the Persian Empire via Afghanistan, or an attack via the Persian Gulf, the aim being both punitive, and to force the Shah to ask for terms. In the aftermath of the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War, the British Government were reluctant to send a force overland to relieve Herat directly, and so decided instead to attack the Persian Gulf coast. They ordered the government in India to launch a maritime expeditionary force to attack the general area of Bushehr, the primary port of entry into Persia at the time. Initially a division, under Major General Foster Stalker, was organised comprising 2,300 British soldiers and 3,400 Indian sepoys of the Bombay Presidency army which landed in Persia in early December 1856. This included two companies of the Bombay Sappers & Miners. These were: The 2nd Company, under Captain C. T. Haig, (Bombay Engineers) The 4th Company, under Captain J. Le Mesurier, (Bombay Engineers) The two companies were accompanied by the headquarters of the Corps of Bombay Sappers and Miners, under Captain W. R. Dickinson, (Bombay Engineers). Major J. Hill, the erstwhile Commandant of the Bombay Sappers and Miners, who had handed the Corps over to Dickinson, was appointed as the Commanding Engineer for this expedition. After the expedition he resumed the post of Commandant of the Bombay Sappers once again. Artillery commanded by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Sinclair Trevelyan, Bombay Artillery The 3rd troop Horse Brigade, commanded by Major Edward Blake, Bombay Artillery The 1st company 1st battalion European Foot Artillery, (Organized for the expedition as the 3rd Light Field Battery), commanded by Captain William Hatch, Bombay Artillery The 4th company 1st battalion European Foot Artillery, (Organized for the expedition as the 5th Light Field Battery), commanded by Captain Henry Gibbard, Bombay Artillery Reserve Artillery, European Foot Artillery, Bombay Artillery commanded by Major of Brigade, Captain John Pottinger Soon after the induction of the force, it was considered to be inadequate for the task and a second division under Brigadier General Henry Havelock was formed and the entire expedition placed under command of Major General Sir James Outram. This force inducted in January 1857. During the hostilities, 'B' Company of the Madras Sappers & Miners under Brevet-Major A. M. Boileau, Madras Engineers, embarked at Coconada on 19 January and reached the force just in time to participate in operations in Southern Mesopotamia. The first division under Stalker set sail from Bombay in November after