"Published to mark the 150th anniversary of the Indian Mutiny, this is an epic story that recreates the shocking events of the summer of 1857, when thousands of formerly obedient and disciplined Indian soldiers turned on their officers, slaughtering men, women and children in a merciless bloodbath. The tiny garrison at Lucknow held out against all odds; the one at Cawnpore surrendered, only to be massacred." "Modern Indian accounts call this 'the first war of national liberation', but as Julian Spilsbury reveals, 80 per cent of so-called 'British' forces were from the sub-continent: Sikhs, Gurkhas and Afghans fought alongside small numbers of British soldiers." "Julian Spilsbury weaves the story together from vivid eyewitness accounts. Contemporary letters and reports describe the mutterings of discontent that escalated into the roar of mutiny; the shock of disbelief felt by officers, utterly confident of the reliability of their regiments, learning too late that their own men had become the enemy; and the terror of being under siege with little hope of rescue. Alongside tales of burning and bloodshed we also hear of remarkable acts of courage: of servants and soldiers who risked their lives to protect the families they served; of individual men and women confronted with cataclysmic changes of circumstance; of rescue missions setting out to save isolated groups in jeopardy. The ferocity of the bombardments, the street fighting with sword and sabre, and the terrible revenge exacted by the British forces, make this an exceptionally moving, exciting and brutal story."--BOOK JACKET.