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{{Short description|1838–1842 war between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan}} | {{Short description|1838–1842 war between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=January | {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} | ||
{{Infobox military conflict | {{Infobox military conflict | ||
| image = Storming Column entering Fortress at Ghuznee.jpg | | image = Storming Column entering Fortress at Ghuznee.jpg | ||
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British India at this time was a proprietary colony run by the [[British East India Company|East India Company]], which had been granted the right to rule India by the British Crown.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 112–13.</ref> India was only one of several proprietary colonies in the British Empire around the world, where various corporations or individuals had been granted the right to rule by the Crown, with for instance [[Rupert's Land]], which was a vast tract covering most of what is now Canada being ruled by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], but India was easily the most wealthy and profitable of all the proprietary colonies. By the 19th century, the East India Company ruled 90 million Indians and controlled 70 million acres (243,000 square kilometres) of land under its own flag while issuing its own currency, making it into the most powerful corporation in the world.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves">{{Cite news |date=17 December 2011 |title=The Company That Ruled The Waves |newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21541753 |access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref> The East India Company had been granted monopolies on trade by the Crown, but it was not owned by the Crown, though the shares in the East India Company were owned by numerous MPs and aristocrats, creating a powerful Company lobby in Parliament while the Company regularly gave "gifts" to influential people in Britain.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves" /> The East India Company was sufficiently wealthy to maintain the three [[Presidency armies]], known after their presidencies as the [[Bengal Army]], the [[Bombay Army]] and the [[Madras Army]], with the supreme field headquarters for commanding these armies being at [[Shimla|Simla]].<ref name="Perry, James page 112" /> The East India Company's army totaled 200,000 men, making it one of the largest armies in the entire world, and was an army larger than those maintained by most European states.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves" /> The majority of the men serving in the presidency armies were Indian, but the officers were all British, trained at the East India Company's own officer school at the [[Addiscombe Military Seminary|Addiscombe estate]] outside of London.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 113.</ref> Furthermore, the politically powerful East India Company had regiments from the British Army sent to India to serve alongside the East India Company's army.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Officers from the British Army serving in India tended to look down on officers serving in the company's army, and relations between the two armies were cool at best.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> | British India at this time was a proprietary colony run by the [[British East India Company|East India Company]], which had been granted the right to rule India by the British Crown.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 112–13.</ref> India was only one of several proprietary colonies in the British Empire around the world, where various corporations or individuals had been granted the right to rule by the Crown, with for instance [[Rupert's Land]], which was a vast tract covering most of what is now Canada being ruled by the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], but India was easily the most wealthy and profitable of all the proprietary colonies. By the 19th century, the East India Company ruled 90 million Indians and controlled 70 million acres (243,000 square kilometres) of land under its own flag while issuing its own currency, making it into the most powerful corporation in the world.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves">{{Cite news |date=17 December 2011 |title=The Company That Ruled The Waves |newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21541753 |access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref> The East India Company had been granted monopolies on trade by the Crown, but it was not owned by the Crown, though the shares in the East India Company were owned by numerous MPs and aristocrats, creating a powerful Company lobby in Parliament while the Company regularly gave "gifts" to influential people in Britain.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves" /> The East India Company was sufficiently wealthy to maintain the three [[Presidency armies]], known after their presidencies as the [[Bengal Army]], the [[Bombay Army]] and the [[Madras Army]], with the supreme field headquarters for commanding these armies being at [[Shimla|Simla]].