View source for Second Anglo-Afghan War

{{Short description|1878–1880 war between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Second Anglo–Afghan War
| partof            = the [[Great Game]]
| image             = 5th Punjab cavalry in the Chardeh Valley.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = [[5th Cavalry (India)|5th Punjab Cavalry]] chasing the Afghan army at the Chardeh Valley in [[Kabul]]
| date              = 21 November 1878 – 27 April 1881<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=11|day1=21|year1=1878|month2=4|day2=27|year2=1881}})
| place             = [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]
| coordinates       = 
| map_type          = 
| latitude          = 
| longitude         = 
| map_size          = 
| map_marksize      = 
| map_caption       = 
| map_label         = 
| territory         = [[Kandahar]] re-ceded to [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=378}} Districts of [[Quetta District|Quetta]], [[Pishin District|Pishin]], [[Sibi District|Sibi]], [[Harnai District|Harnai]] & Thal Chotiali ceded to [[British India]]{{sfn|Blood |1996|pp=20–21}}
| result            = {{ublist|Anglo-Afzalid victory<ref name="Schmidt">{{cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Karl J. |title=An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History |year=1995 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |quote= British forces were victorious and Sher Ali was deposed|isbn=978-1563243332 |page=[https://archive.org/details/atlassurveyofsou0000schm/page/74 74] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/atlassurveyofsou0000schm/page/74 }}</ref>{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=382–383}}}}
* [[Treaty of Gandamak]]
* British withdrawal from [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]<ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Adamec |first1=L.W. |last2=Norris |first2=J.A. |url=http://iranicaonline.org/articles/anglo-afghan-wars |title=Anglo-Afghan Wars |work=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |date=2010 }}</ref><ref name="Iranica2">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Norris |first1=J.A. |url=http://iranicaonline.org/articles/anglo-afghan-relations-a-survey-from-the-earliest-times-to-the-death-of-the-last-barakzay-ruler-in-1357-s |title=Anglo-Afghan Relations |work=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |date=2010 }}</ref>{{sfn|Barfield|2010|p=145}}<ref name="Posturee">{{Cite book |title=Understanding Holocausts: How, Why and When They Occur |last1=Posturee |first1=Bad |year=2002 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-23838-5 |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TgXuP-ezB8C&lpg=PR1&pg=PA84 |accessdate=22 August 2010 }}</ref>
* [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] installed as [[List of heads of state of Afghanistan|Emir]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781789140101 |pages=383 |language=English}}</ref>
* [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] becomes a ''[[de jure]]'' [[British protectorate]]{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=395-397}}{{sfnp|Onley, The Raj Reconsidered|2009|p=50}}
| combatant2        = '''[[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1841–1879).svg|14px]] [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]'''
| combatant1        = {{tree list}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom.svg}} '''[[British Empire]]'''
** {{flagcountry|British Raj}}
{{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} '''[[Afzalids]]'''
{{tree list/end}}
| commander2        = {{Plainlist|
* [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1841–1879).svg|14px]] '''[[Sher Ali Khan]]'''{{Natural Causes}}
* [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1841–1879).svg|14px]] '''[[Mohammad Yaqub Khan]]'''{{Surrendered}}
* [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] '''[[Mohammad Musa Khan (Afghanistan)|Mohammad Musa Khan]]'''{{POW}}
* [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] '''[[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Afghanistan)|Mohammad Ayub Khan]]'''}}
{{Collapsible list
| title = Afghanistan:
| [[File:War Flag of Afghanistan (1879).svg|20px]] Ghulam Haidar Khan
| [[File:War Flag of Afghanistan (1879).svg|20px]] Faiz Mohammad Khan
| [[File:War Flag of Afghanistan (1879).svg|20px]] Mir Akhor
| [[File:War Flag of Afghanistan (1879).svg|20px]] Karim Khan
| [[File:War Flag of Afghanistan (1879).svg|20px]] Nek Mohammad Khan
| [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] [[Din Mohammad Andar]]{{POW}}
| [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] [[Mohammad Jan Khan]]
| [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] [[Mir Bacha Khan]]
| [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] Mohammad Usman Khan
| [[File:Flag of Afghanistan (1879–1880).svg|20px]] [[Malalai of Maiwand]]{{KIA}}
}}
| commander1        = {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} '''[[Sam Browne|Sir Sam Browne]]'''<br>{{Collapsible list
| title = British:
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Sir Frederick Roberts]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Sir Frederick Roberts]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[O'Moore Creagh|Sir O'Moore Creagh]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Sir Donald Stewart, 1st Baronet|Sir Donald Stewart]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Herbert Macpherson|Sir Herbert Macpherson]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Charles John Stanley Gough|Charles Gough]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[William Massy]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Thomas Durand Baker]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} Colonel Jenkins
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[George Burrows (Indian Army officer)|George Burrows]]
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Henry Francis Brooke]]{{KIA}}
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} [[Louis Cavagnari]]{{KIA}}
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} Charles Palliser{{KIA}}
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} Walter Hamilton{{KIA}}
| {{flagdeco|UKGBI}} John Nicholson{{KIA}}
| {{flagdeco|British Raj}} [[Pertab Singh of Idar|Sir Pratap Singh]]
}}
----
{{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} '''[[Abdur Rahman Khan]]'''<br>{{Collapsible list
| title = Afzalids:
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} Sher Ali Khan
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} Yahya Khan
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} Wali Mohammad Khan
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Afghanistan (1880–1891).svg}} Mohammad Hasan Khan
}}
| casualties2       = Total fatalities are unknown
* 5,000+ killed in major battles<ref name="Robson">{{cite book |last=Robson |first=Brian. |title=The Road to Kabul: The Second Afghan War 1878–1881 |year=2007 |publisher=Spellmount |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-86227-416-7 |page=299 }}</ref>
| casualties1       = Total: 10,000+ dead{{sfn|Robson|2007|p=297}}
* 1,850+ [[killed in action]] or died of wounds
* 8,000+ died of diseases<ref name="Robson"/>
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Second Anglo-Afghan War}}
{{Campaignbox Conflicts in Afghanistan (1823-1973)}}
{{History of Afghanistan}}
}}

