Looking for a Ruleset...

Ghurkas preparing to attack with the bayonet

Next step in this project is to look for a rulebook. My idea is to play at the skirmish level, to have games typical of the "small war" into the campaing: a clash between patrols, an ambush to a convoy, a last stand...

So, while I´m reading my books, I´m also thinking and comparing about rulesets.

 

 

First one, "Colonial Adventures" from Two Hours Wargames.

 

The game is centered around characters´s Reputation, that goes through 2 to 6 and represent a combination of training, experience, moral and motivation. At the begining of its activation, an unit get two D6 with which it can obtains zero, one or two actions for the turn, depending of the result in the dice and its level of Reputation. These actions allow the unit to move, shoot, etc. There are also "Crisis Checks" which are activated under some conditions such as being shot or seeing friendly units flee. These tests allow a great level of realism and can be selected to make the game more or less complex.

This ruleset is centered in the "classic" colonial period of the second half of XIX Century, and contains army lists for British, French and German Empires and also Afghan, Zulus, Boers and Asian  and African peoples, with a good number of rules to personalize the different armies.

The forces and armies can be divided in "European" and "Tribal", representing trained professionals or fierce warriors, and the Reputation adds more levels of complexity to this rating, from militia to household.

The game can be played also as a campaing (interesting for me!), with simple and logical rules to work it: the units can get worn down but can also gain experience (and Reputation) as the battles progress.

 

A very nice and not too complex ruleset for the Colonial period that, I think, can be adapted to a more modern period, but there are not rules for aircrafts or armoured cars, by example.

 

Chris Stoesen is a very nice chap that has made a number of very interesting comments in this blog (in fact, he is my first commentator!!!) and one of them was a suggestion about to use "Through the Mud and the Blood" from Two Fat Lardies to play this project.

 

These rules are written to play large skirmishes based in the Great War, but can be adapted easily to play other conflicts from the age; in fact, the "Specials" published by the Lardies have some interesting scenarios based in the Mad Baron adventures in Central Asia, the Mesopotamia campaing during WWI, etc.

These rules have the traditional card activation mechanism of the Lardies, combined with the command and control system of "Sharp Practice", very useful to play with a great number of units.

I like a lot the period specific weapons and tactics, the seven pages Artillery supplement and the many particular special rules for all kind of tactics and troops types.

 

I think I´m going to use this ruleset; it is more complex than the other one, but also more useful for the period, and has all the elements I need without the need to adapt them.

Books for a Wargame

A unit on the march in India

Time to talk about the books I have collected to know something more about this campaing. There are no many books dedicated to this particular war, but I have some that are really useful for me:
Momento de hablar acerca de los libros que he reunido para saber algo más acerca de esta campaña. La verdad es que no hay muchos libros, ahí fuera, dedicados a la Tercera Guerra de Afganistán, pero tengo algunos que son realmente útiles para mí:

 

 

This is one of my older Osprey Books, and also one of my favourites for all times. Wonderful plates from the great Angus McBridge and really nice pics of the Frontier, but not much historical information... But it is a very fine Osprey!
Éste es uno de mis Osprey más antiguos, y también uno de mis favoritos, desde siempre. Maravillosas láminas del gran Angus McBridge y fotos muy bonitas de la Frontera, pero mucha información histórica... pero bueno, es un Osprey muy bonito.

 

 

Another Osprey book, this one from a very interesting series about Queen Victoria´s many enemies. There is not information about the Third Afghan War, but, on the other hand, there is some information about the Afghan regulars and irregulars, again, with nice plates and pics.
Otro Osprey, éste de la muy interesante serie dedicada a los enemigos de la Reina Victoria. No hay información acerca de la Tercera Guerra de Afganistán, pero, por otro lado, sí la hay acerca de las tropas regulares afganas y los irregulares. Además, con buenas láminas y fotos.

