The North-West Frontier; British India and Afghanistan, A Pictorial History 1839-1947

Poole: New Orchard Editions, 1986. Reprint edition, presumed first printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. viii, 184 pages. Illustrations. Maps. Appendix: Chronological Tables of North-West Frontier Campaigns, Campaign Medals and Battle Honours. Glossary. Select Bibliography. Index. DJ has some wear, tears, soiling and chips. Ink notation on page 182. Michael John Barthorp (died 5 January 2018, aged 90 years) was a British historian and writer, specializing in military history and military uniforms. Barthorp attended Wellington College until the end of World War II. In September 1945, he joined the Rifle Brigade under Universal Conscription and was demobilized in 1958. After some time with the Royal Hampshire Territorials, he exchanged for a regular commission in the Northamptonshire Regiment in which his family had served for three generations. Major Barthorp retired from service in 1968 to become a military historian and writer. He was a member of the Victorian Military Society, and has contributed to their magazine Soldiers of the Queen. The North-West Frontier region of the British Indian Empire was a difficult area to conquer in South Asia, strategically and militarily. It remains the western frontier of Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot to the Koh-i-Malik Siah, and separating the Pakistani frontier regions of North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan from neighboring Afghanistan in the west. The borderline between is officially known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan. The main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes. Stability of the Frontier and control of Afghanistan became cornerstones of defensive strategy for British India. Much of the Frontier was taken over by the East India Company when it annexed the Punjab in 1849. Between 1849 and 1947 there was a succession of expeditions against offending Pashtun tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan.