In the last third of the XIX century. The British Empire reached its apogee. British colonies were located on all five continents, and the British navy controlled the main sea and ocean communications, ensuring the security of the entire empire and its individual colonies. India was both the jewel and Achilles ' heel of the empire, a land of great wealth and a center of attraction for Britain's rivals. The main strength of the empire, the navy guaranteed the security of the coast of India, but could not protect its long northern border in the face of increased expansion of Russia in Central Asia, and France in Southeast Asia. The task of securing the northern borders of British India was complicated by the fact that Afghanistan was located on its north-western "front", and Burma was located on the north-eastern one. These countries were politically unstable, had limited raw material resources, and their populations were less able to pay as buyers of British manufactured goods, so they were not valuable as objects of colonial expansion. The security of the Indian border could only be ensured by taking control of the surrounding territories. So the problem of the Indian frontier arose - a zone in which there was no stable state power and there were constant armed clashes between British troops and the local population. On the frontier, the British regular troops faced resistance from the unorganized population and were therefore forced to abandon wars according to European rules. Based on the experience of these colonial wars, the British military developed special tactics for military police operations. Keywords: British Empire, Burma, Afghanistan, colony, frontier, tribes, military-police operation. British expansion in South Asia after the annexation of Punjab in 1849 was aimed at seizing new sources of raw materials and markets, protecting previously annexed territories and controlling communications connecting British India with neighboring states. The expansion ... Read more