Second Anglo-Afghan War, brief losses summary.

[Farkas]

Hi Gents…

 

from Wikipedia 

 

“The Second Anglo-Afghan War“

(Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس )

(Pashto: د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه )

was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former EmirDost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.”

Britain wanted Afghanistan to act as a buffer between India and Russia.
It was achieved.

“The campaign ended in September 1880 when the British decisively defeated Ayub Khan outside Kandahar. Abdur Rahman Khan, now the sole ruler, created the buffer the British wanted between the Raj and the Russian Empire, British and Indian soldiers then withdrew from Afghanistan”

 

 

The reason I mention this is…

Britain & it’s allies lost nearly 10,000 men in this conflict with Afghanistan.

- 1,850 in battle

- 8,000 to disease 

 

I find it incredible that this war despite spanning 2-3 years & being fought on enemy land, only produced 10k losses.

I find it doubly so however that 4 in 5 of those men lost were lost to disease.

 

It took another 20 years for the lessons learned in this and subsequent campaigns to force noticeable change in the Army.

 

Finally though, in 1898 , after continued difficulties recruiting Doctors/Surgeons to serve overseas, the Royal Army Medical Corps was signed into being by Queen Victoria giving Medical Officers the same entitlements/status as Army Officers, previously they didn’t even receive campaign medals.

 

Cheer

tony 🍻

 

 

 

[Gordon Craig]

Tony,

The many conflicts between the Afghan tribes and Great Britain were fought as more of a guerrilla war than what one could considering war experienced on the European continent.  Typically, the Afghani's would stage ambushes while being well protected by the terrain.  They would then fade away before the advancing British troops.  There was no sustained contact although there was the odd siege by both sides.  Hence the low number of fatalities from actual combat.  Disease was the most common cause of death among armies world wide at that time.  The Brits didn't learn anything from their losses during the Crimean War or the Second Boer war. They didn't seem to understand nutrition or cleanliness as it related to deaths from disease.  It wasn't until the 19th century that these things began to be understood and even then losses in the Great War could have been much less with better, and quicker, hospital care. 

Regards,

Gordon