THE SECOND ATTACK UPON DARGAI. 499 the defile might have been covered by artillery fire from the ChagruKotal ;that although there would doubtless have been some loss in the march down to Khorappa, it would have been less than whatwas incurred in the storming of the heights;and that as soon as the tribesmen perceived that the division was steadily making its way to Khorappa regardless of their opposition,they would have abandoned the heightsfor fearofhaving theirretreat cut off— apoint about which these mountaineers are always very anxious.

the shell fire made little impression on them. Meanwhile the infantry, with the Goorkha scouts, led by Lieutenant Tillard, were advancing to the group of pines below the precipice. From this point, a little after eleven o'clock, they made a rush across the open »*pace in front. As they broke from the cover in which they had massed for the attack, the Goorkhas were met by a storm of rifle fire from the crest of the precipice. Dead and wounded men dotted the open ground. The survivors huddled together uner the shelter of some rocks just below the zigzag path. If a wounded manlying in the openmade the leastmovement he at once became a mark for the rifles of the tribesmen, and many wrere killed in this way, trying to creep or stagger back to shelter. The rest of the regiment heldon tothe pine-crowned swell at the lowerend of the open ground,firing at the sungars. They had lost many men, and Major Judge, their secondin command, hadbeen killed, while another officer wasbadly wounded.

With them were the Dorset and the Derbyshire men.

During the night before the advance Yeatman-Biggs had been in communication by telegraph with Lockhart, who agreed to his clearing theheights of Dargaiof the enemy,and offered to reinforce his division from the ist Division for this purpose. The plan suggested by Lockhart was that the advance down the defile should be combined with a frontal attack on Dargai, the troops in the defile threatening the line of retreat of the enemy. Probably this doubleattack wouldhavebeen aseasily successful as that of the 18th, but General Yeatman-Biggs, still anxious about venturinginto the defile till the heights were clear, decided on confining himselfto an attackin front. The result was a very gallant action, which will long be rememberedas one of the brave deeds of the British Army. But there is no doubt that risks were unnecessarily run, and gallant lives needlessly sacrificed,by adopting the plan of a mere front attack. It was magnificent, but it was not scientific warfare.

Repeated attempts were made to reinforce the Goorkhas. Captain Arnold, e>f the Dorsets, sprang forward sword in hand, calling to his men, "Come on, E Company!" but at his first stride he fell dead. Lieutenant Hewitt,of the same regiment, dashedout with half a company. Every man dropped as they crossed the fireswept open, and he alone reached the cover on the further siele. From time to time single men of the Dorsets'or the Derbyshire's raced across, others tailing in the attempt. Meanwhile the guns fired from the hills to the eastward,but they seemed to be making no progress incrushing the dogged resistanceof theenemy. Capta:n Smith, of the Derbyshire Regiment, tried to leael his company forward. He and several of his men were shot down, and the rest fell back. Lieutenant Pennell. hissubaltern, went out alone to bring his captain back. Under a shower of bulletshe thrice raisedand tried to carryhim in. He only desisted from his gallant efforts when he found that his captain was dead. The act won for him the Victoria Cross. Captain Robinson, of the Goorkhas, who had been wounded in the advance, returned across the open, in the hope of being able to bring ■up supports. He fell mortally woundedjust as :he regained the cover of the pines. It is imipossible to tell all the individual deedsofbravery land self-sacrifice that marked'the efforts made to {cross the narrow space swept at almost point-To General Kempster's brigade, made up of the Gordon Highlanders,the Dorset Regiment, the 2nd Goorkhas, and the 15th Sikhs, was assigned the place of honour and danger in theattack. In support were the Northamptons, belonging to Westmacott's brigade, and the Derbyshire Regimentand the 3rd Sikhs, lent by the ist Division. Three mountain batteries were in position on the Chagru Kotal, and another high on the Samana Suk, so that twenty-four guns could concentrate their fire on the enemy's position in front of the ruins of Dargai.

Although General Yeatman-Biggshadresumed command ofhis division,he was still so ill that he spent the greater part of the day lying on a camp bed, on theridge below the Chagru Kotal, from which he directed the attack. It began j with a heavy bombardment of the Dargai heights, but the tribesmen were so well protected by the ground and their defences that