For ages, Afghanistan has been tough for invading forces. Back in the day, even Alexander the Great had a hard time getting the locals to chill out in that rough landscape. Fast forward to more recent times, and both the Soviets and Americans totally flopped in their missions, ultimately losing to a country that didn’t even have a major military.
That’s why people call it The Graveyard of Empires. Not even the strongest nations on the planet have been able to conquer the folks living in those rugged, desert mountains.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Afghan people fought against the British Empire three times, which are known as the Anglo-Afghan Wars.
British and Russian Expansion
By the early 1800s, the British East India Company had really spread its influence across India and was the top military force in the area. But Britain wasn’t the only player in the colonial game. The Russian Empire was also on the move, expanding its territory southward.
One of the main worries for the Brits was Russia’s ambition to get a warm-water port that would give them access to the Indian Ocean. If the Russians snagged that, it could seriously mess with British interests in the region. Another big concern was the Khyber Pass, which was crucial for trade between Afghanistan and British India. From a military standpoint, it was a potential entry point for a Russian invasion into British India.
A lot of this anxiety stemmed from a misunderstanding of Tsar Nicholas I’s goals. The British saw him as an expansionist, but his main aim was actually to curb British power in Europe. He thought Britain’s liberal democracy posed a threat to the stability of the continent.
Afghanistan became a focal point for the Russians to achieve their goals, which caught British attention. They wanted to control it to thwart any Russian expansion plans.
The Afghans were dealing with their own issues too. They were in conflict with the Sikh Empire, which had taken over a bunch of Afghan territory, so they sought help from the British. However, the Brits weren’t keen on forming a formal alliance with Afghanistan. In 1837, Dost Mohammad Khan, the ruler of Afghanistan, suggested such an alliance, but it got shot down at first. Still, a British delegation was sent to Kabul under the pretense of forming an alliance, but really, they were there to figure out how involved the Russians were in Afghanistan.
There was a guy named Jan Vitkevich who claimed to be a Russian envoy hanging out at the court in Kabul, which raised alarms for the British. It turned out his authority was fake, and he ended up committing suicide under strange circumstances.
Despite that, the British realized they needed to take action to keep the Russians from gaining any foothold in the area. The dost met with Vitkevich and spilled the beans to the British. Once they found out the Russians seemed to want to set up a diplomatic mission, he tried to push the Brits into forming an alliance.
But the British weren’t interested. In October 1838, Viceroy Auckland, the Governor-General of India, ordered an invasion of Afghanistan with the plan to kick Dost Mohammad off the throne and put Shah Shuja in his place.
The First Anglo-Afghan War
In the spring of 1839, a British and Indian army made its way into Afghanistan, led by Sir John Keane. The landscape was tough, but they pushed through without facing much opposition. They captured Kandahar and got ready to head to Kabul.
Their first big challenge was Ghazni Fort, which stood in their path to Kabul. After laying siege to it, the fort eventually fell, allowing the British to march on to Kabul, where they claimed victory and removed the local ruler.
Next, they focused on Khelat, where the Baluchi Khans had been attacking their supply lines. The British struck back, took the town, and set up a garrison before heading back to India.
However, the locals in Kabul weren’t too keen on British rule. They also misjudged the support for Shah Shuja, which caught the British off guard since they thought they were bringing stability to Afghanistan. In an attempt to regain control, the British cut off funds to local leaders, leading to violence in the city. Outnumbered and under threat, the British garrison fled to a nearby camp.
Things escalated into a full-blown uprising led by Muhammad Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan. British envoys were killed, and realizing how dire their situation was, the British forces tried to negotiate an exit from Afghanistan, hoping for safe passage and supplies.
Unfortunately, those promises didn’t come through. By January 1842, a group of 4,500 troops and over 10,000 camp followers started their trek through the harsh Afghan wilderness, constantly attacked by Afghan soldiers and battling freezing temperatures. At Gandamak Pass, the entire force was wiped out.
The Afghans had an advantage with their jezails—long-range muskets that were perfect for sniping—while the British soldiers only had muskets that couldn’t reach as far.
Only one British guy made it out alive: Dr. William Brydon. The rest were either killed or captured, with many ending up in Kabul’s slave markets.
Despite the chaos, the British still held Jalalabad Fort. With many hostages, including wives, in Kabul, they organized a relief mission. The forces at Jalalabad, led by Major-General Sir Robert Sale, teamed up with the Army of Retribution under Major-General George Pollock to rescue them.They got to Kabul and freed 95 hostages before heading back home. It was concluded that Afghanistan was way too harsh at that time for any occupation to be worth it. The British mission turned out to be a total flop, but that didn’t stop them from trying to assert their dominance in Afghanistan a few decades later.
