Victorian Colonial Warfare: India, from the Conquest of Sind to the Indian Mutiny
The first two books in a new series by a noted expert on English colonial warfare are lavishly illustrated, with over 100 contemporary engravings and maps. The first volume deals with the African "small wars" covering the period 1842-1900 and includes some of the lesser-known campaigns against the Basuto, Kaffir, Matabele, and Mashona nations as well as the Zulu and all actions against the Boers. Also included are the Central, Eastern, and Western expeditions of the late 1890s. The second volume limits itself to the five major wars that involved the English: the Conquest of Sind (1843), the Gwalior War (1843), the First and Second Sikh Wars (1845-49), and the Indian Mutiny (1857). Both volumes present the contemporary view through extensive use of participants' letters, journals, reports, and dispatches, as well as newspaper and magazine articles of the day. Both soldiers and commanders are presented here along with the "on the spot" war correspondents--William Russell, G.A. Henty, Archibald Forbes, and H.M. Stanley--all tied together with the author's narrative. Recommended for the military history specialist and war gamer.- David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.