Abstract: “It was the early nineteenth century and two great powers were vying for supremacy in Central Asia. Britain's expansion in India had been watched with keen interest from Europe, while Russia continued to advance aggressively, bringing its armies to the northern and western frointiers of Afghanistan. 'Here lay the playing fields of the great game' - the diplomatic intrigue in Central Asia was about to burst into open warfare. ... Jules Stewart has compiled a detailed and thrilling account of the Army of the Indus's journey through the formidable passes of Afghanistan, a campaign launched on false evidence and against the advice of a successful military strategist, the Duke of Wellington”—inside book jacket.

“Includes bibliography”—(pages 229-232).

Contents: List of illustrations and maps—Foreword—Acknowledgements—Chapter 1 : north-westward, Ho!—Chapter 2 : ‘an aggression destitute even of pretext’—Chapter 3 : dancing in the dark—Chapter 4 :’our troops as yet are staunch’—Chapter 5 : blood was falling, blood on snow—Chapter 6 : the empire strikes back—Epilogue—Notes and sources—Bibliography—Index.

English