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The Third Afghan War - 1919

One consequence of the First World War that hadn't been anticipated was the impact that it had on the colonies of the major imperialistic powers. The Central powers were stripped of their overseas lands in the Peace Settlements of 1919, for the 'victors' though there were also unwanted negative consequences.

For many people within the empire the imperial power was viewed as being unstoppable, unbeatable and all-powerful. The First World War showed that this clearly wasn't the case. The imperial powers could be challenged and were not the all-powerful military nations that many had assumed them to be. Across the British Empire there were many minor attempts at altering the balance of power. The British responded to each of these with varying degrees of success.

In Afghanistan the British had endured a number of armed attempts by the locals to break free from British control. Each time the British army, much strengthened by the large number of Indian regiments at it's disposal, had managed to quash the rebellion. This time though the tide had changed.

Afghan troops maneuvered against the much weakened British forces in July 1919. As many Indian regiments were still making their way back from the battlefields of Europe the assault was much harder to cope with. The Third Afghan war was relatively short lived, with the status quo being restored for the time being at least.