In 1838, Afghanistan was under the rule of Dost Mohammed Barakzai. The British East India Company and Lord Auckland, Governor General of India, favoured Shuja Shah, from whom Barakzai had wrested power.
An army, under the command of General Sir Willoughby Cotton with 20,000 soldiers and 38,000 camp followers was assembled to fight Afghanistan. By April 1839, they had taken Kandahar and two months later Ghazni. Dost Mohammed fled and Kabul fell without a fight, in August. Shuja Shah returned and was proclaimed emir by the British.
A year later, Dost Mohammed surrendered to William Hay Macnaghten, advisor to Auckland.
The British established their military cantonments outside Kabul. As the occupying force the British enjoyed a fine lifestyle and Macnaghten became the leader of the British society in Kabul.
The Afghans were unhappy as Dost Mohammed was a popular ruler, whereas Shuja Shah was a puppet. In 1840, the son of Dost Mohammad, Wazir Akbar Khan, began assembling allies amongst the tribesmen. He initiated a guerilla war that kept the East India Company troops permanently on the move.
Voice of dissension
The cost of controlling Afghanistan was spiralling and the British had to stop the periodic bribes it paid to the tribes in the region to keep the peace. With no payment the tribes saw no need to support peace. As spring gave way to summer things were getting difficult for the British. Adding to their woes, Sir Willoughby was replaced by Sir William Elphinstone.
On November 2, 1841 Wazir Akbar Khan proclaimed a general revolt. They stormed the house of Sir Alexander Burnes, a senior British political officer, and killed him and his staff. Elphinstone took no action against the killing. A week later, the Afghans stormed a supply fort. On November 23, Afghan forces occupied a hill overlooking the British cantonments and began bombarding the camp with two guns. A British force tried to retaliate but was unsuccessful. The East India troops fled leaving behind 300 wounded. Elphinstone called for reinforcements from Kandahar but they could get across the mountain passes, as it was blocked by heavy snow.
Macnaghten tried to negotiate with Akbar Khan for the withdrawal of the troops and 12,000 British and Indian civilians still at Kabul. On December 23, Afghan leaders invited Macnaghten for tea to discuss the situation. When the British delegation dismounted from their horses, they were seized and Macnaghten and an aide were slain by armed men. Later, Macnaghten’s mutilated body was dragged through the streets of Kabul.
On January 1, 1842 Elphinstone agreed to Akbar Khan’s terms and handed over gunpowder reserves, muskets and cannon. In return, Akbar Khan promised a safe passage to Jalalabad , 140 km away, for all troops and civilians — children, women and elderly. The withdrawal began on January 6. They had to cross the snow-covered mountains of the Hindu Kush.
Akbar Khan did not provide the escort he had promised. The contingent was ambushed at the pass. A week later, on January 13, only one officer from the 16,000 strong army, on a wounded horse rode into Jalalabad. Assistant Surgeon William Brydon arrived on a pony. He was spotted from the walls of Jalalabad and rescue riders were despatched. When they asked him about the army, he said, “I am the army”. Brydon later published a memoir of the “death march”. The pony he rode was said to have lain down in a stable and never got up.
For several nights, lights were raised on the gates of Jalalabad and bugles were sounded from the walls in the hope of guiding any further survivors to safety. But there was none.
