Saving the guns at Maiwand, 1880

Reproduction print after Richard Caton Woodville, 1880 (c).

The Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880 was one of the largest battles of the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880). A British-Indian force under General Burrows had been sent to intercept Ayub Khan, who had launched a bid for the Afghan throne, as he advanced from Herat towards Kandahar. On 27 July 1880 Burrows' force was overwhelmed by an Afghan army ten times its size.