<ref name="Perry, James page 112" /> The East India Company's army totaled 200,000 men, making it one of the largest armies in the entire world, and was an army larger than those maintained by most European states.<ref name="The Company That Ruled The Waves" /> The majority of the men serving in the presidency armies were Indian, but the officers were all British, trained at the East India Company's own officer school at the [[Addiscombe Military Seminary|Addiscombe estate]] outside of London.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 113.</ref> Furthermore, the politically powerful East India Company had regiments from the British Army sent to India to serve alongside the East India Company's army.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Officers from the British Army serving in India tended to look down on officers serving in the company's army, and relations between the two armies were cool at best.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> | ||
The regiments chosen for the invasion of Afghanistan came from the Bengal and Bombay armies.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The commander in India, Sir [[Henry Fane (British Army officer)|Henry Fane]], chose the regiments by drawing lots.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The units from the Bengal Army going into Afghanistan were Skinner's Horse, the 43rd Native Infantry and the 2nd Light Cavalry, which were all Company regiments while the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and the [[Somerset Light Infantry|13th Somersethire Light Infantry]] came from the British Army in India.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The units from the Bombay Army chosen for the Grand Army of the Indus were the 19th Native Infantry and the Poona Local Horse, which were Company regiments, and the [[Queen's Regiment|2nd Queen's Regiment]], the [[Royal Lincolnshire Regiment|17th Lincolnshire Regiment]], and the 4th Dragoons, which were all British Army regiments.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Of the two divisions of the Grand Army of the Indus, the Bombay division numbered fifty-six hundred men and the Bengal division numbered ninety-five hundred men.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Shuja recruited 6,000 Indian mercenaries ("Shah Shujah's Levy")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ram |first=Subedar Sita |title=From Sepoy to Subedar |year=1988 |isbn=0-333-45672-6 |page=86}}</ref> out of his pocket for the invasion.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Ranjit Singh, the elderly and ailing Maharaja of the Punjab and the British assembled in a grand review at Ferozepore as Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the ''Dal Khalsa'' to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India.<ref name="Perry, James pp. 109"/> Ranjit Singh agreed to a treaty with the British viceroy Lord Auckland to restore Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne in Kabul. In pursuance of this agreement, the British army of the Indus entered Afghanistan from the south, while Ranjit Singh's troops went through the Khyber Pass and took part in the victory parade in Kabul.<ref name=britranjit>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-maharaja Ranjit Singh] Encyclopædia Britannica, Khushwant Singh (2015)</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&q=ranjit+singh+entered+kabul&pg=PA248|year=2010|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn= | The regiments chosen for the invasion of Afghanistan came from the Bengal and Bombay armies.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The commander in India, Sir [[Henry Fane (British Army officer)|Henry Fane]], chose the regiments by drawing lots.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The units from the Bengal Army going into Afghanistan were Skinner's Horse, the 43rd Native Infantry and the 2nd Light Cavalry, which were all Company regiments while the [[16th The Queen's Lancers|16th Lancers]] and the [[Somerset Light Infantry|13th Somersethire Light Infantry]] came from the British Army in India.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> The units from the Bombay Army chosen for the Grand Army of the Indus were the 19th Native Infantry and the Poona Local Horse, which were Company regiments, and the [[Queen's Regiment|2nd Queen's Regiment]], the [[Royal Lincolnshire Regiment|17th Lincolnshire Regiment]], and the 4th Dragoons, which were all British Army regiments.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Of the two divisions of the Grand Army of the Indus, the Bombay division numbered fifty-six hundred men and the Bengal division numbered ninety-five hundred men.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Shuja recruited 6,000 Indian mercenaries ("Shah Shujah's Levy")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ram |first=Subedar Sita |title=From Sepoy to Subedar |year=1988 |isbn=0-333-45672-6 |page=86}}</ref> out of his pocket for the invasion.