Last night I had a pleasant evening watching four of the hour-long segments of Michael Palin's documentary Himalaya (BBC, 2004). He begins the journey and the narrative quite logically at the Khyber Pass, noting that many of the worlds greatest armies have followed this route, since it is the only passage through the mountain chain. He mentions Alexander the Great, Darius the Persian, and Tamerlane the Great. Then this...
"And in 1842 the lone survivor of the British Army's attempt to pacify Afghanistan came staggering up this road to announce the annihilation of 17,000 of his comrades..."That got my attention, since it referred to an event not covered in any of my (few) history courses. Searched the web today, and found the First Anglo-Afghan War, and then the catastrophe under the heading Massacre of Elphinstone's Army. Details at the link, but these excerpts give the flavor:
The remnants dragged on and made a last stand near the village of Gandamack on 13 January. The force was down to fewer than forty men and almost out of food and ammunition. They were surrounded on a hillock and when a surrender was offered by the Afghans, one British sergeant gave the famous answer "Not bloody likely!" All but two were slain.The paintings above: Remnants of an Army and Last Stand
Only one soldier managed to reach Jalalabad. On January 13 William Brydon, an assistant surgeon, rode through the gate on his exhausted horse. Part of his skull was sheared off by a sword. An Afghan shepherd had granted him refuge and, when the shooting was over, put him on his horse. It is said that he was asked upon arrival what happened to the army, and answered "I am the army."
Reposted from 2009, because last night I rewatched The Kite Runner and was once again thoroughly impressed with the movie, so I'm going to embed the trailer here to encourage others to consider it.
The blurb provided by Paramount is succinct:
"Amir is a young Afghani from a well-to-do Kabul family; his best friend Hassan is the son of a family servant. Together the two boys form a bond of friendship that breaks tragically on one fateful day, when Amir fails to save his friend from brutal neighborhood bullies. Amir and Hassan become separated, and as first the Soviets and then the Taliban seize control of Afghanistan, Amir and his father escape to the United States to pursue a new life. Years later, Amir -- now an accomplished author living in San Francisco -- is called back to Kabul to right the wrongs he and his father committed years ago."
I think the movie deserves consideration by a new generation of viewers if for no other reason than to realize from viewing the opening scenes of the movie what Afghanistan was like before the Soviet invasion and the rise of the mullahs.
In the movie when the father and son flee Afghanistan, the father asks a friend to look after the house until the Russians leave. When asked if they will leave he replies "everyone leaves Afghanistan," which reminded me of this post written 15 years ago.
Afghanistan has no oil itself, though there have been talks of building a pipeline through there from the Caspian Sea. Of course, a pipeline would be a waste in an unstable country, as there would always be rebels blowing a pipeline up. Is it possible to stabilize Afghanistan? History says not. Not even the Taliban succeeded. More westerners should read the history of the Middle and Far East.
ReplyDeleteBeing English, I did know the history.
ReplyDeleteI grew up an avid reader, I had elderly relatives whose forbears fought in India, and Afghanistan, I read the books and poems of Rudyard Kipling, so yes, I was stunned at the stupidity of the U.S, and of our own British government who seemed to think invading Afghanistan was a good idea.
Of course, nobody in Washington seemed to remember Viet-nam, nor did they remember how u.s and british special forces had been so successful in training mujahiddin to fight the Russians. How the Afghanis had prevailed against armour, jets, and helicopter gunships.
Here's Rudyard Kipling's advice to a young british soldier. Especially the final verse.
THE YOUNG BRITISH SOLDIER
When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier ~OF~ the Queen!
Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .
First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .
When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
An' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .
But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You ~must~ wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .
If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .
Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .
If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .
When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .
When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .
When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .
If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .
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.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier ~of~ the Queen!
This was, I think, published in Kipling's "Barrack Room Ballads" in about 1892.
Soubriquet, I had seen the final verse out of context before. Thanx for posting the fulltext.
ReplyDeleteStan
If I had the money, I would, personally, send a copy of "The man who would be king" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073341/), to any politician, regardless of creed or nationality who still fancies invading/pacifying Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it should be "required seeing" for all recruits presently attending any military college or boot camp.
One can always dream of peace and self determination...
laly
Above are many good references to this fiasco but to get a feel for the true arrogent gestalt of the british i recommend "Flashman" where this fictional character survives the same retreat.
ReplyDeleteWhich book? Our library has several. This one?
DeleteFlashman :from the Flashman papers 1839-1842
by Fraser, George MacDonald,1925-2008.
Publisher and date
New York, [N.Y.] :World Pub. Co.,[1969]©1969
and I just found this -
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flashman_Papers
I was interested in further context on the popular meme about "what Afghanistan was like before the Soviet invasion and the rise of the mullahs," and found the following information: https://www.komoot.com/highlight/3261739. Similar content at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paghman. Sounds like Paghman has been an interesting microcosm of the tension between local/traditional social and religious mores and western influence for at least a century--likely worthy of a book or movie in its own right.
ReplyDeleteGoogle maps shows a range of very interesting contemporary photos in the area--starting with the photos that display for Paghman, Afghanistan and for the Zafar Paghman Arch, but I also enjoyed clicking on a variety of sites in the area to see what sorts of random tourist and local photos popped up.
Thanks for the interesting Sunday afternoon rabbit hole!
And thank you for the comment; I appreciate getting feedback.
DeleteBy the way, for a different account of what Afghanistan was like before the Soviets and the Taliban, Joseph Kessel's The Horsemen (book 1967, movie 1971) is an interesting alternative. Kessel was a Frenchman who only visited Afghanistan as a journalist and photographer, and the book/movie are prime examples of Edward Said-style "orientalism," but if you are someone who finds that awareness of Said's critical framework enriches more than it undermines your experience of the underlying work then I would still strongly recommend the book.
ReplyDelete