When we think of Afghanistan from time to time, most of us probably think of one of the most famous dialogues from Rambo: What is that? That is blue light. And what does it do? It shines blue.
And that is usually the end of our knowledge of the country in the Hindu Kush. We think of the heroic guerrilla struggle of the Mujahideen alongside John Rambo against the Soviet occupation.
And yet Afghanistan is a fascinating country. And not just in strategic terms.
Its topography is anything but inviting. Around three quarters of the country consists of mountains that are difficult to access, the most famous of which is the Hindu Kush in the northeast of the country (up to 7500 m). The country's climate zones range from those of cold Scandinavia on the one side to the scorching heat of the Sahara on the other. There is a constant water shortage and at the same time torrential floods.
Map of Central Asia
And yet the country has always been a magnet for invaders, starting with Alexander the Great on his way to India, followed by many other unsuccessful conquerors.An old Asian saying goes: "When God wants to punish a nation, he lets them invade Afghanistan." Nothing describes the country's ongoing, fruitless invasions better.
In the 19th century, Afghanistan also became interesting to the European powers. In the so-called Great Game, which was about dominance in Central Asia, the interests of Tsarist Russia, which was trying to gain an ice-free port in the Indian Ocean, clashed with those of the British colonial power that dominated India. Conflict was thus inevitable.
Both Russia and Great Britain tried to expand their influence in Afghanistan. This ultimately culminated in the first Anglo-Afghan War, with which the British wanted to forestall a supposed Russian invasion. And this is where things start to get exciting for us, as the conflict is taking place between two different opponents, a modern army equipped and trained according to European standards on the British side and a poorly trained and equipped army on the Afghan side. If you look at it that way, it looks like a one-sided affair.
This is how the conflict began. The British marched into Afghanistan via the Bolan Pass with the Army of the Indus, consisting of around 16,500 British and Indian troops, around 6,000 Afghans under Shah Shuja Durrani and around 35,000 servants and family members.
Afghan Tribesmen
On April 25, 1839, they reached Kandahar, which fell without a fight. The next stop on the way to Kabul was the fortified city of Ghazni on July 21, which had been dominated by the most powerful fortress in Central Asia for seven centuries. Here too, the British managed to enter and conquer the city with four regiments at dawn on July 23 by means of a frontal attack on the Kabul Gate. Following this victory, the British army marched to Kabul and took the city without a fight on August 7, placing Shah Shuja on the throne, thus ending the first chapter of the war.
A large part of the Army of the Indus returned to India, and the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Keane, handed over command in Afghanistan to Major General Willoughby Cotton. The British Governor-General of India, Baron Auckland, was created Earl in December 1839, Keane became Baron and the Resident William Macnaghten became Baronet.
The British set up a garrison and the situation initially remained relatively calm, also due to the financial donations to influential tribal leaders.Due to the ongoing calm in the country, Cotten was withdrawn in the spring of 1841 and the garrison in Kabul was further reduced. Cotton's successor was Major General William George Keith Elphinstone.
The name Elphinstone had a good reputation in British society, and his family was full of lords and top colonial officials. However, the new commander-in-chief was almost 60. He had already fought under Wellington at Waterloo and suffered from severe gout, flatulence and incontinence, so he left the daily work to his subordinates and did not worry about everyday matters such as discipline.
In August 1841, a new government was formed in London. Since Britain's expenditure had far exceeded its income in recent years, it was now necessary to bring them into balance. One of the first official acts of the new government was to reduce payments to the Afghan tribal leaders. However, these are to be understood as a kind of protection money, as they not only ensure the British goodwill, but also safe roads.
The reduction in payments, tax increases by Shah Shuja and the extravagant lifestyle of some British officers in the predominantly Muslim country led to discontent and open unrest.
At the beginning of October 1841, soldiers of the 35th Native Infantry are attacked at the Khyber Pass. The pass is the most important route between Kabul and India. For this reason, a brigade under Colonel Robert Henry Sale, consisting mainly of the 13th Regiment of Foot, is relocated to Jalalabad to secure it.
But the situation continued to escalate. Afghan irregulars attacked British outposts all over the country, and in Kabul on November 2, 1841, an angry crowd gathered in front of the house of Alexander Burnes, a British diplomat in Kabul and a rather impetuous character, to punish him for a sexual misdeed. After Burns sends for help in vain, he is discovered and killed while trying to escape.
Afghan Tribesmen
Elphinstone fails to send troops into the city and thereby possibly save the situation; this supposed weakness of the occupiers finally leads to the uprising and the siege of the garrison outside the city, after the fortress and its supplies have fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
The situation is further aggravated by the arrival of Mohammed Akbar Khan, a son of Dost Mohammed, the ruler deposed by the British, with around 6,000 men in Kabul. The balance of power thus shifts further to the disadvantage of the British, as the approximately 4,500 British-Indian troops are now faced with around 30 - 50,000 Afghan fighters.
