Duhamel plan

The Duhamel plan was a proposed Russian invasion of

Astrakhan

Gorgan

Sochi (Circassia)

Meshed

Herat

Kandahar

Kabul

Jalalabad

Peshawar

Attock Khurd

Lahore

Delhi

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Duhamel's preferred route. Locations in Russian Empire in white, Persia in green, Afghanistan in black and British India in red.

In his proposal Duhamel considered that India was Britain's "only vulnerable point". He noted that in the Napoleonic era Russian Emperor

Duhamel considered that only a small Russian force would be required as he hoped to attract support from Afghanistan, Persia and, perhaps, the former Sikh Empire. Once the expedition reached India he hoped that the movement of British garrison troops to the north-west frontier would trigger a broad revolt against British rule. Duhamel based his expedition's route on previous Russian plans.^[5] He suggested five options to reach the Indian frontier:^[5][7][8]

• From Orenburg (Russia), via Khiva and Merv (Khanate of Khiva) and to Herat, Kandahar and Kabul (Afghanistan)
• From Orsk or Orenburg (Russia), via Bukhara (Emirate of Bukhara) to Balkh and Kabul (Afghanistan)
• From Orsk or Troitsk (Russia) with two options for the middle portion:
  • via Aralsk and Ak-Mechet/Fort Perovski (Russia) and Tashkent (Khanate of Kokand)
  • via Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan)

Then on through Kokand (Khanate of Kokand), Kalum and Bamyan to Kabul (Afghanistan)

• An initial route with the Russian force split:
  • The infantry and artillery would travel from Astrakhan (Russia) across the Caspian Sea to Gorgan (Persia)
  • The cavalry would travel from Circassia (Russia) overland to Persia

Then the combined force taking a route via Resushan or Shahnid to Meshed (Persia) then to Herat, Kandahar and Kabul.

• From Dsuelfa [Julfa] (Russia) via Tabriz, Tehran, Meshed (Persia) to Herat, Kandahar and Kabul.

Duhamel selected the fourth route, across the Caspian, as his preferred. He considered it the least exhausting being the shortest and avoiding deserts, mountains, major river crossings and hostile tribes.^[5][8] Duhamel considered that the Persians were "incapable of any serious resistance" against the Russian forces and would be left no option but to allow their passage.^[8] He thought that a forward Russian base could be established in the Eastern Persian Greater Khorasan.^[8]

The onward thrust into India would be launched from Kabul or Kandahar. Duhamel preferred Kabul as it offered the quickest route, via the

Duhamel considered that Russian forces need only be relatively small: "only a small army is needed, to form the kernel of the invasion round which all the conquered tribes would cluster, and which might be gradually reduced as a general rising caused the attacking forces to swell".[9] He also noted that "we do not invade India with a view to making conquests, but to overthrow the English rulers - or at least to weaken English power".^[12]

Impact

Due to the demands of the war, no Russian troops could be spared for the operation and it was not carried out.^[5] A second invasion plan was proposed in 1854 by naval officer Nikolai Chikhachev [ru] and a third by General Stepan Khrulev [ru] in 1855 (the Khrulev plan) though, again, these were not progressed.^[2] The British historian Peter Hopkirk, writing in 2001, notes that the British authorities in India were confident that any invasion of India via the North-West Frontier could be defeated. Hopkirk considers that the Duhamel plan was unlikely to succeed, relying as they did on co-operation between Afghanistan and Persia and for their populations to allow a foreign army to march across their lands.^[5]

Duhamel was correct about the vulnerability of India to rebellion: the

• Indian March of Paul (Napoleonic era)

References