What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Campaign #298
The First Afghan War 1839–42: Invasion, catastrophe and retreat
In 1839, forces of the British East India Company crossed the Indus to invade Afghanistan on the pretext of reinstating a former king, Shah Soojah, to his rightful throne. The reality was that this was another step in Britain's Great Game--Afghanistan would create a buffer to any potential Russian expansion toward India.
This history traces the initial, highly successful campaign as the British easily occupied Kabul and the rebellion that two years later humbled the British army. Forced to negotiate a surrender, the British fled Kabul en masse in the harsh Afghan winter. Decimated by Afghan guerilla attacks and by the extreme cold paired with a lack of food and supplies, just one European--Dr. Brydon--would make it to the safety of Jalalabad five days later. This highly illustrated history then goes on to trace the retribution attack on Kabul the following year, which destroyed the symbolic Mogul Bazaar before troops rapidly withdrew and left Afghanistan in peace for nearly a generation.
This history traces the initial, highly successful campaign as the British easily occupied Kabul and the rebellion that two years later humbled the British army. Forced to negotiate a surrender, the British fled Kabul en masse in the harsh Afghan winter. Decimated by Afghan guerilla attacks and by the extreme cold paired with a lack of food and supplies, just one European--Dr. Brydon--would make it to the safety of Jalalabad five days later. This highly illustrated history then goes on to trace the retribution attack on Kabul the following year, which destroyed the symbolic Mogul Bazaar before troops rapidly withdrew and left Afghanistan in peace for nearly a generation.
- GenresHistoryMilitary History
96 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2016
7 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 25, 2021
I picked this book because I wanted to understand something about the history of British military involvement in Afghanistan - at the time of reading the news was full of the withdrawal of US troops and the collapse of the Afghan government with the takeover by the Taliban. Watching the news I realised that I had some understanding of more recent history but that the history of British involvement was long and not always glorious. A further reason was the references to Afghan wars in the Sherlock Holmes and other books such as Max Carrados and Dr Thorndyke stories where various characters suffer from old war wounds sustained in Afghanistan (e.g. Watson was shot by an Afghan "Jezail"). I wanted to know more about the context of all this.
The book itself is a comprehensive account of the ill fated and in many ways disastrous First Afghan War (1839-42), fought in the name of British Imperialism to seek to protect the North West borders of India from invasion by Russia and Persia (Iraq) - they sought to control Afghanistan and thereby create a buffer state between India and the North by installing a British sympathising government led by former King Shah Soojah in place of Dost Mohammed the existing ruler (Amir). The British occupied Afghanistan but following a guerrilla style war were forced to retreat with the loss of most of the army. Later the British mounted a further attack by the so called Army of Retribution which released prisoners captured in the earlier fighting. Eventually Dost Mohammed was reinstated as Amir but despite events appears to have been largely sympathetic to British interests for the next 20 years of his rule.
The book goes into some detail on the events and personalities. I found the parallels with more recent events interesting - uncertain strategy and exit plans, having to counteract guerrilla tactics from mobile army, needing to understand tribal politics and sources of power, difficulties of maintaining supply lines.
The level of detail was probably too much for someone like me seeking an overview but nevertheless it was fascinating to dip into aspects of a conflict I had known very little about previously.
The book itself is a comprehensive account of the ill fated and in many ways disastrous First Afghan War (1839-42), fought in the name of British Imperialism to seek to protect the North West borders of India from invasion by Russia and Persia (Iraq) - they sought to control Afghanistan and thereby create a buffer state between India and the North by installing a British sympathising government led by former King Shah Soojah in place of Dost Mohammed the existing ruler (Amir). The British occupied Afghanistan but following a guerrilla style war were forced to retreat with the loss of most of the army. Later the British mounted a further attack by the so called Army of Retribution which released prisoners captured in the earlier fighting. Eventually Dost Mohammed was reinstated as Amir but despite events appears to have been largely sympathetic to British interests for the next 20 years of his rule.
The book goes into some detail on the events and personalities. I found the parallels with more recent events interesting - uncertain strategy and exit plans, having to counteract guerrilla tactics from mobile army, needing to understand tribal politics and sources of power, difficulties of maintaining supply lines.
The level of detail was probably too much for someone like me seeking an overview but nevertheless it was fascinating to dip into aspects of a conflict I had known very little about previously.
January 10, 2019
This is another excellent Campaign series.
It provides an in depth analysis of the first, and most disastrous, British military intervention in that troubled country. It follows the usual "Campaign" format. MacRory writes in a very clear and informative way that highlights the political in-fighting on both sides and iluminates why pretty much every decision taken was disastrous.
He hints at lessons going unlearned but never preaches about it. This does not end with the tragedy of the retreat from Kabul but deals with the much lesser known "Army of Retribution" that sought to free the British prisoners from Kabul and allow retreat with honour from Afghan soil this allows him to show how the British had at least learned some important tactical lesson from the fiasco.
A good read all around
It provides an in depth analysis of the first, and most disastrous, British military intervention in that troubled country. It follows the usual "Campaign" format. MacRory writes in a very clear and informative way that highlights the political in-fighting on both sides and iluminates why pretty much every decision taken was disastrous.
He hints at lessons going unlearned but never preaches about it. This does not end with the tragedy of the retreat from Kabul but deals with the much lesser known "Army of Retribution" that sought to free the British prisoners from Kabul and allow retreat with honour from Afghan soil this allows him to show how the British had at least learned some important tactical lesson from the fiasco.
A good read all around
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews