Indian Cavalry camp, Malta, 1878

Oil on canvas by Girolamo Gianni, 1878.

Following its crushing defeat in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), Turkey was forced to recognise the independence of Montenegro, Serbia and Romania, together with Russian control of Bulgaria, Ardahan, Kars, Batum and Bayazid. Fearful that this might be the prelude to a further increase in Russian power in Central Asia, the British Government dispatched a force to Malta in April 1878. The Malta Expeditionary Force included two regiments of Indian native cavalry and six of infantry, with supporting artillery and sappers and miners.