British Victory in the 1st Anglo-Afghan War

[Alratan]

A cursory inspection suggests that the British humiliation in the retreat from Kabul could have been avoided if there was a different commander.

If this happens, can the British hold on, or is it just delaying the inevitable?
If they can hold on, can Afganistan eventually be assimilated into British India?

 

[Emperor-of-New-Zealand]

To quote a book called the Kite Runner:

"The Afghans are not kind to invaders."

To some extents I'd say control over Afghanistan is always destined to be limited and short-term. The British couldn't hold on, nor could the Soviets.

 

[David S Poepoe]

Afghanistan is one of those few places on earth better left alone. It has been the battlefield of several empires and has consumed all of them.

The British did, on and off, for the next few decades establish a degree of control over Afghanistan, or more properly Kabul. It would work better as a buffer state rather than a state of India.

 

[Emperor-of-New-Zealand]

As a puppet maybe. The main problem is that the people are so inventive and know their environment extremely well. It makes it near impossible for anyone to perform counteroffensives. It was only popular because it provided a buffer between India and Russia, at the time.

 

[Nikephoros]

The important thing to know about Afghanistan is this: Most would be conquerors controlled the two east-west valleys in Afghanistan. But the mountains always belonged to the natives.

Afghanistan is easy to seize (because of it's lack of unity), but hard to control (because of their ability to unite to drive out invaders).

 

[Mirza Khan]

A cursory inspection suggests that the British humiliation in the retreat from Kabul could have been avoided if there was a different commander.

If this happens, can the British hold on, or is it just delaying the inevitable?
If they can hold on, can Afganistan eventually be assimilated into British India?

Well, Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game has a rather detailed account of the first Anglo-Afghan war, and from his description the British commander was indeed a monumental idiot. The British were set up in a rather indefensible base outside Kabul, and when the Afghans revolted, the commander (Elphinstone, I think his name was) dithered and refused to move the army into the Bela Hissar (a big, defensible citadel in Kabul, where they probably could have held out until being reinforced), and allowed the Afghan army to surround the British base and make their position untenable. Once he figured this out, he negociated with the Afghan Emir leading the attackers, who promised to allow his forces to withdraw in peace, only to funnel them into the narrow valleys south of Kabul and wipe them out. If they'd had a different commander, they probably would have held out. Of course, they'd face constant low-level guerilla warfare from the countryside, which would probably take a few decades (at least) to stamp out.

 

[Paladin]

We all know Eliphistone is an idiot, replace him with, well, anyone, really, and the initially crisis could be averted. However, even if the Brits manage to hold out, they still can't hold the country, and casualties will start to mount. I feel a change of government will eventually force them to withdraw, probably bringing Shah Shujah with them. Whether you call that a win or a loss is up to you.