 

 

A 1921 compilation of the campaing. Full of period "flavour" and very useful information about the campaing, units involved, etc. This book is centered in the Waziristan punitive campaing of 1919-1920. My PDF copy is from the Serial no. 995.
Una síntesis de 1921 de la campaña. El libro rebosa "saborcillo" del periodo, y tiene información muy útil acerca de la campaña, unidades implicadas, etc. Está centrado en la expedición de castigo en Waziristán de 1919-1920.

 

 

And the "crown jewell" of my collection of books, "Crisis on the Frontier" by Brian Robson, author of "The Road to Kabul, The Second Afghan War". I have talked about this book in my other blog, but I think it can be interesting for this story to put here that information.

I found this book in a casual visit to Amazon, but its price was 51.96 GBP; a lot of money for a 302 pages paperback book (that, actually, is out of print). Fortunately, in the Lead Adventure Forum I found an entry about an small and totally unknow for me bookstore, Pagoda Tree Press that had the book for sale at only 12.00 GBP plus P&P. Of course, I ordered it straightaway. I also saw a lot of other interesting books in the web of Pagoda Tree Press and discovered that the booksheller, Hugh Rayner is a great chap with a true interest in his clients.
Y la "joya de la corona" de mi colección de libros, "Crisis en la Frontera" de Brian Robson. Ya he hablado acerca de este libro en mi otro blog, pero creo que es interesante para esta historia poner aquí esa información.
Encontré este libro en una visita casual a Amazon, pero su precio era de 51,96 libras esterlinas; un montón de dinero para un libro de 302 páginas en tapa blanda, ¡aunque esté descatalogado!. Afortunadamente, en el foro de Lead Adventure Forum di con una entrada dedicada a una pequeña y para mí totalmente desconocida tienda de libros, Pagoda Tree Press, que tenía el libro a la venta por sólo 12 libras esterlinas más gastos de envío. Por supuesto, lo pedí de inmediato. También vi en su web un montón de otros interesantes libros, y descubrí que el libero, Hugh Rayner, es una gran persona realmente interesada en sus clientes.

 

This is the link to the bookshop: http://www.pagodatreepress.com

 

In this moment I´m reading this book, taking a lot of notes about the forces and thinking how to adapt them to a chosen ruleset.

And about the ruleset? As I have said previously, I have two final options: "Triumph and Tragedy" and "Through the Mud and the Blood". I think I´m going to test this one, when I have enough figures, of course.
En este momento, estoy leyéndome este libro, tomando un montón de notas acerca de las fuerzas enfrentadas y pensando en como adaptarlo al reglamento que elija finalmente.
¿Y acerca del reglamento? Como ya he dicho previamente, tengo dos opciones finales: "Triumph and Tragedy" y "Through the Mud and the Blood". Creo que finalmente voy a probar este último, en cuanto tenga suficientes figuras.



The Third Afghan War, History III

Afghan Delegation at the British outpost, 1919

Outcome.

The casualties during this small conflict were not great. Approximately, there were 1,000 Afghan killed in action and 1,751 British and Indian troops but, of these, 566 died from cholera and 334 as a result of other diseases and accidents.

 

The war ended 29 days after it had starter, in stalemate, and both sides claiming victory with a certain degree of justification. Although small scale guerrilla activity continued during the next two years, the British had repulsed an Afghan invasion of the Indian territory (in fact, Bahg was not occupied by neither adversary, but claimed by both, due to its proximity to the strategically important town of Landi Kotal) and restored order in and around the Khyber Pass. However, they suffered almost twice casualties than the Afghan and Amir Amanullah was, ultimately, able to secure his strategic political goal, gaining the right to implement Afghanistan´s own foreing policy, independent of Delhi (besides, he had been able to secure his throne...).

 

Bahg, 1919

An Afghan tactical victory was unlikely even against the depleted British Indian Army but the war served Amanullah to deflect domestic criticism and offered him the opportunity to gain strategic political aims. As a result of the peace treaty, the British ceased the payment of the Afghan subsidy and stopped the arms sales from India to Afghanistan. But, as the British influence declined, the Afghan were able to gain control over their own foreing affairs and emerged as a fully independent state.

