4th HUSSARS: AFGHANISTAN 1839-42

Afghanistan, 1839-42

Between 1839 and 1842, British imperial forces fought a bitter war in Afghanistan. Initially successful, the campaign ended with Britain withdrawing from the country having suffered one of the worst military disasters of the 19^th century.

The Honour is borne on the Guidon of the 4^th Hussars.

Detail

In 1839 the Regiment joined the ill-fated Army of the Indus raised for the First Afghan War. “The soldiers traversed sterile plains, desert regions and lofty mountains, suffering from a scarcity of water and exposed to the attacks of the predatory tribes of Beloochea.” They crossed the Bolan Pass into Afghanistan and, after a brief engagement at Ghuznee, entered Kabul in July 1839.

The Regiment returned to India in September of that year, thereby avoiding the disastrous retreat of 1842.