The Mutiny of the Bengal Army (Classic Reprint): An Historical Narrative - Couverture souple

G. B. Malleson

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1330744381 ISBN 13 : 9781330744383

Editeur : Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Survivor accounts and hard choices from the 1857 uprising

A soldier’s-eye view of the Delhi siege and the Bengal Army mutiny reveals how courage, strategy, and men under fire shaped one of history’s pivotal conflicts. This edition presents detailed scenes of bombardment, courageous assaults, and the human costs of war, from planning the breach to the aftermath in the city streets. This work offers a clear, grounded narrative of a colonial uprising, focusing on decisions made under pressure, the endurance of troops, and the strain of leadership during long sieges. Readers will follow the march, the artillery fire, and the ladders, while the text foregrounds the moral questions and the consequences of war.

• Firsthand descriptions of siege operations, battery work, and urban assault.
• Insights into command decisions under fire and the risks faced by officers and soldiers.
• Portraits of loyalty, discipline, and the brutal realities of mutiny and reprisal.
• Context for the 1857 uprising’s impact on soldiers, civilians, and colonial power.

Ideal for readers of military history, siege narratives, and accounts that illuminate the human side of war in India during the 19th century.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Bengal A rmy. It will be my object to expose, in the first instance, the causes of the disaffection, to state then the consequences to which that disaffection led, and to conclude by pointing out the remedies which ought to be adopted to ensure the country against a repetition of the fearful outrages that have disgraced it. As my object is simply to present to my countrymen in England a true account of this awful disaster, and of all the causes which, either directly or indirectly, have led to it, I shall be deterred by no feeling of favour or affection for any individual from speaking out as the occasion demands, awarding praise where praise has been earned, but not shrinking from denouncing those whose conduct has at all contributed to the rise and progress of the mutiny. It will, I think, be advisable in the first instance, for the benefit of non-professional readers, to present a slight sketch of the organisation and interior economy of a Bengal Infantry Regiment, more especially as on the maintenance or entire abrogation of the existing system the future discipline and efficiency of the army will depend. Organisation of a Bengal Regiment. A Regiment of Infantry on the Bengal Establishment is composed of 1000 privates, 120 noncommissioned officers, and 20 native commissioned officers. It is divided into ten companies, each containing 100 privates, 2native commissioned, and 12 non-commissioned, officers. The regiment is never quartered in barracks, but in lines such lines consisting of ten rows of thatched huts one being apportioned to each company. In front of each of these rows is a small circular building, in which the arms and accoutrements are stored, after having been cleaned, and the key of which is generally in the possession of the havildar (sergeant) on duty. Promotion invariably goes by seniority, and the commanding officer of a regiment has no
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Présentation de l'éditeur

By the time he has attained the age of 50, a native may generally be considered as utterly useless. The blood in his veins and the marrow in his bones have been dried up or wasted by constant exposure to the trying climate of I ndia; his energies are relaxed, his memory impaired, and in governing and controlling the men who are especially under his surveillance in the lines, he can be of but little use to his European superior. Caste. But there is a principle at work, unknown to the European soldiers, which operates with tremendous force on the mind of the native, and either essentially adds to, or vitally detracts from, the authority of the native officer. This principle is caste. Now the predominating race in a Bengal regiment is the Hindoo; the followers of that religion, as a general rule, being to the Mahomedans in the proportion of five to one. A regiment, a thousand strong, will therefore be found to contain about eight hundred Hindoos. Of these it often happens that more than four hundred are Brahmins or priests, about two hundred Rajpoots (a high caste, but lower than the Brahminical order), and the rest of a lower caste. The Brahmins are the most influential, as they are the most bigoted of the whole race of Hindoos. In their mythological tales the gods themselves are constantly made to do penance and propitiation to this superior order. As these tales form the only kind of literature circulated amongst the Hindoos, and as the acts they record, however absurd they may appear to the educated, are implicitly believed, it is not to be wondered at that the Brahmins are the objects of veneration to the other castes. The feet of a holy man are like the waters of life, is a proverb which gains implicit credence from all classes, and is at the same time practically acted upon. His curse is dreaded as a fate Worse than death itself, whilst his protection is
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Forgotten Books
• Date d'édition: 2018
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1330744381
• ISBN 13: 9781330744383
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 218
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Copytech (UK) Ltd, Trading as Printondemand-worldwide.com; gpsr@podww.com; ; 9 Culley Court; Orton Southgate; Peterborough; Cambridgeshire; PE2 6WA; Royaume-Uni
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