First Anglo-Afghan War

First Anglo-Afghan War
Part of the Great Game
A British-Indian force attacks Ghazni fort during the First Afghan War, c.1839.
Date March 1839–October 1842 Location Afghanistan Result Afghan victory British conquer Kabul, imprison Dost Mohammad and install Shah Shujah (August 1839) Dost Mohammad escapes, but is recaptured and deported (1840) Afghan uprisings and harsh winters force British withdrawal, Shah Shujah killed (1841–2) Dost Mohammad reinstalled to the throne (1843)
Belligerents
Emirate of Afghanistan	British Empire British East India Company
Commanders and leaders
Dost Mohammad Khan (POW) Akbar Khan	William Hay Macnaghten † John Keane Sir Willoughby Cotton George Pollock William Elphinstone (POW) Shah Shujah †
Casualties and losses
~500 soldiers 1,500 captured	4,700 soldiers + 12,000 camp followers

Afghan victory

 British Empire

~500 soldiers

The First Anglo-Afghan War (also known as the great disaster) was fought between British imperial India and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. Initially, the British successfully intervened in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad (Barakzai) and former emir Shah Shujah (Durrani), whom they installed upon conquering Kabul in August 1839. However, in 1841 the Army of the Indus, numbering between 24,000 and 28,000 including families of soldiers, military and political pundits, suffered a series of defeats at the hands of rebel Afghan tribesmen. The main British Indian and Sikh force occupying Kabul, having endured harsh winters as well, was almost completely annihilated while retreating in January 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Britain and Russia.

The 19th century was a period of diplomatic competition between the British and Russian empires for spheres of influence in Asia known as the "Great Game". In 1837, Lord Palmerston and John Hobhouse, fearing the instability of Afghanistan, the Sindh, and the increasing power of the Sikh kingdom to the northwest, raised the spectre of a possible Russian invasion of British India through Afghanistan. The Russian Empire was slowly extending its domain into Central Asia, and this was seen by the East India Company as a possible threat to their interests in India. The Company sent an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistan's Amir, Dost Mohammad Khan against Russia.

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