46 officers and men of the 10th Hussars drowned
in a night crossing of the Kabul River 31 March 1879.

There were three Afghan Wars in which Great Britain sought to extend its control over Afghanistan and to oppose Russian influence there. The first war demonstrated the ease of overrunning Afghanistan and the difficulty of holding it.
The USSR occupied Kabul 12/27/1979 and withdrew from Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989.
50,000 died in Kabul in the 1992-6 civil war until the Taliban won control.
The US invaded and ousted the Taliban in 1996.

It remains to be seen how the US will do.

Kabul has existed for some 3,500 years. It is mentioned in the Rigveda c.1500 BCE.

     Kabul town's by Kabul river—
          Blow the bugle, draw the sword—
     There I lef' my mate for ever,
         Wet an' drippin' by the ford.
            Ford, ford, ford o' Kabul river,
               Ford o' Kabul river in the dark!
            There's the river up and brimmin', an' there's 'arf a squadron swimmin'
               'Cross the ford o' Kabul river in the dark.
  
                  "Ford o' Kabul River" R. Kipling, from Barrack-Room Ballads, tune: Peter Bellamy

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