several other Ghilzai chiefs. On 6 January 1842, 4,500 British and Indian troops, alongside 11,500 camp followers set out in the deep snow and freezing conditions for Jalalabad. Following the evacuation, what remained of Shah Shuja's forces deserted, and the escort promised by Akbar Khan never arrived, and before the cantonment was evacuated, looters already pillaged houses and killed stragglers. In an attempt to escape the Massacre, British camp followers rushed forward to seek the protection of the British rearguard, which only in effect spread chaos and hampered the troops. Organization broke down within the army and the British column was strung out for several kilometers along the road to the route of Jalalabad. This left the British forces exposed and susceptible to Ghilzai raiders and plunderers. Early on in the withdrawal, Akbar Khan led a ploy into a conference meeting, capturing Elphinstone, Shelton, Florentia Sale, and Trevor's wife and children were captured by Akbar Khan. After two days of march, the British force only traversed 16 kilometers to But Khak. As the British force continued advancing, they were ambushed by the Jabbar Khel and other Ghilzais, picking them off from the safety of heights in the hilly and mountainous positions around the valley of Khurd Kabul. After five days, the British force was significantly reduced to the point where they had lost over ~16,000 of the men, women, and children who had set out from Kabul, many also died from exposure in the cold, while the wounded were too exhausted to continue. By the time the remnants of the British force arrived at Gandamak on 13 January 1842, all that remained of the army was twenty officers, and 45 men of Shelton's regiments. Gandamak was meant to have some of Shah Shuja's forces there to continue the withdrawal, however, they were only further met by Ghilzais. The Ghilzais attempted to disarm the soldiers, however a skirmish occurred, leaving all but three dead of the remaining force as the British led a last stand against the Afghans. At around one o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, William Brydon rode up to the fort on his horse waving his forage cap as one of the sole survivors of the march. According to Jonathan Lee, William Brydon was "more dead then alive", with wounds such as slashes to his wrist, and "part of his skull was hanging off". The Situation