The First Anglo-Sikh War

Amarpal Singh reconstructs the crisis that followed the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and brought the Sikh Empire into war with the East India Company in December 1845. The book explains the instability of the Lahore court, the power of the Khalsa army and the roles of Duleep Singh, Jind Kaur, Lal Singh and Tej Singh, while following Hugh Gough and Henry Hardinge as their forces advanced towards the Sutlej. It assesses command decisions and contemporary allegations of divided loyalty without reducing the campaign to a simple account of British victory.

The military narrative proceeds through the crossing of the Sutlej and the battles of Mudki, Ferozeshah, Bhudowal, Aliwal and Sobraon, before examining the occupation of Lahore and the treaties of Lahore, Amritsar and Bhairowal. A second section provides battlefield guides based on eyewitness testimony, maps, surviving landmarks and the author's examination of the terrain. The result is both a history of the campaign and a practical study of how each engagement unfolded on the ground.