10th February 1846 Hugh Gough With British Forces Defeated Sikhs In The Battle Of Sobrhan In India
First Anglo-Sikh War
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| First Anglo-Sikh War | |||||||
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.png) Topographical map of The Punjab The Land of 5 Waters | |||||||
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.svg){kind=small} East India Company Patiala State[1][2]Jind State[3] |  Sikh Empire | ||||||
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The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.
Contents
[hide]Background and causes of the war[edit]
The Sikh kingdom of Punjab was expanded and consolidated by Maharajah Ranjit Singh during the early years of the nineteenth century, about the same time as the British-controlled territories were advanced by conquest or annexation to the borders of the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained a policy of wary friendship with the British, ceding some territory south of the Sutlej River,[4] while at the same time building up his military forces both to deter aggression by the British and to wage war against the Afghans. He hired American and European mercenary soldiers to train his artillery, and also incorporated contingents of Hindus and Muslims into his army.
Aided by disunity among the Afghans, the Sikhs conquered the cities and provinces of Peshawar and Multan from them, and also incorporated the states of Jammu and Kashmir into their empire. Once order was restored in Afghanistan, the British became obsessed with idea that Emir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan was conspiring with Imperial Russiaand launched the First Anglo-Afghan War to replace him with the compliant Shuja Shah Durrani. This move had Sikh support, in return for the formal cessation of Peshawar to the Sikhs by Shuja Shah. Initially successful, the British invasion took a disastrous turn with the Massacre of Elphinstone's Army, which lowered the prestige of the British, and the Bengal Army of the British East India Company in particular. The British finally withdrew from Afghanistan, and from Peshawar which they held as an advance base, in 1842.
Events in the Punjab[edit]
Ranjit Singh died in 1839. Almost immediately, his kingdom began to fall into disorder. Ranjit's unpopular legitimate son, Kharak Singh, was removed from power within a few months, and later died in prison under mysterious circumstances. It was widely believed that he was poisoned.[5] He was replaced by his able but estranged son Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh, who also died within a few months in suspicious circumstances; he was crushed by a falling archway at the Lahore Fort while returning from his father's cremation.[5]
There were at the time two major factions within the Punjab contending for power and influence: the Sikh Sindhanwalias and the Hindu Dogras. The Dogras succeeded in raising Sher Singh, the eldest illegitimate son of Ranjit Singh, to the throne in January 1841. The most prominent Sindhanwalias took refuge on British territory, but had many adherents among the Army of the Punjab.
The army was expanding rapidly in the aftermath of Ranjit Singh's death, from 29,000 (with 192 guns) in 1839 to over 80,000 in 1845[6] as landlords and their retainers took up arms. It proclaimed itself to be the Khalsa, or embodiment of the Sikh nation. Its regimental panchayats (committees) formed an alternate power source within the kingdom, declaring thatGuru Gobind Singh's ideal of the Sikh commonwealth had been revived, with the Sarbatt Khalsa or the Sikh as a whole assuming all executive, military and civil authority in the State,[7] which British observers decried as a "dangerous military democracy". British representatives and visitors in the Punjab described the regiments as preserving "puritanical" order internally, but also as being in a perpetual state of mutiny or rebellion against the central Durbar (court). In one notorious instance of unrest, Sikh soldiers ran riot, looking for anyone who looked as if they could speak Persian (the language used by the clerks who administered the Khalsa's finances) and putting them to the sword.
Maharajah Sher Singh was unable to meet the pay demands of the Khalsa, although he reportedly lavished funds on a degenerate court. In September 1843 he was murdered by his cousin, an officer of the Khalsa, Ajit Singh Sindhanwalia. The Dogras took their revenge on those responsible, and Jind Kaur, Ranjit Singh's youngest widow, became Regent for her infant son Duleep Singh. After the Vizier Hira Singh was killed, while attempting to flee the capital with loot from the Royal Treasury (Toshkana), by troops under Sham Singh Attariwala,[7] Jind Kaur's brother Jawahar Singh became Vizier in December 1844. In 1845 he arranged the assassination of Peshaura Singh, who presented a threat to Duleep Singh. For this, he was called to account by the Khalsa. Despite attempts to bribe the army he was butchered to death in September 1845 in the presence of Jind Kaur and Duleep Singh.[8]
The Khalsa nevertheless did not take over the kingdom at this point. Although Jind Kaur publicly vowed revenge against her brother's murderers, she remained Regent. Lal Singh became Vizier, and Tej Singh became commander of the army. Sikh historians have stressed that both these men were prominent in the Dogra faction. Originally high-caste Hindus from outside the Punjab, both had converted to Sikhism in 1818.
