During the four years it took to research and write this book, I was assisted by a number of people. My greatest debt of gratitude is to Hew Strachan, the newly appointed Chichele Professor of The History of War at Oxford University, who encouraged me from the start.
I am also beholden to the trustees of the General Palit Military Studies Trust – in particular Major-General D. K. Palit himself, John Miller and T. K. Mukherjee – for awarding me a Fellowship and supporting my research in India. Other advice, assistance and companionship during my trip to India and Pakistan in 2000 was provided by my sister Catherine, Dr Kaushik Roy, Dr Ganeswar Nayak of the National Archives of India, Nigel Bryan, Khurshid Sohail, Lieutenant-Colonel Hameed Ullah Afridi and the officers of the Khyber Rifles. Thank you.
The following people were especially helpful during my research in Britain and I am grateful: Professor Sam Cohn, Professor Evan Mawdsley, Dr Simon Ball, Dr David Omissi, Alison Peden, Chris Fildes, Pamela Strachan, Dr Stewart and Noreen Harper, Paul Strathern, Lieutenant-Colonel John Inglis (the direct descendant of Brigadier John Inglis of Lucknow fame), the Revd Giles Goddard (ditto), Mary Jane Gibbons (a descendant of the Gough brothers) and Dr Margaret Bruce (a descendant of John Nicholson).
As ever, I must acknowledge the invaluable help given to me by the staffs of various institutions: the British Library, London Library, University of Glasgow Library, Monmouth Library, National Army Museum, National Archives of India, National Archives of Scotland and National Library of Scotland.
Finally, I would like to thank my new editor Andrew Kidd (for sticking with me through some very protracted negotiations), my agent Julian Alexander (for conducting those negotiations) and, last but not least, my wife Louise.
The spelling of place names is generally the one in current usage. The exceptions are those places which are far better known to a British readership by their ‘colonial’ spelling: Benares (Varanasi), Cawnpore (Kanpur), Oudh (Awadh), Madras (Chennai) and Bombay (Mumbai), among others. When Indian personal names are shortened, the first name is used.