Islamic Focus - Afghanistan: Military Graveyard

Article Menu

Biographies

Raising Kids

Get our Newsletter

Afghanistan: Military Graveyard

Kabul

The First Anglo-Afghan war was fought from 1839-1842. The British suffered their worst defeats here. The same cities are today the scene for more British-US hell. Here’s a brief look at some of the events:

On the pretext of supporting Shah Shuja's in reclaiming his throne the British invaded Afghanistan in 1839. Shuja's rule depended entirely on UK arms and funds to suppress rebellion. They took Kandahar in April 1839. Ghazni was captured with the help of traitors. Shuja could only be maintained with the presence of more British forces.

As the occupation dragged on, UK soldiers brought their families, setting up a permanent occupation. This infuriated the Afghans who took up arms in 1841. The British situation soon deteriorated when Afghans stormed Kabul. British commanders tried to negotiate with Afghan freedom fighters while secretly plotting against them.

The British withdrew from Kabul. They were attacked by Ghilzai warriors and less than 40 of the 16,000 reached the besieged garrison at Jalalabad. The survivors only included one Briton, Dr. William Brydon. Along with the attacks on Kabul, Afghan forces also attacked the British in Kandahar, Jalalabad and Ghazni.

By 1842 the British retreated from Afghanistan pillaging the country and demolishing Kabul’s main bazaar out of spite. Lady Butler's famous painting of Dr. William Brydon gasping his way to Jalalabad, helped make Afghanistan's reputation as a graveyard for foreign armies, a lesson America is learning the hard way today.

< Prev		Next >

Related Items

Home

Articles

Article Menu

Who's Online

Get our Newsletter

Related Items