British actions[edit]
Immediately after the death of Ranjit Singh, the British East India Company had begun increasing its military strength, particularly in the regions adjacent to the Punjab, establishing a military cantonment at Ferozepur, only a few miles from the Sutlej River which marked the frontier between British-ruled India and the Punjab. In 1843, they conquered and annexed Sindh, to the south of the Punjab, in a move which many British people regarded as cynical and ignoble.[9] This did not gain the British any respect in the Punjab, and increased suspicions of British motives.
The actions and attitudes of the British, under Governors General Lord Ellenborough and his successor, Sir Henry Hardinge, are disputed. By most British accounts, their main concern was that the Khalsa, without strong leadership to restrain them, was a serious threat to British territories along the border. Sikh and Indian historians have countered that the military preparations made by these Governors General were offensive in nature; for example, they prepared bridging trains and siege gun batteries, which would be unlikely to be required in a purely defensive operation.[7]
The British attitudes were affected by reports from their new Political Agent in the frontier districts, Major George Broadfoot, who stressed the disorder in the Punjab and recounted every tale of corrupt behaviour at the court. For some British officials, there was a strong desire to expand British influence and control into the Punjab, as it was the only remaining formidable force that could threaten the British hold in India and the last remaining independent kingdom not under British influence. The kingdom was also renowned for being the wealthiest, the Koh-i-Noor being but one of its many treasures. Despite this, it is unlikely that the British East India Company would have deliberately attempted to annex the Punjab had the war not occurred, as they simply did not have the manpower or resources to keep a hold on the territories (as proven by the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Sikh War).[citation needed]
Nevertheless, the unconcealed and seemingly aggressive British military build-up at the borders had the effect of increasing tension within the Punjab and the Khalsa.
Outbreak and course of the war[edit]
After mutual demands and accusations between the Sikh Durbar and the East India Company, diplomatic relations were broken. An East India Company army began marching towards Ferozepur, where a division was already stationed. This army was commanded by Sir Hugh Gough, the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army, and was accompanied by Sir Henry Hardinge, the British Governor General of Bengal, who placed himself beneath Gough in the military chain of command. The British East India Company forces consisted of formations of the Bengal Army, with usually one British unit to every three or four Bengal infantry or cavalry units. Most of the artillery on the British side consisted of light guns from the elite Bengal Horse Artillery.
In response to the British move, the Sikh army began crossing the Sutlej on 11 December 1845. Although the leaders and principal units of the army were Sikhs, there were also Punjabi,Pakhtun and Kashmiri infantry units. The artillery consisted mainly of units of heavy guns, which had been organised and trained by European mercenaries.
The Sikhs claimed they were only moving into Sikh possessions (specifically the village of Moran, whose ownership was disputed) on the east side of the river, but the move was regarded by the British as clearly hostile and they declared war. One Sikh army under Tej Singh advanced towards Ferozepur but made no effort to surround or attack the exposed British division there. Another force under Lal Singh clashed with Gough's and Hardinge's advancing forces at the Battle of Mudki on 18 December. The British won an untidy encounter battle.
On the next day, the British came in sight of the large Sikh entrenchment at Ferozeshah. Gough wished to attack at once, but Hardinge used his position as Governor General to overrule him and order him to wait for the division from Ferozepur to arrive. When they appeared late on 21 December, Gough attacked in the few hours of daylight left. The well served Sikh artillery caused heavy casualties among the British, and their infantry fought desperately. On the other hand, the elite of the Sikh army, the irregular cavalry or ghodachadas (alt. gorracharra, horse-mounted), were comparatively ineffective against Gough's infantry and cavalry as they had been kept from the battlefield by Lal Singh.
