MaineMilitia.com

According to The Independant, British soldiers serving in the Helmand believe they have recovered rifles lost in the Battle of Maiwand.

I am fascinated by this idea that rifles captured by Afghan tribesmen 128 years ago at the Battle of Maiwand may have still been in use by their descendants. The number of rifles discovered is not clear from the article but it is clear that it is more than a few! Some reselling for £1100.00.

On July 27, 1880 a force of British and Indian troops numbering about 2500 were outflanked and routed by an Afghan force reported to be about 25,000 in strength. Nearly half of the British force was lost! An Afghanistan officer described the battles end.

"These men charged from the shelter of a garden and died with their faces to the enemy, fighting to the death. So fierce was their charge, and so brave their actions, no Afghan dared to approach to cut them down. So, standing in the open, back to back, firing steadily, every shot counting, surrounded by thousands, these British soldiers died. It was not until the last man was shot down that the Afghans dared to advance on them. The behaviour of those last eleven was the wonder of all who saw it"

I love the gallantry that history has to offer!

Of course I see an error in the article. The article states,

"Unlike the successful defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879, as featured in Zulu, the battle of Maiwand a year later was one of the worst British defeats of Queen Victoria's 63-year reign. A 2,500-strong Anglo/Indian force was routed by an Afghan army of about 12,000 men."

Huh? First, Rorke's Drift is the small action made famous by the movie Zulu. But was minor compared to the Battle of Isandlwana that created the situation at Rorke's Drift. And history shows that the British lost more troops at the Battle of Isandlwana than at the Battle of Maiwand 19 months later. The paragraph may be just poorly written but it is certainly poorly researched. That just annoys me!

In any case, this is all very interesting. Like suddenly discovering rifles from Custer's Last Stand, perhaps?

Soldiers in Helmand unearth British rifles lost in 1880 massacre for the entire article.