The Afghan Wars of 1839-42 and 1878-1880 were the direct result of Russian and British Imperial designs for the expansion of their respective spheres of influence. The British war of 1839 to 1842 against the Afghans resulted in the disorderly retreat from Kabul and the annihilation of the British garrison was one of the worst defeats ever inflicted on the British Army.

Archibald Forbes' book is a recognised scholarly history of these wars written from the British point of view.