By nightfall, some of Gough's army had fought their way into the Sikh positions, but other units had been driven back in disorder. Hardinge expected a defeat on the following day and ordered the state papers at Mudki to be burned in this event. However, on the following morning, the British and Bengal Army units rallied and drove the Sikhs from the rest of their fortifications. Lal Singh had made no effort to rally or reorganise his army. At this point, Tej Singh's army appeared. Once again, Gough's exhausted army faced defeat and disaster, but Tej Singh inexplicably withdrew, claiming that British cavalry and artillery which were withdrawing to replenish ammunition were actually making an outflanking move.
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Operations temporarily halted, mainly because Gough's army was exhausted and required rest and reinforcements. The Sikhs were temporarily dismayed by their defeats and by their commanders' actions, but rallied when fresh units and leaders joined them, and Maharani Jind Kaur exhorted 500 selected officers to make renewed efforts.
When hostilities resumed, a Sikh detachment crossed the Sutlej near Aliwal, threatening Gough's lines of supply and communications. A division under SirHarry Smith was sent to deal with them. Sikh cavalry attacked Smith continually on his march and captured his baggage, but Smith received reinforcements and at the Battle of Aliwal on 28 January 1846, he won a model victory, eliminating the Sikh bridgehead.
Gough's main army had now been reinforced, and rejoined by Smith's division, they attacked the main Sikh bridgehead at Sobraon on 10 February. Tej Singh is said to have deserted the Sikh army early in the battle. Although the Sikh army resisted as stubbornly as at Ferozeshah, Gough's troops eventually broke into their position. The bridges behind the Sikhs broke under British artillery fire, or were ordered to be destroyed behind him by Tej Singh (ostensibly to prevent British pursuit). The Sikh army was trapped. None of them surrendered, and the British troops showed little mercy. This defeat effectively broke the Sikh army.
Aftermath[edit]
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In the Treaty of Lahore on 9 March 1846, the Sikhs were made to surrender the valuable region (the Jullundur Doab) between the Beas River and Sutlej River. The Lahore Durbar was also required to pay an indemnity of 15 million rupees. Because it could not readily raise this sum, it ceded Kashmir, Hazarahand all the forts, territories, rights and interests in the hill countries situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus to the East India Company, as equivalent to ten million of rupees.[10] In a later separate arrangement (the Treaty of Amritsar), the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, purchased Kashmir from the East India Company for a payment of 7.5 million rupees and was granted the title Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.[11]
Maharaja Duleep Singh remained ruler of the Punjab and at first his mother, Maharani Jindan Kaur, remained as Regent. However, the Durbar later requested that the British presence remain until the Maharaja attained the age of 16. The British consented to this and on 16 December 1846, the Treaty of Bhyroval provided for the Maharani to be awarded a pension of 150,000 rupees and be replaced by a British resident in Lahore supported by a Council of Regency, with agents in other cities and regions.[12] This effectively gave the East India Company control of the government.
Sikh historians have always maintained that, in order to retain their hold on power and maintain the figurehead rule of Duleep Singh, Lal Singh and Tej Singh embarked on the war with the deliberate intent of breaking their own army[citation needed]. In particular, Lal Singh was corresponding with a British political officer and betraying state and military secrets throughout the war. Lal Singh's and Tej Singh's desertion of their armies and refusal to attack when opportunity offered seem inexplicable otherwise.
The Sikh empire was until then one of the few remaining kingdoms in India after the rise of the company and the fall of the Mughal empire. Although the Khalsa was weakened by the war, resentment at British interference in the government led to the Second Anglo-Sikh War within three years.
Sources[edit]
- Farwell, Byron (1973). Queen Victoria's little wars. Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 1-84022-216-6.
- Featherstone, Donald (2007). At Them with the Bayonet: The First Anglo-Sikh War 1845-1846. Leonnaur Books.
- Hernon, Ian (2003). Britain's forgotten wars. Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7509-3162-0.
- A highly fictionalised (lasicivious, titillating and scurrilous) description of the origins and course of the First Anglo-Sikh War (as well as various Sikh fortifications including breastworks) can be found in the comedy/adventure novelFlashman and the Mountain of Light by George MacDonald Fraser (1990). However, the book's well-researched footnotes are a source for serious historical information and further reading, such as the memoirs of some of the principals involved.
