The First Anglo-Afghan War - Part Two: Britain Took Kabul - But Disaster Was on the Horizon

 

The First Anglo-Afghan War - Part Two: Britain Took Kabul - But Disaster Was on the Horizon

In Part One, we found out why Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839 and why Dost Mohammad Khan was seen as a problem for the British in India.

Today I want to continue the story and find out how British and Indian forces advanced through Afghanistan, captured the fortress of Ghazni and eventually entered Kabul.

At first, the campaign appeared to be going well.

The Army of the Indus had entered Afghanistan with the intention of removing Dost Mohammad and restoring the former ruler Shah Shuja to the throne.

Their first major objective was Kandahar.

As the army approached, the local rulers fled and Kandahar was occupied without a major battle. Shah Shuja was proclaimed ruler there, and for the British it seemed that their plan was working.

But Kabul still lay ahead.

One of the biggest obstacles on the route was the powerful fortress of Ghazni.

The fortress was surrounded by high walls and it looked extremely difficult to capture. To make matters even worse, much of the heavy artillery normally needed for a siege had been left behind because transporting it across the difficult Afghan terrain had proved to be challenging.

The British therefore needed to find another way inside.

They learned that one of the gates was less heavily defended than the others.

Before dawn on the 23rd of July 1839, engineers from the British-led force placed explosives against the gate and blew it open.

Troops then rushed through.

Fierce fighting followed inside the fortress, but Ghazni eventually fell to the British-led force.

The victory was enormously important.

Not only had a major obstacle on the road to Kabul been removed, but the fall of Ghazni also weakened Dost Mohammad's position.

As the invading army continued towards Kabul, Dost Mohammad realised that he could no longer hold the capital and withdrew.

This meant that Kabul itself did not have to be taken in a huge battle.

On the 7th of August 1839, Shah Shuja entered Kabul accompanied by British and Indian troops.

On the surface, Britain had achieved exactly what it had wanted.

Dost Mohammad had been driven from power.

Shah Shuja had been restored.

And Kabul had fallen into British hands.

It must have seemed as though the war had been won remarkably quickly.

But there was a much bigger problem.

Shah Shuja's return depended heavily upon foreign troops, and many Afghans did not accept him as their legitimate ruler.

British forces also remained in Afghanistan to keep him in power.

So although the invasion had succeeded militarily, resentment was beginning to grow under the surface.

The British had managed to take Kabul.

Keeping control of it would be far more difficult.

And within only a few years, this apparently successful campaign would end in one of the most infamous disasters in British military history.

In Part Three, we will look at what happened when anger towards Shah Shuja and the British presence in Kabul began to turn into open rebellion.

Do you think Britain made the mistake of assuming that capturing Kabul meant Afghanistan had been conquered?

 

Image info:

Collection: UK National Army Museum

Date: 1839

Artist: W Taylor