 

The Afghan peace delegates, 1919

Although the fighting concluded in August 1919, its effects continued to be felt in the region for some time. The disruption sparked stirred up more unrest, particularly in Waziristan. The tribesmen, always ready to exploit governmental weakness, banded together in the common cause of disorder and unrest. They had benefitted  greatly from the weapons and ammunition that the Afghan had left behind, and from the influx of manpower in the large number of deserters from the militia that had joined their ranks, so they were able to launch a campaing of resistance against British authority on the North West Frontier that led, finally to a punituve campaing which was, perhaps, the most serious ever fought on the Frontier and in which the Indian Army faced humiliating defeat.

 

British Camp in Haidri Kach, Waziristan 1920

The campaing in Waziristan, the last act of the Third Afghan War, was the first major occasion on which the British had had to come to grips in the Frontier with the new situation created by the advent on a large scale of the modern, breech-loading, magazine rifle firing smokeless powder. Despite the deployment of the full range of up-to-date military technology on the British side, their early defeats and posterior hard fighting made clear that success would depend clearly upon discipline and individual training. This campaing led also to the intention to construct a network of permanent roads in tribal territory and the creation of an also permanent base in Ladha for a full brigade, changing the Frontier policy that, until that moment and por 70 years, had been one of no interference with the tribes but the occasional punitive expedition.

 

After all this fighting, the British  did not go away empty-handed. The Treaty of Rawalpindi and the subsequent treaty of friendship signed in Kabul in 1921 meant that, for the first time since the 1830s, they could look forward to peaceful co-existence with Afghanistan and to the disappearance of the Russian menace which had overshadowed British rule in India.

It was the real triumph.

 

And this is the end to my historical introduction to this project. As I have said, a fascinating war with two different campaings, one against the Afghan regular army and the other against the Waziristan tribes.

Next entries will deal with my sources of information, as books or articles, and then the wargame!



The Third Afghan War, History II

Opposing Forces.

The Afghan regular army of 1919 was not a formidable force (in fact, it never had been formidable) and had only about 50.000 men. There were also another 80.000 frontier tribesmen, first class fighters for the kind of war fought in the Frontier.

 

For their part, the British and British Indian Army had eight divisions, five independent infantry brigades and other three of cavalry. There were also three frontier brigades and some units of frontier militia and irregular corps. The British had also motor transport, wireless comunications, armoured cars and RAF detachments to increase their firepower and reach (Kabul itself suffered a bombing raid).

 

 

The main problem for the British was manpower. The troops in India were not the hard veteran and first class soldiers of other times. Great Britain had just finished a very costly global war and its will to fight and military capacity were very low. The Indian Army had been also heavily commited to the Great War, suffering 115,000 casualties from a million men sent overseas. Many of its units were still overseas and other had begun a process of demobilization. In the British Army, units from the Territorial Army had taken the place, during the Great War, of the Regular Army units serving in India and these Territorials were only interested in demobilisation and returning to Britain.

 

The prospect of war was grim for both Regular Armies.

 

The War.

The war began on 3 May 1919 when Afghan troops crossed the frontier at the western end of the Khyber Pass and captured the town of Bagh, strategically important to the British as it provided water to Landi Kotal, a town garrisoned by two companies from the British Indian Army.

 

In response, the British Indian goverment declared war upon Afghanistan on 6 May and ordered a general mobilisation of the British and Indian forces. It was necessary to reinforce the two companies posted in Landi Kotal and the only battalion availaible, the 2nd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, was sent clandestinely through the Khyber Pass aboard a convoy of 37 lorries.

Meanwhile, the serious prospect of an uprising in Peshawar was abated on 8 May and more reinforcements were available, growning the Landi Kotal garrison to brigade size. Finally, on 9 May the British and Indian forces launched an attack on the Afghan forces that had seized Bagh the previous week. The attack failed when the brigade commander, Brigadier G.D. Crocker, split his forces and, as a result, was unable to achieve the necessary concentration of force to capture his objetives.

