Second Anglo-Afghan War

Second Anglo–Afghan War
Part of the Great Game
92nd Highlanders at Kandahar. Oil by Richard Caton Woodville Jr.
Date 1878–1880 Location Afghanistan Result British victory[1] Treaty of Gandamak Abdur Rahman Khan installed as Emir[2] Territorial changes Kandahar ceded to Afghanistan.[3] Districts of Quetta, Pishin, Sibi, Harnai & Thal Chotiali ceded to British India[4]
Belligerents
Afghanistan	United Kingdom  India
Commanders and leaders
Sher Ali Khan # Mohammad Yaqub Khan Ayub Khan Ghulam Haidar Khan	Samuel Browne Frederick Roberts Donald Stewart Pratap Singh Sardar Sher Ali Khan Abdur Rahman Khan
Casualties and losses
Total fatalities are unknown 5,000+ killed in major battles[5]	Total: 10,000 dead[6] 1,850 killed in action or died of wounds 8,000 died of diseases[5]

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The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, Pashto: د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj 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. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.

The war was split into two campaigns – the first began in November 1878 with the British invasion of Afghanistan from India. The British were quickly victorious and forced the Amir – Sher Ali Khan to flee. Ali's successor Mohammad Yaqub Khan immediately sued for peace and the Treaty of Gandamak was then signed on 26 May 1879. The British sent an envoy and mission led by Sir Louis Cavagnari to Kabul, but on 3 September this mission was massacred and the conflict was reignited by Ayub Khan which led to the abdication of his brother Yaqub.^[7]

The second campaign ended in September 1880 when the British decisively defeated Ayub Khan outside Kandahar. Abdur Rahman Khan who had been an opponent of the British, was invited to be the new Amir and accepted. He ratified and confirmed the Gandamak treaty once more. Having created the buffer the British wanted between the Raj and the Russian Empire, British and Indian soldiers then withdrew from Afghanistan.^[8]