The '''Second Anglo-Afghan War{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{langx|ps|د افغان او انگرېز دويمه جگړه|Də Afğān au Angrez dwayəma jagṛa}} {{IPA|ps|d̪ə ʔäʊ.ɣɑn/ʔäp.ɣɑn ʔäʊ ʔäŋg.ɾez d̪wä.jə.mä d͡ʒäg.ɽä|}}|{{langx|prs|جنگ دوم انگلیس و افغان|Jang-i duwum-i Afğān wa Inglīs|label=[[Dari|Persian]]}} {{IPA|prs|d͡ʒäŋg‿ɪ d̪uː.jʊ́m‿ɪ/d̪ʊ.wʊ́m‿ɪ ʔäv.ɣɑ́ːn/ʔäf.ɣɑ́ːn ʔʊ ʔɪŋɡ.liːs|}}}}}}''' 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 [[Emir]] [[Dost Mohammad Khan]]. The war was part of the [[Great Game]] between the [[British Empire|British]] and [[Russian empire|Russian]] empires.

The war was split into two campaigns – the first began in November 1878 with the [[British Raj|British]] invasion of Afghanistan from [[British Raj|India]]. Sher Ali Khan opted to leave [[Kabul]] in order to seek political and military aid from the [[Russian Empire]], and died in [[Mazar-e Sharif]] trying to reach the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] border, leaving the throne to his son [[Mohammad Yaqub Khan]]. Ali's successor Yaqub immediately sued for peace and the [[Treaty of Gandamak]] was then signed on 26 May 1879. The British sent an envoy and mission led by [[Louis Cavagnari|Sir Louis Cavagnari]] to Kabul, but on 3 September this mission was massacred and the conflict was reignited by [[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]] which led to the [[abdication]] of his brother Yaqub.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Yakub Khan |volume=28 |page=898}}</ref>

During this period, [[Abdur Rahman Khan]], an opponent of the British, began distinguishing himself as a possible successor candidate to become the Amir of Afghanistan through his exploits in northern Afghanistan. Eventually after moving on [[Kabul]], he was crowned and then later recognized by the British as the ruler of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=378–379}}

The second campaign began when [[Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]], the governor of [[Herat]], rebelled in July 1880 and marched on Kandahar, defeating the British at the [[battle of Maiwand]]. The campaign ended in September 1880 when the British [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|decisively defeated]] Ayub Khan outside [[Kandahar]]. Abdur Rahman Khan, now the sole ruler, created the buffer the British wanted between the [[British Raj|Raj]] and the Russian Empire. British and Indian soldiers then withdrew from Afghanistan.{{sfn|Barfield|2010|p=145}}

==Background==
A significant political group in Afghanistan at the time were the Afzalids. The Afzalids were originally supporters of [[Mohammad Afzal Khan]] to the throne of Afghanistan during the [[Afghan Civil War (1863–1869)|civil war on Dost Mohammad's succession]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=326}} The Afzalids were eventually defeated by [[Sher Ali Khan]] but many fled in exile to [[Samarkand]] in the [[Russian Empire]] under the authority of [[Abdur Rahman Khan]], who was actively given asylum by the Russian government and brought worries to the British about a future pro-Russian claimant to the throne of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=332}}

