Alexander the Great's campaign in the Afghan kingdoms began in the summer of 330 BC. It lasted for three brutal years and proved the most difficult he and his army ever fought..."The Afghan Campaign" recounts the story of this bloody and ruthless conflict from the perspective of a Macedonian recruit. The youngest of three brothers and eager to prove himself, Matthias has volunteered for Alexander's ambitious expedition into the unknown, unconquered country we now call Afghanistan. But as Matthias joins the frontline, he begins to realise that the nature of warfare for which he trained has changed. The Macedonians face a new kind of enemy - and must learn to fight a new kind of war. Experiencing fear, euphoria, horror and shame, Matthias and his comrades undergo a rite of passage as they, soldiers of a Western force whose code was secular and humanist, struggle to subjugate a fiercely proud Eastern warrior nation of deeply-held beliefs and a fervent willingness to die for their cause. Simply to survive, Alexander's men must shake off the trappings of 'civilization' as they know it and adopt the same unorthodox and barbaric tactics as their foe - but at what cost?
Set against the imposing, alien implacability of the Afghan landscape, this powerfully affecting, thrillingly-told novel not only demonstrates its author's profound understanding of the hopes and fears of men in battle but also has some important things to say about the nature of wars past ...and present.
- ISBN10 038551641X
- ISBN13 9780385516419
- Publish Date 25 July 2006 (first published 1 January 2006)
- Publish Status Remaindered
- Out of Print 18 May 2017
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Doubleday Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 354
- Language English