The Bengal European Regiment: an Elite Regiment of the Honourable East India Company 1756-1858

The domination of the Indian sub-continent by the British would have been impossible without the support of the armies of the presidencies of the Honourable East India Company. Most of these were regiments of native troops led by British officers, but a few were entirely comprised of Europeans. Among the most notable of these regiments was the Bengal European Regiment-a corps which forged a formidable reputation for itself over more than a century of warfare and which became-in time-a regular regiment of the British line. This book is the history of that regiment from its battles under Clive to the Carnatic War, through the Maratha Wars to the First Afghan War and the Sikh Wars, until it became a stalwart in the apocalypse that was the Indian Mutiny. This was a regiment-affectionately nicknamed the 'Dirty Shirts'-which won the admiration of every commander who knew them. Their story is the history of the British in India and this substantial volume recounts it in fascinating and vital detail.