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> Ranjit Singh, the elderly and ailing Maharaja of the Punjab and the British assembled in a grand review at Ferozepore as Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the ''Dal Khalsa'' to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India.<ref name="Perry, James pp. 109"/> Ranjit Singh agreed to a treaty with the British viceroy Lord Auckland to restore Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne in Kabul. In pursuance of this agreement, the British army of the Indus entered Afghanistan from the south, while Ranjit Singh's troops went through the Khyber Pass and took part in the victory parade in Kabul.<ref name=britranjit>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-maharaja Ranjit Singh] Encyclopædia Britannica, Khushwant Singh (2015)</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&q=ranjit+singh+entered+kabul&pg=PA248|year=2010|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn=9781615302017}}</ref> Accompanying the invasion force were 38,000 Indian camp followers and 30,000 camels to carry supplies.<ref name="Perry, James p. 113" /> | ||
The Emirate of Afghanistan had no army, and instead under the Afghan feudal system, the tribal chiefs contributed fighting men when the Emir called upon their services.<ref name=":1">Yapp, M.E. Journal Article The Revolutions of 1841–2 in Afghanistan pp. 333–81 from ''The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', Volume 27, Issue 2, 1964 p. 338.</ref> The Afghans were divided into numerous ethnic groups, of which the largest were the Pashtuns, the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and the Hazaras, who were all in their turn divided into numerous tribes and clans. Islam was the sole unifying factor binding these groups together, though the Hazaras were Shia Muslims while the rest were Sunni Muslims. The Pashtuns were the dominant ethnic group, and it was with the Pashtun tribes that the British interacted the most. The Pashtun tribesmen had no military training, but the ferociously warlike Pashtuns were forever fighting each other, when not being called up for service for the tribal levy by the Emir, meaning most Pashtun men had at least some experience of warfare.<ref name="Perry, James page 111" /> The Pashtun tribes lived by their strict moral code of ''[[Pashtunwali]]'' ("the way of the Pashtuns") stating various rules for a Pashtun man to live by, one of which was that a man had to avenge any insult, real or imagined, with violence, in order to be considered a man. The standard Afghan weapon was a matchlock rifle known as the [[jezail]].<ref name="Perry, James page 111" /> | The Emirate of Afghanistan had no army, and instead under the Afghan feudal system, the tribal chiefs contributed fighting men when the Emir called upon their services.<ref name=":1">Yapp, M.E. Journal Article The Revolutions of 1841–2 in Afghanistan pp. 333–81 from ''The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', Volume 27, Issue 2, 1964 p. 338.</ref> The Afghans were divided into numerous ethnic groups, of which the largest were the Pashtuns, the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and the Hazaras, who were all in their turn divided into numerous tribes and clans. Islam was the sole unifying factor binding these groups together, though the Hazaras were Shia Muslims while the rest were Sunni Muslims. The Pashtuns were the dominant ethnic group, and it was with the Pashtun tribes that the British interacted the most. The Pashtun tribesmen had no military training, but the ferociously warlike Pashtuns were forever fighting each other, when not being called up for service for the tribal levy by the Emir, meaning most Pashtun men had at least some experience of warfare.<ref name="Perry, James page 111" /> The Pashtun tribes lived by their strict moral code of ''[[Pashtunwali]]'' ("the way of the Pashtuns") stating various rules for a Pashtun man to live by, one of which was that a man had to avenge any insult, real or imagined, with violence, in order to be considered a man. The standard Afghan weapon was a matchlock rifle known as the [[jezail]].<ref name="Perry, James page 111" /> | ||
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[[File:The Opening in to the Narrow Path above the Siri Bolan.jpg|thumb|left|The Opening in to the Narrow Path above the Siri [[Bolan Pass|Bolan]] from [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)|James Atkinson]]'s ''Sketches in Afghaunistan'']] | [[File:The Opening in to the Narrow Path above the Siri Bolan.jpg|thumb|left|The Opening in to the Narrow Path above the Siri [[Bolan Pass|Bolan]] from [[James Atkinson (Persian scholar)|James Atkinson]]'s ''Sketches in Afghaunistan'']] | ||
