“Squeeze the Muscovites out of Central Asia!”
Since the 1850s, Russia has intensified its policy of conquest in Central Asia. As a result of successful campaigns, the Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara khanates were subjugated. British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wrote in fury to Queen Victoria: “Our troops must push the Muscovites out of Central Asia and throw them into the Caspian Sea!” Confirming the seriousness of his intentions, Disraeli convinced the queen to accept the title of “Empress of India” and to include Afghanistan within the borders of the Indian Empire.
Based on the hostile position of Great Britain, Emperor Alexander II ordered in the summer of 1878 that the troops stationed in Turkestan, numbering up to 20 thousand people, be concentrated for the movement to Afghanistan. A mission headed by General Nikolai Stoletov was sent to the Afghan emir Shir Ali. The Russian leadership seriously considered plans to invade the border regions of Kashmir and Chitral, which were within the British sphere of influence.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War began in 1878. British troops quickly invaded Kabul and prevented Sher Ali from organizing active resistance. From now on, all political and trade decisions of the emir were controlled by London.
In March 1885, near the oasis of Penjde, considered a “nest of robbery and destruction that hindered the development of all of Central Asia,” Russian troops came into direct contact with Afghan units.
The British government categorically demanded that Russia draw a line and, moreover, hand over Penjde and its adjacent territories to Afghanistan. However, Russia refused to hand over the Turkmen lands that had never belonged to Afghanistan. The British lion and the Russian bear were closer to a fight than ever before.
The commander of the Turkestan Corps, General Alexander Komarov, demanded that the British representative in Afghanistan, General Lambsden, stop occupying Penjde, but the enemy ignored this proposal. As a result, the Russian troops, who had squeezed Penjde into a semi-ring, were forced to attack. At first, the Afghan cavalry could not withstand the deadly fire, then the infantry surrendered.
“The English officers who were leading the Afghans’ actions asked for our protection; unfortunately, the convoy I sent did not catch up with them. They were probably carried away by the fleeing Afghan cavalry and taken to Bala-Murghab,” Komarov recalled.
Through diplomatic efforts, the Russian-British conflict was eventually settled. The incident was written off as an accidental border clash. But England was not destined to stay in Afghanistan for long. As a result of another uprising, the English were forced to hastily retreat and forget the road here for a long 40 years.
