Afghanistan War 1838-41 by doctor Atkinson

Salvete Omnes, 

James Atkinson (1780-1852) was a men of many talents and skills, his profession was medicine and he worked as a doctor in Bengal (part of British India) - being fluent in Persian he translated parts of Shahname into English, while being a man of his era, he was also trained in fine arts.

During the First Anglo-Afghan war he was appointed the chief surgeon to the Army of India (Indus) and thus he participated in the war until 1840,   riding into Afghanistan.

Upon his return to India in 1841, he published his drawings from Afghanistan titled "Sketches in Afghaunistan' and a volume describing the war in Afghanistan  titled 'The Expedition into Affghanistan: Notes and Sketches Descriptive of the Country[..].'
He was one of the European pioneer researchers into the culture of Afghanistan and Persia.

William Hay Macnachten receives Dost Mohammad's surrender

a colored lithograph from Christies - 

During the final fighting with Dost Muhammad  the Bengal Cavalry's 2nd Regiment refused to charge Afghans and flew from their British officers .. the action was described by dr Atkinson.

Valete

James Rattray - views from Afghanistan 1838-42

 Salvete Omnes,

Captain James Rattray was a British officer in the Bengal Army and an artist.

As a Lieutenant  Rattray in the Bengal Army infantry he also explored the country and  drew & painted the Afghans and Afghanistan during 1838-42 or  the First  Anglo-Afghan war.

It should be noted that he made alive the disastrous retreat from Kabul across the Kyber Pass back into the British Imperial India. 

His brother  Charles Rattray, also an officer in the Bengal Army & Indian Army, was killed or murdered  near Kabul in 1841.
James Rattray 

The little gallery of  Captain Rattray's artwork showing camels and horses

two Afghan brothers of Cpt Rattray's cavalry escort Sept 1841

the Ghilzai or Kochis Pashtun nomads as seen by Rattray

the women of nomad Ghilzai - description here - 

also available on the world library website - Archive.

Valete

Horses & Riders of Gandhara

 Salvete Omnes,

during the late Hellenistic age the northern ancient India, eastern Persia and the land beyond the Oxus & Jaxartes produced  a very specific melange of art styles and forms.

Gandhara is the lost  Shangrila of the ancient world, that is the region was this geopolitical and cultural area where Hellenistic (and older Near Eastern traditions) merged with the ancient Indian and Bactrian (Bactria was the Achaemenid Empire's jewel in the shah's crown) traditions.
so here I corralled some horse&rider-related images , that are finally available on Wiki, I have had most of them in my books and albums, but they were under the copyrights, nowadays they are freely available

 

Elephant with a rider in a chair

ps
more Indo-Greeks, Bactrians, Indo-Saka to come ..

Valete

As US war in Afghanistan ends we are recalling horse solidiers

 Salvete Omnes,

 

today a little more current history at first and then back to horsing around with horses and war.

it is the very end of August and  the US forces ended the official presence in Afghanistan  or so appears.
Prima Facie this withdrawal was one of  the most disgraceful, horrendously miscalculated and badly planned, run and executed  military operations in the history of US Armed Forces. It is basically a sound defeat inflicted on the US Armed Forces, mostly due to the volition of our elected politicians and political elites (aided greatly by the media).  

Pacem aeternam to all who lost their lives during this operation.

In the olden days the responsible would have taken their own sword or at least sought pardon and even resigned. While US Army would undertake court martial proceedings and seek a deep and thorough explanation of such a defeat as this one.

But we live in a different world nowadays.

Back to horses - Almost 20 years ago certain elements of US Army Special Forces started operations in different parts of then Taliban run Afghanistan .
These special and very elite soldiers, starting then this war that took 20 years to end?, actually used horses, donkey to execute their operations-  you can listen and watch  to general Don Bolduc talking about the horses and their importance in those stages of land operation in Afghanistan.
Or you can read the Real Hero Report on the horse soldiers in Afghanistan  here. Or you can do your own search - :)

Nota bene there is a horse soldier unit within US Army 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas (almost wrote Republic of Texas -;) )

 

they even made a feature film about one of the Special Forces operations that Fall 2001. 

valete