A second attack made two days latter, on 11 May, proved successful, perhaps because it was supported with 22 machine guns and 18 artillery pieces. Using their bayonets, the British and Gurkha battalions drove the Afghans into the Lower Khyber and over the border. The RAF followed them, carring out a number of bombing runs, and the tribesmen that might have been expected to counterattack in support of the Afghan decided  against doing so, turning their efforts to looting the battlefield.

 

The Chief Commissioner of the North West Frontier, Sir George Roos-Keppel convinced the Viveroy, Lord Chelmsford (yes, him!) to continue the advance to pursue the Afghan across the frontier.

 

On 13 May, British and Indian troops seized control of the western Khyber without opposition and occupied Dacca, defeating an infantry assault of the Afghan infantry. Another force of 3,000 Afghans was also defeated in a direct assault of their positions on a hill.

In this moment of the campaing, trouble struck the British rear areas along their line of communications through the Khyber Pass, where the Khyber Rifles were disarmed after they had become disaffected and began to desert en masse. Lord Chelmsford decided that the situation could be resolved by continuing the advance into Afghanistan, and gave the order to the brigade in Dacca to march towards Jalalabad, but fighting broke out further to the south and in the eastern Khyber.

 

On 27 May, the British commander in Quetta decided to attack the Afghan fortress at Spin Boldak and captured it, seizing the initiative in the south. But the situation in the center of the war zone, around Kurram remained desperate for the British. The Afghan forces in this area were under the command of General Nadir Khan, that possessed a force of 14 battalions. The British at Thal, under Brigadier General Alexander Eustace, had only 4 battalions of inexperienced Indian troops. Then, the Waziristan Militia were disaffected, and turned on their officers, adding a new problem.

Nadir Khan seized the opportunity and decided to attack Thal, shelling and assaulting the fort with his infantry but was unable to take it. The British decided to sent an strong column to relieve Eustace´s force at Thal and, after a hard fight against a blocking force of tribesmen, this column cleared the way through Eustace´s garrison.

 

Thal Fort, 1919

The next day, 2 June, the British brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, launched an attack on the Afghan regulars positioned away to the west of Thal, but Nadir Khan sent out an envoy to deliver a message to the brigade commander. This one told Dyer that Amir Amanullah had ordered Nadir Khan to cease hostilities and asked him to honour the request for an armistice that Amanullah had sent to the British Indian goverment on 31 May. Dyer, suspecting that this request was only a ruse on Nadir Khan´s part, decided to continue his attack and the Afghan forces retired from the area. Dyer followed them with cavalry and armoured cars from the 37th Lancers while the RAF attacked and dispersed about 400 tribesmen that were in the area.

 

On 3 June the armistice was finally signed, but some fighting continued in Chitral and in North Baluchistan for a time. It was not until 8 August 1919 that this small war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi.

 

And there was the tribal insurrection of Waziristan...

 

Another long entry about this small war. I expect to finish this series with the outcome of the campaing and then, towards the game!



The Third Afghan War. History I (UPDATED)

Afghan Peace delegates at Murree, 1919

"The most meaningless, crazy and unnecessary war in history" said Sir Hamilton Grant in The Times, 28 July 1919. And it is true, absolutely true.

"La más absurda, loca e innecesaria guerra en la historia" dijo Sir Hamilton Grant en The Times el 28 de Julio de 1919. Y es cierto, absolutamente cierto.

 

The Third Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 with an Afghan aggression this time, and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919 in which the Afghan agreed not to foment troubles on the British side of the frontier in exchange of the right to conduct their own foreing affairs as a fully independent state. In fact, the Afghans lost the battles but won the war.

La Tercera Guerra Afgana comenzó el 6 de mayo de 1919 con una agresión afgana esta vez, y terminó mediante un armisticio el 8 de agosto de 1919 con el que Afganistán acordó no fomentar problemas en el lado británico de la frontera a cambio del derecho a conducir sus propios asuntos exteriores como estado totalmente independiente.

