Book Review: Sharpe's Triumph

Sharpe's Triumph, by Bernard Cornwell, is one of the many books from the Sharpe series, which is a New York Times bestselling series. This one is a 'prequel' since it is one of the more recent books in the series and yet takes place earlier in the timeline. It is set in 1803 in India, and is about the adventures of a young British infantryman named Richard Sharpe.

In this campaign, the main action takes place as Sharpe tracks down a turncoat who defected from the British East India company to join the mercenary forces of the Mahratta confederation. As Sharpe tracks this man across India, he gets involved in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, which includes the Battle of Ahmednuggur and more notable Battle of Assaye. The action is fierce in the battle scenes, and the plot is moved along at an able pace throughout the whole book.

One of the great things about Cornwell's writings is that even though the book is fictional (there was no Sharpe), the setting and the events have been meticulously researched and are described in such great detail that you really do feel like you have been there and in your mind you can picture the great battle of Assaye. When the Scottish Highlanders of the 78th are advancing through hails of grapeshot and canon fire wearing their kilts and tall bearskin hats, and in right in the face of the enemy they put on their bayonets and charge, you feel like you are there. When the city of Ahmednuggur is captured by a brazen escalade assault (ladders at the walls), and a Scottish major scales the walls and wins the top by slashing with his claymore, it is a fantastic image that makes you feel as if you were part of the action too.

One thing that stood out in the book is the difference between professional soldiers and mercenary or irregular forces. In the Battle of Assaye, the British had about 10K professional soldiers, and the Mahratta forces had about 100K- but only 15K of those were trained soldiers, and when faced with true pressure, they cracked. A professional soldier is a powerful thing- trained, efficient, disciplined, and able to win a battle. The other day I was reading (can't remember where) about how this US army detachment of 10 soldiers was ambushed by over 100 Taliban, and the result was over 20 Taliban dead to 1 injured US soldier. The Taliban were shooting their AK-47's everywhere, but the US soldiers fired and killed, fired and killed, fired and killed, all while keeping track of their position and comrades. Trained professional soldiers such as we employ and the British employed are deadly instruments of war.

This was a highly entertaining read, and I am excited to find out that they actually made this book into a television series too, starring Sean Bean. I'll have to watch that. If you haven't read any of the Sharpe series before, you may want to start with the one before this, which is called Sharpe's Tiger and is about the Siege of Seringapatam, or just jump ahead to some of the better ones, such as Sharpe's Eagle or Sharpe's Company. They are historical fictions, and remind me of Horatio Hornblower, and likely are the inspiration for other such great series like Honor Harrington. Enjoy!