The First Afghan War 1839-1842 (Military History from Primary Sources)

This illustrated book tells the chronological story of the First Anglo-Afghan War using the original letters, personal diaries, official reports and dispatches written by the soldiers and politicians who took part, witnessed and died in these battles.

Initially they report glorious tales of success and conquest. They tell of everyday problems of a lack of equipment and a scarcity of funds, difficulties with the local warlords, the native troops and their superior officers, and the difficult terrain and extremes of weather. As time goes on, accounts of betrayal, murder and massacre begin to dominate.

From the British highpoint of the storming of Ghazni in July 1839 to the gradual and insidious rebellion of the local tribes, and finally to the appalling destruction of Elphinstone’s Army in January 1842, these eye-witness accounts bring this war back to vivid life.

It was “a war begun for no wise purpose, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the government which directed, or the great body of troops which waged it.”