Buildup to The Second Anglo-Afghan War
After their embarrassing loss, the British let Dost Mohammad go, and he went back to take charge of Afghanistan. Even though the Afghans had won, they were careful not to upset the British and didn’t want any Russian influence either. When Dost Mohammad passed away in 1863, his son, Sher Ali Khan, took over.
But then, Sher Ali Khan got kicked out by his brother, Mohammad Afzal Khan, which led to a civil war. Eventually, Sher Ali Khan fought back and reclaimed the throne in 1868.
In the years after the First Anglo-Afghan War, Russia started making its presence felt more in the north. The Russian Empire kept expanding, gobbling up city-states and inching closer to Afghanistan, which ended up being the buffer zone between British and Russian territories. These two superpowers were constantly trying to outsmart each other in what became known as The Great Game, with Afghanistan being a key player in their rivalry.
Fast forward to 1874, when Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister of Britain. He was ready to take some military risks. Tensions between Britain and Russia regarding Afghanistan were heating up again. The new Viceroy of India, Robert Lytton, began pushing demands on Sher Ali Khan, first insisting that Britain should pick his successor, and later suggesting changes to the Afghan government that would basically make Afghanistan a puppet state of the British Empire.
Sher Ali Khan was furious and turned down these demands, wanting to stay neutral in the power struggle between Britain and Russia. In response, Lytton dramatically declared that Afghanistan was like a fragile pot sitting between two heavy metal pots. However, it took a few years before Britain found a reason to justify military action.
Then in July 1878, an uninvited Russian group showed up in Afghanistan wanting to meet with Sher Ali Khan. He tried to send them away, but they wouldn’t budge.
The British were worried about this and sent their own delegation, but they were denied entry at the Khyber Pass, leading to military conflict.
Just like the first war, the British faced tough logistical issues because of the challenging terrain and extreme weather, swinging from scorching heat to freezing cold.
- Alboin, the Lombard King: Warrior, Conqueror, and Tragic Figure
- Achilles: The legendary Greek warrior
- The Second Punic War: Hannibal’s Daring Invasion of Italy
- Ghosts in the Machine: Ancient PTSD and Mesopotamian Warriors
- The Untold Story of Guerrilla Warfare Experts
The First Phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
In November 1878, around 50,000 British and Indian soldiers made their way into Afghanistan. They split into three groups and headed towards their targets deep in the country.
On November 21, 1878, a British contingent of 3,000 troops kicked off hostilities by taking over the fortress at Ali Masjid. The Afghan defenders decided it was pointless to stay and abandoned the fort overnight. By December 2, the British had also captured the crucial Peiwar Kotal Pass after defeating Afghan forces there, clearing the path to Kabul.
Meanwhile, Ali Khan moved to Mazar-i-Sharif to stretch the British thin, as they needed to capture both him and Kabul. He reached out to the Russians for support, but they advised him to negotiate a surrender instead.
Sadly, Ali Khan passed away on February 21, 1879, due to health issues, and his son, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, took over. Many Afghans viewed Yaqub as a British ally, and he quickly sought peace with the British. In May 1879, he surrendered his troops and signed the Treaty of Gandamak, which handed over large portions of Afghanistan to British control and gave them authority over Afghan foreign affairs.
The British mission to Kabul, led by Neville Bowles Chamberlain and Louis Cavagnari, arrived in July 1879. The locals weren’t impressed, but Yaqub made sure the British had everything they needed and treated them well.
While the Treaty of Gandamak marked the end of the first phase of the war, it didn’t stop the fighting altogether. Louis Cavagnari was knighted for his role in the negotiations.
Yaqub Khan became quite unpopular because he turned Afghanistan into a puppet state for the British, making him a symbol of shame. Many Afghans were angry and ready to fight back.
The Second Phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
On September 3, Cavagnari and about 70 of his guards and staff were killed by a furious mob of Afghan soldiers and civilians. This sparked a new wave of conflict between Afghanistan and the British Empire.
Fast forward to October 6, and Major-General Frederick Roberts led a British force to victory against the Afghans at the Battle of Charasiab. Just two days later, they marched into Kabul like heroes.
By December, things took a turn as the British found themselves battling a rebellion, with around 50,000 Afghans launching an attack on their positions in the Sherpa cantonment. The Afghans faced a crushing defeat. The British then turned their attention to Yaqub Khan, suspecting he might have had a hand in the attacks, although there was no solid proof. Yaqub denied any involvement and suggested he step down from power to resolve the situation.
