What Happened during the First Anglo-Afghan War?

Many great powers had fallen to the quagmire of Afghanistan. The most recent, the United States and NATO found it difficult to stabilize the country and more so during the previous invasion of the country by the Soviet Union in the 20th century. And even prior that century, the British Empire faced difficulty in subduing the Afghan people that began with the First Anglo-Afghan War.

The Great Game

Afghanistan suffered from the intense of imperial rivalry surging in the 19th century. In its case, Russia and Great Britain competed for prestige and imperial glory in the region. Eventually, Afghanistan’s location proved to be strategically important that the British Empire set its eyes on it.

Great Game Cartoon

The Great Game build up from the different interest of the British and Russians. Russia continued its long desire for a warm water port placing its sights on the Black Sea or even the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, Britain aimed to defend its imperial crown jewel India from encroaching European powers.

Russian movements to meet its objective began with the conquest of Central Asia. Russian forces advanced south up to the banks of the Amu Darya River – Afghanistan’s northern frontier. Moreover, It established relations with the Persian ruler Mohammad Shah Qajar. In 1837, Russia backed Mohammad Shah Qajar’s siege of Herat, Afghanistan’s major city in its east.

Britain feared the actions of Russia and reacted to counter the rising threat in India’s east. It saw Afghanistan as the gateway to India and saw the need for it to have a strong and stable government to serve as a buffer between the 2 empires. However, Britain and its viceroy in India Lord Auckland mistrusted the capability of the ruling Emir of Afghanistan Dost Mohammad.

Dost Mohammad

Afghanistan, at that time, only began to reel from its turbulent years of internal strife. Dost Mohammad just recently established the Barakzai clan as Afghanistan’s ruling dynasty. Despite his declaration as emir, he nominally ruled as different tribes as well as clans ruled themselves autonomously and only a thin line protect this fragile state from all out civil war. This state of affairs led the British to believe the country to be weak from resisting Russian intervention and thus decided strike first.

British intervened in Afghan affair in 1834. The East India Company that ruled British India threw its support behind the deposed Shah Shuja of the Shadozai Dynasty that Dost Mohammad’s Barakzai supplanted. Britain financed Shuja’s attempt to retake his throne, but it ended in defeat after Dost Mohammad won a victory outside Kandahar. Shuja retreated while Britain looked for other ways to establish its presence in Afghanistan. Despite British support to a contender, Dost Mohammad approached the British subtly as he needed European support for retaking Peshawar, a part of the Pashtun homeland, from the mighty Sikh Empire and its ruler Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh

The Peshawar Question became the subject of Afghan and British relations. Dost Mohammad’s request to the British to pressure the Sikhs went in vain and decided to play the Russian card. He welcomed a mysterious Russian envoy named Captain Ivan Vikevich to Kabul and the news of the clandestine meeting infuriated the British. Dost Mohammad’s brother’s action in 1837 further enflamed British anger. After the Russian-backed attacked on Herat in 1837, Dost Mohammad’s brothers paid homage to Persian leader Mohammad Shah Qajar. This action raised the suspicions among the British who began to prepare for conflict with Afghanistan.

A tripartite agreement in June 1838 staged the British invasion. Viceroy Lord Auckland signed an agreement with Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja. Under the agreement, Britain would provide support to the Sikh Empire in exchange for an invasion force to help Shah Shuja to retake Afghanistan who would cede rights to Peshawar to Ranjit Singh.

George Eden, Lord Auckland

The Simla Manifesto issued by Lord Auckland on October 1, 1838 declared East India Company’s invasion plans of Afghanistan. It reasoned the invasion as a means to reinstate a legitimate leader - Shah Shuja. The manifesto constituted to a declaration of war, but the invasion took a setback as Ranjit Singh withdrew from the June 1838 agreement.

The British invasion of Afghanistan, despite set back caused by Ranjit Singh, began on December 1838. To replace the Sikh army for the invasion, the East India Company formed the so-called Army of Indus composing of 21,100 British and Sepoy troops supported by aides and families of Indian soldiers numbering around 38,000. The army led by Lt. Gen. John Keane set out marching through the Bolan Pass before reaching Quetta on March 1839.

