Anglo-Afghan Wars: How Afghanistan Became the Graveyard of Empires

For millennia, Afghanistan has been a land inhospitable to invading armies. In ancient times, Alexander the Great struggled to pacify the people there amid the rugged terrain, while more recently, both the Soviets and the Americans failed miserably in achieving their aims, eventually losing to a nation with no significant military to speak of.

Thus, Afghanistan has been labeled “The Graveyard of Empires.” Not even the most powerful nations on Earth have managed to subdue the people who live in its lands of mountainous deserts.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Afghan people went to war three times against the British Empire.

These are known as the Anglo-Afghan Wars.

By the early 19th century, the British East India Company had expanded its control throughout India and had become the dominant military power in the region. Britain, however, wasn’t the only colonial power vying for control. The Russian Empire was also undergoing a period of expansion, and the Russians were pushing their borders southwards.

Of prime concern was the Russian desire for a warm-water port with access to the Indian Ocean. If Russia were to obtain such a prize, British interests in the region would become hampered. Another concern was control over the Khyber Pass, which formed a vital link for trade between Afghanistan and British India. From a military perspective, it was a gateway through which the Russians could potentially invade British India.

This fear was largely caused by a misunderstanding of Tsar Nicholas I’s intentions. The British viewed him as an expansionist, but the tsar’s biggest goal was to limit British power on the continent. He viewed the liberal democracy that Britain had as a threat to the stability and status quo of Europe.

Afghanistan served as a route for the Russians to achieve this, and thus, it attracted a lot of attention. The British wanted control of it to ruin any Russian plans of expansion.

The Afghans had problems of their own. They were in a state of conflict with the Sikh Empire, which had taken many lands from Afghan control and thus sought help from the British. The British, however, were not interested in any formal alliance with Afghanistan. Dost Mohammad Khan, the dost, or ruler, of Afghanistan, proposed such an alliance in 1837. The request was initially denied, but a British delegation was sent to Kabul under the auspices of an alliance. The real reason for the delegation was that of a fact-finding mission to discover the extent of Russian involvement in Afghanistan.

Jan Vitkevich, a man claiming to be a Russian envoy, was present in the court in Kabul, and this sent alarm bells ringing amongst the British. Vitkevich’s authority, however, was subsequently found to be spurious, and he committed suicide under mysterious circumstances.

Nevertheless, the British realized they had to be proactive about denying the Russians any influence in the region. The dost met with Vitkevich and leaked the details to the British. Upon discovery that the Russians seemingly intended to establish a diplomatic mission, he tried to push the British into an alliance.

The British, however, did not respond favorably. In October 1838, Viceroy Auckland, Governor-General of India, ordered the invasion of Afghanistan with the intention of deposing Dost Mohammad in favor of Shah Shuja, whom they wished to place on the throne.

In the Spring of 1839, an army of 21,000 British and Indian troops entered Afghanistan under the command of Sir John Keane. The terrain was difficult, but the army made progress and didn’t encounter much resistance. The British took the city of Kandahar, and then prepared to march on Kabul.

The first real obstacle was taking Ghazni Fort, which stood in the way of Kabul. After laying siege, the fort eventually fell to the British, and they continued to Kabul, where they arrived victorious and deposed the dost.

The army then turned its attention to the town of Khelat. The Baluchi Khans of this area had constantly attacked British supply lines, and the British retaliated, capturing the town and installing a garrison before returning to India.

In Kabul, however, British control was not accepted by the populace. They had also overestimated support for Shah Shuja, which surprised the British, who had expected to restore stability to Afghanistan. The British attempted to control the situation and cut financial support to local rulers. Violence erupted in the city, and the British garrison outnumbered and under serious threat, fled the city and established a camp nearby.

The unrest then escalated into a full-blown revolt led by Muhammad Akbar Khan, Dost Mohammad Khan’s son. British envoys were murdered, and realizing their precarious situation, the British forces sought a way out of Afghanistan. They negotiated a withdrawal with the promise of an escort out of the country as well as supplies.

These failed to materialize, and in January 1842, the garrison of 4,500 troops and over 10,000 camp followers trekked through the Afghan wilderness. They were subjected to constant attacks from Afghan soldiers as well as brutally cold weather. At Gandamak Pass, the army was completely wiped out.

The use of jezails—long-barreled muskets designed for sniping—gave the Afghans an edge. British soldiers were only armed with muskets that had only half the range capability of jezails.

Only one British man managed to escape: Dr. William Brydon. The rest were killed or captured, with many of the soldiers and camp followers ending up in the slave markets in Kabul.

