Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment

The Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment
Part of Second Anglo-Afghan War
Assault on the Sherpur cantonment.
Date 15–23 December 1879 Location Kabul, Afghanistan Result British victory
Belligerents
British Empire  British Raj	Afghanistan
Commanders and leaders
Frederick Roberts	Mohammed Jan
Strength
7,000 Anglo-Indian troops	50,000 tribal warriors
Casualties and losses
33 dead and wounded	3,000 dead

Coordinates: 34°31′58″N 69°09′57″E / 34.53278°N 69.16583°E / 34.53278; 69.16583

 British Empire

The Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment was a battle fought in December 1879, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

On 3 September 1879 Sir Pierre Cavagnari, the British Resident in Kabul, and his escort were massacred by mutinous Afghan troops, initiating the second phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. A force was assembled and named the Kabul Field Force, under the command of major-general Frederick Roberts. After defeating Afghan forces at Chariasab on 6 October, Roberts marched into Kabul on 13 October. At the end of November, an army under the command of Mohammed Jan Khan Wardak, who had denounced Yaqub Khan as a British puppet and instead declared Musa Jan the new amir, gathered in the area north of Kabul. On 11 December a small detachment (c.170 men) of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 14th Bengal Lancers encountered a 10,000+ Afghan army advancing on Kabul. As it was of the utmost importance that Mohammed Jan's advance was delayed the woefully outnumbered Lancers charged the Afghans. Heavy casualties were suffered and the Afghans continued their advance. Anglican chaplain James Williams Adams was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing the wounded. On 15 December, the Afghan army began to besiege the British forces entrenched in the Sherpur Cantonment.

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