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EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

shooters were wily and difficult to locate. When a
British force moved up to Dacca to engage with the
enemy and press the matter to a conclusion, they were
marched through a veritable inferno. It was risky to
move men anywhere at that time of year. The sufferings
endured during even an early morning march were
sufficient to make such a course a rash expedient. Yet
troops were soon at grips with the main force of the
opposing army, and on the 3rd of May there was a battle
at Dacca which showed that not yet could the personal
heroism and endurance of undisciplined troops from the
hills survive against the modern war machine.

Two hundred Afghan soldiers were killed in this first
battle, while the British lost only twenty-two men.
It was a bitter lesson for Amanullah. For some time
it was feared that the ambushes and enfilading of the
irregular troops would form the chief menace to the
life of the column, but with excellent strategy their
efforts were discounted, and to Amanullah there came
the first blow to vanity.

He was not finished yet, nor was a single battle proof
against the ingenuity of Afghan tactics. For the British
found themselves menaced by a plot, really Afghan in
its secrecy and intent, within their very gates. This
was no less than a conspiracy engineered by the
Government official in Peshawar. When later his
actions were investigated, it was found that only by a
miracle was Peshawar saved from disaster.

He was found to be the instigator of a wide plot which
had flourished unknown for some time. His project
was no less than a secret attack on the military station
by bands of tribesmen introduced into the native city
by stealth. While the regular troops were away at
Dacca, an attack could be launched at their base which
would effectively strangle their source of supply. The

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