The East India Company, fearing increasing Russian…

The East India Company, fearing increasing Russian influence in Afghanistan, has resolved to depose Dost Mohammad and restore Shuja Shah as amir.

The Company's actions bring about the First Afghan War, in which the British attempt to subdue the anarchic northwest.

From the British perspective, the Russian Empire's expansion into Central Asia threatens India, the "jewel in the crown" of the British Empire.

As the Tsar's troops begin to subdue one Khanate after another, the British fear that Afghanistan will become a staging post for a Russian invasion of India.

With the failure of Burnes's mission, Auckland, sets the British troops in motion against Dost Mohammad, with the object of restoring Shuja Shah to the throne.

The first British advance northward into the Khyber takes place in 1839 when General George Pollock fights against the Afridis during his march to Kabul.

In the opening campaign, the British army, assisted by Sikh allies and after enduring great privations, enters Qandahar (where Shuja is crowned shah, nearly almost thirty years after his deposition), ...