Amarpal Sidhu

Just as an update the book is available now on Amazon websites (.COM/uk/Canada/Australia/European) and is also available at WH Smith, Guardian bookshop and other retailers Books etc are doing it at a fantastic price of £12.56 +shipping - thats for a quality hardback. A great time to order ;) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1445650231/sr=8-1/qid=1467981109/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1467981109&sr=8-1

Paapiman, there were quite a few irregulars in Shere SIngh's army and with Dewan Mulraj at Multan as well. I didnt find so much new information on Hanuman Singh but theres a whole chapter on Bhai Maharaj. Patiala and the Sikh states didn't aid the Sikh army in any way but you have to remember the Sikh army didn't have the support of the Lahore Durbar either which was supporting the British. Many of the Sikh and other officers were also unwilling recruits for a war as well at the time. Even Shere Singh and Mulraj were reluctant rebels browbeaten by their soldiers into leading them. Basically it was an unplanned and unorganized uprising by the soldiers triggered by events at Multan. If it had been planned properly and Shere Singh had had access to the Lahore treasury, things amy have been different.

Chatanga1 The Sikh army was a professional army at that time and needs the logistics,supplies, ammunition for cannons and muskets to be able to fight. Once these run out, it would be very difficult to fight only with bayonets in modern warfare. A soldier obeys orders in a unit and doesn't really have the training for guerrilla warfare. This is why modern armies surrender when ammunition runs out - whether its the Sikh army, or German/British/US etc rather than breaking up and trying guerilla warfare. In addition Shere Singh had run out of money to pay his soldiers as well as food and supplies and ammunition. Despite that a lot of soldiers wanted to continue the fight at Rawalpindi before the surrender and were angry at their commander for the surrender. Shere Singh also contemplated retreating to a Kabul as well with his army. Once the surrender took place, many soldiers being trained in their craft would only contemplate joining another army rather than becoming farmers or doing other odd jobs in their village or being unemployed. You have to remember nationalism in those days wasn't the same as todays thinking.

Thank you Dal SIngh and everybody else for the interest in the book. I'm the author. I haven't participated in this forum before as i'm usually on facebook or twitter and even those take up too much of my time (such is nature of social media) so best not to dabble in too many of these things. The cover of the book has changed slightly. I attach it below for your interest. I'm afraid I'm a bit rushed for time but just to answer a few points raised .. Field Marshal Sir John Chapple who has kindly written the foreword takes a strong interest in Sikh history and the Anglo-Sikh wars and is the President of the Indian Military Historical Society. The book is an honest retelling of the war and how the Punjab was annexed and is written from first hand sources so its taken a little longer than I myself would have wanted - apologies for that. I wanted to make it comprehensive as possible as there is a number of books already out there on the subject and people may feel 'cheated' in a sense if there is nothing new covered in it. As with the first book it covers several hundred battlefield locations important in the war at the end of the book so the war and battles can be followed on Google Earth. Anyway do give it a shot and let me know what you think. It's out hopefully next week. I run the 'Sikh Military History Forum' on Facebook and tweet on @amarpalsidhu so do feel free to ask any questions on the book here on the forum or on Facebook/Twitter etc. Regards Amarpal