In I856 the British Army emerged from its first conflict with a major power since I815 the Crimean War. Though victory over the Russians had been won, the war revealed many defects in the British military system which ideally would require a period of peace to repair. Disputes with Persia and China were brewing; hut should these come to force of arms, the three needed would not he large, nor should it unduly delay or interrupt the reforming process. Yet within 14 months of the Peace of Paris being signed with Russia, the Army was faced with a crisis which, before it was finally resolved, would require an even greater commitment of force than the Crimean War had. From May 1857 British rule in northern India became seriously threatened by mutiny or unreliability in the largest military force maintained in the subcontinent an insurrection which sundry princes and notables saw as their opportunity to regain lost power and property.