This book is a laudatory account of the actions of the First Bengal Brigade, commanded by Colonel Robert Henry Sale (1782−1845), in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838−42). The war began in June 1838 when the British launched an invasion of Afghanistan from India with the aim of overthrowing its ruler, the amir, Dōst Moḥammad Khān, and replacing him with the supposedly pro-British former ruler Shah Shujāʻ. Sale’s brigade fought its way into the country and helped to install Shah Shujāʻ as ruler in Jalalabad. Dōst Moḥammad fled the country for Bukhara (present-day Uzbekistan), but returned to lead an 1841−42 uprising against the British and Shah Shujāʻ. Dōst Moḥammad took Kabul and Afghan tribesmen annihilated a British force of 4,500 men and thousands of followers. Sale managed to hold Jalalabad against a superior attacking force. He was relieved by a large British force commanded by Sir George Pollock, and eventually retreated to India. Sale was killed in the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845−46. The book is by George Robert Gleig (1796−1888), a British soldier, author, and chaplain to the armed forces who wrote numerous books on military, imperial, and India-related subjects.