The following is the full strength of the troops drawn up for the Lieutenant-General’s inspection:—
KURRAM DIVISION, CABUL FIELD FORCE. ──────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────────────┬─────┐ │ │ │ Non-commissioned│ │ │ │ Native │Officers and Men.│ │ Troops. │Officers.│Officers.│ ————│ ————│Total│ │ │ │British.│ Native.│ │ ──────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────┼────────┼─────┤ F-A, Royal Horse Artillery│ 5│ —│ 106│ —│ 111│ G-3, Royal Artillery │ 6│ —│ 107│ —│ 113│ No. 1 Mountain Battery │ 2│ 1│ 4│ 80│ 87│ No. 2 Mountain Battery │ 4│ —│ 4│ 74│ 82│ 9th Lancers │ 16│ —│ 265│ —│ 281│ 5th Punjab Cavalry │ 8│ 11│ —│ 342│ 361│ 14th Bengal Lancers │ 7│ 10│ —│ 213│ 230│ 67th Foot │ 15│ —│ 439│ —│ 454│ 72nd Highlanders │ 18│ —│ 553│ —│ 571│ 92nd Highlanders │ 15│ —│ 561│ —│ 576│ 23rd Pioneers │ 4│ 6│ —│ 295│ 305│ 3rd Sikhs │ 8│ 10│ —│ 525│ 543│ 5th Punjab Infantry │ 4│ 11│ —│ 503│ 518│ 5th Ghoorkas │ 5│ 8│ —│ 389│ 402│ 7th Company Sappers │ 3│ —│ 4│ 69│ 76│ ──────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────┼────────┼─────┤ Total │ 120│ 57│ 2,043│ 2,490│4,710│ ──────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴────────┴────────┴─────┘
These were Sergeant-Instructor of Musketry Salmond, Sergeant Cox, Private McIveen and Private Bonar.
To these have to be added the Staff, which was made up as follows:—
Commanding Cavalry Brigade—Brigadier-General Massy; Brigade-Major—Lieutenant Brabazon; Orderly Officer—Lieutenant Hearsey.
Commanding 1st Infantry Brigade—Brigadier-General Macpherson; Brigade-Major—Captain Guinness; Orderly Officer—Captain Macgregor.
Commanding 2nd Infantry Brigade—Brigadier-General Baker; Brigade-Major—Captain Farwell; Orderly Officer—Lieutenant Kane.
Commanding Royal Artillery—Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon; Officiating Adjutant—Lieutenant Allsopp.
The parade went off very successfully, and seemed to impress Sirdar Wali Mahomed Khan, Daoud Shah (the late Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan army), and other persons of importance who were present.
We mix work and play a good deal at Cabul: for scarcely had the parade ended than the more serious business of sending out a brigade into the Chardeh Valley was begun. In the afternoon the following troops, under the command of Brigadier-General Macpherson, left the cantonment and marched to Aoshahr, five miles due west of Sherpur:—