Lo cierto es que Afganistán ganó la guerra.

 

Background.

The most profound cause of the Third Afghan War can be found many years before the actual fighting. For the British, Afghanistan was always a direct threat to the North West Frontier of India but they were also worried about Russian intentions in the region, concerned about a possible invasion of India launched by Tzarist forces in Afghanistan. To negate this threat, the British made many attempts to impose their will upon Kabul and fought two costly wars in the 19th Century.

La causa más profunda de la Tercera Guerra de Afganistán puede encontrarse muchos años antes de la lucha real. Para los británicos, Afganistán siempre fue una amenaza directa a la Frontera del Noroeste de la India, pero también estaban muy preocupados acerca de las intenciones rusas en la región, sospechando una posible invasión de la India lanzada por las fuerzas zaristas desde Afganistán. Para eliminar esta amenaza, los británicos hiceron bastantes intentos de imponer su voluntad sobre Kabul, y lucharon dos costosas guerras en el Siglo XIX.

 

After the end of the Second Afghan War in 1880, there were almost 40 years of reasonably good relations between Britain and Afghanistan under the leadership of Abdur Rahman Khan, with the British attempting to manage Afghan foreing policy through the payment of a large subsidy.

The death in 1901 of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan left an unreliable and unstable successor, Habibullah Khan, who alternately sided with British and Russian according with the highest payment. Despite feeling considerable resentment over not being consulted over the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, Habibullah maintaned Afghanistan neutral during the Great War, resisting a considerable pressure from the Ottoman Empire, including the calling of a jihad against the Allies. This was a really remarkable feat, because the Sultan of Turkey was the successor of the Prophet (Khalifa) and the head of the Islamic word in the eyes of orthodox Sunni Mohammadans. The cause of the Khalifa was taken up with enthusiasm by the fanatical priesthold of Afghanistan and also by the uneducated population (in fact, this movement was so strong that many Afridis from Indian Army units stationed near the Tirah deserted in large numbers during the closing months of 1914).

Después del fin de la Segunda Guerra Afgana en 1880, hubo unos 40 años de relaciones razonablemente buenas entre Gran Bretaña y un Afganistán bajo el liderazgo de Abdur Rahman Khan, con los británicos persistiendo en manejar la política exterior afgana a cambio del pago de un substancioso subsidio.

La muerte en 1901 del Emir Abdur Rahman Khan dejó a un sucesor poco fiable e inestable, Habibullah Khan, quien alternó de bando entre Gran Bretaña y Rusia de acuerdo con el subsidio mayor. A pesar de sentir un considerable resentimiento por no haber sido consultado en la Convención Ruso-Británica de 1907, Habibullah mantuvo a Afganistán neutral durante la Gran Guerra, resistiendo una considerable presión por parte del Imperio Otomano. Esta fue una hazaña realmente notable, pues el Sultán de Turquía era el sucesor del Profeta (Califa) y la cabeza del mundo islámico a ojos de los ortodoxos Suníes, La causa del Califa fue seguida con entusiasmo por el fanático sacerdocio afgano, y también por la poco educada población (de hecho, este movimiento fue tan fuerte que muchos afridis de unidades del Ejército Indio estacionadas en Tirah desertaron en gran número durante los meses finales de 1914).

 

Amir Habibullah in Peshawar, 1905

With the end of the First World War, Habibullah sought to gain a reward from the British goverment for his assistance during the war (he has, in fact, accepted a Turkish-German mission in Kabul and military assistance from the Central Powers. Before its departure in 1916, this mission had successfully convinced Habibullah that Afghanistan was an independent nation and that it should be beholden to no one; Habibullah was a master playing both sides of the conflict...). He was looking for British recognition of Afghanistan´s independence in regards to the conduct of its foreing affairs.

Further negotiations  were scheduled, but before they could begin, Habibullah was assassinated on 19 February 1919.

