One for the history buffs.

Here’s meme that needs a little historical introduction. There has been, and will no doubt be much more, largely ill-informed talk in the press about previous military interventions in Afghanistan. I will do a post about Britain’s 19^th and early 20^th century involvement later, but for the moment here is a little about our first experience of “Afghan”.

To try to forestall any Russian penetration of Afghanistan and install a friendly regime, the British sent an army of Indian and British troops to Kabul in December 1838. They succeeded in their task and much of the force went back to India, leaving about 8,000 men, along with families, camp followers etc. Things deteriorated over the next couple of years and when the rather dilapidated, unwell and frankly soppy old General William Elphinstone was sent to take command in 1841, they went downhill fast.

Sound familiar yet?

Convinced his position in Kabul was untenable he decided to evacuate his people to the nearest British Garrison at Jalalabad. He had around 4,500 troops, (around 3,800 Indian sepoys and 700 British), along with British and Indian families and camp followers numbering around 14,000. Elphinstone believed his Afghan enemy’s assurances of safe conduct and set out on the 6^th January, 1842.

What happened next is painful to relate, and I will tell the story in the full post. For purposes of the meme, you should know that on the 13^th January a lone wounded man, on a wounded horse, rode into Jalalabad. It was Assistant Surgeon William Brydon. The one man to make his own way from Kabul to safety. The scene was commemorated by the great Victorian military artist Elizabeth Butler in the painting Remnants of an Army. I have made free with her work to make this meme. 

I hope and pray this doddery old fool is not going to leave as many corpses in Afghanistan as Elphinstone did.