On one such occasion, the [[Emirate of Bukhara|Bukharans]] aided Muhammad Ishaq Khan, a son of [[Mohammad Azam Khan]]. He occupied [[Aqcha]], but was later defeated.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=334}} Following his defeat, the Afghan governor of [[Balkh]], Muhammad Khan, purged much of the province of Afzalid supporters, seizing lands and exacting imprisonment and execution on those thought to be sympathizers. Districts that had aided the rebellion faced hefty fines, and the rulers of the [[Chahar Wilayat]] were mandatorily forced to re-affirm their allegiance to Sher Ali Khan by traveling to Kabul every year. In 1875, Husain Khan, the ruler of [[Maimana Khanate|Maimana]], refused to honour his oath and executed several government officials, declaring allegiance under the ruler of Bukhara. The rebellion was quelled, however when the leaders of the insurrection were brought before Sher Ali, he refused to execute them in honour of their former oaths, and instead had Muhammad Khan killed. These circumstances of events brought further support to the Afzalids in Samarkand, with many Amirs of the Chahar Wilayat beginning to correspond with Abdur Rahman Khan and the Afzalid faction.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=339–340}}

After tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 [[Congress of Berlin]], Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul. [[Sher Ali Khan]], the [[Amir of Afghanistan]], tried unsuccessfully to keep them out. Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too.{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=85–90}} The British informed Sher Ali that a British mission would arrive in Kabul as well with or without his consent. However, as news of this arrived, Sher Ali's son and heir, Abdullah Jan had died. With mourning and the funeral taking place, nobody wished to show Sher Ali the British message. Eventually the message was revealed by his chamberlain. In a condolence message to Sher Ali, the British informed Sher Ali that the mission would leave Peshawar for Kabul in September.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=356–357}}

[[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|Lord Lytton]], the [[viceroy of India]], ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of the [[Khyber Pass]]. A deadline was established for 20 November, where if a response was not given by the Afghan government, war would be declared. A day before the deadline, Sher Ali sent a messenger to Peshawar but failed to arrive on time, and turned away after news of the British invasion began.{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=66–67}}{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=357–358}}

==War==
===First phase===
The first campaign began in November 1878 when a British force of about 50,000 fighting men, mostly Indians, was distributed into three military columns which penetrated Afghanistan at three different points. The British victories at the battles of [[Battle of Ali Masjid|Ali Masjid]] and [[Battle of Peiwar Kotal|Peiwar Kotal]] meant that the approach to Kabul was left virtually undefended by Afghan troops.<ref>[http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/campafghan1878.htm Afghanistan 1878–1880 The Build-Up to Conflict] at britishempire.co.uk</ref>

An alarmed [[Sher Ali Khan|Sher Ali]] left for [[Mazar-i-Sharif]]. This was done in hopes of the British overstretching their armies in Afghanistan, and make it difficult for the British to occupy parts of southern Afghanistan for an indefinite period of time, as well as that the Afghan tribes would eventually rise up. Further drawing off of [[Dost Mohammad Khan]] and [[Wazir Akbar Khan]]'s tactics in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]]. Mazar-i-Sharif was safe as well, with winter already ongoing, the British would be unable to pass the snow littered [[Hindu Kush]]. Alongside this, over 15,000 Afghan soldiers were present in [[Afghan Turkestan]], which Sher Ali began preparing to assemble more men across Afghanistan. Sher Ali also attempted to appeal in person to the Russian Tsar for assistance, but he wasn't allowed to enter Russian territory, and their insistence was that he should seek terms of surrender from the British.<ref>Sinhai, Damodar Prasad. "India and Afghanistan, 1876", p. 183.</ref> He returned to [[Mazar-i-Sharif]], where his health began to suffer, leading to his death on 21 February 1879.{{sfn|Hanna|1904|pp=150–155}}{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=359–360}}

Before leaving for Afghan Turkestan, Sher Ali released the surviving governors of the [[Chahar Wilayat]] that he had previously imprisoned. Upon Sher Ali's arrival to Mazar-i-Sharif, Sher Ali promised them the return of their states if they had assisted against the British in the war to come. Many of the governors, having been imprisoned for longer than a decade, all due to similar oaths being broken. As a result, seeing an opportunity to declare independence, Muhammad Khan, the former governor of [[Sar-e Pol, Afghanistan|Sar-I-Pul]], alongside Husain Khan, the former governor of the [[Maimana Khanate]], all declared independence against Afghan rule, rallying their own armies and expelling Afghan garrisons. A wave of Turkmen raids also began into Afghan Turkestan as a result, seeing some 6,000 women being enslaved, with forces from Sher Ali to repel the raids being defeated.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=359–360}}

