In the early 1830s, Britain, engaged in multiple fronts, established extensive colonies in India and numerous concessions there.
At that time, Russia, in opposition to Britain and desiring to occupy India, began military movements towards Afghanistan, intending to gradually penetrate the Indian colonies.
In this battle, squeezed between two major powers, how did Afghanistan break through the siege?
Afghanistan, situated in Central Asia, has historically been a contested region, especially at the crossroads of major powers in the Middle East, which has been a powder keg for thousands of years. Afghanistan has considerable experience in resisting aggression.
Understanding Afghanistan's geographical location explains why it has been a continuous target of various invasions, allowing its people to develop formidable defensive capabilities over time.
Afghanistan is the meeting point of Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia, surrounded by high mountains that are easily defensible, making it ideal for guerrilla warfare using its natural terrain advantages.
Therefore, any conflict in Afghanistan inevitably turns into a prolonged stalemate, characteristic of infantry engagements.
In 1830, Britain, at the zenith of its global empire, sought to establish its colonial foothold everywhere, quickly targeting India, a fertile land.
India, predominantly Buddhist with a deeply rooted caste culture, was vulnerable to cultural influence;
once occupied, under the influence of Buddhist culture, the local population would likely comply, exacerbated by deep-seated caste divisions preventing unity among them.
Thus, as long as Britain exploited religious and caste conflicts, India would remain perpetually under its colonial rule, yielding continuous benefits to the British Empire.
Such a valuable region naturally attracted more than just Britain; Russia also cast its covetous eyes on India.
Russia soon launched a war against Britain to seize Indian colonies, with Afghanistan, adjacent to India, becoming the battleground.
Britain decided to strike first by invading Afghanistan, intending to use it as a buffer zone to safeguard its interests in the Indian colonies.
Thus, Afghanistan became an innocent victim, embroiled in an unjust war.
In 1837, Russia incited Iran to provoke war against Afghanistan, while Britain extended an olive branch, hoping Afghanistan would ally against the Russian-Iranian coalition.
Afghan leadership, reflecting on recent events, proposed an alliance but demanded British assistance in reclaiming lost territory in Peshawar.
Britain immediately refused, prompting Afghanistan to inquire with Russia.
Upon learning of Afghanistan's actions, Britain accused Afghanistan of plotting against them and promptly attacked Afghanistan.
After defeating Afghanistan, Britain mistreated its people, treating them as second-class citizens.
Finally, in 1841, local Afghan uprisings, coupled with clashes with British colonists, forced Britain to withdraw from Afghan territory.
In 1870, colonial tensions between Tsarist Russia and Britain again centered on Central Asia, prompting Britain to aggressively pursue its Afghan campaign.
Dramatically, Russia, in conflict with Britain, sought an alliance with Afghanistan.
At this juncture, Britain sought diplomatic talks with Afghanistan but faced Afghan skepticism due to previous betrayals.
Despite multiple attempts, Britain used Afghan plots as a pretext to attack again.
This time, Britain learned from past mistakes, launching a fierce offensive, vowing to completely subdue this small territory.
The military disparity between the two countries mirrored that of the Qing infantry against Western artillery—a significant gap.
This time, Afghanistan turned to its ally, Tsarist Russia, for help, but Russia refused to intervene, prompting Afghanistan to surrender to Britain, signing the regrettable Gandamak Treaty half a century later.
The treaty dictated that Britain would control Afghanistan's foreign relations, solidifying British dominance over Afghanistan.
How did Afghanistan manage to turn the tables in the Third Anglo-Afghan War?
Despite extreme poverty, Afghanistan managed to defeat three superpowers and retain its independence.
In 1979, the Soviet Union, once a helper of Afghanistan seeking to establish friendly relations, finally shed its hypocritical mask and launched an aggressive war of invasion against Afghanistan.
This entirely unjustifiable war branded the Soviet Union as a violator of international treaties, rendering international alliances meaningless, while offering Afghanistan a chance to survive. How did Afghanistan repeatedly rescue itself from the fire and water?
The story begins with the Third Anglo-Afghan War, when Britain focused on developing its colonial holdings in India. Afghanistan, amidst internal strife, finally achieved a relatively stable political situation.
With insurgent factions and grassroots organizations rampant, supported by Britain, Afghanistan finally stabilized its national situation.
In 1919, Amanullah Khan ascended the throne, promptly proclaiming Afghanistan an independent sovereign state, challenging Britain's control.
Britain, displeased, deployed a large army to suppress Afghanistan's nascent government, seeking to continue its control over Afghanistan.
But Amanullah Khan was resolute; he did not believe that Britain would acknowledge his declaration of independence so easily.
Bordering India, Afghanistan had long suffered from the impact of years of war, with many refugees wandering between India and neighboring countries.
As a colonial power, Britain's understanding of the sentiments of its native population paled in comparison to these refugees' intimate knowledge of their people.
Aware that Indian unrest could potentially spark a revolt, Afghanistan immediately caught Britain's attention.
This led Britain to focus most of its efforts on the battle against Afghanistan, enabling native Indian unrest to flourish and grow. After fully supporting Britain's month-long intense attack, Afghanistan achieved significant victories in most battles.
Britain, now surrounded on all sides, faced a tight Afghan military, with widespread colonial unrest threatening to fall into the hands of other nations while being unable to prevent it.
Britain initially intended to assert its dominance over Afghanistan, but ultimately gave up on the unfair treaties signed with Afghanistan, acknowledging Afghanistan's right to independence.
Thus, the end of the Anglo-Afghan War, followed closely by the Soviet Union's invasion, did not initially adopt an aggressive posture towards Afghanistan. For a long time, the Soviet Union played the role of a benevolent elder.
This elder's image deceived not only the simple Chinese people but also the simple Afghan people. The Soviet Union's first concern was always its own national interests, rather than those of the Communist Alliance.
The Communist Alliance was merely a tool for the Soviet Union to maintain its international reputation. Afghanistan had previously been coveted by Britain and Tsarist Russia, and now the Soviet Union was no different.
In 1950, after Afghanistan broke free from British colonial rule, its government focused on development. Under the efforts of the Afghan government and people, Afghanistan prospered, prompting the Soviet Union to seek a breakthrough in the Afghan region.
At that time, Afghanistan knew that it was sandwiched between two major countries and only had enough strength to stand in the world. Thus, it maintained good relations with both the United States and the Soviet Union.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was eager to integrate the Communist Revolution of every place in the world into its control range and did not allow any deviations to exist.
Afghanistan did not accept the Soviet Union's advice to follow the Soviet model on the road to reform.
Therefore, Afghanistan became a thorn in the eyes of the Soviet Union.
In 1978, the Soviet Union implemented a support program for the Afghan government, supporting its pro-Russian parties in power. After obtaining power, this party immediately took radical action and pushed Afghanistan toward Sovietization.
To suppress this resistance, the internal parties of Afghanistan, with the help of the Soviet Union, took a series of brutal repression against the Afghan people.
The Soviet Union demanded to support Afghanistan's request to enter Afghanistan, and the Afghan people were completely consumed by the good feelings of the Soviet Union.
Comments