Aliwal

Following the Battle of Ferozeshah, Tej Singh withdrew his Sikh army across the Sutlej River, while General Sir Hugh Gough formed his force on the south bank and awaited reinforcements. Seeing this inactivity on the part of the British and Bengali army, Tej Singh detached Ranjodh Singh with 8,000 troops and 70 guns to march east along the river and cross so as to menace the British base at Ludhiana, thereby causing Gough great concern as a large slow column of supplies with the British siege train was coming up from the East.

Gough dispatched General Sir Harry Smith with a brigade of infantry, cavalry and guns, to clear the Sikhs away from his line of communication and prevent the Sikhs from taking Ludhiana.

Smith with little difficulty captured two small forts occupied by the Sikhs on the south bank of the Sutlej River, Fategarh and Dharmkot, and moved on towards Ludhiana. Ahead of him Ranjodh Singh was following much the same route but with little apparent urgency.

Gough reinforced Smith with HM 16th Lancers and another battery of guns and ordered him to march to Jagraon on the more southerly road, where he was to take under his command HM 53rd Foot. He was then to march to Ludhiana, where he would find Colonel Godby with four native regiments, including two battalions of Gurkhas (later the 1st and 2nd Gurkha Rifles) and four guns.

Ranjodh Singh being still on the riverside road leading to Ludhiana, stopped and dispersed his army across the countryside. Smith sent word to Godby to join him at the village of Suneth for a joint assault on the Sikhs. Smith left his baggage under guard at Jograon and at 12.30am in the early hours of 21st January 1846 marched out to join Godby.

While on the march word reached Smith that further Sikh forces had come up, giving Ranjodh Singh around 10,000 troops and 40 guns, and that the Sikhs were marching to cut the route from Jograon to Ludhiana at Baddowal.

In the light of the strength of Ranjodh Singh’s army Smith resolved to march around the Sikh army and on to Ludhiana, which he managed to achieve, even though the Sikhs had the benefit of being on the road. The British and Bengali infantry reached Ludhiana in a state of exhaustion, many of the foot soldiers carried by the cavalrymen on their horses.

Smith found that Godby was still at Ludhiana. After a day’s rest for his troops Smith marched out to attack Ranjodh Singh at Baddowal, but found that the Sikhs had left to return to the Sutlej where more troops were crossing the river to join them.

Smith received further reinforcements from Gough and now having 12,000 men and 32 guns marched north in pursuit of Ranjodh Singh.

The reinforcement that had crossed the Sutlej to join the Sikh army was the Avitabile Regiment, a crack Sikh infantry corps trained by the Italian mercenary, General Avitabile. With this addition Ranjodh Singh was poised to take the offensive when Smith’s army came up with him in his fortified position between the villages of Aliwal and Bhundri, his back to the River Sutlej.

Smith formed his army with the cavalry in the rear and the infantry of two brigades, Wheeler’s and Wilson’s, in the first line, supported by two further brigades, Godby’s and Hick’s, in the second and continued his advance.

At a range of 600 yards the Sikh artillery opened fire along the length of their positions, causing Smith to halt and consider what move to make next.

Smith directed Godby and Hicks to move out from the second line, storm Aliwal on the right and then attack the Sikh line in enfilade. These two brigades took Aliwal and turned towards the Sikh centre, at which Ranjodh Singh brought up a body of cavalry to restore his collapsing flank.

Brigade Cureton launched Brigadier Stedman’s cavalry brigade (5th Bengal Light Cavalry, the Bodyguard, 1st Bengal Light Cavalry, 4th Bengal Irregular Cavalry and the Shekawati Cavalry) in a series of charges against the Sikh horsemen, driving them back from Aliwal and leaving Godby free to advance beyond the Sikh line towards their camp on the bank of the Sutlej, at the point where the fords gave Ranjodh Singh’s army the only escape route across the river.

Under the pressure of this attack the Sikh line swung back along the river bank, pivoting on the village of Bhundri. A force of cavalry emerged into the plain beyond Bhundri to threaten the British and Bengali flank. Brigadier Cureton ordered Captain Bere’s squadron of HM 16th Queen’s Lancers and the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry to drive this force back. It is said, but with little authority, that the 3rd did not press home their attack, unlike Bere’s lancers who charged the Sikh horsemen with great violence and hunted them to the bank of the Sutlej. Returning from their charge, Bere’s squadron encountered the Avatabile Regiment of infantry, which formed to receive cavalry; the formation being a triangle, rather than a square. Again the squadron charged home, in spite of receiving a devastating volley, and broke up the Sikh infantry.

The second squadron of the left flank of HM 16th Lancers, commanded by Captain Fyler, charged further battalions of the Avatabile Regiment, breaking them up.

Two horse artillery guns acting in support of the wing unlimbered and opened fire on the remains of the Sikh regiment, completing the ruin.

Meanwhile the right wing of the 16th Lancers, commanded by Major Smyth, charged another battalion of Sikh infantry and a battery of guns, Smith beginning the attack with three rousing cheers for the Queen. In this charge many of the soldiers and officers became casualties. General Smith met the squadrons fighting back through the Sikh line and called out “Well done 16th”. Smith ordered the survivors of the right wing to join Bere’s squadrons and the whole regiment delivered a last devastating charge, capturing the village of Bhundri and driving the garrison to the river bank.

HM 53rd Foot came up behind the cavalry and cleared Bhundri of the remaining determined pockets of Sikhs.

While the cavalry fights were raging on the flanks, the British and Bengali infantry regiments, supported by artillery, pressed over the fortifications forcing the Sikh troops back to the Sutlej; a large force being driven out of a nullah by the 30th Bengal Native Infantry into the path of a barrage of grape from 12 guns; “unkennelling them” as General Smith described the feat.

As the Sikh regiments took to the fords to escape across the Sutlej, a battery of 9 Sikh guns unlimbered on the river bank to cover the retreat, firing only one salvo before being overrun by the pursuing British and Bengali troops.

Ranjodh Singh attempted to bring some of his guns back across the river, but only two reached the far bank, two more being abandoned in the stream and a further two sunk irretrievably in quicksand.

On the far bank Ranjodh Singh formed a new line but his troops were quickly dispersed by artillery fire.

Casualties: General Sir Harry Smith’s army suffered 589 casualties. The casualties were spread evenly through all the units, provoking the admiration of the Duke of Wellington for Smith’s use of all arms of his army. The only exception was HM 16th Lancers which suffered 144 casualties. The Sikhs admitted to 3,000 killed and lost all their 67 guns, camp and baggage.