Major-general William Elphinstone

Major-General William George Keith Elphinstone ( 1782 – April 23 1842 ) was an officer of the British Army during the 19th Century . Born in Scotland in 1782 ; he was the son of William Fullerton Elphinstone , who was a director of the British East India Company , and nephew of Admiral George Keith Elphinstone , 1st Viscount Keith.

Elphinstone entered the British Army in 1804 as a Lieutenant ; he saw service throughout the Napoleonic Wars , rising to the rank of Colonel by 1815 , when he fought at the Battle Of Waterloo .

Elphinstone was promoted to major-general in 1837 , and, in 1841 , during the First Anglo-Afghan War , placed in command of the British garrison in Kabul , Afghanistan , numbering around 16-17,000 (most of whom were East India Company troops). He was elderly, indecisive, weak, and unwell, and proved himself utterly incompetent for the post; his inability led to the disastrous British retreat from Kabul of January, 1842 , which saw his command all but wiped out. Elphinstone died in Afghanistan on April 23 , 1842 .

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