Afghan Wars: Battles in a Hostile Land, 1839 to the Present

by Edgar O'Balance

Coleridge's assertion that 'if men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us' should have been on the lips of current affairs reporters and in the minds of military leaders and politicians as the terrorist attacks of September 2001 led to the ferocious assault on Afghanistan. In the event, the media chose to barely make mention of the fact that the British Army had fought in that country on three occasion in the previous 160 years and the awesome repercussions felt by the Soviet Union after its ill-considered invasion in 1982 were chiefly referred to by way of snide comment and innuendo. One wondered when the historical perspective was to enter the equation. This book first appeared in 1993 and is now updated and expanded with the precise aim of providing the all-important historical background to the current pre-occupation with Afghanistan. This new printing will enable discussion to be more informed, tactics and strategy more soundly evaluated, and comment grounded in fact rather than assumption and hearsay.

Genres: History, Military History

277 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993