With Sher Ali's death, a tumultuous period began over his succession. One of his sons, Muhammad Ali Khan, attempted to seize [[Takhteh Pol, Afghanistan|Takhtapul]], however the garrison mutinied, forcing him to move south towards [[Daizangi|Dai Zangi]], where he began assembling an army against Yaqub Khan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=364}}

[[Mohammad Yaqub Khan|Yaqub Khan]] was declared the new Amir, with many sardars that were thought to have ties with the Afzalid faction were imprisoned. In Mazar-i-Sharif, Yaqub Khan's son, Muhammad Musa, assembled a force and seized Takhtapul, sending the leader of the mutineers to Kabul, where he was executed. Ayub Khan, supporting his brother's succession, did not oppose him. However, much of the military forces and officers in [[Balkh]] and [[Herat]] instead supported the Afzalids. Ayub Khan began facing anarchy in Herat, with much of the forces from the expelled from Maimana demanding payment. Ayub Khan sent numerous requests to Mazar-i-Sharif, imminently requesting aid in cash. Despite receiving funds, the troops began rioting, and were turned away by Ayub Khan towards Yaqub Khan, stating he would be capable of paying them.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=360–364}}

===Treaty===
With British forces occupying [[Kabul]], Sher Ali's son and successor, Yaqub Khan, signed the [[Treaty of Gandamak]] on 26 May 1879. According to this agreement and in return for an annual subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression, Yaqub relinquished control of Afghan foreign affairs to Britain. British representatives were installed in Kabul and other locations, and their control was extended to the [[Khyber Pass|Khyber]] and [[Michni Pass|Michni]] passes, and Afghanistan ceded various [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–55)|North-West Frontier Province]] [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)|areas]] and [[Quetta]] to Britain, including the strategic fort of [[Jamrud Fort|Jamrud]]. Yaqub Khan also renounced all rights to interfering in the internal affairs of the [[Afridi]] tribe. In return, Yaqub Khan only received an annual subsidy of 600,000 rupees, with the British pledging to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan excluding [[Kandahar]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=365–366}}{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|p=71}}

However, on 3 September 1879 an uprising in Kabul led to the slaughter of [[Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari|Sir Louis Cavagnari]], the British representative, along with his guards, and staff – provoking the next phase of the Second Afghan War.{{sfn|Wilkinson-Latham |1977|p=15}}

===Second phase===
[[File:Elephant and Mule Battery ("Dignity & Impudence") WDL11496.png|thumb|Titled "Dignity & Impudence" for [[stereotype|stereotypic]] [[personality trait]]s of elephants and mules respectively, this photograph by [[John Burke (photographer)|John Burke]] shows an elephant and mule battery during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The mule team would have towed the small [[field gun]], which appears to be a [[Rifled Muzzle Loader]] (RML) 7-pounder mountain gun. The elephant towed the larger gun, apparently a [[Rifled breech loader]] (RBL) 40-pounder Armstrong]]

Major General Sir [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Frederick Roberts]] led the [[Kabul Field Force]] over the Shutargardan Pass into central Afghanistan, defeated the [[Afghan Army]] at [[Battle of Charasiab|Charasiab]] on 6 October 1879, and occupied [[Kabul]] two days later.{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=77–79}} [[Ghazi warriors|Ghazi]] [[Mohammad Jan Khan Wardak]], and a force of 10,000 Afghans, staged an uprising and attacked British forces near Kabul in the [[Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment]] in December 1879. The rebellion collapsed after the failure of a direct attack on Roberts' force on 23 December. Yaqub Khan, suspected of complicity in the massacre of Cavagnari and his staff, was obliged to abdicate. The British considered a number of possible political settlements, including partitioning Afghanistan between multiple rulers or placing Yaqub's brother [[Mohammad Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ayub Khan]] on the throne, but also looked to install his cousin [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] (half nephew of the former Sher Ali) as Amir instead.{{sfn|Wilkinson-Latham |1977|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=81–85}}

[[File:Coin minted in Kandahar during its occupation during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.jpg|thumb|A rare coin minted during the occupation of Kandahar. British Crown within [[wreath]] on the obverse, Arabic inscription in four lines on the reverse. These issues were struck under local authorities who routinely recalled and devalued the coppers. This abusive practice led to a great variety of types, often featuring various animal or flower motifs. Accordingly, the types on this coin were likely not ordered by the occupation authorities, but rather placed by an opportunistic engraver eager to please the occupiers.]]

