Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk
Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk | |||||||
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Part of Shah Shuja's campaign | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Kohan Dil Khan Pur Dil Khan Mihrdil Khan Rahmdil Khan Dost Mohammad Afzal Khan | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
30,000 (Initial)[5][6] 80,000 men (during siege of Kandahar)[4] |
Numerically inferior 20,000 men from Dost Mohammad (only 3,000 engaged)[7] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Heavy losses[4][8] | Unknown |
The Expedition of Shuja ul-Mulk began in January 1833, whilst the siege of Kandahar began on 10 May 1834, and ended on 1 July 1834.
Background
Following the death of
Shah Shuja thus lost the crown and fled to exile in the Sikh Empire, where he began plans to reclaim Afghanistan under his own rule.[14]
Siege of Kandahar
Seeking to launch another attempt to reclaim his rule in Afghanistan, Shah Shuja marched his men through the
On 29 June, the Shah Shuja ordered his men to scale the walls of Kandahar with ladders, however they were defeated, with many being killed and wounded from the failed assault.[8] Short skirmishes followed after this until Dost Mohammad Khan had arrived, who now began clashing with Shah Shuja's force. When Dost Mohammad arrived, skirmishes and clashes broke out even further, and at one point, Shah Shuja chose to fight in the day instead of night, wishing to give his soldiers time to rest after being fatigued.[15] Thus, Shah Shuja began battle again and overcame Dost Mohammad's force, who was slowly being pushed back, as Shah Shuja's forces reached the walls of Kandahar. However, following this, much of the Barakzai troops who had drawn up on the flanks began engaging Shah Shuja's armies, with over 3,000 men under Dost Mohammad Khan and Sardar Mir Afzal Khan. Sardar Mir Afzal Khan himself attacked Shah Shuja.[4][15] Shah Shuja, fearing to be captured, fled. When his forces saw them being abandoned, they abandoned and fled the battle-field. As during this, an English general, William Campbell was wounded and also captured by the Barakzai forces.[16]
Aftermath
With this, Shah Shuja was forced to withdraw, and leave behind all his baggage. Amongst the baggage captured, Dost Mohammad found out of British aid in the expedition of Shah Shuja.[16][1] This would not be the last attempt of Shah Shuja to seize the throne of Afghanistan, as in 1839, he, alongside British forces would contend with Dost Mohammad Khan for rule over Kabul in the First Anglo-Afghan War.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d Lee 2019, p. 205.
- ISBN 9781789140101.
- ^ McChesney & Khorrami 2012, p. 201.
- ^ a b c d e f Dalrymple 2013, p. 73.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-1830-5. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-90-04-23498-7.
- ^ a b Dalrymple 2013, p. 72.
- ^ a b McChesney & Khorrami 2012, p. 202.
- ISBN 978-1-01-927310-4.
- ^ Drahm, Abdel (2020). "Afghanistan A History From 1260 To The Present". AAF: 159. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 163.
- ^ Drahm 2020, p. 166.
- ^ a b Drahm 2020, p. 174.
- ^ Dalrymple 2013, p. 48-72.
- ^ a b McChesney & Khorrami 2012, p. 203-204.
- ^ a b Dalrymple 2013, p. 74.
- ^ Lee 2019, p. 225.