The Opening in to the Narrow Path above the Siri Bolan

The War

The First Anglo-Afghan War, thus began, as the Army of Indus marched into Afghan lands. The invasion went easy, but later proved to be difficult. The great financial and military advantages of the British evaporated along with their troops and moral, leaving only carnage in its wake.

British Invasion

Attack on Ghazni Fort

British forces advanced from Quetta with Kabul as their final destination. The Army of Indus marched northeast to attack Kandahar on April 14, 1839. From the city, Shoja declared his restoration as Shah. From Kandahar, the army proceed northwest to Ghazni where they must overcome a fortress with 60 feet thick walls and a height of 150 feet. They succeeded and Afghan moral slumped as hopes for an organized resistance dissipated.

Bribery played a key role in the success of the British invasion. British money flowed to the pockets of various Afghan chieftain who turned a blind eye on the invasion. The British exploited the weakness of the central government of the emirate to their advantage resulting in a swift invasion. Kandahar fell due to bribery of local defenders as well as the case for Ghazni.

Dost Mohammad sensed impending defeat on the hands of British money and army. Major cities had already fallen without much difficulty. He decided to flee Kabul and escaped to Bamiyan before seeking safety to Bukhara. By August 8, 1839 Shah Shoja entered Kabul and set his court Bala Hissar. By September 18, 1839, portion of the British army withdrew leaving only 8,000 to stay in Kabul to cement Shoja’s regime.

Shah Shuja enthroned in Balar Hissar

Consolidation of Power

Shoja attempted to gain local support. To pacify the people of Kabul he prevented the British from staying in the Balar Hissar fort that he took for himself as his residence and court. He moved the British to quarter in a village outside Kabul. Despite his attempts to gain local support, Afghans continued to mistrust Shoja and his foreign supporters.

Resistance and rebellions began instantly. Ghilzai Pashtuns relentlessly raided Kandahar, while Baluchis attacked British supplies coming from the Bolan Pass. Dost Mohammad reorganized his forces in Bukhara.

Dost Mohammad made his move on September to lead the resistance. From Bukhara he moved south and met Shuja’s British forces on the fields of Parwan on November 2, 1840. Despite having the upper hand in the first day, he surrendered in the second. He went into exile to India living in the same house where Shoja did before his return to power.

Resistance to Shoja’s British-backed regime continued despite Dost Mohammad’s surrender. Durrani and Ghilzai Pashtun continued to be a thorn to the administration. Their attacks persisted until the British curbed the strikes by summer of 1841. However, as resistance seemed weakened, budget cuts in London enflamed once again the spirit resistance. The cuts resulted to a halt in bribes and allowances to various chiefs who in anger rose up in revolt. On November 2, 1841, the people of Kabul disgusted over the long stationing of foreigners near the city erupted to an attack on the British camp. The attack slayed the British envoy Alexander Burnes, the man who tried to persuade Lord Auckland to support Dost Mohammad.

Alexander Burnes

British Withdrawal

Withdrawal from Afghanistan mulled by the British commanders after the November attacks. Maj. General William Elphinstone stationed in Kabul considered the retreat along with other commanders. General Robert Henry Sale’s forces based in Gandomak planned to withdraw along with General William Nott in Kandahar.

The Treat of Capitulation signed on December 11, 1841 meant to provide an orderly British withdrawal. The agreement signed by British envoy Eldred Pottinger, General William Elphinstone and other Afghan chiefs including the son of Dost Mohammad, Muhammad Akbar Khan. It called for the pull out of British forces and the surrender of their weapons. It also secured the return of Dost Mohammad’s confiscated properties. 6 British officers to remain in Kabul along with the wounded until the British forces crossed back into India. Mohammad Akbar Khan would also provide escort to secure the safety of the retreating forces. Finally, it committed British support in case of an invasion either from Russia or the Sikh Empire. The agreement, however, failed to hold due to mistrust of both sides with each other. On December 23, Afghans lynched Sir William Macnaghten for his part in attempting to pit Afghan tribes against one another. The murder said to be committed by Mohammad Akbar himself who had the British officer’s mutilated body hang in the Kabul bazaar.