Con el fin de la Primera Guerra Mundial, Habibullah intentó obtener una recompensa de parte del gobierno británico por su asistencia durante la guerra (lo cierto es que había aceptado en Kabul a una misión turco-alemana así como asistencia militar por parte de las Potencias Centrales. Antes de su partida en 1916, esta misión había convencido con éxito a Habibullah de que Afganistán debía ser una nación independiente y no debía estar sometida a nadie. Habibullah era un verdadero maestro jugando a varias bandas...). Buscaba desesperadamente reconocimiento británico a la independencia de su pais en lo referente al manejo de sus asuntos exteriores.

Posteriores negociaciones fueron previstas, pero antes de que pudiesen tener lugar, Habibullah fue asesinado el 19 de febrero de 1919.

 

This resulted in a typical power struggle when Habibullah´s brother, Nasrullah Khan opted to the trhone while in Kabul, Amanullah, third son of Habibullah, also proclaimed himself Amir. Needing a way of cementing his power upon seizing the throne in April 1919, and knowing that the Afghan Army suspected his complicity in the death of his father, Amanullah posed himself a man of democratic ideals and promised reforms in the system of goverment. More important for the British Empire, he stated that Afghanistan should be free and independent.

Ésto resultó en una típica lucha de poder cuando el hermano de Habibullah, Nasrullah Khan, optó al trono mientras en Kabul Amanullah, el tercer hijo de Habibullah, también se proclamó Emir. Tras quedarse con el trono en abril de 1919, y necesitando algo que cimentase su poder, sabiendo que el Ejército Afgano sospechaba de su comlicidad en la muerte de su padre, Amanullah se mostró como un hombre de ideas democráticas y prometió reformas en el sistema de gobierno. Más importante para los británicos fue el hecho de que afirmó rotundamente que Afganistán debía ser libre e independiente.

 

Nasrullah  was arrested for Habibullah´s murder and sentenced to life imprisionment. Nasrullah had been the leader of the more conservative elements in Afghanistan and his treatement made Amanullah´s position as Amir somewhat tenuous. Looking for a diversion from the internal affairs in Afghanistan, and sensing advantage in the rising civil unrest in India and the fatigue of the Indian Army after the Great War, Amanullah decided to invade British India.

Nasrullah fue arrestado y acusado del asesinato de Habibullah, siendo sentenciado a la pena de cadena perpetua. Nasrullah había sido el líder de los elementos más conservadores de Afganistán y la manera de tratarlo habían hecho que la posición de Amanullah como Emir fuese algi tenue. Buscando una diversión de los asuntos internos del pais, y tomando ventaja del descontento civil que imperaba en la India así como de la fatiga  del Ejército Indio después de la Gran Guerra, Amanullah decidió invadir la Joya de la Corona.

 

Militia of the North West Frontier, 1920

It has been the first part of the history, the introduction to the war. I have found most of the information in the Wikipedia and Brian Robson´s book "Crisis on the Frontier", so this is not my personal thesis, only a summary of others´ great work.

Esta ha sido la primera parte de la historia, la introducción a la guerra. He encontrado la mayor parte de la información en la Wikipedia y en el libro de Brian Robson "Crisis on the Frontier", por lo que ésta no es mi tesis personal, sólo el resumen de un gran trabajo hecho por otros.

 

Next one, the opposing forces and the course of the war (in the meantime, I expect to paint some old models from Foundry Miniatures to begin with...).

La siguiente entrada será acerca de las fuerzas enfrentadas y el curso de la guerra (mientras, espero pintar algunas figuras de Foundry Miniatures, para ir empezando...).

Hello!

I have begun this new blog because I need to put a bit of discipline in my particular "Hobby World". I have a lot of projects in march, a lot of them, and I need to close or forget some of them (most of them, in fact), if I expect to play anyone of them!!!
He decidido comenzar este nuevo blog porque necesito poner un poco de disciplina en mi particular "Mundo del Hobby". Tengo demasiados proyectos en marcha, demasiados, y necesito cerrar directamente un montón de ellos, si quiero ser capaz de jugar a alguno, algún día.

