Third Anglo-Afghan War

Third Anglo-Afghan War
Part of the Interwar period Anglo-Afghan Wars
Soldiers in action at Kohat during the Third Anglo-Afghan War
Date 3 May – 8 August 1919 Location North-West Frontier of the British India and Afghanistan Result Afghan victory[1][2] Treaty of Rawalpindi Unrest in Waziristan
Belligerents
Afghanistan	United Kingdom  India
Commanders and leaders
Amanullah Khan Nadir Khan Saleh Muhammad Khan	Arthur Barrett Reginald Dyer Alexander Eustace
Strength
50,000 man standing army supported by up to 80,000 tribesmen	8 divisions 5 independent brigades 3 cavalry brigades, plus a number of modern aircraft, armoured cars and artillery
Casualties and losses
1,000 dead[3] Hundreds more killed from wounds[3]	1,751 dead or wounded[3] Hundreds more killed by disease[3][4] 3 planes destroyed[5]

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History of Afghanistan
The palace of the emir in 1839
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The Third Anglo-Afghan War^[a] was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as to strengthen his own legitimacy. Amanullah's forces invaded British India on three fronts taking advantage of the unrest in India, in an effort to seize the old Afghan provinces west of the River Indus.

Initial victories saw the Afghans invade across the border, defeating the British and occupying Bagh. The British retaliated, leading a counterattack that routed the Afghans. Conflict continued in Kurram, which saw the British overwhelmed. Taking their own initiative, the British seized Spin Boldak in the south, while an Afghan offensive in Thal was contained, with the British occupying Dacca in turn by the end of May. The Royal Air Force were also used in bombing and strafing attacks on the frontier tribes as well as targets within Afghanistan, including Kabul and Jalalabad. Although small in scale, it was a contributing force for Amanullah to call for an armistice in June.

The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 was signed on 8 August which resulted in the Afghans re-gaining dejure control of foreign affairs from Britain,^[b] and the Afghans recognizing the Durand Line as the border.^[8] The conflict however, incited numerous uprisings in Waziristan that lasted until the end of the British Raj.

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