Sublaltern's Choice // Ogilvie Under Fire — Duncan MacNeil

A successful tribal uprising in the foothills of the Hindu Kush could bode ill for the authority of the Raj. And when a lone exploratory patrol is sent across the plain of Swat to the rebellious stronghold of Kalundabad, it is little wonder perhaps that all but one man perishes. The sole survivor of the patrol is the Honourable Hamish Dewar, a newly acquired subaltern, as tragically foolhardy as he is unquestionably fearless. It would appear, not for the first time, that the inexperience of a young officer has cost men's lives. When the 114th Queen's Own Royal Strathspeys march to Kalundabad, is it Captain James Ogilvie's unenviable charge to keep an eye on this overzealous recruit. Yet Dewar is not the only hazard the battalion has to face. There are the problems of discipline and command in barely endurable circumstances before they finally face a remorseless and terrible enemy...