See also[edit]
| Preceded by Third Anglo-Maratha War | Indo–British conflicts | Succeeded by Second Anglo-Sikh War |
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.royalark.net/India/patiala3.htm
- ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/punjab-polls-six-clans-dominate-the-political-and-social-landscape/1/168682.html
- ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=vOPb4SnrsWAC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=maratha+cis-sutlej&source=bl&ots=V_vCKSjfnZ&sig=ci_iGUHpVuIFfGMl3M1d0KCtnbE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ruLHT_WuBszIrQea6cDGDg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=maratha%20cis-sutlej&f=false
- ^ Allen, Charles (2001). Soldier Sahibs. Abacus. p. 28. ISBN 0-349-11456-0.
- ^ a b Hernon, p. 546
- ^ Hernon, p. 547
- ^ a b c allaboutsikhs.com - dead link
- ^ Hernon, p. 548
- ^ Farwell, p. 30
- ^ Terms of the Treaty of Lahore
- ^ Terms of the Treaty of Amritsar
- ^ Terms of the Treaty of Bhyroval
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to First Anglo-Sikh War. |
- First Anglo-Sikh War
- Anglo-Sikh Wars
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Categories:
- Anglo-Sikh wars
- Conflicts in 1845
- Conflicts in 1846
- Battles involving the Sikhs
- Military history of British India
- History of Sikhism
- 1845 in India
- 1846 in India
HUGH GOUGH, 1ST VISCOUNT GOUGH 
Thursday, 26 February 2009 10:35 
Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PCBorn: 3 November 1779, Woodstown, LimerickDied: 2 March 1869Age: 90Cause of death: Old ageNotable because: Commanded the British troops in the Opium wars of China. (1839 - 1842) Where China attempted to stop the East India Company (A British trading Company) from selling Opium into China as it was causing considerable social and human problems with its addictive nature. (By 1820, the city of Soochow had 100,000 addicts). The British enjoyed the profits of the Opium sales and were not willing to give up this lucrative market. Instead they sent in Hugh Gough at the head of their Army, the most powerful in the World, to vanquish the Chinese authorities efforts to outlaw Opium and enforce their ongoing ability to sell Opium into China. He was rewarded with the highest accolades by British authority for his efforts.Hugh Gough was a British Field Marshal, a descendant of Francis Gough who was made bishop of Limerickin 1626.Having obtained a commission in the army in August 1794, he served with the 78th Highlanders at the Cape of Good Hope, taking part in the capture of Cape Town and of the Dutch fleet in Saldanha Bay in 1796. His next service was in the West Indies, where, with the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers), he shared in the attack on Puerto Rico, the capture of Surinam, and the brigand war in St Lucia.In 1809 he was called to take part in the Peninsular War, and, joining the army under Wellington, commanded his regiment as major in the operations before Oporto, by which the town was taken from the French.At the Battle of Talavera he was severely wounded, and had his horse shot under him. For his conduct on this occasion he was afterwards promoted lieutenant-colonel, his commission, on the recommendation of Wellington, being antedated from the day of the duke's despatch. He was thus the first officer who ever received brevet rank for services performed in the field at the head of a regiment. He was next engaged at the battle of Barrosa, at which his regiment captured a French eagle. At the defence of Tarifa the post of danger was assigned to him, and he compelled the enemy to raise the siege. At Vitoria, where Gough again distinguished himself, his regiment captured the baton of Marshal Jourdan. He was again severely wounded at Nivelle, and was soon after created a knight of Charles III by the king of Spain.At the close of the war he returned home and enjoyed a respite of some years from active service. He next took command of a regiment stationed in the south of Ireland, discharging at the same time the duties of a magistrate during a period of agitation. Gough was promoted to major-general in 1830.
