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July 22, 2011 During the 19th century the area which encompasses present day Afghanistan was but a small portion of present day Afghanaitan. The north was controlled by the Uzbek tribes, the Persian Safavid empire to the west ending at the Persian Gulf. Russia had encouraged Persia to attack Herat lending her troops and equipment plus cash. The attack failed, British agent Pottinger rallying the defenders in such a heroic manner as to receive a decoration from Queen Victoria, the threat of a British invasion of Persia sufficient to cause Persia to call off the action. Russian and British interests coincided in Afghanistan. Agents were dispatched, ostensibly to scout out trading routes to the west which were already in place anyway. This soon developed into military reconnaissance missions. At issue was the future Afghan head of state. The British wanted to install Sunja Shah on the Afghan throne.Heads of state Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Dost Mohamed of Afghanistan were under consideration for control of Peshawar by the British Governor General of India Lord Auckland. The British agent Burns wanted it go with Dost Mohammed while agent Macnaughton put his faith in Ranjit Singh. Aukland settled on Singh. A compromise was agreed upon where Mohammad would get control with Singh in the nearby locality ready to back him. In return Mohammad would pay Singh a huge amount of money the whole arrangement actually a pay off to Singh. Following the chance spotting of Russian Lieutenant Vitkievitch in Persian en route to Afghanistan the British assembled the Army of the Indus which marched through Peshawar to be halted by Shah Mohammed as he reasoned he would lose face if the British marched through his city. They agreed and so departed from Kandahar arriving in Kabul in the summer 1838. They at first were greeted cordially , the Shah installed on the throne. The British had bought a great amount of possession with them, one general needing score of camels to carry his house hold possessions, one needing six for his supply of cigars. The selection of the British garrison site was the first of a number of factors leading to the great disaster. They, the British, wanted to place it on a hill overlooking the surrounding area. The Shah stated that it detracted from his dignity as it would appear that the British had sited their position in such a way as to line their guns up on him. They agreed and moved their camp further down into a bad area where they were surrounded by vegetation hindering fields of fire and long walls over which the hardy mountain people could climb unseen. The British whiled away the summer with sports, entertainment, and soirees while the Afghans looked on bemused. A few minor uprisings were put down but on the whole they anticipated no big problem despite the fact that friendly Afghans have warned them of more serious uprising in the distant hills. The first trouble occurred with riots where agent Burns house was attacked and he eventually killed, Sunja Shah unable to arrive in time in order to rescue him. Attacks were made on the garrison. Negotiations were held with the ringleaders who agreed that the British would be allowed to leave in peace. It was now January and the passes frozen. A detachment of 1,000 troops and 3,000 camp followers set out, most froze on the way, the rest picked off by repeated guerrilla attacks. Of the 20,000 man army of the Indus all but a few hundred including the women and children were killed. An Army of retribution set out the following spring. Two battalions set out, one for Kandahar the other for Jalabad where British garrisons were holding out. What started out as a desperate last throw was soon an overwhelming success as battles were fought and won. The new governor General Ellensburg, asked London if this would be sufficient. They demurred seeming to want more in the matter of compensation. The British re-entered Kabul destroying the great Kabul bazaar and rescued the remaining 100 or so British hostages. They then sent a force to the Kohistan village of Istalif where they killed all of the adult males and raped and killed most of the women. This was unfortnate as the village played no part in the uprising. Leutenant Vitkievitch upon arriving back in St. Petesburg committed suicide.
Dost Mohammed eventually succeeded to the throne expanding the Afghan sphere of interest even further the British content to control things from India.
Read Mike Haran's essays on history at
http://www.geocities.com/manzikertca/
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