Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=The Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment
partof=Second Anglo-Afghan War


caption=The Sherpur cantonment
date=December 15-December 23, 1879
place=Kabul, Afghanistan
result=British Victory
combatant1=flagicon|United KingdomBritish Empire
combatant2=Afghanistan
commander1=flagicon|United KingdomSir Frederick Roberts
commander2=Mohammed Jan
strength1=7,000 Anglo-Indian troops
strength2=50,000 tribal warriorsFact|date=April 2008
casualties1=33 dead and wounded
casualties2=3,000 deadFact|date=April 2008

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 Afghan War.

A force was assembled and named the Kabul Field Force, under the command of major-general Frederick Roberts. Its objective was to restore Abdur Rahman Khan (the "Iron Amir") to the throne in Kabul.After defeating Afghan forces at Chariasab on 6th October, Roberts marched into Kabul on 13th October.

At the end of November, an army under the command of Mohammed Jan, 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 December 15th, it began to besiege the British forces entrenched in the Sherpur Cantonment.

As news of a relief column under the command of Brigadier General Charles Gough reached Mohammed Jan, he ordered his troops to storm the cantonment on 23rd December. By midday, the assault had been repulsed, and the Afghan army dispersed. No quarter was given to Afghans found in the area with weapons.

References

* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8428 The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80] Forbes, Archibald. (Gutenberg Project E-book).
* [http://www.britishbattles.com/second-afghan-war/kabul-1879.htm British Battles: The Second Anglo-Afghan War]