The First Afghan War

A concise outline of Britain's first conflict in Afghanistan

Whereas the history of British invasion, occupation, adventure and misadventure in Afghanistan in the nineteenth century is well known to military historians, there can be little doubt that the deployment of British soldiers into that daunting and perilous country in recent times has once again brought its affairs into sharp focus. Most will understand the perennial problems of operating in difficult terrain occupied by a fierce independent people where occupation is often confined to the ground upon which the army stands. In this little or nothing has changed for any foreign army that ventures beyond the Khyber Pass. Consideration of the domination of Afghanistan became inevitable as the British Empire inexorably expanded to the entire Indian sub-continent. The first occasion the British seriously engaged the Afghans by marching into their country was in 1839. Very few survivors of the force that occupied Kabul marched back into India again and the 'peace' in 1842 was inconclusive, as history has shown. Since that time this problematic region has been an a feature of the lives of British soldiers through several wars and troubles. This book, a short sketch of the First Afghan War delivered in the most direct terms for those who seek an understanding of how it all began, underlines the uncomfortable parallels between that inhospitable region in the early nineteenth century and almost two centuries later. Available in softcover and back with dust jacket.