The British Raj at its height measured almost 2 million square miles of territory and counted more than 200 million people among its citizens. This land was truly the ‘Jewel’ of the British Empire, however the path to this dominance was punctuated by fierce and bloody fighting by the British and her Indian allies against numerous, native Nawabs, Princes and leaders across the patchwork kingdoms of India. These battles most often featured small numbers of British and sepoy troops facing off against huge numbers of Indian troops, where the fate of the Empire hung in the balance. Colonel Malleson uses his expert knowledge of India and his long military career there to survey and recounts the battles that shaped what would become the British Raj. The author obtained a cadetship in the Bengal infantry at the tender age of 17 in 1842, he served in India for over three decades in both military and civil appointments. He wrote many famous volumes on India and the country’s history; perhaps most famous of which were History of the Indian Mutiny, 1857-8, Akbar And The Rise Of The Mughals and History of the French in India.

Excerpt from The Decisive Battles of India: From 1746 to 1849 Inclusive When the first edition of this work appeared, two years ago, the dark cloud now threatening our Indian Empire was but a little speck on the horizon, no bigger than a man's hand. The book simply - to use the expression of the critics - told the story of how we had won India. We are now entering upon a period when we shall be called upon to defend the Empire we so greatly gained. Upon this point let there be no mistake in the public mind. Let us at least be honest to our own consciences. A great Power does not go to enormous expenditure to conquer merely sandy deserts. Every previous conqueror of the deserts which Russia has subdued has aimed at the subjugation of the fertile lands beyond them. The rulers of Russia are not less intelligent than were Alexander, Mahmoud of Ghazni, Chengiz Khan, Taimur, Babar, Nadir Shah, and Ahmad Shah Durani. Since the days of the first Peter they have pursued a steady and persistent course towards a definite end. Russia is now at the very gates of Herat. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.