This study explores a fundamental question never explicitly investigated in histories of the 1857-1858 mutiny that threatened to engulf all of India: How could a vastly outnumbered British army, with dangerously overextended lines of supply and reinforcement, defeat so large a force on its home ground? Watson focuses on the pivotal Lucknow campaign and abandons the standard narrative approach to the subject in favor of comparative analysis. His detailed assessments of the opposing leadership, armies, and other crucial elements in the campaign elucidate the character of the battle for Lucknow and add a new dimension to our understanding of the entire conflict.