Napoleonics and Palm Trees

The Sikhs: A Splendid Little War

First Sikh War 1845-46

by Paul A. Koch

On December 12th, 1845, a Sikh Army crossed the Sutlej River and invaded British India. relations had been in steady decline since the death of the "Old Lion". At last the bellicose nature of the Khalsa ended in war. They were met by two Victorian septugenerians, Sir Hugh "Paddy" Grough, the Commander in Chief, and Sir Henry Hardings, the Governor General who while technically the senior, served as Sir Hugh's second in command. After an exhausting 120 mile march from Ambela, the two armies rather blundered into each other at a mud village named Mudki. Some 20,000 odd Sikhs attacked a force of about half that size in the late afternoon and dusk of the short winter day.

The battle was highlighted by the gallant and efficient handling of the Sikh artillery, the bravery of the British foot, the passiveness of the sepoys and the tremendous display of what cavalry can do by the 3rd Light Dragoons. Forever after they were known as the Mudkiwallahs. This was a stand up fight in low chapparal and dust. The Sikhs at length left the field to the British, who were utterly exhausted; it had been the hardest fight in their history in India. The British losses amounted to nearly 10% of their force.

Three days later, however, another battle was joined that made Mudki look like a light skirmish. Some 35,000 Sikhs with nearly 90 guns accepted battle in a semi-circular set of hasty entrenchments they had built around the village of Ferozeshah. At mid afternoon on December 21 Grough attacked the Sikh lines. Fighting was unbelievably intense. Even the elderly Napoleonic commanders could remember nothing like it. At nightfall the British had just penetrated the Sikh works but were driven out by spirited counter attacks launched by the Khalsa. Morning found nothing accomoplished but the filling of long casualty lists. Sir Hugh attacked still again and drove the Sikhs beyond Ferozeshah. Once again the Sikhs retreated leaving

At this moment a fresh Sikh Army some 30,000 strong arrived and began shelling the British. The exhausted cavalry formed to delay the inevitable massacre to follow. A staff officer, driven quite mad by the pressure of the last two days, ordered the entire mounted arm from the field. Dumb founded but disciplined, the cavalry' obeyed, leaving the infantry to their fate. A Sikh victory here might well have changed the course of world history. Amazingly the Sikhs simply turned around and left the field. Sir Henry Hardings, in typical understatement, declared that "the Empire has been saved by a miracle".

A lull in the fighting took place for some days until Sir Harry Smith's column ran into the Sikh Army at Aliwal. Fortesque refers to it as the "battle without a mistake". It has long been a favorite of dioramists, artists and even Don Featherstone. It is also a favorite of mine. Through an almost unique use of the strengths of infantry, cavalry and artillery in succession, Sir Harry utterly routed a superior force in a model of combined arms action in the musket period.

Aliwal also broke the confidence of the Khalsa. They met the British once more in an entrenched position at Sobraon, protected by 16-foot embankments and 120 guns, the Sikhs gathered nearly 50,000 men to resist the passage to Lahore. The British, however, reinforced by their own heavy guns and the courage of the Sepoys now in good support of the European regiments, went forward with confidence. After Aliwal it was discovered that Sikhs bled just like humans. A hard fought combat resulted with over 2,000 casualties and the near disgrace of Grough who was accused of wasting the willing flesh of his soldiers. Company political officers now watched the goings on in Lahore and the Sikhs were once and for all soundly beaten, or so it was thought.

More Napoleonics and Palm Trees: The Sikhs

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