I've noticed that in almost every TL with mention to any occupation of Afghanistan that doesn't have anything to do with the Soviets or the current war, the Afghans put up a helluva lot of fight. Is there something in Afghan blood that gives them the balls to fight against occupiers that other countries don't? If not, I see this as either a misunderstanding of them or a simple nod to the current War in Afghanistan (which wouldn't make much sense if your TL is say, sometime Pre-WW2).
Alternate History Cliche: Extremely resistant Afghanistan
- Thread starter DireSituation
- Start date
No, but the terrain is on their side. Knowing the terrain and having it be difficult to traverse as well as subject to ambushes is a massive advantage for a defensive force, especially one that is outnumbered. Nowadays you can add the fact that the Afghanis have been fighting one another since the Soviets invaded, so everyone knows how to fight. This situation prevailed back in the era of imperialism as well, which was what kept the British and Russians from ever gaining effective control. To reiterate, terrain advantage + military experience for most males = a population that is extremely hard to suppress.
And trekchu is right, you can go back as far as Persia and Alexander the Great to find would-be conquerors failing to gain effective control of Afghanistan.
IIRC Hindu Kush means something like "Blood of Hindus" because to conquer the place the caliphate had to pretty much just kill and keep killing until too few were left to cause trouble.
I do find the cliché annoying and exaggerated though. Geographic issues aren't everything, and the Brits and Russians did just fine assimilating the ethnically identical folks north and south.
I do find the cliché annoying and exaggerated though. Geographic issues aren't everything, and the Brits and Russians did just fine assimilating the ethnically identical folks north and south.
Alexander won in Afghanistan by killing around 50% of the male population and marrying the daughter of his last enemy.
There were Greek cities in the Vale of Kabul--heck, I think Kandahar was originally Alexandria something-or-other--for centuries.
No wonder his contemporaries worshipped him as a god.
There were Greek cities in the Vale of Kabul--heck, I think Kandahar was originally Alexandria something-or-other--for centuries.
No wonder his contemporaries worshipped him as a god.
Afghanistan is the middle of nowhere and all military power is dissipated when it arrives. There are few roads no railways and few open plains. The British were in Afghanistan with a small number of soldiers on the end of a supply line that made supplying the moon look easy. The Soviets couldn't deploy their mass armour and their troops weren't given clear instructions and didn't know their enemy (sound familiar).
The Afghan people are not strange or special it's just that they live in a country that has no intrinsic value in itself. It's usually seen as a highway or a buffer state. As a result the Afghans see foreigners come and go.
They knew the British would disappear, they knew the Russians would eventually leave and they know NATO will leave too. Therefore, the resistance fighters or whatever title you wish to give them expect to win in the long term so they see no reason to give up or compromise with invaders.
altamiro
Banned
Yet.
After the recent spate of mineral finds in Afghanistan, it is likely that the next wave of invaders - whoever they are - will want to stay.