With Mounted Infantry in Tibet - W J Ottley

War through high passes to Tibet

Following the subjugation of the Punjab, the kingdom of the Sikhs, in the middle years of the 19th century the British Empire effectively controlled the Indian sub-continent. Although the Indian Mutiny of 1857 temporarily disrupted the peaceful consolidation of Britain's 'jewel in the crown, ' the borders of its Indian domain were not seriously threatened. As the century progressed the principal concern of the British was to hold all they had won. The greatest threat to this was the might of the Russian Empire and it was clear that, if it came, this threat would come via the Northern passes through Afghanistan or the smaller states in the east. So the 'The Great Game' began with each side vying for influence and with the British constantly engaged in wars or expeditions along the troubled and hostile border. All attempts to close the avenue of potential invasion through Tibet failed as a consequence of Tibetan unwillingness to put itself under British influence and so in 1903 Curzon initiated an invasion to establish a diplomatic mission. What followed was a particularly reprehensible example of imperial bullying as the most significant martial nation in the world took on a peaceful and militarily inept people armed with weapons a hundred years out of date. This book, written by one of its British officers, focuses less on the politics of the affair than on the experiences of the mounted infantry of the Indian Army. For those interested in the colonial campaigns of the later period this is an excellent first hand account.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.