===Exploits of Abdur Rahman Khan===
Abdur Rahman Khan meanwhile had been in exile in Turkestan. Upon the death of Sher Ali Khan he requested from the Russians to enter Afghanistan as a claimant of the throne. This request was denied. However, following [[Mohammad Yaqub Khan|Yaqub Khan]]'s abdication, as well as the British occupation of Kabul, the Russians allowed Abdur Rahman Khan to re-enter Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman made way for [[Badakhshan]], whose ruler he had marriage ties with. While on route, he did a pilgrimage to the shrine of [[Khwaja Ahrar]], taking his banner after claiming he had a vision that ensured victory. The ruler of Badakhshan did not permit Abdur Rahman to ford the Amu Darya, to which Abdur Rahman did so further downstream. He then crossed a mountain pass while it snowed, arriving at [[Rostaq, Afghanistan (village)|Rostaq]], where its garrison defected. With the fall of Rostaq, Abdur Rahman met the Mir of Badakhshan in battle, forcing him to flee to [[Chitral]] while Abdur Rahman annexed Badakhshan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=376}}

Abdur Rahman requested from Sultan Murad of [[Kunduz]] for military access so he could advance on [[Kabul]]. This request was denied. However, Ghulam Haidar Khan, Yaqub's governor of [[Balkh]], attacked Kunduz, occupying it, and forcing Sultan Murad to flee to [[Fayzabad, Badakhshan|Fayzabad]]. Sultan Murad then aligned with Abdur Rahman, and encouraged rebellion against Ghulam Haidar, with the commander of [[Takhteh Pol, Afghanistan|Takhtapul]] declaring for Abdur Rahman. Ghulam Haidar fled across the Amu Darya, leaving the entirety of [[Afghan Turkestan]] under Abdur Rahman's control.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=377}}

The British, eyeing for a suitable candidate to be the ruler of [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], scouted Abdur Rahman Khan, and began negotiating with him. Abdur Rahman was reluctant to accept such a proposal, as he considered himself an opponent of the British, with his own men wishing for Jihad against them. While negotiations continued, the British considered numerous political solutions, including dividing Afghanistan into numerous kingdoms.{{sfn|Wilkinson-Latham |1977|pp=16–17}}{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=81–85}} The British were seeking to a quick conclusion to the war due to the resignation of [[Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton|Lytton]], with his successor, the [[Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava|Marquis of Ripon]], wishing to withdraw all British troops from Afghanistan as quickly as possible. With this, the British no longer wished to uphold a British envoy in Afghanistan. However, both sides continued to differ, with the British wishing to keep [[Kandahar]] under their control with Sardar Sher Ali as governor, while Abdur Rahman saw it imperative as a part of Afghanistan.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=378–379}}

Believing that the British might withdraw, Abdur Rahman Khan arrived in [[Charikar]] sometime in July 1880, where religious leaders from regions such as [[Panjshir Province|Panjshir]], [[Kohistan District, Kapisa|Kohistan]], and [[Tagab District, Kapisa|Tagab]] welcomed his arrival. On 19 July, the British informed Abdur Rahman that they were prepared to recognize him as the ruler of Afghanistan, inviting him to Kabul for a ceremony. Abdur Rahman called a [[Jirga]], with many tribal leaders declaring for him, while Abdur Rahman was declared the Amir of [[Kabul]].{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=378–379}}

===Ayub Khan's rebellion===
{{main|Battle of Maiwand|Battle of Kandahar (1880)}}
Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at the [[Battle of Maiwand]] in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led the main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]], bringing his rebellion to an end.{{sfn|Wilkinson-Latham |1977|pp=16–17}}

==Aftermath==

[[File:Herati Soldiers 1879.jpg|thumb|The Afghan revolt: Herati Soldiers 1879]]

With Ayub Khan defeated, the war was officially over with Abdur Rahman Khan ruling as Amir, he was seen as the real victor of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=381–383}} Despite attempts by the British to hold on to [[Kandahar]], they decided to return it to Afghanistan. Rahman confirmed the Treaty of Gandamak, whereby the British took control of the territories ceded by Yaqub Khan. The provocative policy of maintaining a British resident in Kabul was abandoned, but instead British Indian Muslim agents were to be left to smooth liaison between the governments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Prasad |first1=Bisheshwar |title=Foundations of India's Foreign Policy: Imperial Era, 1882–1914 |date=1979 |publisher=Nayad Prokash |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GIQcAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Britain would also handle Afghanistan's [[foreign relations of Afghanistan|foreign policy]] in exchange for protection and a subsidy.{{sfn|Barthorp|2002|pp=85–90}} The [[Pashtun tribes|Afghan tribes]] maintained internal rule and local customs, and provided a continuing buffer between the [[British Raj]] and the [[Russian Empire]].{{sfn|Barfield|2010|p=145}} Ironically many of these policies had been desired by [[Sher Ali Khan]], and war could have been prevented had they been implemented earlier.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=381–383}}

The war was expensive for Britain, spending some 17 million pounds during the war, which was three times the estimated cost. The costs rose just before the British left in March 1881, estimating to be around 19.5 million pounds.{{sfn|Robson|2007|p=277}}

