That he could recognise the keypoint of a position
and act boldly and promptly on that recognition, his tactics of the 11th
made abundantly obvious, and his commanding position on the morning of
the 12th still further demonstrated his tactical ability. _L'audace,
encore l'audace, et toujours l'audace_ is the game to be played by the
commander of disciplined troops against Asiatic levies, and no man was
more sensible of this than the gallant soldier who now from the bastion
of Sherpur could see the Afghan standards waving on the summit of the
Takht-i-Shah. Indeed he was impressed so thoroughly by the force of the
maxim as to allow himself to hope that some 560 soldiers, of whom about
one-third were Europeans, backed by a couple of mountain guns, would be
able to carry by assault the lofty peak, strongly held by resolute
Afghans in protected positions, supported by several thousands of their
fellows lying out of sight until an attack should develop itself, to meet
which they were at hand to reinforce the garrison of the Takht-i-Shah.
From the gorge of the Cabul river there runs due south to near Charasiah
a lofty and rugged range, the highest point of which, the Takht-i-Shah,
is about midway from either extremity. From this main ridge there project
eastward at right angles two lateral spurs. The shorter and more
northerly of those runs down to the Balla Hissar, the longer and more
southerly obtruding itself into the plain as far as the village of Beni
Hissar.
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