Afghanistan Medal

 

The Second Anglo-Afghan War 1870 - 1880.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Afghanistan Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The medal was instituted in 1881 and was awarded for military actions - denoted by the issuing of a corresponding clasp to the medal - involving the British Army and local Indian units in Afghanistan between 1878 -1880.

 

The war following the 1873 peace treaty between the British and Afghanistan that not only determined boundaries between the realm of Sher Ali the Amir of Afghanistan and India but also included a substantial financial award to the Amir was brought about when in 1878 the Amir of Afghanistan refused to accept the instalment of a British resident and consequently raised an army which began harassing the Indian frontier.

 

This and the ever increasing grants of protective rights in Afghanistan towards the Russian Empire precipitated an armed response from Britain and war followed.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the head of Queen Victoria with the inscription; 'VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX'.

 

The reverse depicts an invasion column with an elephant and a mounted soldier in the foreground with the inscription; 'AFGHANISTAN' to the top left and the dates; '1878-79-80' below.

 

The ribbon suspender is of a plain, straight and swivelling style, attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim engraved in upright square or sloping capitals while some examples are found with impressed or engraved running script for Indian troops.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and green in colour with a narrow crimson stripe along either edge.

 

 

This medal was issued with the following clasps:-

 

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

** The individual medal value will vary considerably based on the recipient’s details.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Second Anglo-Afghan War.

- The Battle Of Ali Masjid.

- The Battle Of Peiwar Kotal.

- The Siege Of The Sherpur Cantonment (Kabul 1879).

- The Battle Of Ahmed Khel.

- The Battle Of Maiwand.

- The Siege Of Kandahar.

- The Battle Of Kandahar.

 

The Second Anglo-Afghan War - The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan.

 

This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended after the British emerged victorious against the Afghan rebels and the Afghans agreed to let the British attain all of their geopolitical objectives from the Treaty of Gandamak.

 

Most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. The Afghans were permitted to maintain internal sovereignty but they had to cede control of their nation's foreign relations to the British.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Ali Masjid - The Battle of Ali Masjid, which took place on 21 November 1878, was the opening battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War between the British forces, under Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel James Browne, and the Afghan forces, under Ghulam Haider Khan.

 

The perceived offence of an Afghan general's refusal to allow a British envoy entrance to the country was used as an excuse to attack the fortress of Ali Masjid, as the opening battle in the war.

 

Despite numerous setbacks, including half the troops getting lost or delayed and missing the battle entirely, the British were lucky that the Afghans abandoned their position overnight.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Peiwar Kotal - The Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on 28-29 November 1878 between British forces under Sir Frederick Roberts and Afghan forces under Karim Khan, during the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

 

The British were victorious, and seized the strategic Peiwar Kotal Pass leading into Afghanistan.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Siege Of The Sherpur Cantonment (Kabul 1879) - On 3 September 1879 Sir Pierre Cavagnari, the British Resident in Kabul, and his escort were massacred by mutinous Afghan troops, initiating the second phase of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

 

A force was assembled and named the Kabul Field Force, under the command of major-general Frederick Roberts. After defeating Afghan forces at Chariasab on 6 October, Roberts marched into Kabul on 13 October.

 

At the end of November, an army under the command of Mohammed Jan Khan Wardak, who had denounced Yaqub Khan as a British puppet and instead declared Musa Jan the new amir, gathered in the area north of Kabul.

 

On 11 December a small detachment (c.170 men) of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 14th Bengal Lancers encountered a 10,000+ Afghan army advancing on Kabul. As it was of the utmost importance that Mohammed Jan's advance was delayed the woefully outnumbered Lancers charged the Afghans. Heavy casualties were suffered and the Afghans continued their advance. On December 15, the Afghan army began to besiege the British forces entrenched in the Sherpur Cantonment.

 

As news of a relief column under the command of Brigadier General Charles Gough reached Mohammed Jan, he ordered his troops to storm the cantonment on 23 December. By midday, the assault had been repulsed, and the Afghan army dispersed. No quarter was given to Afghans found in the area with weapons.

 

The Sherpur Cantonment is maintained up to the present as a British military cemetery.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Ahmed Khel - The Battle of Ahmed Khel was fought between the British Empire with its British and Indian armies and the Afghans on the road between Kandahar and Kabul on 19 April 1880 in what now is the country of Afghanistan. The battle ended in a British victory. This battle occurred during General Donald Stewart's march from Kandahar to Ghazni, then on to Kabul.

 

The British forces, consisting of 7,200 British and Indian troops, were commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Donald Stewart. On the opposite side were 15,000 tribesmen mounted and on foot of the Andarees, Tarkees, Suleiman Khels and other Afghan tribes, lead by unknown tribal leaders.

 

The Indian regiments were commanded by British officers, but these were not present in sufficient numbers to command such inexperienced military units as the Indian forces. The proportion was 7 British officers to 650 Indian infantry soldiers, which wasn't enough since all tactical decisions on the battlefield were made by the British.

 

For weaponry the British infantry carried a single shot Martini-Henry rifle, while the Indian infantry had a similar single shot rifle, but one of older model. In addition to these rifles the British-Indian cavalry forces were armed with sword, lance and carbines.

 

During times of peace the Indian army had no commanding structure of officers other than those placed in garrisons in cities or forts. The Indian army officers had to be appointed when war started, and trained through experience.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Maiwand - The Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880 was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghans defeated two brigades of British and Indian troops under Brigadier-General George Burrows, though at a high price: between 2,050 and 2,750 Afghan warriors were killed, and probably about 1,500 wounded.

 

British and Indian forces suffered 969 soldiers killed and 177 wounded.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Siege Of Kandahar - After the disastrous defeat at Maiwand, the remnants of General Burrows’ battle-wearied army began the 45 mile retreat to the city of Kandahar. Armed local irregulars, exhaustion and thirst contributed to the breakdown of the column’s discipline, and were it not for Captain Slade’s rear guard action, far fewer would have made it to the refuge of the city.

 

Of the 1,500 (approx) British and Indian troops at Maiwand, a little over 960 succumbed in either the battle or the ensuing retreat. Only 161 of the wounded reached the citadel of Kandahar.

 

The remnants of the straggling column reached Kandahar on 28 July raising the garrison numbers to 4360 - the Afghan population of 12,000 were compelled to leave. With the abandonment of the cantonments, the whole garrison withdrew behind the walls of the fortified city and organised preparations for its defence.

 

These defences included improving and facilitating communications along the city's walls, plugging breaches, constructing gun platforms and the laying of wire obstacles outside the walls to entangle their foe. The Afghans determined to harass and hinder the defenders’ preparations throughout.

 

On 8 August, Ayub Khan, the victor at Maiwand, opened fire on the citadel from Picquet hill north west of the city; a few days later other guns volleyed forth from the villages of Deh Khoja and Deh Khati on the east and south.

 

An attempt to neutralise the village of Deh Khoja, led by Brigadier General Brooke on the 16th, proved unsuccessful. During the extrication, both Brigadier General Brooke and Captain Cruickshank fell, adding to the casualty total of over 100.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Kandahar - The Battle of Kandahar, 1 September 1880, was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The battle in southern Afghanistan was fought between the British forces under command of General Roberts and the Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan, ended with a decisive British victory, inflicting nearly 3,000 casualties in total.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.