[[Rudyard Kipling]] may have been thinking of what some of the British survivors of the Anglo-Afghan wars had faced when he wrote in "The Young British Soldier":<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kipling |first=Rudyard |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.48402 |title=Barrack-room Ballads |publisher=Methun And Co. |year=1892 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=49}}</ref>
{{Poem quote
|text=<!-- or: 1= -->When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
|source=<!-- or 4= -->''[[Barrack-Room Ballads]], 1892''
|style=<!-- standard CSS style goes here -->
}}

Despite attempts from the British to dissuade Afghanistan from [[Russian Empire|Russian]] influence, Abdur Rahman Khan adopted an autocratic government similar to the Tsars of Russia, inspired by [[Peter the Great]] from his time in exile in Turkestan. Alongside this, despite the British attempting to prop up Afghanistan as a key ally, Abdur Rahman Khan often acted against the British, with [[Pashtun colonization of northern Afghanistan|atrocities]] horrifying even [[Queen Victoria]], and he became known as the 'Iron Amir'. He also refused to give information regarding his troops, with his own autobiography criticizing British policy, while also violating the Lyall agreement by instead of allowing the British to oversee his diplomatic affairs, held them himself with numerous countries including [[Qajar Iran|Iran]], the [[Ottoman Empire]], and the [[German Empire]]. Abdur Rahman also wrote in pamphlets, encouraging Jihad against the British and the Russians, claiming both wished to end Afghanistan as a state. Senior British officials found it extremely difficult to further cooperate with Abdur Rahman Khan and Afghanistan due to the Turkestan atrocities, as well as his [[1888–1893 Hazara uprisings|actions against the Hazaras]]. The British believed they had no other alternative but to support Abdur Rahman Khan, scoring a diplomatic victory for him.{{sfn|Lee|2019|pp=384–397}}

Despite this, no further trouble resulted between Afghanistan and British India during Rahman's period of rule. The Russians kept well out of Afghan internal affairs, with the exception of the [[Panjdeh incident]] three years later, resolved by arbitration and negotiation after an initial British ultimatum.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA198 ''Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia''] By Clements, F. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, California, 2003 p. 198</ref>

In 1893, [[Mortimer Durand]] was dispatched to Kabul by British India to sign an agreement with Rahman for fixing the limits of their respective [[spheres of influence]] as well as improving diplomatic relations and trade. On November 12, 1893, the [[Durand Line]] Agreement was reached. This led to the creation of a new [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North-West Frontier Province]].

==Timeline of battles==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2024}}
There were several decisive actions in the Second Anglo–Afghan War, from 1878 to 1880. Here are the battles and actions in chronological order. An asterisk (*) indicates a [[Medal bar|clasp]] was awarded for that particular battle with the [[Afghanistan Medal (United Kingdom)|Afghanistan Medal]].

[[File:Battle of Ali Masjid - 19 members of the Yorkshire Infantry.jpg|thumb|British team at the site of the [[Battle of Ali Masjid]]]]
[[File:Royal Horse Artillery fleeing from Afghan attack at the Battle of Maiwand.jpg|thumb|British [[Royal Horse Artillery]] withdrawing at the [[Battle of Maiwand]]]]
[[File:Victory day at Kandahar 1880.jpg|thumb|Afghan victors of the Battle of Maiwand]]

===1878===
# [[Battle of Ali Masjid]]* (British victory)
# [[Battle of Peiwar Kotal]]* (British victory)

===1879===
# [[Action at Takht-i-Pul]] (British victory)
# [[Action at Matun]] (British victory)
# [[Battle of Khushk-i-Nakud]] (British victory)
# [[Battle of Fatehabad]] (Afghan victory)
# [[Siege of the British Residency in Kabul]] (Afghan victory)
# [[Battle of Kam Dakka]] (Afghan victory)
# [[Battle of Charasiab]]* (British victory)<ref name=Alikuzai>{{cite book|last=Alikuzai|first=Hamid Wahed|title=A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes, Volume 14|year=2013|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1490714417|page=594}}</ref>
# [[Battle of Shajui]]
# [[Battle of Karez Mir]]
# [[Battle of Takht-i-Shah]]
# [[Battle of Asmai Heights]]* (Afghan victory)
# [[Siege of Sherpur]] (Kabul)* (British victory)

===1880===
# [[Battle of Ahmed Khel]]* (British victory)
[[File:Lieutenant John Frederick Irwin – Action at ‘Arzu’ Afghanistan 1880.jpg|thumb|Action at ''Arzu'', 23 April 1880, by Lieutenant John Frederick Irwin]]
# Battle of Arzu
# [[Second Battle of Charasiab]] (British victory)
# [[Battle of Maiwand]] (Afghan victory)
# Battle of Deh Koja (Afghan Victory)
# [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]]* (British victory)

