Shelton and his men took control of the eastern slope without any direct opposition. Shelton then lead his artillery pieces to fire on Behmaru village from above. The Kohistanis retreated to the cover of houses, and when Shelton attempted to capitalize on this by sending his men down, they were ambushed. Being harassed from all sides, the storming force retreated back up the hill. The noise of the battle however, woke the Muhammadzais and the Ghilzais in the Shah Bagh, as they armed themselves, they rushed up the eastern flank adjacent to Qal'a-yi Musa'hill, attempting to storm the western side of Behmaru. Shelton, as a result, was forced to divide his forces to repulse the attack, while also stationing an army on the eastern slope to prevent any storming by Mir Masjidi's men. When he confronted the Ghilzai-Muhammadzai armies, his forces were picked apart as the British brown bess muskets were not in reach with the Afghan forces. With Shelton on the brink of defeat, he ordered his men to form two squares, the standard european Infantry defense for facing charging infantry or cavalry, however very ineffective against the Afghan snipers. The battle became a "turkey shoot" as described by Jonathan lee, with Shelton ordering his men to hold their ground, holding the enemy at bay with grapeshot. However when the gun was overheated, it was seized by the Ghilzais storming up the slope. After a short hand-hand struggle, the British were routed and fled back down the hill, facing many dead and wounded that would be even worse if Sardar 'Osman Khan had not ordered his men to halt their fire. In the aftermath of the rout, Shelton informed Elphinstone that he was no longer able to sally troops from the cantonment due to the lack of men, as from this point on, the high command were trying to see how they could negotiate a withdrawal that would not result in them being faced with humilation, seeking to make peace while also discussing on which faction to make peace with. Since this was a political matter, Elphinstone gave the regard of this to Macnaghten, who in turn, handed it to Lieutenant Trevor to try and negotiate such. Despite the British losses, the Afghan rebels also faced heavy loss, with Shelton's grapeshot having wreaked havoc among Mir Masjidi's men. Several key leaders were either killed or mortally wounded, such as