A colourful eye-witness account, written and published while the conflict was still continuing, of the early phase of the British-Afghan war of 1839-42. The author, James Atkinson, was a surgeon with the army of the Indus, and took part in Britain s ill-considered march into the interior of Afghanistan to restore, after a lapse of 30 years, Shah Shoojah in place of a rival ruler. Dost Mahomed Khan, who was thought by the British to favour the Russians in the Great Game for control of the northern approaches to India. After preliminary descriptions of Shoojah and Dost and the political background, Atkindon s account opens with him joining the army of the Indus after a journey beset by robbers and disease. The army marches through harsh terrain and hostile tribes to Kandahar, before storming the fortress of Ghizni, the loss of which disheartened Dost s supporters and led to the fall of the capital Kabul., and eventually to his own surrender. At this point Atkinson s account concludes - mercifully before he learned of the flight and massacre of most of the British army in Kabul in 1842. Then, as now, the dilemma of the foreign occupiers of a country the author describes as semi-barbarous is summed up in Atkinson s own eloquent words: Like Sisyphus, we have rolled up the huge stone to the top of the mountain, and if we do not keep it there, our labour will be lost . A topical and fascinating account for all those interested in Victorian colonial wars, the Indian sub-continent, or the unchanging nature of conflict in Afghanistan.

James Atkinson travelled to Afghanistan in 1838. A superb artist and famous scholar who had translated Persias national epic, this renaissance man had been designated the Superintending Surgeon of a massive British invasion force resolved to place a sympathetic ruler on the Afghan throne. The ill-fated British force fought its way through the Bolan Pass, swept through Kandahar and conquered Kabul. Soon afterwards Atkinson was released from duty, thereby escaping the catastrophe which awaited his comrades. During the subsequent rebellion the British political agent was beheaded and an estimated 16,000 British soldiers and their dependents were slaughtered in a week by the vengeful Afghans. After the English captured Kabul, Atkinsons eyewitness account of these turbulent events was rushed into print while British interest was at its peak. The astonishing true chronicle of events was a best-seller. Yet though the surgeons observations remain important, his forgotten artistic depictions are priceless. Once again the ravages of war are taking a toll as a new generation of British soldiers struggles against formidable Afghan warriors in that notoriously difficult country. In an ironic literary twist a serving British cavalry officer currently stationed in Afghanistan, 2nd Lt. Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, provides a moving Introduction to Atkinsons tale, explaining how his forefather fought alongside the author in the conflict of 1838. With a special Foreword by the noted historian and author, Jules Stewart, this beautifully illustrated edition of Atkinsons inclusive work is released in the hope that its timely appearance will help bring about a deeper understanding between England and Afghanistan.

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