 

For that reason, I have chosen one of those projects, pretending to follow only this one (well, mainly this one; I have some "Club compromises" I can not forget) during this year. This is the plan!
Por esa razón, he elegido uno de tales proyectos para intentar seguirlo a lo largo de todo este año (bueno, para seguirlo principalmente a él, tengo unos cuantos "compromisos de Club" que no puedo olvidar).

 

Secondly, I pretend to write the entries in English, to improve my knowledge in this language, so I beg your pardon in advance for the many mistakes there will be.
En segundo lugar, quiero escribir estas entradas principalmente en inglés, para mejorar mi conocimiento de este idioma. Por eso, pido perdón por adelantado por mis muchos fallos.

 

Well, the project I have chosen is:
Bueno, el proyecto elegido es:

 

THIRD AFGHAN WAR, 1919

 

As I have said in my other blog, I like a lot this war because it was fought in Afghanistan, a country I really love, and it was the last of the colonial campaings in that part of the Empire. Gunga Din with tanks and airplanes!
Como ya he dicho en mi otro blog, me gusta mucho esta guerra en particular porque fue librada en Afganistán, un pais que me fascina y del que estoy tremendamente enamorado, y porque fue la última de las campañas coloniales libradas en ese rincón del Imperio. Puede decirse que se trata de "Tres Lanceros Bengalíes" con tanques y aviones.

 

 



Habibullah, son of the Second Afghan War fame Abdur Rahman, reigned from 1901 to 1919, a time of profound changes for Afghanistan. In 1904, a boundary comission determined the border between Iran and Afghanistan, something that was acepted by both countries. Then, the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 divided Afghanistan into areas of British and Russian influence (the Great Game in a civilized manner) but Habibullah wanted much more, full Afghan independence and Great Britain´s assistance in his attempt to regain the lands lost to the Russian (taken by them, in fact). Great Britain was more interested in the European crisis and the Great War, and the defence of India, so there was no help. Habibullah was assassinated in 1919 and his son Amanullah succeeded him. The month long Third Afghan War began with his invasion of India and resulted, in the end and in spite of the tanks, airplanes, modern artillery an defeats, in the full independence of Afghanistan. That same year Amanullah established diplomatic relationships with Russia; in 1921 with Iran and in 1922, with Great Britain begining the (short) modern age of his country.
Habibullah, hijo de Abdur Rahman Khan, famoso por la Segunda Guerra Afgana, reinó entre 1901 y 1919, un tiempo de profundos cambios para Afganistán. En 1904, una comisión de fronteras determinó cual sería la frontera entre Irán y Afganistán, algo que fue aceptado por ambos paises. Luego, la Convención Anglo-Rusa de 1907 dividió Afganistán en áreas de influencia rusa y británica (el Gran Juego de una manera civilizada), pero Habibullah quería mucho más, la completa independencia del pais y la ayuda británica en su intento de recuperar los territorios tomados por Rusia. Gran Bretaña estaba más interesada en la gran crisis europea y en la aun más grande Gran Guerra, así como en la defensea de la India, por lo que no hubo ayuda. Habibullah fue asesinado en 1919 y su hijo Amanullah Khan le sucedió en el trono. La Tercera Guerra Afgana, de un mes de duración, comenzó con su invasión del norte de la India y resultó, al final y a pesar de los tanques, aviones y artillería moderna de los británicos, en la plena independencia de Afganistán. Ese mismo año, Amanullah estableció relaciones diplomáticas con Rusia; en 1921 con Irán y en 1922 con Gran Bretaña, comenzando así una corta edad moderna para su pais.

 

 

This is only an small introduction to this fascinating small-war. I expect to write a more complet one in the next entry, and them, the first movements of my project.
Ésta es sólo una pequeña introducción a esta fascinante pequeña guerra. Espero escribir una algo más completa en mi siguiente entrada (recuperando así mis "orígenes" cuando empecé esto de los blogs). Luego, mis primeros movimientos en este proyecto.