Coming soon: The Second Anglo-Sikh War by Amarpal Singh

[dalsingh101]

A bit dodgy that the foreward is by some military gora, but then I guess Amarpal must cater to a wider audience. Also interesting to note that Amarpal has removed his Sidhu gotra from his name. Coming in June 2016. First one was good. Looking forward to reading this when I get a chance. 

 

This is the tale of the bloody war that ended in the conquest and annexation of the Punjab by the East India Company. 

A disgruntled garrison’s chance killing of two young British officers sent to govern the city of Multan sparks an unexpected war between the East India Company and the Sikh Empire. Following calls for retribution, Sir Hugh Gough, the veteran British Commander-in-Chief, strikes into the heart of the Punjab with a large force to face the Sikh army. After two inconclusive contests at Ramnuggar and Sadulpore, he nearly comes to grief at the small village of Chillianwalla by the Jhelum River, with half his line repulsed and his force in confusion. Only the fast-gathering darkness and jungle obscure the advantage lying with the Sikh army and prevent a complete British disaster. Recovering from the setback, Gough would achieve a decisive victory at the final battle of Gujrat, paving the way for British rule up to the 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Anglo-Sikh-War-Amarpal-Singh/dp/1445650231/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455731772&sr=1-20&keywords=sikh

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[amardeep]

The book looks interesting. I know absolutely nothing about the period 1839-1849 as I've stayed away purposelly since it's too depressing to read about. But maybe its time to read up on that period of Sikh history with this book.

[dalsingh101]

41 minutes ago, amardeep said:

The book looks interesting. I know absolutely nothing about the period 1839-1849 as I've stayed away purposelly since it's too depressing to read about. But maybe its time to read up on that period of Sikh history with this book.

This is a really important period. It's when we went from a fiercely independent quom to white man's he-bitches of choice. 

 

A lot of important lessons to learn there.

[chatanga1]

On 17/02/2016 at 6:00 PM, dalsingh101 said:

A bit dodgy that the foreward is by some military gora, but then I guess Amarpal must cater to a wider audience.

 

 Recovering from the setback, Gough would achieve a decisive victory at the final battle of Gujrat, paving the way for British rule up to the

 

The gora is a high ranking general who's ancestor(s) served in british india. Might makeit a little more palatable for white men whom have trouble reading history from the other side's perspective.

 

Gough's victory at Gujrat became the winning battle of the war, but this was only because the Sikhs lost the will to encounter the british army any more, even though they were still a formidable force. In terms of numbers and ammunition the Sikh army still matched the British after Gujrat, but lost the will to fight any  more battles. Most likely they fought it futile, and preferred to stay alive rather than lose and die.

In my opinion, the Sikh army made a mistake in surrendering to these warmongers. I think this was the first time a Sikh army surrendered in Sikh history.

[amardeep]

15 minutes ago, chatanga1 said:

 

The gora is a high ranking general who's ancestor(s) served in british india. Might makeit a little more palatable for white men whom have trouble reading history from the other side's perspective.

 

Gough's victory at Gujrat became the winning battle of the war, but this was only because the Sikhs lost the will to encounter the british army any more, even though they were still a formidable force. In terms of numbers and ammunition the Sikh army still matched the British after Gujrat, but lost the will to fight any  more battles. Most likely they fought it futile, and preferred to stay alive rather than lose and die.

In my opinion, the Sikh army made a mistake in surrendering to these warmongers. I think this was the first time a Sikh army surrendered in Sikh history.

Do you know what the death tolls were of the Anglo-Sikh wars? I havent been able to find the figures anywhere.

[Northern]

Death tolls in any conflict will vary depending on which source you refer to.

 

Yes, it is an interesting period we should be aware of.  I haven't read the first book either so will check that one out first.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[dalsingh101]

I just hope the author hasn't sold his soul. If the Brits got involved in his research they'd apply subtle pressure to downplay their duplicitous, back-stabbing, thieving ways. 

 

By the time they've finished, they'd be making out that they just happened to find themselves in the region unexpectedly and were forced to fight and it was nothing to do with greed (same old bullshit). 

 

Quote

Do you know what the death tolls were of the Anglo-Sikh wars? I havent been able to find the figures anywhere.

Here's a very recent article from the dire 'Daily Hate', it gives a fair few stats (as well as excuses for looting far-away lands) - don't know how much it can be trusted? 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3453776/Royal-diamond-drips-blood-Pakistan-India-demand-return-previous-Crown-Jewel-thrilling-brutal-story-it.html 

[amardeep]

That looks like an interesting article. Thanks i'll take a further look.

[HSD1]

I cant believe this book has taken five years to write. Further on from Dal's point about skewing the narrative, I just hope he's doesnt dumb it down and avoid talking about the political and social climate amongst Sikhs before the war started.

On 19/02/2016 at 9:04 PM, chatanga1 said:

Gough's victory at Gujrat became the winning battle of the war, but this was only because the Sikhs lost the will to encounter the british army any more, even though they were still a formidable force. In terms of numbers and ammunition the Sikh army still matched the British after Gujrat, but lost the will to fight any  more battles. Most likely they fought it futile, and preferred to stay alive rather than lose and die.

In my opinion, the Sikh army made a mistake in surrendering to these warmongers. I think this was the first time a Sikh army surrendered in Sikh history.

The thing was that the Sikh army divided itself after Chillianwallah to stop the British just running every time they got smashed. One division would lure the British along and fight them, the other would swing round to their rear and cut off their escape. The Brits realised what was going on and managed to attack one division before it could link up with the other one. The plan failed and it was obvious from Gujrat that they now had better artillery now (from the siege guns of Multan and Royal Navy) so it was a bit pointless to carry on fighting. Especially as the Brits had started agitating Muslims to revolt and further reinforcements were moving up from Sind.

[chatanga1]

58 minutes ago, HSD1 said:

 The plan failed and it was obvious from Gujrat that they now had better artillery now (from the siege guns of Multan and Royal Navy) so it was a bit pointless to carry on fighting. Especially as the Brits had started agitating Muslims to revolt and further reinforcements were moving up from Sind.

 

Maybe they should have looked at alternative battle strategies?

[Amarpal Sidhu]

On 2/19/2016 at 9:50 PM, amardeep said:

That looks like an interesting article. Thanks i'll take a further look.

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 

[chatanga1]

On 16/06/2016 at 10:53 PM, Amarpal Sidhu said:

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.

 

Thanks for the info Amarpal Singh Sidhu Ji. What is your opinion on why the Sikhs prefered to surrender to the British warlords and then agree to serve under them, when they had fought so vigorously against simliar enemy conquerors, the Moghals and Afghans? Even in losing battles against these Central Asian invaders the Sikhs never considered surrendering, but against the Europeans thieves, they did.

[Amarpal Sidhu]

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[paapiman]

On 6/20/2016 at 9:07 AM, Amarpal Sidhu said:

 

Amarpal Singh jee, thanks for the information. Have you talked about the role of Nihang Singhs in this battle, Akali Nihang Baba Hanuman Singh jee's efforts to fight the British from the Malwa region and the treachery of the Patiala king?

What about Baba Maharaj Singh jee? Any mention of him?

Thanks

 

Bhul chuk maaf

[Amarpal Sidhu]

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.

[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