The Tongsa Penlop had stayed with me on the ramparts of our post up till noon, and I asked him to remain and see the fight. But he said he would prefer to see it from a little farther off, and I dare say he did not yet feel quite certain that we should win. For it was a tough task that lay before General Macdonald. We were right in the heart of Tibet, with all the strength that the Lamas, with a full year of effort, could put forth. The fortress to be attacked from our little post in the plain looked impregnable. It was built of solid masonry on a precipitous rock rising sheer out of the plain. It was held by at least double, and possibly treble, our own force, and they were armed, many hundreds of them, with Lhasa-made rifles, which carried over a thousand yards. In addition, there were several guns mounted. No wonder the Tongsa Penlop thought it best to be a little distance off, and not too decidedly identified with either side.
General Macdonald probably never would have been able to take the jong if his guns had not just been supplied, on the recommendation of General Parsons, the Inspector-General of Artillery, with “common” shell as well as the shrapnel, which was all that up till now they had carried with them. Shrapnel is of use only against troops. Common shell is more solid, and can be used against masonry, and against the jong it proved tremendously effective when fired by the accurate and hard-hitting little 10-pounders.
At 1.45 p.m. on July 5 General Macdonald began his operations by renewing the rifle fire on the jong. Then, at 3.30 p.m., two guns, six companies of infantry, and one company of mounted infantry, were sent to make a feint on the monastery side of the jong. This succeeded in inducing the Tibetans to reinforce largely that side of their defences. But after dark this column was withdrawn, and shortly after midnight a force of twelve guns, twelve companies of infantry, one company of mounted infantry, and half a company of sappers moved out in two columns to take up a position south-east of Gyantse.
We in the Mission post naturally spent the night on the ramparts awaiting events. It was 3.30 a.m. by the time the columns had taken up their position. Dawn had not yet appeared. All was still and quiet. The stars shone out in all the brilliance of these high altitudes, and nothing could be more serene and peaceful than this clear summer night. Suddenly a few sharp rifle cracks spat out, telling us that the enemy had seen our assaulting columns. Then the dull, heavy thud of an explosion showed that some doorway had been blown open. And after that came the full blaze of the fight, the whole jong lighting up with the flashes of rifle and jingal fire, and down below our own fire getting hotter and hotter.