What did Dr. Watson go through in Afghanistan? (Part 2)
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What did Dr. Watson go through in Afghanistan? (Top)
It is interesting to search for the truth of history, such as the Orontes, the boat that Dr. Watson said he took back from India after being injured, and there are several versions that will be mistaken if you are not careful.
The 20,000-ton Olyntus served as a troop carrier in World War II, participated in the North African Campaign and the Sicily landings, but it was only launched in 1926 and did not have time to send Dr. Watson home.
Earlier than it was a single-chimney cruise ship also called the Olyntus, which participated in World War I as a troop carrier. However, Dr. Watson's ship could not have been so luxurious, and it was launched in 1901, a little late for the battle in Afghanistan.
The 2,800-ton Royal Navy transport ship HMS Olyntus (launched in 1862) should have been the main owner, and it passed through the Suez Canal on November 12, 1880, transporting a group of British officers and men in India back to China, and if there was really a Watson doctor, he should have taken this ship.
It is inferred that he was in this boat because Watson described his participation in the Battle of Mevand and was wounded in the battle. The battle took place in July 1880, and given the time he took to recuperate, only this boat had time to bring him back to England.
By the way, Dr. Watson's time in Afghanistan should not be long.
British soldiers under kandahar.
Watson reported catching up with troops in Kandahar and thus participating in the War in Afghanistan. Considering that the castle was captured by the British in 1879, it must have been a year after he graduated from the University of London in 1878.
Too slow! Knowing this, we should have agreed to Chinese to help us build the railway.
According to Conan Doyle in his book, Watson arrived at the front as an assistant medic in the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment, but he entered the war at the so-called Buck State Brigade. This is another strange translation, the original "Berkshire" is generally translated as Berkshire or Berkshire, and the most fiercely beaten (and most damaged) unit of the British army in the Battle of Maiwand was the Berkshire Sixty-sixth Infantry Regiment. The regiment also has a long history.
The badge of this regiment.
"Are they very good at fighting?" Little Devil asked.
"Well, this is not easy to say, the most famous task they carried out was to watch over the failed Restoration of French Emperor Napoleon on the island of St. Helena. After the emperor's death in 1821, the coffin was carried to the cemetery by six soldiers of the regiment. Old Sa felt that this did not seem to be an interpretation of "heroic and good fighting", but it was not a big problem to fool the little devil, she knew who Napoleon was.
In fact, the regiment lost its regimental flag once in the battle of 1811, and supposedly should have been cancelled, but for some reason it was not canceled. However, they lost the regimental flag again in Mervand, which seemed to make the War Department no longer ambiguous, so the remnants of the regiment were incorporated into the Forty-ninth Regiment (Princess Charlotte Regiment) the following year, and the number was completely lost.
The regiment arrived in Afghanistan only in February 1879, belonged to the British forces that arrived late on the battlefield, and suffered more losses in a series of battles with the Afghans, which may be why Dr. Watson was sent to support from northumberland flintlock regiment.
In the eyes of the British at the end of the 19th century, the Battle of Mewand was also a painful memory of the empire, so much so that today a sculpture called the "Lion of Mewand" can be found in Berkshire.
The sculpture base, created in 1886, is decorated with 329 names, including Colonel James Galbraith, the commander of the regiment, all of whom were officers and men of the Sixty-sixth Regiment who were killed or subsequently killed by Afghans at the Battle of Mewand.
The regimental flag has been lost, is this not a glorious thing? However, looking at the process of the Battle of Mewand, it should be said that Dr. Watson is still worthy of that salary.
In 1878, the British launched the second invasion of Afghanistan, compared with the first 36 years ago, the colonists were obviously more prepared, so they conquered Jalalabad, Kandahar and Kabul in 1879, and the Afghan ruler Sher Khali khan personally went to Russia for help, and died depressed in Mazar-e-Sharif, and his successor was forced to make concessions to the British.
However, due to unfamiliarity with local customs, the style of the people, the british rule was not stable, and the local uprising soon broke out, in which Ayyub Khan (Hill Hari Khan) of Herat formed a large army and marched to Kandahar.
On 26 July 1880, his army met the forces of General Borås, a British general who had come to intercept him, at the narrow road of the Mewand Pass. Borås's forces consisted of two Indian cavalry battalions, two Indian infantry battalions, a Royal Cavalry Company, an artillery company, and six companies of The Sixty-sixth Berkshire Infantry Regiment under colonel Galbraith, with a total strength of nearly 3,000 men.
Ayyub Khan, who was only 20 years old when he fought this battle.
By contrast, the British commander, General George Burrows, was an experienced veteran.
