L9: The Anglo-Afghan Wars

Question 1

When was the first Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 1

1839-1842

Question 2

Who became the ruling dynasty in Afghanistan in 1816?

Answer 2

Barakzay clan with its most powerful member being Dost Mohammad Khan

Question 3

What was Dost Mohammad forced to do as a result of Great Britain and Russia seeking influence in Afghanistan?

Answer 3

Dost Mohammad was forced to balance his country between the 2 great powers

Question 4

What did the British do in response to Dost Mohammad trying to balance Afghanistan between both countries?

Answer 4

The British moved to take a direct role of Afghan affairs as they felt Mohammad was either hostile to them or unable to resist Russian interference

Question 5

How did Britain try to interfere in Afghan affairs?

Answer 5

Britain negotiated with Dost Mohammad first but then ordered for an invasion of Afghanistan

Question 6

Who ordered the first invasion of Afghanistan and why?

Answer 6

Governor of India, Lord Auckland ordered the invasion with the object of restoring exiled Afghan ruler, Shah Shoja to the throne

Question 7

When did Britain enter Afghanistan and what was the outcome?

Answer 7

April 1839, the British army entered Kandahar and Shoja was crowned Shah

Question 8

Where else was captured by Britain after Kandahar?

Answer 8

Ghazni was captured the following July which resulted in Shoja being installed in Kabul, a month after.

Question 9

How did the Afghan people respond to the British interference?

Answer 9

The Afghan didn’t tolerate a foreign occupation or a king imposed on them by a foreign power which led to Dost Mohammad escaping imprisonment and lead his partisans against Britain

Question 10

When and what was the Battle of Parwan?

Answer 10

2nd November 1840
Dost Mohammad and the Afghans against the British.
Dost Mohammad had the upper hand but surrendered to the British in Kabul

Question 11

What happened to Dost Mohammad?

Answer 11

He was then deported to India with his family

Question 12

How secure was Britain’s position in Afghanistan?

Answer 12

Outbreaks continued throughout the country and the British’s position was untenable and their withdrawal was discussed with Dost Mohommads son

Question 13

Why did Britain not withdraw from Afghanistan?

Answer 13

Sir William Hay, a British political agent was killed during a parley with the Afghans

Question 14

When did the British leave Kabul?

Answer 14

6th January 1842
4,500 British and Indian troops marched out

Question 15

What happened when Britain tried to leave Kabul in 1842?

Answer 15

Swarms of Afghans circled the British and the retreat ended in a bloodbath with Shah Shoja killed after the British left

Question 16

What happened in the summer of 1842?

Answer 16

Britain reoccupied Kabul but then was evacuated by the new governor of India, Lord Ellenborough and Dost Mohammad was returned to the throne in 1843

Question 17

What do we need to be aware with when considering the First Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 17

It doesn’t fit in our time period

Question 18

What was the aftermath of the First Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 18

The events hadn’t left Afghanistan in a stable way
There ere still fears on both sides of potential future attacks on power

Question 19

What did fears of future potential attacks after the First Anglo-Afghan war lead to?

Answer 19

The Second Anglo-Afghan war

Question 20

When was the Second Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 20

1878-1880

Question 21

Why did the Second Anglo-Afghan war happen?

Answer 21

British-Indian forces fought to ensure Afghanistan remained free from Russia

Question 22

When did Britain re-enter Afghanistan?

Answer 22

November 1878
3 British columns of 40,000 men marched into Kandahar, Jelalabad and Kabul

Question 23

What happened whilst the third British column was marching to Kabul?

Answer 23

They got blocked at Peiwar Kotal by an Afghan force of 18,000 men which resulted in the British-Indian force inflicting heavy casualties and capturing all the Afghan guns.

Question 24

What happened once Britain had landed in Kabul during the Second Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 24

Sher Ali fled from Kabul and he was succeeded as emir by his son, Yakub Khan, who signed the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879

Question 25

What was the Treaty of Gandamak?

Answer 25

Signed in May 1879
In return for British support, he accepted the presence of a British envoy and British control of Afghan foreign affairs.

Question 26

Who then revolted against the British after the treaty of Gandamak?

Answer 26

Supporters of Yakub Khan and opponents of British occupation rose in revolt and as a result, Afghan armies marched to Kabul

Question 27

Who defeated the Afghan army at Kabul and reoccupied it?

Answer 27

In May 1880, Roberts was joined by Lieutenant-General Sir Donald Stewart, who had advanced from Kandahar and defeated an Afghan army

Question 28

After the Afghan army was defeated in 1880, who became the new leader of Afghanistan and how did they respond to the treaty of Gandamak?

Answer 28

Abdur Rahman, a nephew of Sher Ali, who agreed to abide by the terms of the Treaty of Gandamak.

Question 29

How was peace established after the Second Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 29

British left Afghanistan in the hands of Abdur Rahman, who agreed to conduct his foreign policy through the Government of India.
The last British and Indian soldiers left the country in April 1881.

Question 30

Who became the new Amir of Afghanistan after Abdur Rahman?

Answer 30

Amanullah Khan

Question 31

When was the third Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 31

1919

Question 32

How did the third Anglo-Afghan war start?

Answer 32

Amanullah Khan immediately repudiated the Treaty of Gandamak, which had given the British control of Afghan foreign policy at the end of the Second Afghan War

Question 33

What did Amanullah Khan do that disrupted the peace between Afghanistan and Britain?

Answer 33

He declared full independence and proclaimed ‘jihad’
He also encouraged revolt on the neighbouring North-West Frontier of India in which he hoped to seize Peshawar and the old Afghan provinces

Question 34

Who did Amanullah Khan share alliegance with?

Answer 34

The new Bolshevik regime in Russia

Question 35

How did Britain respond to the Afghans disruption of peace after the second Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 35

The British mobilised their forces and fought on the ground focused on the main mountain passes between British India and Afghanistan.

Question 36

How did the third Anglo-Afghan war end?

Answer 36

Treaty of Rawalpindi (8 August 1919) recognised full Afghan independence and finally gave the Afghans the right to conduct their own foreign affairs.

Question 37

How many British and Indian troops died in the third Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 37

Around 250 men killed and 650 wounded. There were also nearly 1,000 deaths caused by disease.

Question 38

What happened immediately after the end of the third Anglo-Afghan war?

Answer 38

Wazir and Mahsud tribes launched attacks on British convoys and posts.

Question 39

Why did the Wazir and Mahsud tribes launch attacks on the British?

Answer 39

They were always on the look-out for opportunities to loot and pillage.
They were also angered by false rumours that Waziristan was to be handed over to Afghanistan in post-war talks.

Question 40

What brought the conflict between the Afghan tribes and Britain to an end in 1920?

Answer 40

The British bombing of Wazir and Mahsud villages