 1,000 sowars, most of them
men of Khost, *. e„ of the district of which he had been
Mahomed died. His soldiers had, in fact, risen and released Wuflee MahomeA
They now placed him in Azim’s deserted tent. ‘ No Afghan army, tt
British Agent said, “ was ever ruined and dispersed as Azim s ^as with t
6 ? kting” Eutteh Mahomed wS o”sep!em'».
ed his escape, and arriving at luktapool m tne seco ,, between
wrote to Abdool Rahman, who was then at Ghoree- If a meeti g AMoo]
us is agreeable to you, so much the better; if not, it does n ^ y -
Rahman replied—“ The matter depends entirely on your on . n