The Relief of Kandahar in 1880 was the dramatic conclusion to the Second Afghan War and remains one of the most celebrated marches in the history of the British Indian Army. It was during this campaign that Lester Horatio Sibthorpe, later a Major General of the 9th Bombay Native Infantry, played his part as a senior officer in a regiment that had already seen him through the Mutiny, Central India, and decades of frontier service. By the time of the Afghan campaign he was a seasoned commander, fluent in Hindustani and thoroughly familiar with the workings of the Indian Army, having even authored a bilingual drill manual for native troops in 1876. His regiment formed part of the force that accompanied General Frederick Roberts on the celebrated march from Kabul to Kandahar, undertaken in the aftermath of the British defeat at Maiwand.
The disaster at Maiwand in July 1880 had left the British garrison at Kandahar isolated and in grave danger. Ayub Khan’s victorious army moved rapidly to besiege the city, and the small British force inside, already shaken by the earlier defeat, faced the prospect of annihilation. Communications were cut, supplies dwindled, and the situation deteriorated with each passing day. It was clear that only a rapid relief column could prevent a catastrophe that would have had far‑reaching consequences for British prestige in Afghanistan and beyond.
General Roberts volunteered to lead such a force. He stripped his Kabul Field Force down to the bare essentials: no wheeled transport, no heavy baggage, and only what the men could carry on their backs or load onto pack animals. The column, numbering around 10,000 British and Indian troops, set out on 8 August 1880. They marched twenty miles a day in the height of the Afghan summer, crossing harsh terrain, climbing passes, and navigating regions where water was scarce and the heat oppressive. The discipline and endurance required were immense, and the Indian units, including Sibthorpe’s 9th Bombay Native Infantry, bore the hardships with the same steadiness that had characterised their service throughout the war.
The march covered roughly 300 miles in just twenty‑three days, an extraordinary feat of organisation and physical resilience. Roberts maintained strict control over the column, ensuring that halts were regular, loads were balanced, and the pace remained relentless but sustainable. The force reached Kandahar at the end of August, its men exhausted but still capable of fighting. The Japanese‑style infiltration tactics that would later define twentieth‑century jungle warfare were not a feature of this campaign; instead, the challenge lay in the sheer distances, the climate, and the need to maintain cohesion across a long, narrow column vulnerable to attack.
On 1 September 1880 Roberts launched his assault on Ayub Khan’s positions outside Kandahar. The battle was sharp but decisive. British and Indian troops advanced steadily, driving the Afghans from their entrenchments and capturing their artillery. The relief of the city was complete by the end of the day. The victory restored British control in southern Afghanistan and brought the war to a close on terms far more favourable than had seemed possible after Maiwand. For officers like Sibthorpe, who had spent their careers in the Indian Army, it was a vindication of the professionalism and reliability of the native regiments, whose performance on the march and in the battle had been exemplary.
The Relief of Kandahar entered Victorian military legend almost immediately. It was celebrated not only for its strategic impact but for the endurance and discipline shown by the troops who undertook the march. For Sibthorpe, it was one of the final major episodes of a long and varied career. He retired soon afterwards with the rank of Major General, part of the large community of Indian Army officers who settled in Devon in their later years. His grave, like that of many such men, is a reminder of the deep connections between the county and the Indian Army, and of the global reach of the conflicts in which they served.