By late March 1839 the British forces had crossed the [[Bolan Pass]], reached the southern Afghan city of [[Quetta]], and begun their march to Kabul. They advanced through rough terrain, across deserts and 4,000-metre-high{{dubious|date=January | By late March 1839 the British forces had crossed the [[Bolan Pass]], reached the southern Afghan city of [[Quetta]], and begun their march to Kabul. They advanced through rough terrain, across deserts and 4,000-metre-high{{dubious|date=January 2018}} mountain passes, but made good progress and finally set up camps at [[Kandahar]] on 25 April 1839. After reaching Kandahar, Keane decided to wait for the crops to ripen before resuming his march, so it was not until 27 June that the Grand Army of the Indus marched again.<ref name="Perry, James page 116">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 116.</ref> Keane left behind his siege engines in Kandahar, which turned out to be a mistake as he discovered that the walls of the Ghazni fortress were far stronger than he expected.<ref name="Perry, James page 116" /> A deserter, Abdul Rashed Khan, a nephew of Dost Mohammad Khan, informed the British that one of the gates of the fortress was in bad state of repair and might be blasted open with a gunpowder charge.<ref name="Perry, James page 116" /> Before the fortress, the British were attacked by a force of the [[Ghilji]] tribesmen fighting under the banner of ''jihad'' who were desperate to kill ''farangis'', a pejorative Pashtun term for the British, and were beaten off.<ref name="Perry, James page 117">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 117.</ref> The British took fifty prisoners who were brought before Shuja, where one of them stabbed a minister to death with a hidden knife.<ref name="Perry, James page 117" /> Shuja had them all beheaded, which led Sir John Kaye, in his official history of the war, to write this act of "wanton barbarity", the "shrill cry" of the ''Ghazis'', would be remembered as the "funeral wail" of the government's "unholy policy".<ref name="Perry, James page 117" /> | ||
On 23 July 1839, in a surprise attack, the British-led forces [[Battle of Ghazni|captured]] the fortress of [[Ghazni]], which overlooks a plain leading eastward into the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Forbes |first=Archibald |year=2014 |title=The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8428/pg8428-images.html |access-date=27 February 2019 |publisher=Project Gutenberg EBook}}</ref> The British troops blew up one city gate and marched into the city in a euphoric mood. During the battle, the British suffered 200 killed and wounded, while the Afghans suffered 500 killed and 1,500 captured. Ghazni was well-supplied, which eased the further advance considerably.<ref name="Husain" /><ref name="Sandes">Sandes, Lt Col E.W.C., 'The Indian Sappers and Miners' pp 133-147. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1948.</ref> | On 23 July 1839, in a surprise attack, the British-led forces [[Battle of Ghazni|captured]] the fortress of [[Ghazni]], which overlooks a plain leading eastward into the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Forbes |first=Archibald |year=2014 |title=The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8428/pg8428-images.html |access-date=27 February 2019 |publisher=Project Gutenberg EBook}}</ref> The British troops blew up one city gate and marched into the city in a euphoric mood. During the battle, the British suffered 200 killed and wounded, while the Afghans suffered 500 killed and 1,500 captured. Ghazni was well-supplied, which eased the further advance considerably.<ref name="Husain" /><ref name="Sandes">Sandes, Lt Col E.W.C., 'The Indian Sappers and Miners' pp 133-147. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, 1948.</ref> | ||
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Lady Sale wrote in her diary on 2 November 1841: "This morning early, all was in commotion in Kabul. The shops were plundered and the people all fighting."<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 125–26.</ref> That same day, a mob "thirsting for blood" appeared outside of the house of the East India Company's second political officer, Sir Alexander 'Sekundar' Burnes, where Burnes ordered his sepoy guards not to fire while he stood outside haranguing the mob in Pashto, attempting unconvincingly to persuade the assembled men that he did not bed their daughters and sisters.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 126.</ref> Captain William Broadfoot who was with Burnes saw the mob march forward, leading him to open fire with another officer writing in his diary that he "killed five or six men with his own hand before he was shot down".<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The mob smashed in to Burnes's house, where he, his brother Charles, their wives and children, several aides and the sepoys were all torn to pieces.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The mob then attacked the home of the paymaster Johnston who was not present, leading to later write when he surveyed the remains of his house that they "gained possession of my treasury by undermining the wall...They murdered the whole of the guard (one officer and 28 sepoys), all my servants (male, female, and children), plundered the treasury...burnt all my office records...and possessed themselves of all my private property".<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The British forces took no action in response despite being only five minutes away, which encouraged further revolt.