The Sikh Army, 1799-1849

The Sikh Wars in 1845-46 and 1848-49 saw the British Army pitted against its most formidable enemy in the whole history of British India, and perhaps of the whole expansionist phase of the 19th century British Empire. The Sikh Army created by Maharaja Ranjit Singh from the 1820s was inspired by its warrior faith, but organised, drilled, uniformed, and armed in Western style. Its artillery was unrivalled in Asia, and by the 1840s the Sikhs had 50,000-70,000 regular troops and similar numbers of irregulars. Although the British were ultimately victorious, they suffered huge casualties, and the major pitched battles of the wars more closely resembled Waterioo than the actions typically fought in this theatre.