Britain’s Most Humiliating Colonial Disaster
The day after they struck a deal with the Afghans to let them go in peace, the British resumed their march from Kabul. By then, many of the soldiers had become too debilitated by the cold to fight. As they entered a narrow pass, the column was fired upon by tribesmen ensconced on the rocks above, and suffered 3000 casualties. Over the following days, the British were shaken down for more money and more hostages in exchange for empty promises to rein in the tribesmen. On January 11th, the British commander and his deputy were forced to surrender in exchange for yet another promise of safe passage.
Soon thereafter, the British found their path barred, this time for good, by entrenched Afghans who had blocked and fortified a pass. A desperate charge was made to try and break through, but it was beaten back. On January 13th, a week after they had set out from Kabul, the last group of survivors formed a tiny square and made a last stand. They were wiped out. Later that afternoon, British sentries in Jellalabad, on the lookout for the arrival of the Kabul garrison, saw a single rider approaching. It was a Dr. Brydon, the sole survivor of the British retreat from Kabul.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Bagnall, Nigel – The Punic Wars (1990)
British Battles – Battle of Kabul and the Retreat to Gandamak
Brooklyn Eagle, December 20th, 1876 – The Inquest: How Three Hundred People Met Their Death
China Project – A 17th Century Mushroom Cloud: The Wanggongchang Explosion
Cracked – 5 Old-Timey Disasters America Could Have Easily Avoided
Darlymple, William – Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan (2013)
Encyclopedia Britannica – Arminius, German Leader
Geni – Wreck of the White Ship
Goody Feed – 5 Facts About 1986’s Hotel New World Collapse that S’Poreans Probably Didn’t Know Of
History Collection – 20 Embarrassing Mistakes Historical Figures Made
Jackson, Julian – The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 (2003)
Kershaw, Ian – Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (1998)
Lazenby, John – Hannibal’s War: A Military History of the Second Punic War (1998)
Library of Congress Research Guides – Brooklyn Theater Fire (1876): Topics in Chronicling America
Macgowan, John – The Imperial History of China (1906)
Murdoch, Adrian – Rome’s Greatest Defeat: Massacre at the Teutoburg Forrest (2008)
New York Tribune, May 31st, 1883 – Fatal Panic on the Bridge
Oren, Michael – Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East (2002)
Popular Mechanics – The Fatal Engineering Flaws Behind the Deadliest Dam Failure in History
Shirer, William – The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (1990 Edition)
Singapore Infopedia – Hotel New World Collapse
Spencer, Charles – The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream (2020)