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The only person who took action that day was Shuja who ordered out one of his regiments from the Bala Hissar commanded by a Scots mercenary named Campbell to crush the riot, but the old city of Kabul with its narrow, twisting streets favored the defenders, with Campbell's men coming under fire from rebels in the houses above.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 126–27.</ref> After losing about 200 men killed, Campbell retreated back to the Bala Hissar.<ref name="Perry, James p. 127">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 127.</ref> After hearing of the defeat of his regiment, Shuja descended into what Kaye called "a pitiable state of dejection and alarm", sinking into a deep state of depression as it finally dawned on him that his people hated him and wanted to see him dead.<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Captain Sturt was sent to the Bala Hissar by Elphinstone to see if it were possible to recover control of the city later that afternoon, where his mother-in-law Lady Sale noted in her diary: "Just as he entered the precincts of the palace, he was stabbed in three places by a young man well dressed, who escaped into a building close-by, where he was protected by the gates being shut."<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Sturt was sent home to be cared for by Lady Sale and his wife with the former noting: "He was covered with blood issuing from his mouth and was unable to articulate. He could not lie down, from the blood choking him", only being capable hours later to utter one word: "bet-ter".<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Lady Sale was highly critical of Elphinstone's leadership, writing: "General Elphinstone vacillates on every point. His own judgement appears to be good, but he is swayed by the last speaker", criticising him for "...a very strange circumstance that troops were not immediately sent into the city to quell the affair in the commencement, but we seem to sit quietly with our hands folded, and look on".."<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Despite both being in the cantonment, Elphinstone preferred to write letters to Macnaghten, with one letter on 2 November saying "I have been considering what can done tomorrow" (he decided to do nothing that day), stating "our dilemma is a difficult one", and finally concluding "We must see what the morning brings".<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 128.</ref> The British situation soon deteriorated when Afghans stormed the poorly defended supply fort inside Kabul on 9 November. | Lady Sale wrote in her diary on 2 November 1841: "This morning early, all was in commotion in Kabul. The shops were plundered and the people all fighting."<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 125–26.</ref> That same day, a mob "thirsting for blood" appeared outside of the house of the East India Company's second political officer, Sir Alexander 'Sekundar' Burnes, where Burnes ordered his sepoy guards not to fire while he stood outside haranguing the mob in Pashto, attempting unconvincingly to persuade the assembled men that he did not bed their daughters and sisters.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 126.</ref> Captain William Broadfoot who was with Burnes saw the mob march forward, leading him to open fire with another officer writing in his diary that he "killed five or six men with his own hand before he was shot down".<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The mob smashed in to Burnes's house, where he, his brother Charles, their wives and children, several aides and the sepoys were all torn to pieces.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The mob then attacked the home of the paymaster Johnston who was not present, leading to later write when he surveyed the remains of his house that they "gained possession of my treasury by undermining the wall...They murdered the whole of the guard (one officer and 28 sepoys), all my servants (male, female, and children), plundered the treasury...burnt all my office records...and possessed themselves of all my private property".<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The British forces took no action in response despite being only five minutes away, which encouraged further revolt.<ref name="Perry, James p. 126" /> The only person who took action that day was Shuja who ordered out one of his regiments from the Bala Hissar commanded by a Scots mercenary named Campbell to crush the riot, but the old city of Kabul with its narrow, twisting streets favored the defenders, with Campbell's men coming under fire from rebels in the houses above.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 126–27.</ref> After losing about 200 men killed, Campbell retreated back to the Bala Hissar.<ref name="Perry, James p. 127">Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 127.</ref> After hearing of the defeat of his regiment, Shuja descended into what Kaye called "a pitiable state of dejection and alarm", sinking into a deep state of depression as it finally dawned on him that his people hated him and wanted to see him dead.