Napoleonics and Palm Trees

The Sikhs: A Splendid Little War

Who are the Sikhs?

by Paul A. Koch

With a varying amount of truth depending on one's theological pickyness, the Sikhs might be described as the Protestants of the Hindu faith. They arose in India to combine some ideas of Islam into a faith that is held by some millions world wide and is still a political issue today.

The Sikh movement brought about a tremendous upheaval to Indiam society. Sikhs preached that there was no caste; that all believers were equal in the sight of Cod. Moreover, there was only one all seeing, all knowing and all powerful God. Sikh believers did not smoke nor drink alcohol nor cut their hair and beards. Those great bearded sergeant-majors of the "Bengal Lancer" movies that I always find so soldierly is the archtypical Sikh.

Sikh theology founded itself also on the virtues of hard work and the financial success of the favored. From the first, therefore, Sikh communities were clean and prosperous. To this day the villages and towns of the Punjab are the only areas of India without slums, beggars or the usual unsavory qualities that so repulse westerners in the third world. The Sikhs produce a work ethic that stacks up well with the Scot Calvinist or the secular yankee peddler.

The first and foremost Sikh "guru" or teacher(yes, Virginia, that is where the word comes from) preached a reforming brotherhood of peace to embrace all men. As was the case in the west, so it was in India as well. The Sikh sect flourished and as it did so it brought fierce persecution. A persecution that would have done justice to the Spanish Inquisition and on a scale that can be believed only when it occurs in Asia.

Under their tenth guru, Govind, the Sikhs had had enough. They were transformed from passive reformers into a warrior cult. They were to do glorious deeds fo rthe faith, carry a sword at all times, and add Singh to their names to show themselves to be lions, the lions of the Punjab. Thus the Khalsa or "brotherhood of the saved" was born. Being drawn from naturally war-like races anyway, here was a faith of real promise. I always rather fancy Valhalla in my more flamboyant and pagan moments myself. For ,the next century the Sikhs lived the lives of brigands, fighting amongst themselves and with their hated Afghan overlords.

Ranjit Singh Into this vortex of violence and instability stepped the slight figure of Ranjit Singh. His burning ambition was to create a united, powerful and independent Sikh state. Ranjit Singh was nothing if not a shrewd observer. He saw that numbers and courage were no match for the European technology of war. It was the disciplined volleys of British Redcoats that made thern invincible. He set out to take the truly excellent raw material l of his people-and mold them into any army that would rival the Europeans in discipline, training, and firepower. The Old Lion knew as well that there were really only two basic ways to accomplish this task.

First he sent Sikhs to enlist in the Sepoy regiments of the Honorable East India Company. They would thoroughly learn their drill, desert and serve Aanjit Singh as instructors. However, this devious method was upsetting to the British, who Ranjit wooed earnestly, and simply did not pay off with good results, The Old Lion then did what third world nations still do - he hired mercenaries. These Soldiers of Fortune varied as they always do, but many were long service veterans of the Napoleonic wars. It was in this way that at Aliwal and elsewhere the "Pas de charge" was heard again.

The Frenchmen Allard and Court not only proved to be gifted drill instructors, but were very capable ordnance-experts as well. A foundry for the making of small arms (copies of the Brown Bess, kindly donated by the Company) and the casting of cannon was established in Lahore, the Sikh capitol. Along with the gifted, almost mystical Italian Avitabile they produced a formidable fighting force. Avitabile was so good at his job that this troops, the Aieens, were rated as elites by friend and foe alike, even the British.

The casting of cannon was a natural outpouring of Ranjit Singh's love of guns, especially big ones. Indeed the entire Sikh nation developed a passion for artillery until, by the time the war broke out, the Sikhs had the greatest artillery park per thousand men in the world. Most field guns were 12, 18 and 24 pounders, and these were built very heavy for their caliber. This reduced recoil, made for better range and accuracy, but of course, sarificed any degree of mobility. Even a Sikh 4 lber was considerably heavier than a British 6 lb gun. Except for their horse artillery, all Sikh guns were drawn by bullocks and oxen, neither of which are renowned for their speed. Sikhs took to the training like the proverbial duck to water. The gunners named, adored, adorned and even worshipped their guns. As later events would prove, they would also die by them to a man as, well.

Throughout the 1820s and 30s the "Old Lion" built, with the aid of his hired mercs, a steady regular infantry and a dedicated artillery arm with abundant if heavy and unwieldy equipment. In addition, there was the cavalry: The Sikhs traditionally were a horse riding people. With this sort of heritage one would expect a truly splendid mounted arm. Alas, for the Sikhs such was not the case. The cavalry, while looking really great (they are the most fun to paint), were badly outclassed and behaved really quite poorly in the wars.

There were several reasons for this. First, the horses available in the area of the Punjab were very small and slight. Sikh cavalry therefore was always very poorly mounted. The Sikhs also rode using a saddle that was horribly designed for war, hampering the rider's sabre strokes and power. Thirdly, the Chorchurras or aristocratic cavalry were far too proud to conform to any attempts at introducing European drill. The Ghorchurras considered themselves elites, butt that opinion was never shared by those who faced them in battle. Except therefore for the regular dragoons, lancers, and a picked regiment of Cuirassiers (and there were precious few of all of these), the Sikh Cavalry was composed of the haughty but inept Ghorchurras and even more worthless tribal levies. These tribal horse were the typical light lancer of Kipling stories, excelling at pillage and scouting but almost helpless in real battle.

Ranjit Singh's instrument, though imperfect, was by far and away the most powerful native army in India. By the time of the 1830s he had overthrown and trounced the Afghans, and created a warlike state with only one real rival, the Honorable East India Company. The "Old Lion", however, had gone to elaborate lengths to maintain and promote good relations with the ferengee. His death produced a sudden reversal in a drama which would lead from that time straight to war.

After the death of the "Old Lion", the mercenaries were dismissed or left the army; discipline and pay suffered. By 1845, when they crossed the Sutlej to attack the British, it was an inferior edition of the war machine of Ranjit Singh. They would, however, prove tough enough customers for anybody's taste. More importantly, it is an army that one can command with pride on the table top. Not perfect, but quite respectable and, as we shall see, very beautiful.

More Napoleonics and Palm Trees: The Sikhs

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