British Soldiers in Afganistan Discover British Rifles Lost In 1880 Maiwand Massacre

[Bootie]

Imagine slogging through the sands and sun of the Middle East with your fellow military men and women. There are many hidden dangers to come across – and, surprisingly, weapons that you might recognize from your military history books. That’s right; even seas and thousands of miles away from your homeland, there’s a chance that you might stumble upon weapons left behind by your ancestors.


This is what occurred a few years ago, in the desert landscape of Afghanistan. British troops stumbled across an unexpected find: their nation’s very own weapons long left abandoned.

128 years after the British troops were defeated at Maiwand in July of 1880, soldiers from the very same nation returned to the site of the conflict to find long-lost weapons.

Read more here...

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/fe...ish-rifles-lost-in-1880-maiwand-massacre.html

 

[Villiamza]

Very interesting article, thanks.
During Herrick 15 whilst on a foot patrol we came across an old Lee-Enfield (SMLE) chambered for .303 although in a battered condition it was still serviceable.

 

[mTk]

I don't get it. Why was Britain so motivated to maintain dominance/control over Afghanistan? What was in it for them? Other than the mention as use as a buffer against Russian encroachment.

 

[Villiamza]

I don't get it. Why was Britain so motivated to maintain dominance/control over Afghanistan? What was in it for them? Other than the mention as use a buffer against Russian encroachment.

The Great Game.

"the Russian Empire's expansion into Central Asia threatened to destroy the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire, India. The British feared that the Tsar's troops would subdue the Central Asian khanates (Khiva, Bokhara, Khokand) one after another. The Emirate of Afghanistan might then become a staging post for a Russian invasion of India"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game