"That khan will win." The little devil said.
"Why?"
"This one is more handsome..."
In fact, in their initial confrontation, the older General Boros had the upper hand, defeating Ayyub Khan's vanguard a week before the Battle of Mewand and capturing six cannons. However, the old general also has a little light enemy because of this, and feels that the opponent is just like this.
When he heard that Ayyub Khan's forces were continuing their march toward Kandahar, he greeted them with great pride. Fighting in the valley near the Mewand Pass, General Boros was surprised to find that Ayyub Khan's main force was coming, as many as 25,000 people—the Afghans recorded that they had only about 8,000 fighting troops, and the comparison between the two sides was not so exaggerated.
Perhaps the numbers are less strongly contrasted, but the fierce fighting spirit of the Afghans (i.e., the Gagi warriors who nearly captured Dr. Watson) and the Armstrong cannon (captured) carried by Ayyub Khan played a decisive role.
The details of the battle do not need to be repeated.
In any case, the two sides engaged in three hours of artillery and gun battles, and then after the flanking troops ran out of shells, the British were broken through, and General Borås fled to Kandahar under the protection of only a few retinues. After the sixty-sixth regiment fought bravely, the regimental commander, Colonel Galbraith, was killed in battle while defending the regimental flag, and the officers and men of the six companies were either killed or wounded, and almost lost.
Their deathlike vision also earned the respect of their Afghan counterparts, and Ayyub Khan laid siege to Kandahar.
From such a battlefield, Dr. Watson was able to escape after being injured, which is considered a lucky one.
One of the prototypes of Dr. Watson was judged to be major Preston, the regiment's military doctor, who continued to rescue the wounded after his injuries and performed well, and was one of the few officers of the regiment who was able to withdraw to Kandahar.
As for why Major Preston is one of Watson's archetypes, it is because after he returned to England, he met Sir Conan Doyle, the author of The Sherlock Holmes Detective Collection, in Portsmouth, and had a good conversation. Conan Doyle had never been to Afghanistan, and almost everything he knew about that battlefield came from Major Preston. Watson's experience there is also consistent with the major's career on the battlefield.
"But... This Preston didn't seem to look like Dr. Watson at all. The little devil asked her question.
Yes, Watson portrayed by Hardwick and Sherlock Holmes by Brett seem to have become the stereotype board of the two figures, and it is difficult for future generations to surpass.
This Watson is indeed not much like Major Preston, but he... Very much like another person!
Lo and behold, can you tell if this is Dr. Watson from the TV series or himself?
This man was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of The Sherlock Holmes, who, like Watson, was of a stout stature, well-versed in medicine, liked to participate in the investigation of cases and had adventures overseas, the only difference being that he had not been to Afghanistan.
So, did we find anything? Proof that Dr. Watson's prototype was Sir Conan Doyle himself? This is clearly not the case, and the conceited Conan Doyle would probably prefer to be seen as Sherlock Holmes.
"Then why does he look so much like Watson?"
"Haha, this is to ask hammond, the director of the Grenada version of Sherlock Holmes, I suspect that this guy deliberately made a big joke with Conan Doyle, and only then found Hardwick, who looked like him very imaginative, to play the role of Watson. If you have a chance, you can check with him..." Old Sa analyzed triumphantly.
however...... The little devil suddenly asked, "Is it Peter Hammond, who has been an actor?" ”
"Yes."
"You can't see him anymore."
"Why?"
"He's dead..."
Peter Hammond died of illness on October 12, 2011, aged 87.
In an instant, there was suddenly a sense of regret that had been lost—this secret could be taken to the grave forever by the director.
……
It wasn't until later that Lao Sa suddenly came back to him, how could the conversation with the little devil be so familiar?
This seems to be the classic of a line between Dr. Watson and Holmes in "The Second Blood", when Holmes is preparing to investigate the international spy Lucas?
Hurry up and check, the original text should be like this -
I glanced at the morning newspaper in my hand. "Is it Aichoado Lucas from Gordolfin Street?"
"He was killed at home last night."
In the process of solving our cases, he often surprised me, and this time I saw me surprised him, and I couldn't help but be very happy. He stared at the newspaper in amazement, then snatched it from my hand. Here's a passage I was reading as he got up from his chair.
It seems that this girl is still serious about reading, which is playing Dr. Watson. Perhaps, next time, you can let the cosplay Dr. Watson on the battlefield of Afghanistan.
Imagining the little devil wearing a bearskin hat with a red and white chicken feather inserted in it, Lao Sa suddenly felt that the world was becoming more and more interesting.
【End】
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