What do you think?
Rate this book
Lady Sale's Afghanistan: An Indomitable Victorian Lady's Account of the Retreat from Kabul During the First Afghan War
The hard road back to India
There are few books that can truly be said to be unique, but this is one. Afghanistan has been a battleground since man has occupied its hostile landscape and others have sought to control it as the corridor between great continents. The British-conquerors of the Indian sub-continent-have found themselves fruitlessly bleeding into its dry soil on several occasions. The first was in the mid-nineteenth century as they attempted to secure an unpopular puppet ruler on its throne. Error compounded error as Elphinstone, the British army's incompetent commander, compromised his strategic position in the capital and then, to extricate himself, instigated a forced retreat in winter as hostile tribesmen pressed in on all sides. History knows that this resulted in the annihilation of the entire army. Only a handful of people survived. One of these was Lady Sale, the formidable wife of Robert Sale whose brigade was fighting its own war locked inside Jellalabad. Incredibly Lady Sale kept a daily diary of her experience of the entire appalling catastrophe. It illuminates the events of the retreat uniquely and provides an inspiring view of a woman rising to the demands of extreme adversity that has no parallels.
There are few books that can truly be said to be unique, but this is one. Afghanistan has been a battleground since man has occupied its hostile landscape and others have sought to control it as the corridor between great continents. The British-conquerors of the Indian sub-continent-have found themselves fruitlessly bleeding into its dry soil on several occasions. The first was in the mid-nineteenth century as they attempted to secure an unpopular puppet ruler on its throne. Error compounded error as Elphinstone, the British army's incompetent commander, compromised his strategic position in the capital and then, to extricate himself, instigated a forced retreat in winter as hostile tribesmen pressed in on all sides. History knows that this resulted in the annihilation of the entire army. Only a handful of people survived. One of these was Lady Sale, the formidable wife of Robert Sale whose brigade was fighting its own war locked inside Jellalabad. Incredibly Lady Sale kept a daily diary of her experience of the entire appalling catastrophe. It illuminates the events of the retreat uniquely and provides an inspiring view of a woman rising to the demands of extreme adversity that has no parallels.
- GenresHistory
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 14, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 16, 2017
Finally got around to reading this. From which I concluded that, had Lady Sale been in charge, rather than the bunch of brave but rather useless men who were, things might have gone rather better, and that, as a general rule, going to war in Afghanistan is a bad idea. Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. I could have done with a map in my edition as they seemed to be going around in circles, although that might be me! Anyhow, a must read.
December 7, 2023
Eyewitness account of the British defeat in Afghanistan
Excellent diary of Lady Sale who witnessed the entire fracuse and kept detailed notes for her Husband, Lord Sale, who was commanding the British troops in holding a major city. Lady Sale was in Kandahar and heard all the ridiculous orders by Elphstone which lead to defeat. In the beginning the British were supposed to pay certain Afghan Chiefs 40,000 rupees but the penny pinchers headquartered in India (which I believe were the East India Company) decided to stuff them. There was also a dispute over who would be the King, the old one and his family were detained by the British while they supported someone else. As you can guess, this started a war.
It's unbelievable how the entire thing was botched by a handful of Noble Lords in charge. Probably about 6 people altogether blew it. And no one else had the authority to buck them.
Please read this and all counties decide never to invade Afghanistan again. So far Alexander the Great, The British Empire, The Soviet Union, The American Military all failed. Give it up and read your History.
Excellent diary of Lady Sale who witnessed the entire fracuse and kept detailed notes for her Husband, Lord Sale, who was commanding the British troops in holding a major city. Lady Sale was in Kandahar and heard all the ridiculous orders by Elphstone which lead to defeat. In the beginning the British were supposed to pay certain Afghan Chiefs 40,000 rupees but the penny pinchers headquartered in India (which I believe were the East India Company) decided to stuff them. There was also a dispute over who would be the King, the old one and his family were detained by the British while they supported someone else. As you can guess, this started a war.
It's unbelievable how the entire thing was botched by a handful of Noble Lords in charge. Probably about 6 people altogether blew it. And no one else had the authority to buck them.
Please read this and all counties decide never to invade Afghanistan again. So far Alexander the Great, The British Empire, The Soviet Union, The American Military all failed. Give it up and read your History.
April 27, 2012
a fascinating eye witness, day by day account of one of the great military disasters in history. Britain decided to indulge in a little regime change in Afghanistan in 1840, propping up a weak vascillating Afghan king with a large amount of money and a fair number of English and Indian troops. and then they decided to cut back on the financial support. they still might have gotten away with it, but sent in a sickly antiquated general to lead the troops who proceeded to squander every possible advantage only to agree to a retreat through the Afghan mountains in the dead of winter. in the end, only one man made it out of Afghanistan on his own. most of the rest were cut to ribbons. Lady Sale herself was eventually taken prisoner and held for months after the army's destruction. The real pity is that Lady Sale wasn't in charge herself.
Lady Sale, wife of General Fighting Bob Sale and one of the real heros of the campaign having been posted to Jallabad before the fall of Kabul, was there and saw it all, with a withering crystal clear eye. get a blow by blow acccount of the whole affair up to the retreat through the snow out of Kabul and an incredibly intelligent analysis of just why things fell apart. Really one of the most riveting eye witness accounts of any war I've ever read. however, if you don't already have a firm grasp of the various personalities and events, you'll find this pretty rough sledding, particularly early on. but if you do have some knowledge of the events, this book is a real gem.
Highly recommended for any and all Flashman fans. Lady Sale is one of the main characters in George MacDonald Fraser's first Flashman book and clearly one of the primary sources for the events in the book. For anyone who's ever wondered how England conquered and held India, I give you Lady Sale.
Lady Sale, wife of General Fighting Bob Sale and one of the real heros of the campaign having been posted to Jallabad before the fall of Kabul, was there and saw it all, with a withering crystal clear eye. get a blow by blow acccount of the whole affair up to the retreat through the snow out of Kabul and an incredibly intelligent analysis of just why things fell apart. Really one of the most riveting eye witness accounts of any war I've ever read. however, if you don't already have a firm grasp of the various personalities and events, you'll find this pretty rough sledding, particularly early on. but if you do have some knowledge of the events, this book is a real gem.
Highly recommended for any and all Flashman fans. Lady Sale is one of the main characters in George MacDonald Fraser's first Flashman book and clearly one of the primary sources for the events in the book. For anyone who's ever wondered how England conquered and held India, I give you Lady Sale.
January 29, 2015
A harrowing account of military incompetence and betrayal on a genocidal scale.
The first half of the book gives blow by blow accounts of the failure and arrogance of the military generalship of the doomed army. In here, there are leadership lessons for us all.
The first half of the book gives blow by blow accounts of the failure and arrogance of the military generalship of the doomed army. In here, there are leadership lessons for us all.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews