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Battle of OP Hill: The Biggest Infantry Battle Fought in Mountains
Battle of OP Hill: The Biggest Infantry Battle Fought in Mountains
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The First Afghan War And its Causes Rs.795.00/-

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Afghanistan is in the news a lot these days with place names like Kabul, Kandahar, and the Kyber Pass being familiar, though they were spelled differently in the early nineteenth century. Yet, wars in Afghanistan are not new. This book focuses on what is commonly called the First Afghan War of 1828-1842.

Major General Durand was commissioned in the Corps of Bengal Engineers after passing out of the East India Company College in Addiscombe on 7 June 1828. He saw the entire campaign closely accompanying Sir Willoughby Cotton's division to Quetta and was then part of Sir John Keane's force in the advance to Candhar. He was part of Sale's expedition to Girishk, before marching with the main army to Cabul. In the attack on Cabul he commanded the explosion party (p.1780 that destroyed the gate and allowed the army into the city. He continues describing events in which he participated and events he learned about from official documents and talking with people involved.

Most of the major and minor events of the war are described along with the problems involved in supplying an army on campaign and how the army operated on half/quarter rations. The negotiations and treachery between Macnaghten and Mahomed Akbar leading to the death of Macnaghten and his companions (p.375f). are detailed. This preceded the retreat of Elphinston's Army and the annihilation of nearly 20,000 soldiers and camp followers. Dr. Brydon was the only white man to survive the journey to Jellalabad, famously portrayed in a painting by Elizabeth Butler.

The manuscript was prepared soon after the war ended, when memories of the events were still clear, but it was not polished for publication. In 1878, the manuscript was published with minor edits by his son, who does provide a contextual essay on the life of his father both during this campaign and later fighting in India.

There is no index, but the table of contents is well annotated and describes the events, which are in chronological order, in each chapter. An understanding of the historical events would have been greatly enhanced if some maps of the area had been included. For modern readers the flowery language of period makes for hard reading. However, the involvement of the author in these events adds impact for anyone seeking to put ancestors into context.
Federation of Genealogical Societies Forum

The First Afghan War written by Major General Henry Marion Durand, K.C.S.I., C.B contains detailed account of the First Afghan campaign of Great Britain. General Durand was commissioned in Corps of Bengal Engineers after passing out of East India Company College, Addiscombe on June 7, 1828. General Durand saw the entire campaign closely & accompanied Sir Willoughby Cotton’s division to Quetta & then he was with Sir John Keane’s force in the advance to Candhar. From Candhar, after bearing part of the Sale’s expedition to Girishk, he marched with main body upon Cabul where he commanded the explosion party that was tasked to destroy the Cabul Gate. Book explains number of such historic events & throws light on the way of maintaining supply lines at that time, how British Indian army ran on half/quarter rations and events & wrong decisions that led to complete annihilation of the Elphinston’s Army, only example of its kind in the history of the British Army. In short, this book has explained the entire campaign in such a way that takes the readerback in history and visualises the entire campaign.

Author: Major-Genral Sir Henry Marion Durand, K.C.S.I
ISBN: 9780981537818
Pages: 484
Features: First Published 1879
This product was added to our catalog on Friday 06 June, 2008.
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