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Army Signaling

1878
This photograph of British troops signaling is from an album of rare historical photographs depicting people and places associated with the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Signaling in the British Army at that time was performed by the Corps of the Royal Engineers. They used electric telegraphy in regions that had telegraph lines. Hand-held flags, fires for nighttime communications, and different types of non-electrical semaphores were used for campaigns in less-developed regions, such as Afghanistan. The seated soldier who is facing right uses a telescope to view the horizon; other soldiers operate rod (Chappe) semaphores with maneuverable arms, as well as heliograph semaphores (mirrors that transmit reflected light signals in Morse code). The Second Anglo-Afghan War began in November 1878 when Great Britain, fearful of what it saw as growing Russian influence in Afghanistan, invaded the country from British India. The first phase of the war ended in May 1879 with the Treaty of Gandamak, which permitted the Afghans to maintain internal sovereignty but forced them to cede control over their foreign policy to the British. Fighting resumed in September 1879, after an anti-British uprising in Kabul, and finally concluded in September 1880 with the decisive Battle of Kandahar. The album includes portraits of British and Afghan leaders and military personnel, portraits of ordinary Afghan people, and depictions of British military camps and activities, structures, landscapes, and cities and towns. The sites shown are all located within the borders of present-day Afghanistan or Pakistan (a part of British India at the time). About a third of the photographs were taken by John Burke (circa 1843–1900), another third by Sir Benjamin Simpson (1831–1923), and the remainder by several other photographers. Some of the photographs are unattributed. The album possibly was compiled by a member of the British Indian government, but this has not been confirmed...

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Filename
11493.jpg
Copyright
acku Afghanistan
Image Size
1800x1492 / 369.7KB
Contained in galleries
AFGHANISTAN
1878<br />
This photograph of British troops signaling is from an album of rare historical photographs depicting people and places associated with the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Signaling in the British Army at that time was performed by the Corps of the Royal Engineers. They used electric telegraphy in regions that had telegraph lines. Hand-held flags, fires for nighttime communications, and different types of non-electrical semaphores were used for campaigns in less-developed regions, such as Afghanistan. The seated soldier who is facing right uses a telescope to view the horizon; other soldiers operate rod (Chappe) semaphores with maneuverable arms, as well as heliograph semaphores (mirrors that transmit reflected light signals in Morse code). The Second Anglo-Afghan War began in November 1878 when Great Britain, fearful of what it saw as growing Russian influence in Afghanistan, invaded the country from British India. The first phase of the war ended in May 1879 with the Treaty of Gandamak, which permitted the Afghans to maintain internal sovereignty but forced them to cede control over their foreign policy to the British. Fighting resumed in September 1879, after an anti-British uprising in Kabul, and finally concluded in September 1880 with the decisive Battle of Kandahar. The album includes portraits of British and Afghan leaders and military personnel, portraits of ordinary Afghan people, and depictions of British military camps and activities, structures, landscapes, and cities and towns. The sites shown are all located within the borders of present-day Afghanistan or Pakistan (a part of British India at the time). About a third of the photographs were taken by John Burke (circa 1843–1900), another third by Sir Benjamin Simpson (1831–1923), and the remainder by several other photographers. Some of the photographs are unattributed. The album possibly was compiled by a member of the British Indian government, but this has not been confirmed...