The British were cool with this outcome, and Yaqub went into exile in India, living off a nice pension from the British.
While the British searched for someone to take over Afghanistan, they asserted their dominance by destroying villages and ruling Kabul with strict control. Those thought to be involved in Cavagnari’s murder were arrested, with some facing charges and execution. Until they found a new leader for Afghanistan, Frederick Roberts declared himself Military-Governor and settled in for the winter with his troops.
During this time, his army, surrounded by hostile forces, received reinforcements from General Stewart. The British were determined not to repeat the mistakes of the First Anglo-Afghan War and faced the situation head-on.
Then, another potential leader showed up. After a long journey from Turkestan, where he had been in exile, Abdur Rahman Khan, Yaqub Khan’s cousin, arrived in Afghanistan and started talks with the British. By July 1880, he was officially installed as the new ruler of Afghanistan.
The Third Phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Not too thrilled with how things were going, Ayub Khan, Yaqub’s brother, decided to revolt and actually scored a win against the British at the Battle of Maiwand. He then tried to take Kandahar but ended up getting completely crushed there, which put an end to his rebellion. This whole situation involved Roberts leading 10,000 troops on a crazy 300-mile march in less than 20 days—pretty impressive considering the brutal summer heat of 1880.
Abdur Rahman agreed to the Treaty of Gandamak but made it clear he wasn’t looking to deepen ties or form any alliances. So, Afghanistan stayed in a state that was manageable for the British.
You could say both the Afghans and the British walked away feeling like they won something from the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The Afghans lost a bit of their independence, while the British faced criticism for not getting enough bang for their buck given the war’s hefty costs.
That said, the British did come out in a better strategic spot than when they went in. Afghanistan became a neutral buffer zone between them and the Russian Empire.
The Buildup to the Third Anglo-Afghan War
After the Second Anglo-Afghan War, a new border was set up between Afghanistan and British India, but it totally ignored the local population. The Pashtuns, who were the majority in Afghanistan, ended up being divided between two different political areas.
This border was established in 1893 through an agreement between the British and Abdur Rahman, who earned the nickname “Iron Amir” because of his harsh rule. When he died in 1901, his son Habibullah Khan took over, and he was known to be much kinder. As the 20th century kicked off, Afghanistan experienced a wave of nationalism that brought various political groups together, all wanting to cut ties with British influence.
During World War I, many Afghans were really supportive of the Ottoman Empire, which was one of the Central Powers and against the UK. Still, Afghanistan chose to stay neutral.
In 1919, Habibullah Khan was assassinated, and his son Amanullah stepped into power. He accused Habibullah’s brother, Nasrullah, of the murder and locked him up for life. However, there were also suspicions about Amanullah himself, so it’s unclear who was truly behind the assassination.
Nasrullah had strong backing from conservative groups in Afghanistan, and after Amanullah imprisoned him, he found himself in a tricky spot trying to keep those conservatives happy. His answer? To invade British India.
The Fighting
On May 3, 1919, Afghan forces crossed the border and took over the town of Bagh. The British declared war just three days later.
However, Afghanistan wasn’t really prepared for a full-on conflict. Their army was in rough shape, relying heavily on local tribes for support. The British weren’t in great condition either; after World War I, their Indian troops were worn out and looking forward to going home when the Third Anglo-Afghan War kicked off. As a result, morale was pretty low.
The fighting was mostly minor skirmishes along the border, not large-scale battles. Even though the British had better weapons like machine guns, armored cars, grenades, and planes, they struggled to gain control due to discipline issues within their ranks.
Many tribal militias that were supposed to protect the borders deserted, and British soldiers, eager to head home after World War I, staged sit-ins and refused to take orders.
In the end, even though they won almost all the battles, the British decided to wrap things up and give in to Afghanistan’s demands.
Outcome of the Third Anglo-Afghan War
Overall, the casualty numbers were pretty low compared to earlier conflicts between Afghanistan and the British Empire. Probably fewer than 3,000 soldiers lost their lives in a war that only lasted three months. After the British defeat, the Afghans got what they wanted from the whole situation. On August 8, they wrapped things up with the Treaty of Rawalpindi, where the British agreed to let go of their control over Afghanistan’s foreign affairs.
Over nearly a hundred years, there were three wars fought between Afghanistan and the British Empire. Even though the British had way more power and military strength, Afghanistan turned out to be too tough to conquer.
