Battle Honours of the British Army: From Tangier, 1662, to the Commencement of the Reign of King Edward VIINorman, Charles Boswell
History
Battle Honours of the British Army: From Tangier, 1662, to the Commencement of the Reign of King Edward VII
Norman, Charles Boswell
Great Britain -- History, Military; Great Britain. Army -- History
On February 21 General Whish, with the First Division strengthened
by the Bombay troops, joined the Commander-in-Chief, so that, in
addition to the force enumerated on p. 288, Lord Gough had with
him for the final attack on the Sikh position two additional
battalions of British soldiers (the 2nd Battalions of the King's
Royal Rifles and Royal Dublin Fusiliers), two regiments of native
cavalry, and two of native infantry. His artillery was brought up
to the respectable total of ninety-six field-guns, which included
three heavy batteries. The Sikhs occupied a strong position, their
flanks resting on two villages, which they had fortified, and their
whole front was covered by a series of entrenchments. Whish, with
the Bombay troops, as I have said, joined the Commander-in-Chief
on February 21 at dawn; on the morrow Lord Gough launched his
attack. As the British army approached the broad sandy nullah
which ran along the front of the Sikh line, the guns opened on us,
disclosing their whole front. To this fire the ninety-six pieces
at once replied, and for two hours a storm of shell was poured on
the entrenchments; then, shortly before noon, Gough moved forward
the whole line. The Sikhs fought, as is their wont, with consummate
gallantry, and the Afghan Horse on our right made a gallant effort
to retrieve the fortunes of the day. They were met in an equally
gallant manner by the Scinde Horse, supported by the 9th Lancers,
and on this flank being uncovered the horse artillery galloped up
and enfiladed the Sikh entrenchments. "By half-past twelve," writes
Sir Charles Gough, who, as a subaltern, took part in the campaign,
"the whole Sikh army was in full flight. By one o'clock Goojerat
itself, the Sikh camp, their baggage, and most of the guns, were
in possession of the victors." Sir Walter Gilbert, at the head of
12,000 men, pressed the retreating Sikhs hard, never slackening his
pursuit until he had driven their Afghan allies through the Khyber
Pass and received the unconditional surrender of their leaders.
At Goojerat the victory was complete, and the Sikhs, recognizing
the inevitable, acknowledged British rule. Heavy was the price we
paid for the conquest of the Punjab, but the blood shed on the
banks of the Sutlej was not shed in vain, for England has no more
faithful subjects, no braver soldiers in her armies, than the Sikhs
who stood so bravely before us in the campaigns of 1846-1849.
CASUALTIES AT THE BATTLE OF GOOJERAT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account