 At 7 : 30 pm the first of the British reinforcements arrived in the form of infantry from the Corps of Guides under Lieutenant Lockhart . The 45th Sikhs , supported by 100 men from the Guides and two guns , remained astride the main road into the camp , while the 31st Punjab Infantry held the centre ; the 24th , under Climo , held the north edge of Malakand South . Subadar Syed Ahmed Shah of the 31st held the area around the bazaar , though the market place itself was left unoccupied . Around 8 : 00 pm the Pashtuns simultaneously attacked all the British positions where , " Many thousands of rounds were discharged " and a number of assaults repulsed . Subadar Syed Ahmed Shah and his forces defended their position for several hours , however the Pashtuns were eventually successful in undermining the walls and killing the defenders . The surviving sepoys and their leader were awarded the Order of Merit . The 24th also repelled a number of charges , with VC recipient Costello receiving a wound in the arm . Despite the constant harassment by musket fire , rifle fire and a barrage of rocks , Climo successfully led a counter @-@ attack with two companies , pushing the attacking forces back two miles . The British records for the night of July 27 record 12 killed among the sepoy ranks , as well as the wounding of Costello . 
