The Wars of Afghanistan

Afghanistan: the epicentre of wars for two centuries.

The history of Afghanistan is above all a military history — the history of a country perpetually embroiled in conflict due to foreign invasions or power struggles. It is the history of a nation that fought to assert its independence in the face of expansionist powers.

Its unity and the power of its martial reputation were forged through its struggles since the 18th century. The reactions of the Afghan population — a true mosaic of communities and tribes — were both varied and imbued with territorial pride. Above all, however, the military history of Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries found itself at the heart of the strategic rivalry between the Tsarist empire and the British empire, and then between the USSR and the United States, each of which sought to build a viable state there and to wage a "war on terror".

The results were consistently mixed, and while the invaders demonstrated fine military qualities and achieved numerous tactical successes, none was able to impose its will on the "Kingdom of Insolence" and defeat its proud defenders.

General Philippe Sidos, who served there on several occasions, recounts with brilliance the wars of Afghanistan — successively imperial, colonial and ideological: waged in turn by the British in the 19th century as part of the "Great Game", by the Soviets from 1979, and then by the Americans from 2001.

The definitive reference work.