Gough Monument, now located at Chillingham Castle
Seven years later he was sent to India to take command of the Mysore division of the army. But not long after his arrival, the difficulties which led to the first Opium War made the presence of an energetic general on the scene indispensable, and Gough was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in China. This post he held during all the operations of the war; and by his great achievements and numerous victories in the face of immense difficulties, he at length enabled the British plenipotentiary, Sir Henry Pottinger, to dictate peace on his own terms.After the conclusion of the treaty of Nanking in August 1842 the British forces were withdrawn; and before the close of the year Gough, who had been made a GCB in the previous year for his services in the capture of the Canton forts, was created a baronet on 23 December 1842. In August 1843 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in India, and in December he took the command in person against the Mahrattas, and defeated them at Maharajpur, capturing more than fifty guns. In 1845 occurred the rupture with the Sikhs, who crossed the Sutlej in large numbers, and Sir Hugh Gough conducted the operations against them, being well supported by Lord Hardinge, the governor-general, who volunteered to serve under him. Successes in the hard-fought battles of Mudki and Ferozeshah were succeeded by the victory of Sobraon, and shortly afterwards the Sikhs sued for peace at Lahore.Hugh Gough was well known for his singular habit of wearing a white coat into battle. The coat was a rallying point for his troops and its appearance on the field promoted both fear and respect in opposition forces.The services of Sir Hugh Gough were rewarded by his elevation to the peerage of the United Kingdom asBaron Gough of ChingKangFoo in China and of Maharajpore and the Sutlej in the East Indies in April 1846. War in India broke out again in 1848, and again Lord Gough took the field; but the result of the battle of Chillianwalla being equivocal, he was superseded by the home authorities in favor of Sir Charles Napier. Before the news of the supersession arrived Lord Gough had finally defeated the Sikhs in the battle of Gujarat (February 1849). His tactics during the Sikh wars were the subject of an embittered controversy. Lord Gough now returned to England, was raised to the viscountcy of Viscount Gough, of Goojerat in the Punjab and of the City of Limerick, and for the third time received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. A pension of £2000 per annum was granted to him by parliament, and an equal pension by the East India Company. He did not again see active service. In 1854 he was appointed colonel of the Royal Horse Guards, and two years later he was sent to the Crimea to invest Marshal Aimable Pélissier and other officers with the insignia of the Bath.Honours were multiplied upon him during his latter years. He was made a knight of St Patrick, being the first knight of the order who did not hold an Irish peerage, was sworn a privy councillor, was named a G.C.S.I., and in November 1862 was made field-marshal.He was twice married, and left children by both his wives. In 1844, his daughter, Frances Maria, married Field Marshal Sir Patrick Grant..............Our parliamentary columns contain this day full particulars of one of the most gratifying scenes which a legislative assembly can display — the representatives of a great country offering the thanks of the nation to the leaders of her victorious forces upon the conclusion of a war. Had this compliment been omitted, the gallant services in China would fully entitle those in command to niches in Our Gallery; but the Parliament having delighted to honour them, a second reason is afforded for adding to the portrait illustrations of our paper a sketch which we feel certain must be welcome to our readers. The British regiments in China, according to the last statement published in the United Service Journal, are the 18th., the 26th., the 49th., the 57th., and the 98th. Our engraving of their gallant commander Sir Hugh Gough, for which alone we can find space at present, we may speak of with confidence as regards the likeness; the original being carved in ivory, and remarkable for its fidelity. The events of the Chinese campaign are too recent to require recapitulation beyond that which the Secretary for the Colonies, Lord Stanley, thought fit to introduce in the House of Commons on Tuesday last. . . .Sir Hugh Gough, commanding a force of 4,500 men, 73 ships (including a line-of-battle vessel and ten war steamers), penetrated the Yang-tse-Keang River from the coast 170 miles inland, along the route conquering towns and fortresses (armed with a total of 2,000 guns, all of which Gough's force captured or destroyed) with populations varying from 1,000,000 to 60,000 or 70,000. Sir H. Gough and his second-in-command, Sir W. Parker, at the head of so considerable and highly disciplined an army supported her Majesty's plenipotentiary, Sir Henry Pottinger, 'to dictate peace on the terms prescribed by his sovereign, and they had obtained this peace on terms of entire equality, at the hands of the Emperor of China. (Cheers.)' (117) The Secretary of the Colonies also singled out for praise the officers and men of the East India Company's private army and those of the 'Infant navy of the East India Company' (117), presumably an allusion to the armed steamer Nemesis and the role she played at Nankin. Both Lord Palmerston and the Duke of Wellington added to Lord Stanley's speech of gratitude to the armed forces.< Prev Next > Last Updated on Thursday, 26 February 2009 10:54
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