Southern Asia 1919: Third Anglo-Afghan War

Changes to the map 13 April 1919–11 June 1919

Afghanistan has renounced its British protectorate and briefly captured the town of Bagh via the Khyber Pass, but the Afghan military is no match for the British. On the Khyber front they have retaken Bagh and captured Fort Dakka, while on the Quetta front to the south they have seized Spin Baldek and now threaten Kandahar.

In the Caucasus, the British have ceded Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Armenia. To the southeast, Bolsheviks have seized power in Lankaran and declared the Mughan Soviet Republic. In the north, the White movement has suppressed the Mountainous Republic.

In Turkey, the Italians have landed in Adalia and the Greeks in Smyrna. Small British expeditions patrol the interior, supervising the demobilization and disarmament of Ottoman troops. However in the east, Turkish nationalists are beginning to rally to Gallipoli hero Mustafa Kemal.

In Arabia, the Saudis have taken disputed Turaba, prompting the British to protest in support of Hejaz. In response, the Saudis have agreed to make peace with Hejaz.

British Protectorates in the Persian Gulf

The British Residency of the Persian Gulf maintained British India's influence in a number of Gulf states from the 19th Century until 1947. These states were nominally independent - and shown as such in most atlases from the period - but all signed treaties guaranteeing British control over their foreign affairs.

The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was the only one of these states with significant international relations, having obtained trade agreements with the US and France before it signed its treaty with Britain. Maps of the time often show Trucial Oman and even Qatar as regions of Oman.

Trucial Oman was the region to the west of Oman which collectively signed treaties with Britain. The sheikhdoms of this region were often called the Trucial States, and later became the United Arab Emirates. However at this time they had little unity, with no regional council until 1952.

Indian Empire

The British Indian Empire, also known as the British Raj, was comprised of a complex of presidencies, provinces, protectorates, and agencies. Only the top level subdivisions are shown here.

The area under direct British rule was known as British India and made up of presidencies and provinces - a presidency simply being the name for an older province.

Outside British India, but often included within the sphere of the presidencies/provinces, were the hundreds of protectorates or 'princely states'. These were indirectly ruled states, the largest being Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Mysore. The others were either collected into agencies - which might in turn contain other smaller agencies - or fell under the sway of the provinces.