It is apparent that the Russians near Herat stand practically at
"the forks of the road"; it is a three-pronged fork--one branch
running due south to the sea and two branches due east to India. The
first-named requires but passing comment and only as it relates to
Herat, planted on a route which cannot be controlled without its
possession, for military and commercial reasons well understood.
As already explained, the routes to India, available to Russia,
enable her to move from her base on the Merv-Herat line, both _via_
Balkh and Kabul, for the purpose of flanking a British column moving
from Quetta westward, or of raiding the rich valley of the Helmund;
from Turkestan above this route, a British force moving from Kabul
to Balkh could also be threatened. By the main Herat-Kandahar route
an advance from the east could also be directly opposed; the
crossing of the Helmund by either army would probably be contested.
In case of war, whether Anglo-Russian or Russo-Afghan, the first
great battle would doubtless be fought on the Kandahar-Ghazni-Kabul
line.
[Illustration: Jelalabad from Piper's Hill.]
General Hamley, the leading British military authority, [Footnote:
Lieut.
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