After all the disasters of the last few days, the only option for Elphinstone is to withdraw from Kabul. On December 23rd, William Macnaghten, a British colonial official, and Akbar Khan met, during which Macnaghten was killed by Akbar Khan in front of everyone involved and his decapitated body was dragged through the streets of the city.
Once again, Elphinstone did not react. The garrison had to be put on half rations due to a lack of supplies, and the civilian members were only given quarter rations.
On New Year's Day, Eldred Pottinger, the new British negotiator, signed the surrender. Pottinger managed to get the British and their families to march to India, but they had to give Akbar Khan all their money, ammunition, most of their guns and some officers as hostages.
The retreat began on January 6th, 1842. The train consisted of 4,500 soldiers, of which 690 were British, mainly from the 44th East Essex Regiment, 2,840 sepoys and 970 Indian cavalrymen. They are accompanied by a convoy of 12,000 civilians, women and children, with food for five days. As soon as they leave the garrison they are attacked, while the former camp is looted and burned.
The attacks continue on the second day, and the escort promised by Akbar Khan does not appear.The column drags itself along with difficulty; the sepoys often have no shoes and have been forbidden to wrap their legs with strips of cloth, which is why many of them suffer from frostbite.
On the third day, enemies appear again in the rear of the column and the officers try to call their units to order. A group of artillerymen has drunk a barrel of brandy and is now too drunk to position the last cannons. Finally, the men of the 44th Essex manage to get into formation and face the enemy, while the British families wait out the cold on their horses.
British Infantry
Elphinstone believes that despite all the circumstances to the contrary, Akbar Kahn would still guarantee his retreat, so he and Pottinger negotiate with Akbar Kahn later that day and give him another 15,000 rupees in exchange for safe conduct, as well as more hostages, including Pottinger himself. The column's food supplies are almost used up and around 500 soldiers and 1,500 civilians are already lying dead in the mountains.
On January 9, negotiations take place again and hostages and money are offered for safe conduct. This time, the married officers, women and children are left behind as hostages.
And yet the column is attacked from the surrounding mountains the following day. In the meantime, almost 12,000 of the 16,500 people who set out from Kabul four days earlier have died.
The army now consists of only 250 men from the 44th, 150 cavalrymen and 50 horse artillerymen. After marching through the night, the army is now only 15 kilometers from the Jagdalak Pass and is under constant attack from its pursuers.
In the afternoon of the day, the army reaches the village of Jagdalak, where it seeks protection behind the ruins and crumbling walls until the next day.
All night long and throughout the following day, the British troops are fired upon from the hills. When the snipers come too close to the makeshift camp, Captain Bygrave, the army's paymaster, leads a bayonet attack to drive them away. But no sooner has the captain and his men returned to the camp than the attackers are back.Akbar Khan now invites Elphinstone to his camp to negotiate with him and the local tribal leaders. Elphinstone then sets off to Akbar Khan with his deputy, General Shelton.
The two are warmly received and entertained in the camp, but when they want to set off again the next morning after fruitless negotiations, they are detained.General Anquetil, who is in command during Elphinstone's absence, orders the army to march off.
On January 12, panic breaks out at a barricade that closes the entrance to the Jagdalak Pass when the column is attacked from behind. The doctor Brydon is separated from the troops and thrown from his horse. He manages to get up and climb over the barricade. He finds the pony of a dying cavalryman, with which he escapes into the night.
The fighting has now ended, countless dead soldiers lie in the snow, including Brigadier General Anquetil.
On the morning of the seventh day after the march from Kabul, a single cohesive group has managed to cross the pass and take up position on a hill near the town of Gandamark, surrounded by Afghan warriors. After about a dozen cavalrymen set off for Jalalabad alone, the force consists of only twenty officers and 45 infantrymen of the 44th, four or five sepoys and six artillerymen.
The officers have sabres and pistols, the soldiers a total of 20 muskets, each with three or four shots. Captain Souter has the regiment's flag wrapped around his body. After they refuse to surrender, they are fired upon from the hills by the long-range Jezail rifles and the survivors fall under the attackers' swords. Only Captain Souter and seven other soldiers are taken prisoner.
The Last Stand of the 44th Regiment at Gundamuck, 1842
https://www.britishbattles.com/first-afghan-war/battle-of-kabul-and-the-retreat-to-gandamak/
Half of the cavalrymen who escaped that morning have already died, and only Doctor Bryson, injured, will finally make it to Jalalabad and, when asked where Elphinstone's army is, will answer: "I am the army".
Even though the British sent a punitive expedition, freed the hostage and helped Shah Shuja's son to the throne, they withdrew from Kabul and subsequently from Afghanistan to India on October 11, 1842 after the British East India Company concluded that continued occupation was too risky and costly. Dost Mohammed returned to the throne and ruled until his death in 1863.
I hope this little excursion to Afghanistan was interesting and that I was able to provide one or two ideas for a scenario.
See you soon, hopefully
Yours, Martin