The British still held Jalalabad Fort, and with many hostages, including wives, in Kabul, a relief force was organized to rescue them. The forces still at Jalalabad, under the command of Major-General Sir Robert Sale, were joined by the “Army of Retribution” under the command of Major-General George Pollock.

They reached Kabul and rescued 95 hostages before returning home. It was decided that Afghanistan was, at this moment, far too inhospitable to make any occupation worthwhile. The British venture had been a complete failure, but it didn’t stop them from trying to stamp their boot on Afghanistan several decades later.

After their ignominious defeat, the British released Dost Mohammad, and he returned to rule Afghanistan. Despite Afghan victory, the Afghans were wary of provoking the British and were, therefore, not receptive to any Russian influence. After his death in 1863, Dost Mohammad was succeeded by his son, Sher Ali Khan.

Ali Khan was ousted by his brother Mohammad Afzal Khan, precipitating a civil war. Ali Khan emerged triumphant and regained the throne in 1868.

The decades following the First Anglo-Afghan War saw increased Russian presence in the North. The Russian Empire continued to expand its borders, swallowing up city-states and moving its border closer to Afghanistan until it was all that remained between British and Russian territory. These two great powers continued to face off in their political maneuverings in what became known as “The Great Game” as they concentrated their strategic efforts on outwitting each other. Still a central piece to this “game” was the issue of Afghanistan.

In Britain, Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister in 1874, and he was willing to take military risks. Once again, Britain’s confidence in dealing with Afghanistan and Russian expansion would come to a head. The new Viceroy of India, Robert Lytton, began issuing demands from Ali Khan, first demanding that Britain must choose his successor, and later a list of changes to the Afghan government that would turn Afghanistan into essentially a state within the British Empire.

Ali Khan was furious and rejected these terms, stating his desire to remain neutral in the political battles between Britain and Russia. With this rejection, Lytton, in a show of bellicose rhetoric, declared that Afghanistan was “an earthen pipkin between two metal pots.” Several years passed, however, before Britain found a diplomatic excuse for military action.

In July 1878, an uninvited Russian delegation arrived in Afghanistan with the intention of meeting with its leader. Ali Khan tried to get the delegation to turn around and leave, but the Russians were insistent.

The British viewed this development with concern and sent a delegation of their own. This delegation was refused entry at the Khyber Pass, and military action ensued.

Like the first conflict, the British faced severe logistical challenges due to supply lines over difficult terrain and the weather, which ranged from sweltering heat to freezing cold.

In November 1878, roughly 50,000 British and Indian troops crossed the border into Afghanistan. Split into three columns, they marched towards their targets deep within the country.

At the fortress of Ali Masjid on November 21, 1878, a British force of 3,000 men opened the hostilities and captured the defensive point. The Afghans, deciding that their position was undefendable, abandoned the fort during the night. On December 2, the British seized the strategically important Peiwar Kotal Pass, defeating the Afghan forces in the process. With these two victories, the road to Kabul was open.

Meanwhile, Ali Khan relocated to Mazar-i-Sharif to stretch the British forces, which would have to capture both him and Kabul. Ali Khan appealed to the Russians for help, but they suggested he seek terms of surrender.

With his health failing, Ali Khan died on February 21, 1879, and was succeeded by his son, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, considered by the Afghan people to be a British sympathizer. Indeed, he immediately sought to make peace with the British. Yaqub Khan surrendered his forces and signed the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879, which gave the British jurisdiction over vast parts of Afghanistan and relinquished all Afghan foreign affairs to the British as well.

The British mission to Kabul, headed by Neville Bowles Chamberlain and Louis Cavagnari, had entered Kabul in July 1879. The Afghan people were unimpressed, but Yaqub Khan ensured the British had everything they needed and gave them lavish accommodations.

The Treaty of Gandamak effectively ended the first phase of the war, but it would not, however, end the fighting. Louis Cavagnari would be knighted for his part in negotiating the terms.

Yaqub became widely unpopular as he had turned Afghanistan into a puppet state of the British. He was thus a symbol of humiliation, and many angry Afghan people were willing to fight.

On September 3, Cavagnari, along with 70 of his guards and staff, were murdered by an angry mob of Afghan soldiers and civilians, provoking a resumption of hostilities between Afghanistan and the British Empire.

On October 6, a British force under the command of Major-General Frederick Roberts defeated the Afghans at the Battle of Charasiab and marched triumphantly into Kabul two days later.

By December, the British were fighting a rebellion, and 50,000 Afghans attacked their positions in the Sherpa cantonment. The Afghans suffered a decisive defeat. British attention then turned to Yaqub Khan. There was suspicion that the Afghan leader had been complicit in the attacks, but there was no evidence to support this. Yaqub Khan denied any involvement and resolved the issue of his position by suggesting he step down from power.

