24. The British disaster in Afghanistan used Indian and Sikh troops to trample on the unsuspecting Middle East.
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the only continental rival to the British Empire was the Russian Empire. When Russia exhibited adventurism in Turkey and Persia in the 1830s, the British were concerned about their intentions regarding the British holdings in India. To deter the Russians, the British decided to occupy Afghanistan, though the resident Afghanis were not consulted. Using primarily Indian and Sikh troops, the British invaded, captured Kabul, installed a new leader consistent with their aims, and then lost most of the withdrawing army in January 1842. The British responded with another invasion to destroy most of the capital and exact retribution on the Afghani people.