The
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) led to the British force taking and occupying Kabul. After this, due to strategic errors by
Elphinstone, the British force was
annihilated by Afghan forces under the command of
Akbar Khan somewhere at the
Kabul–Jalalabad Road, near the city of
Jalalabad. After this defeat, the British-Indian forces returned to Afghanistan on a
special mission to rescue their
prisoners of war (POWs) and then withdrew. The British returned later in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War. At the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80),
Abdur Rahman Khan who was an opponent to the British, became the new emir and established friendly British-Afghan relations. The British were given control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs in exchange for the prevention of a British resident in Kabul, as was one of the British objectives, and protection against the
Russians and
Persians. In 1919, the
Third Anglo-Afghan War led the British to give up control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs. == Observances ==