British retreat from Kabul began on January 6, 1842 prompted by rising tensions and growing precarious situation. Even with or without the escort, the British forces composed of 4,500 British and Indian troops along with 12,000 families of soldiers including women and children and support staff set out eastward for Jalalabad then to Peshawar and British India. The retreating columns faced exposure to cold winter winds and marauding Afghans. By January 7, they only covered 6 miles and on only 5 on the following day. Many fell to the cold while others killed or rather captured by raiding Afghans. Many surrendered to Mohammad Akbar’s forces. Mohammad Akbar on the other hand attempted to stop the attacks by offering 200,000 rupees, but his bribe and pleas went into deaf ears. The harassments continued until only a Dr. William Brydon managed to reach Jalalabad. The story of the catastrophic retreat damaged British imperial prestige and morale. The disastrous war in Afghanistan contributed to the recall of Lord Auckland by London in February 1842.

Remnants of an Army by Elizabeth Butler

Shah Shuja stayed in Kabul, shut inside the Bala Hissar fort. Despite his extreme unpopularity, he ventured outside the safety of the fort. His first time leaving the fort since the occupation ended with his killing on April 1842.

Final Acts

A British punitive expedition attacked Afghanistan during the summer of 1842. London already committed to pull out from Afghanistan, but their imperial prestige must be avenged. Thus, a British force led by General George Pollock set out for Kabul. They provided relief for the British forces besieged in Kandahar first before proceeding to Ghazni. There they took a door in the tomb of Mahmud Ghazni which was taken centuries ago from the Hindu temple Somnath. They intended to return the door to its home justifying the act as a corrective act but became an insult for the Afghans. Bloody reprisals to Afghan villages committed by British forces. They then returned to Kabul followed by looting and burning of the Kabul Bazaar. News of the conflict caused further souring of public opinion and London realized more reasons for the conclusion of the war. The Afghan war cost 20 million pounds and furthering the conflict would result in greater spending. Besides money, the war also caused the deaths of thousands of British and Indian which stood to 15,000.

British ceased conflict on October 1842. The new governor-general of India Lord Ellenborough ordered General Pollock to withdraw which they did on October 12. By January 1843, the British had already released and allowed the returned of Dost Mohammad. This signaled the end of the First Anglo-Afghan War.

Dost Mohammad returned triumphantly to Kabul and reigned for about 20 years. On his 2nd time he strived to consolidate Afghanistan to a stable country and prevent another conflict with the British.

Summing Up

The First Anglo-Afghan War displayed the aggressive nature of British imperial expansion, but also the resolution of the Afghans to defend their way of life and independence. Due to rivalries in a different continent, Afghan life changed drastically as its leaders needed to steer clear in the turbulent and unstable Great Game. A misstep led to the First Anglo-Afghan War that saw the restoration of Shuja Shah. The mere sight, however, of the British for a long time infuriated the Afghan further exacerbated by the disappearance of bribes. Rebellions and resistance grew and until the Afghans smacked British imperial pride on their way back to India. Eventually, the British salvage it, but realized an occupation as a tremendously difficult task. Afghans prevailed, but the British imperial threat remained and later continued to haunt the country.

See also:
Second Anglo-Afghan War

Dost Mohammad

Bibliography:

Book:

Wahab, Shaista & Barry Youngerman. A Brief History of Afghanistan. New York, New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010.

Website:

Ghani, Ashraf. “Anglo-Afghan Wars.” Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on March 17, 2020. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/middle-eastern-history/anglo-afghan-wars

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Anglo-Afghan Wars.” Britannica Encyclopedia. Accessed on March 17, 2020. URL: https://www.britannica.com/event/Anglo-Afghan-Wars#ref1119626

General Reference:

“Capitulation, Treaty of (1841).” Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. Edited by Frank Clements. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2003.

“First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842).” Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. Edited by Frank Clements. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2003.

Helm, Glenn. “Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842).” Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia. Edited by Alexander Mikaberidze. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2011.