The
First Anglo-Afghan War (also known as
Auckland's Folly) was fought between the British
East India Company and
Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842, and ended in an overall Afghan victory. It is famous for the killing of 4,500 British and Indian soldiers, plus 12,000 of their
camp followers, by Afghan tribal fighters, but the British
defeated the Afghans in the concluding engagement. It was one of the first major conflicts during
the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Asia between the United Kingdom and the
Russian Empire.