===1881===
# Evacuation of Kandahar (and Afghanistan) by British-led forces

==Order of battle==
[[File:Durbar Maidan of Sherpur Cantonment in 1879.jpg|thumb|Durban Maidan of Sherpur Cantonment in 1879.]]
[[File:Bengal Sapper and Miners Bastion, in Sherpur cantonment, Kabul, Second Afghan War, c. 1879.jpg|thumb|Bengal Sapper and Miners Bastion in Sherpur cantonment.]]
[[File:Highlanders of Amir Yaqub at Gandamak.jpg|thumb|Highlanders of Amir Yaqub at [[Gandamak]]]]
[[File:William Skeoch Cumming01.jpg|thumb|Drummer James Roddick of the [[92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|Gordon Highlanders]] defends a wounded officer during British attack at Gundi Mulla Sahibdad during the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]]]]
[[File:45th Sikh Regiment escorting prisoners - 2nd afghan war.jpg|thumb|[[45th Rattray's Sikhs]] guard Afghan prisoners during an advance through the [[Khyber Pass]]]]
In November 1878, at the start of the war, the British established three [[Field Force]]s – designated [[Peshawar Valley Field Force|Peshawar Valley]], [[Kurram Valley Field Force|Kurram Valley]] and Kandahar respectively – each of which invaded [[Afghanistan]] by a different route.{{sfn|Farwell|1973|p=203}}
* '''[[Peshawar Valley Field Force]]'''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Joslin |last2=Litherland |last3=Simpkin |title=British Battles and Medals|page=155 |year= 1988 |publisher= [[Spink & Son]] |location=London |isbn=0-907605-25-7}}</ref> Lieutenant General [[Sam Browne|Sir Samuel Browne]]
** Cavalry Brigade. Brigadier General [[Charles John Stanley Gough|C.J.S. Gough]]
*** [[10th Hussars]] (2 squadrons)
*** [[11th Probyn's Lancers]]
*** [[Guides Cavalry]]
** Royal Artillery
** First Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General [[Herbert Taylor MacPherson|H. T. Macpherson]]
*** 4th Battalion [[Rifle Brigade]]
*** [[20th Duke of Cambridge's Own Infantry (Brownlow's Punjabis)|20th Brownlow's Punjabis]]
*** [[4th Gurkha Rifles]]
** Second Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General J. A. Tytler
*** 1st Battalion, 17th [[Leicestershire Regiment]]
*** [[Corps of Guides (British India)|Queen's Own Corps of Guides]] (infantry component)
*** [[51st Sikhs]]
** Third Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General [[Frederick Ernest Appleyard|F. Appleyard]]
*** [[Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)|81st North Lancashire Regiment]]
*** [[14th Sikhs]]
*** [[27th Punjabis]]
** Fourth Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General W. Browne
*** 51st [[King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry]]
*** [[6th Jat Light Infantry]]
*** [[45th Sikhs]]
* '''[[Kurram Valley Field Force]]'''.{{sfn|Roberts|1897|p=553, ''Appendix III''}} Major General [[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Roberts]]
** Cavalry Brigade. Brigadier General [[Hugh Henry Gough|Hugh Gough]]
*** [[10th Hussars]] (1 squadron)
*** [[12th Cavalry]]
*** [[12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)|25th Cavalry]]
** Royal Artillery. Colonel A. H. Lindsay
** First Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General A. H. Cobbe
*** 2nd Battalion, [[8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot|8th Foot]]
*** [[23rd Pioneers]]
*** [[29th Punjabis]]
*** [[58th Vaughan's Rifles]]
** Second Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General J. B. Thelwell
*** [[72nd Seaforth Highlanders]]
*** [[21st Punjabis]]
*** [[56th Rifles]]
*** [[5th Gurkha Rifles]]
* '''Kandahar Field Force'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luscombe |first=Stephen |title=Second Afghan War |url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/campafghan1878.htm |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=www.britishempire.co.uk}}</ref> Lieutenant General [[Sir Donald Stewart, 1st Baronet|Donald Stewart]]
** First Division
*** Cavalry Brigade. Brigadier General [[Walter Fane]]
**** [[15th Hussars]]
**** [[8th Lancers|8th Bengal Cavalry]]
**** [[19th King George's Own Lancers|19th Fane's Lancers]]
*** Royal Artillery. Brigadier General [[Charles George Arbuthnot|C. G. Arbuthnot]]
*** First Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General R. Barter
**** 2nd Battalion [[King's Royal Rifles]]
**** [[15th Sikhs]]
**** [[25th Punjabis]]
*** Second Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General W. Hughes
**** [[59th East Lancashire Regiment]]
**** [[12th Pioneers|12th Kelat-i-Ghilzai Regiment]]
**** [[1st Gurkha Rifles]]
**** [[3rd Gurkha Rifles]]
** 2nd Division. Major General [[Michael Biddulph (British Army officer)|M A Biddulph]]
*** Cavalry Brigade. Brigadier General C. H. Palliser
**** [[21st Daly's Horse]]
**** [[22nd Sam Browne's Horse]]
**** [[35th Scinde Horse]]
*** Artillery Colonel Le Mesurier
*** First Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General R. Lacy
**** 70th [[East Surrey Regiment]]
**** [[19th Punjabis]]
**** [[127th Baluchis]]
*** Second Infantry Brigade. Brigadier General Nuttall
**** [[26th Punjabis]]
**** [[32nd Pioneers]]
**** [[55th Coke's Rifles]]
**** [[129th Baluchis]]
At the end of the first phase of the war in May 1879, the Peshawar Force was withdrawn, while the Kandahar Force was reduced in size. In September 1879, at the beginning of the second phase, additional British and [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] units were despatched to Afghanistan, while the Kurram Valley Force was reinforced, and redesignated the Kabul Field Force.{{sfn|Farwell|1973|p=207}}

