NAM.1971-02-33-480-8

Storming of Ghuznee: The Morning after the action, 23rd July 1839. From a volume of 15 coloured lithographs 'The Storming of Ghuznee and Kelat' by W Taylor after Lt TJ Wingate, 2nd Queen’s Royal Regiment, 1839 (c). Associated with the 1st Afghan War (1838-1842). After forcing the Bolan Pass and capturing Kandahar without a fight, Sir John Keane’s Army of the Indus advanced on the formidable Ghazni fortress. Protected by thick, 60-feet high walls it presented a major problem for the British who lacked heavy artillery. They were only able to capture it because Mohan Lal, a Kashmiri interpreter, spy and assistant to the political officer Captain Sir Alexander Burnes, managed to discover that one of the gates was poorly defended.

Ghuznee, Battle of, 1839 (1st Afghan War 1838-1842)