Since the United States announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have launched a counter-offensive and seized several Afghan cities at a speed of destruction, and later also controlled the Afghan capital Kabul. This represents the official defeat of the war waged by the United States against the Taliban since 2001, and even the world's number one power, after two decades, the United States cannot conquer the small Central Asian country with a land area of 647,500 km² and a population of 32.2 million (2020).
Military Affairs Network - Afghanistan War against the British
However, in addition to the United States, the former British Empire and the Soviet Union are also folded in Afghanistan, and it can be said that Afghanistan is a veritable "imperial graveyard". In April 1839, British troops crossed the Khojak Pass and invaded southwestern Afghanistan, and it was not long before they captured Kandahar and Ghazni. Kabul was then captured, where a puppet regime was established.
On November 2, 1841, an uprising against British colonial rule broke out in Kabul, and by 1842 the anti-British struggle had become more intense. So, in order not to avoid further losses, the British withdrew to India on October 12.
In this way, the first Anglo-Afghan war lasted three and a half years and ended in a complete victory for the Afghan people. For more than thirty years, the British colonists did not wage another war of aggression against Afghanistan. And in the end, all 30,000 troops of the British Empire were annihilated, and only a medic named William Brighton fled back and reported to the British that the British army was completely destroyed.
From 1879 to 1881, the British colonists launched the Second Invasion of Afghanistan. The Afghan guerrillas, on the other hand, were more comfortable dealing with the British because they had previous experience with the British, while the British were beaten everywhere and hit walls everywhere, and there was no foothold at all. Later, the British colonists had to sign a compromise agreement with the Afghan side, agreeing to the autonomy of The Afghan government and the control of the foreign affairs of the British. In April 1884, all British troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
The Third Anglo-Afghan War began in February 1919, when representatives of the Afghan reformists declared The independence of Afghanistan after taking power, and the British colonists were not willing to lose their privileges in Afghanistan, so they prepared to start a new Anglo-Afghan war. However, due to the stubborn resistance of the Afghan army and the vigorous rise of the Indian liberation movement, the situation of the British army became difficult, and it was forced to abandon the invasion of Afghanistan and negotiate a ceasefire.
On November 22, 1921, The British signed a contract with Afghanistan on the content of the British recognition of the independence of Afghanistan and the withdrawal of all British troops. Afghanistan thus became the first independent country in Central Asia, and it was also the first of Britain's many colonies to become independent.
Then there is the former Soviet Union, which, on the afghan side, followed the old path of Tsarist Russia. In 1979, the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. One of the first events that shocked the world was the violent death of Afghan President Amin on the streets of Kabul. Later, the stubborn resistance of Afghanistan, and the favorable terrain occupied by itself, launched a guerrilla war with the Soviet army, and attacked the invading Soviet army in a mysterious way.
In the War in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union spent more than $20 billion. On May 25, 1988, Lizichev, director of the General Political Department of the Soviet Army, announced that during the war in Afghanistan, the Soviet army had 12,210 dead, 35,478 wounded and 311 missing.
So why is Afghanistan coveted by so many countries? Afghanistan's unique geographical location determines that it will become a place of right and wrong. As can be seen on the map of Asia, it is not too much to think that Afghanistan is in the "heart" of Asia. Afghanistan is at the confluence of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia, bordering the Soviet Union to the north (Turkmenistan and other countries after the dissolution), Iran, a large oil country, to the west, and China to the northeast. To have Afghanistan in hand would mean having the initiative in large areas such as Central Asia.
Moreover, in terms of natural resources, Afghanistan has very rich mineral resources, but they are basically untapped. The estimated value of Afghanistan's energy and mineral resources is more than $3 trillion. As of 2014, more than 1,400 mineral deposits have been discovered, with natural gas reserves of about 150 billion cubic meters, coal reserves of about 100 million tons, lapis lazuli reserves of 130 tons, copper ore reserves of 500 million tons, salt reserves of 300 million tons, iron ore reserves of 1.7 billion tons. And due to transportation difficulties and lack of funds, only natural gas, salt, coal, and chromium have been mined in small quantities.
But centuries of war have forged a strong character of the Afghan people, who will not give in at will. The king surrendered, they will not surrender; The government has surrendered, and they will not surrender. In short, no matter how powerful the aggressors are, the Afghan people have always been ready to rise up for the liberation of independence.