==See also==
{{Wikisource|Treaty of Gandamak}}
* [[First Anglo-Afghan War]]
* [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
* [[Invasions of Afghanistan]]
* [[Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)]]
* [[Waziristan campaign (1921–1924)]]
* [[Waziristan campaign (1936–1939)]]
* [[Pink's War]]
* [[Waziristan rebellion (1948-1954)]]
* [[Military history of Afghanistan]]
* [[European influence in Afghanistan]]
* [[Sherpur Cantonment]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{EB1911|wstitle=Abdur Rahman Khan|volume=1|pages=37–38}}
* {{cite book |last=Barthorp |first=Michael |title=Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947 |year=2002 |publisher=Cassell |location=London|isbn=0-304-36294-8}}
* {{Cite book |title=Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History |last1=Barfield |first1=Thomas |year=2010 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-14568-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqRFCkpTdUcC&pg=PA145 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Blood |editor1-first=Peter R |title=Pakistan: A Country Study |date=1996 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=9780788136313}}
* {{cite Q|Q19077572}}<!-- The Afghan War -->
* {{cite book|last=Farwell |first=Byron|title=Queen Victoria's Little Wars |year= 1973 |publisher=[[Allen Lane]] |location=London |isbn=0713904577 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Hanna|first=Henry Bathurst|title=The Second Afghan War, 1878–79–80: Its Causes, Its Conduct and Its Consequences|publisher=Archibald Constable & Co|year=1904|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzQoAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Robert |title=The Afghan Way of War: How and Why They Fight |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199912568}}
* {{citation |first=James |last=Onley |title=The Raj Reconsidered: British India's Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa |journal=Asian Affairs |volume=11 |number=1 |date=March 2009 |url=https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/iais/downloads/Onley_Raj_Reconsidered.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Onley, The Raj Reconsidered|2009}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Sir Frederick |title=Forty-one Years in India|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16528 |year=1897 |publisher=Macmillan & Co |location=London}}
* Walker, Phillip Francis. ''[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11796/ Afghanistan: A Short Account of Afghanistan, Its History, and Our Dealings with It]''. London: Griffith and Farran (1881).
* {{cite book |last= Wilkinson-Latham |first=Robert |title=North-West Frontier 1837–1947 |year=1977 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London|isbn=0-85045-275-9}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Second Anglo-Afghan War}}
* [http://www.garenewing.co.uk/angloafghanwar/index.php Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878–1880]
* [http://www.angloafghanwar.info/waroffice/chronology.php Second Anglo-Afghan War Chronology]
* [http://www.britishbattles.com/ British Battles]
* [http://www.nongnu.org/afghancalendar Online Afghan Calendar with Historical dates]
* [http://www.historicaleye.com/Roberts.html Frederick Roberts and the long road to Kandahar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822200559/http://www.historicaleye.com/Roberts.html |date=2017-08-22 }}
* [https://dl.lib.brown.edu/libweb/collections/askb/ Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library] [[William Simpson (Scottish artist)|William Simpson]]'s diary and album of sketches and watercolours covering the early part of the campaign, and done for the ''[[Illustrated London News]]''
* [http://rgssamachupicchu.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/afghanistan-british-raj-3-second-afghan.html Afghanistan & the British Raj : The Second Afghan War & its Aftermath] From the [http://www.rgssa.org.au/ Royal Geographical Society of South Australia] blog entries for Afghanistan & the British Raj that cover the subject chronologically with images through reference works in our collection.

{{Anglo-Afghan War}}
{{Afghanistan topics}}
{{British colonial campaigns}}
{{authority control}}

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[[Category:Anglo-Afghan Wars|02]]
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