“This important operation was most judiciously preceded by a cannonade from the heavy howitzers and mortars, which had arrived from Delhi on the 8th of February, the same day on which the forces under Major-General Sir Henry Smith, which had been detached to Loodiana, and had gained the victory of Aliwal, rejoined the Commander-in-Chief’s camp. “The British infantry, formed on the extreme left of the line, then advanced to the assault, and, in spite of every impediment, cleared the intrenchments and entered the enemy’s camp. Her Majesty’s tenth, fifty-third, and eightieth regiments, moving at a firm and steady pace, never fired a shot until they had passed the barriers opposed to them, a forbearance much to be commended, and most worthy of constant imitation, to which may be attributed the success of their first effort, and the small loss they sustained. The attack was crowned with the success it deserved! “The same gallant efforts, attended by the same success, distinguished the attack on the enemy’s left, made by the first division, under the command of Major-General Sir Henry Smith, K.C.B., in which the troops nobly sustained their former reputation. “These three divisions of infantry, concentrated within the enemy’s camp, drove the shattered forces into the river, with a loss which far exceeded that which the most experienced officers had ever witnessed. “Thus terminated, in the brief space of two hours, this most remarkable conflict, in which the military combinations of the Commander-in-Chief were fully and ably carried into effect with His Excellency’s characteristic energy; the enemy’s select regiments of regular infantry have been dispersed, and a large portion destroyed, with the loss, since the campaign began, of 220 pieces of artillery taken in action. * * * “The Governor-General, in the name of the Government and of the people of India, offers to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief,--to the General Officers, and all the Officers and Troops under their command, his grateful and heartfelt acknowledgments for the services they have performed. * * * “The Governor-General acknowledges the meritorious conduct of Brigadier Penny, and Lieut.-Colonel Spence,[35] commanding brigades in the first division. “Her Majesty’s THIRTY-FIRST and fiftieth regiments greatly distinguished themselves, as well as the forty-second and forty-seventh native infantry, and the Nusseeree battalion.” The despatch of the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Hugh Gough, to the Governor-General, dated Camp, Kussoor, 13th of February, 1846, giving a detailed account of the battle of Sobraon, contained the following expressions of approbation and thanks:--