I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book.. Though a little dry and times this was a really interesting read and I cant wait to read more on the subject.

Six Battles for India by George Bruce is non-fiction which takes you to the two Anglo-Sikh Wars that erupted in India in the 1840s. If you have read William Dalrymple then this is a book you would like to read too.

In this book, the author takes you through the history of the Anglo-Sikh Wars and how the East India Company clashed with the powerful forces of the Sikh Empire in six hard-fought battles. It takes about the personages of that time and how they affected the outcomes. It takes you through a period where possibly the fight against the British has started taking shape within the Indian psyche.

If you are fond of non-fiction, then this one is for you. If you are from the Indian sub-continent, then this is a book that would definitely interest you. It is a widely researched work which I think makes it an even better read.

My thumbs up to it.

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 dictionary or encyclopedia.

In formation on the units and people who fought in them, and the native troops that fought on both side is presented like a listing, very dry and without much 'color'. Like a lot of people who aren't scholars but enjoy reading history, I've become used to the style of Shelby Foote, Doris Kearns Goodwin and others who have learned to humanize those they write about.

Great as a reference but not as a reading.

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 interesting look into British/Indian politics and warfare. I liked the firsthand accounts through letters and journal entries, and thought it made some of the people and their thoughts much more real. I do wish there had been more from the Indian point of view, this was clearly pro-British all the way. Maybe not a book to introduce people to the British rule of India and the wars there, but very good for people already familiar with the basics.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Originally published in 1969, this is a classic narrative of the Nineteenth century Anglo-Sikh wars in India and Pakistan. It combines a macro narrative of the causes and events of the wars, with micro level details about the personalities as they struggled through events.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Rangit Singh created a mighty Sikh state in the Punjab region. He amassed an enormous number of canons and organised forces numbering more than 70,000 along the latest modern European lines. At his death he left an army to be feared, but he also left political instability which led the Sikh state into immediate turmoil.

Watching events unfold, the neighbouring British were increasingly concerned. Still recovering from a disastrous campaign in Afghanistan, British policy was to avoid a war at all costs. This policy was implemented so literally that when war inevitably occurred, British forces were so unprepared that they struggled to even feed themselves.

The author narrates the chaos and intrigue on all sides. On the one hand we hear about the murderous treachery of Sikh leaders. On the other hand we hear of the incompetent infighting between British civil and military leaders, and the sharp practices of arrogant diplomats. Few leaders emerge with honour from bloody wars which seem to have been completely avoidable.

I enjoyed the extended quotes from eyewitnesses, many of which illustrated events and prejudices. I also enjoyed the anecdotes which often added background colour. Hearing about the luxury and enormous numbers of servants that British officers insisted upon, helped explain the logistical problems which the British army faced

However, some of the anecdotes were irrelevant and, at times distracting from the narrative. Hearing about Rangit Singh’s drunken revels and the nymphomania of his youngest wife added nothing to an understanding of the Anglo-Sikh wars.

Altogether, the book was an engaging and very readable account of an important aspect of Empire making, which continues to resonate into the modern world.

(I thank the publishers for giving me a copy of the book for review purposes).

This book was first published in 1969 and is re-published through the estate of the author George Bruce. The content is the establishment and expansion of the Sikh empire and the eventual annexation by the British in 1849.
While the main focus is on the battles between the various Sikh armies and the British, there is a good introduction into the rise and history of the Sikh.
What I liked best is the description of causes for the battles on both sides, thus showing complexity. A large section of the book is dealing with the military aspect, including maps of the various battles grounds , the use of artillery and weapons. The British did not always come out to best advantage as they were not always truthful nor loyal.
The narrative is easy to read and the perspectives of the different actors makes it interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book.

Indian history is a subject which always brings tears to my eyes. All that we have gone through as a country is beyond imagination. This book was an eye opener to all the facts that wasn’t available to us to understand the duress the country and the countrymen went through, a brilliant read,

I was recently provided an opportunity to review a new ARC of George Bruce's "Six Battles for India" which was originally published in 1969. The latest edition is appearing under the imprint of Sapere Books. In examining the text, I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover the joys associated with military history as it was practiced in the mid twentieth century. The narrative structure is strong and fast paced. The subject, of course, is the Sikh Wars so prominent in the East India Company's consolidation of power in the years just prior to what used to be called the Sepoy Rebellion in the subcontinent in the mid 19th century. It is always refreshing to examine a military history focusing on one of the more unusual imperial misadventures of Victorian Britain. What is fascinating about the Sikh wars, apart from the fascinating social and cultural roots of the Sikhs, is the fact that, unlike so many areas absorbed into the British Empire, the Punjab and the Sikh state represented a formidable opponent trained and equipped like the armed forces of many European states of the period. The book frequently points out the military skill of the Sikh armed forces, particularly in its skillful use of modern artillery, and contrasts this with the British forces rather frequent close calls based on poor leadership and confusion about the chain of command and the contrasting interests of Imperial troops and "John Company". The political and cultural backgrounds to these struggles are clearly laid out, but unlike more recent histories, the author hews close to factual accounts of the titanic struggle and steers clear of drawing broad conclusions about political ideologies. I, for one, find this refreshing! If you like traditional military history, shorn of endless attempts to impose modern ideological disputes on 19th century events, you will likely enjoy this stirring and balanced account of the Sikh Wars.