Six Battles for India, George Bruce
Six Battles for India, George Bruce
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Six Battles for India
Anglo-Sikh Wars, 1845-46 and 1848-49

Author: George Bruce

Narrator: Nigel Patterson

Unabridged: 11 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/30/2022


Synopsis

By the end of the nineteenth century India was described as the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, but how did such a small island come to dominate one of the richest lands in the world?

Without doubt the toughest opponents to British control was led by the Sikhs.

Ranjit Singh, the brilliant "Lion of Punjab", who ruled the Sikh Empire had revolutionized his army by employing French officers from Napoleon's Grand Army to train his artillery and infantry on the European model.

He had ruled well and created a cultural and artistic renaissance in his lands, yet his death led to infighting amongst his successors and within a few years tension with the neighboring British-protected territory broke out into open warfare.

George Bruce explores how the military might of the East India Company clashed with the powerful forces of the Sikh Empire in six hard-fought battles. Using a wide array of contemporary source materials he demonstrates how close the British forces were to being decimated and how they were only saved by treason within the Sikh ranks.

About George Bruce

George Bruce is the author of several war history books, including Retreat from Kabul, Six Battles for India, and The Burma Wars.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Philip on January 13, 2025

A gripping account of the Anglo-Sikh wars. The only book I could find on the topic and it did the job well. Given the title it is not surprising that the focus is on the battles and individual actions. The use of primary sources is effective and often moving. The stories of the Sikh court and the dif......more

Goodreads review by Anne on December 06, 2020

This was an interesting book about some of the early battles between the British and the Sikh armies in India. Meticulously researched, most of the writing focuses on the battles themselves, with a little more technical detail than I wanted about which column was doing what. The overall story was an......more

Goodreads review by Zeb on December 22, 2020

This is one of those books that will always be the standard on this subject. Well researched and presented, it was first published in 1969. That is the problem with this book in my eyes. Like so many histories written in the early part of the twentieth century, this book reads like an entry in the d......more

Goodreads review by Tom on February 20, 2023

Actually, my review of this book is worthless, please ignore it. The book is a blow-by-blow one-damn-thing-after-another account of what neighbors did unto each other. which is fine if you can't sleep at night, i guess. which is why i dropped out by chapter two. (to be entirely honest, I expected to......more

Goodreads review by Max on July 23, 2024

The narrator was British which made it feel more natural given the subject matter of the British conquest and subjection of the Punjab. It was overall a well written story about the Sikh Kingdom and the British role in its downfall.......more