The British were happy with this development, and Yaqub went into exile in India, where he lived on a comfortable pension provided by the British.

While the British looked for a replacement to rule Afghanistan, they stamped their authority by razing villages and controlling Kabul with an iron fist. Those suspected of being complicit in the killing of Cavagnari were arrested. Some were charged and hanged. Until a replacement for the Afghan leadership could be found, Frederick Roberts named himself Military-Governor of Afghanistan and settled himself and his troops in for the winter.

During this time, his army, surrounded by hostile elements, was reinforced and relieved by troops under the command of General Stewart. The British had not forgotten the First Anglo-Afghan War and were dedicated to avoiding a repeat of the defeat and humiliation.

Another potential ruler arrived and presented himself for consideration. After his long pilgrimage from Turkestan, where he had lived in exile, Abdur Rahman Khan, the cousin of Yaqub Khan, arrived in Afghanistan and began negotiations with the British. He was installed as the new leader of Afghanistan in July 1880.

Unhappy with this development, Yaqub’s brother, Ayub Khan, rose up in revolt and defeated the British at the Battle of Maiwand. He then laid siege to the city of Kandahar but was completely defeated there, and his rebellion ended. This action included the march of 10,000 men under the command of Roberts marching 300 miles in under 20 days—a phenomenal feat of endurance in the harsh summer heat of 1880.

Abdur Rahman confirmed the Treaty of Gandamak but made it clear that he was not interested in furthering the relationship by entering into an alliance. Thus, Afghanistan remained in a state tolerable for the British.

Both the Afghans and the British can be said to have claimed victory in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. They both managed to get something out of it, but for the Afghans, a bit of their autonomy was eroded, and for the British, the gains they made were criticized for not being enough to justify the huge expense that the war incurred on British coffers.

However, the British did emerge in a better strategic position than they entered. Afghanistan was now a neutral buffer state between them and the Russian Empire.

The Buildup to the Third Anglo-Afghan War

In the wake of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, a new border was created between Afghanistan and British India. This border was drawn without any consideration for the local people. The Pashtun people, who made up the majority of Afghanistan’s population, were split between two political states.

This border was drawn in 1893 and was an agreement between the British and Abdur Rahman, who had become known as the Iron Amir due to the brutal nature of his rule. In 1901, Abdur Rahman Khan was succeeded by his son, Habibullah Khan, a much gentler man. At the beginning of the 20th century, Afghanistan went through a period of nationalism that united political factions within the country as they sought to sever all vestiges of British control.

During the First World War, sentiment in Afghanistan was fiercely supportive of the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers and an enemy of the United Kingdom. Afghanistan, however, remained neutral.

In 1919, Habibullah Khan was assassinated, and his son, Amanullah, took power. He blamed Habibullah’s brother, Nasrullah, for the murder and had him imprisoned for life. Suspicion, however, also fell on Amanullah, and it is unknown who the responsible party really was.

Nasrullah had had powerful support from Afghanistan’s conservative sector, and in the wake of his imprisonment, Amanullah found himself in the difficult position of having to placate these conservative elements. His solution was to invade British India.

On May 3, 1919, Afghan troops crossed the border and captured the town of Bagh. The British responded by declaring war three days later.

Afghanistan was not actually ready for war. The army was in poor condition, and the regulars had to rely on support from tribespeople. The British, too, were not in a good shape to fight. India had played a huge part in the First World War, and Britain’s Indian troops were exhausted and expecting demobilization when the Third Anglo-Afghan War broke out. Morale was thus extremely low.

The fighting was low intensity and confined to little more than skirmishes in the border region between the two countries. Despite superior weaponry in the form of machine guns, armored cars, hand grenades, and aircraft, the British struggled to gain the upper hand due to problems with discipline in their forces.

Tribal militias intended to guard the border areas deserted en masse, and British soldiers, eager to return home after the conclusion of World War I, staged a mass sit-in and refused to follow orders.

Despite winning virtually all of the engagements, the British decided to call an end to the war and accede to Afghanistan’s demands.

Outcome of the Third Anglo-Afghan War

In all, the casualty rate was light compared with previous wars between Afghanistan and the British Empire. Likely less than 3,000 soldiers died in a war that lasted only three months. With the British defeat, the Afghans got what they wanted from the conflict. On August 8, the Treaty of Rawalpindi was concluded, and the British agreed to give up control over Afghanistan’s foreign affairs.

In the course of almost a century, three wars were fought between Afghanistan and the British Empire. Despite the overwhelming superiority of British imperial power and military might, Afghanistan proved to be a target that was too formidable to tame.