<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Captain Sturt was sent to the Bala Hissar by Elphinstone to see if it were possible to recover control of the city later that afternoon, where his mother-in-law Lady Sale noted in her diary: "Just as he entered the precincts of the palace, he was stabbed in three places by a young man well dressed, who escaped into a building close-by, where he was protected by the gates being shut."<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Sturt was sent home to be cared for by Lady Sale and his wife with the former noting: "He was covered with blood issuing from his mouth and was unable to articulate. He could not lie down, from the blood choking him", only being capable hours later to utter one word: "bet-ter".<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Lady Sale was highly critical of Elphinstone's leadership, writing: "General Elphinstone vacillates on every point. His own judgement appears to be good, but he is swayed by the last speaker", criticising him for "...a very strange circumstance that troops were not immediately sent into the city to quell the affair in the commencement, but we seem to sit quietly with our hands folded, and look on".."<ref name="Perry, James p. 127" /> Despite both being in the cantonment, Elphinstone preferred to write letters to Macnaghten, with one letter on 2 November saying "I have been considering what can done tomorrow" (he decided to do nothing that day), stating "our dilemma is a difficult one", and finally concluding "We must see what the morning brings".<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 p. 128.</ref> The British situation soon deteriorated when Afghans stormed the poorly defended supply fort inside Kabul on 9 November. | ||
In the following weeks, the British commanders tried to negotiate with Akbar Khan. Macnaghten secretly offered to make Akbar Afghanistan's [[vizier]] in exchange for allowing the British to stay, while simultaneously disbursing large sums of money to have him assassinated, which was reported to Akbar Khan.{{citation needed|date=January | In the following weeks, the British commanders tried to negotiate with Akbar Khan. Macnaghten secretly offered to make Akbar Afghanistan's [[vizier]] in exchange for allowing the British to stay, while simultaneously disbursing large sums of money to have him assassinated, which was reported to Akbar Khan.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} A meeting for direct negotiations between Macnaghten and Akbar was held near the cantonment on 23 December, but Macnaghten and the three officers accompanying him were seized and slain by Akbar Khan. Macnaghten's body was dragged through the streets of Kabul and displayed in the bazaar.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} Elphinstone had partly lost command of his troops already and his authority was badly damaged. | ||
===Destruction of Elphinstone's army=== | ===Destruction of Elphinstone's army=== | ||
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==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
* {{Cite book|last=Dalrymple|first=William|title=[[Return of a King|Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan]]|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4088-1830-5|location=London|author-link=William Dalrymple (historian)}} | * {{Cite book|last=Dalrymple|first=William|title=[[Return of a King|Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan]]|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4088-1830-5|location=London|author-link=William Dalrymple (historian)}} | ||
* {{Cite thesis |last=Findlay |first=Adam George |title=Preventing Strategic Defeat: A Reassessment of the First Anglo-Afghan War |degree=PhD |publisher=[[University of New South Wales]] |url=http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:35792/SOURCE02?view=true |place=Canberra |format=PDF |year= | * {{Cite thesis |last=Findlay |first=Adam George |title=Preventing Strategic Defeat: A Reassessment of the First Anglo-Afghan War |degree=PhD |publisher=[[University of New South Wales]] |url=http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:35792/SOURCE02?view=true |place=Canberra |format=PDF |year=2015}} | ||
* {{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSWDDwAAQBAJ|title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present|date=15 January 2019|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-78914-010-1|language=en}} | * {{Cite book|last=Lee|first=Jonathan L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSWDDwAAQBAJ|title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present|date=15 January 2019|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-78914-010-1|language=en}} | ||
* {{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Corinne |title=Chasing Tales: Travel Writing, Journalism and the History of British Ideas about Afghanistan |publisher=Brill {{!}} Rodopi |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-420-2262-1 |location=Amsterdam |doi=10.1163/9789401204873}} | * {{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Corinne |title=Chasing Tales: Travel Writing, Journalism and the History of British Ideas about Afghanistan |publisher=Brill {{!}} Rodopi |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-420-2262-1 |location=Amsterdam |doi=10.1163/9789401204873}} | ||