They mounted and rode off with all speed, and found the troops already
forming up. The commander-in-chief and Sir Henry Hardinge placed
themselves in front of the troops in order to prevent them from firing.
Moving round to the right, they entered the intrenchments with but
slight opposition. The enemy's guns were taken in reverse, and wheeling
round, past the village of Ferozeshah, the British line swept down
through the Sikh encampment, and did not halt until they reached the
works on the opposite side. Scarcely had they won the Sikh position and
captured his guns, seventy-four in number, when the army of Tej Singh
appeared in view, marching towards them.
The divisions of Smith and Littler, which had passed the night in the
jungle, had joined the force just as they entered the enemy's works, and
the troops now prepared to defend the position they had won.
No attack, however, was made. The crowd of Sikh fugitives made for the
army they saw advancing to their assistance, and rushing down in
confusion disordered its front line and communicated their panic to the
newly-arrived troops. After opening fire for some time at a distance
that rendered it perfectly innocuous, Tej Singh's troops turned and
marched away to the river, which they crossed without a halt.
The British were too weak in cavalry to follow up the enemy. Several
regiments had been sent off at daybreak to Ferozepore in order to water
their horses, as they would have been useless against the Sikh
intrenchments, while those that remained were unfit for active work, the
animals having been twenty-four hours without food or water.
The delight of the army was immense at this unexpectedly easy
termination of a fight that at one time had looked well-nigh lost, and
as Sir Hugh Gough and the governor-general rode down their lines they
saluted them with outbursts of cheers.
The loss, however, had been heavy, and had fallen chiefly upon the
Europeans, who had four hundred and eighty-eight killed and eleven
hundred and three wounded out of a total of six hundred and ninety-four
killed and one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one wounded, of whom
five hundred and ninety-five died subsequently or were permanently
disabled.
As soon as the Sikhs retreated, every effort was made to succour the
wounded, and by noon all were in quarters at Ferozepore and provided
with cots and blankets.
Among the killed were Major Somerset, military secretary to the
governor-general; Colonel Wallace; Major Baldwin, an old Peninsular
officer; and many other officers distinguished for their bravery. The
62d, which went into the battle weak in numbers, had seven officers
killed and ten wounded, and seventy-six rank and file killed, and one
hundred and fifty-four wounded. This regiment belonged to General
Littler's division, which had advanced against the strongest part of the
Sikh position.
After the engagement was over Percy reported himself to Captain Mills,
the only one of the political officers who had escaped unwounded.
"I am glad that lad went through it uninjured," Sir Henry Hardinge said
when Captain Mills reported that he was the only assistant available for
service. "He is a very plucky young fellow, and I noticed him several
times during the fight. He was always cool and collected even under the
heaviest fire, and Major Broadfoot reported to me very strongly upon his
conduct in going into the Sikh camp and obtaining for us a trustworthy
report of their strength and intentions. He mentioned that he was only
a volunteer serving without pay, and appointed temporarily by the
Resident at Loodiana on the civil staff. I shall be glad if, when you
send in a written report to me, you will specially mention his name."
Although the Sikh invasion had been repelled with such heavy loss of
guns and men, the British were in no condition to follow up their
advantage. Were they to cross the river they might expect to meet
forces far larger than those they had defeated. They were without heavy
guns with which to attack fortified towns, and their numbers were
altogether insufficient for such an enterprise as the conquest of the
Punjaub. They were therefore forced for a time to remain inactive,
pending the arrival of reinforcements and siege-guns.
*CHAPTER X.*
*ALIWAL AND SOBRAON.*
Finding that the British army did not follow up its success at
Ferozeshah, the Sikhs determined to maintain their position on the left
bank, and proceeded to construct a bridge of boats at Sobraon, not far
from the spot where they had crossed the river in their flight. In
front of the head of this bridge an exceedingly strong work was thrown
up. The position was very well chosen, the bridge being placed in a
curve of the river, and the artillery posted on the bank, which on their
side was high, was therefore able to sweep the ground across which a
force must advance to attack the work. Ten thousand men under the
Sirdar Runjoor Singh were also thrown across the river near Loodiana, in
order not only to menace the place with its small garrison, but to cut
off the passage of supplies for Ferozepore and to interrupt the
communications between the two posts.
As soon as the force at Meerut, consisting of the 9th and 16th Lancers,
the 10th and 53d Foot, and the 43d and 59th Native Regiments, arrived
with the battering-train, steps were taken to reinforce Loodiana and
Basseean with some heavy guns; additional troops were sent to each of
these posts, and the sick, with the women and children, were removed
thence and sent to Umballa.
Sir Harry Smith's division was increased to seven thousand men and
twenty-four guns, and he was despatched to drive the force that
threatened Loodiana across the river and to cover the line of the
British communications.
The whole country in that quarter was in a state of disorder. The
advance of Runjoor Singh had caused great excitement among the
peasantry, while it created something like a panic among the European
residents of Umballa and Simla, either of which places could have been
reached and plundered by the Sikhs, who from the crossing point near
Loodiana were two days' march nearer to them than was the army of the
commander-in-chief. It was all-important to Sir Harry Smith to reach
Loodiana, where, being on the flank of the Sikh army should they
advance, it would be necessary for them to meet and defeat him before
they ventured upon a raiding expedition. But to do this it was necessary
to pass within a short distance of Runjoor Singh's position, and as the
column passed along the Sikhs sallied out, opened a heavy fire, and cut
off a considerable portion of the baggage of the force, taking several
officers prisoners. Sir Harry Smith did not suffer himself to be
diverted from his object or to be forced to fight a battle save on
ground of his own choosing. Without returning the fire he pressed
forward until he reached Loodiana, the troops being completely exhausted
with the efforts they had made.
Some more political officers having come up with the force from Meerut,
Sir Henry Hardinge had placed Percy's services at the disposal of Sir
Harry Smith. "He is a mere lad," he said to the latter, "but you will
find him quite as valuable for most purposes as any older man would be.
He speaks the language like a native, can go in disguise and obtain any
information you may require, and has plenty of pluck. He was close
behind the commander-in-chief and myself all through the fight here, and
was one of the few of the staff who escaped uninjured. He is a
volunteer serving without pay, no doubt in the hope of obtaining civil
employment under the government in the future. This he has already
richly earned, not only by his service in the battle of Ferozeshah, but
by obtaining most valuable news by going in disguise to the Sikh camp
before they crossed the river. Poor Broadfoot reported on his conduct
very warmly indeed, in almost the last official document he sent me in,
and having seen the young fellow under fire I shall certainly, at the
proper time, take advantage of Broadfoot's report to recommend him to
the Board of Directors for an appointment in the Civil Service, and for
special employment upon this frontier."
Being recommended to him in such a manner, Sir Harry Smith had at once
taken Percy upon his staff, and more than once sent for him and
questioned him as to the country, the width of the river, and other
points; and as Percy had on his way down crossed the Sutlej not far from
Aliwal, he was able to give some valuable information on the subject.
As soon as they reached Loodiana he went to see his friend Mr.
Fullarton.
"Back again, Groves? You were fortunate in getting through that fight
at Ferozeshah, where poor Broadfoot and several other politicals were
killed or wounded. I had a note from him written the day before, saying
how useful he had found you. You have come up with Sir Harry Smith, I
suppose?"
"Yes, sir, they are very short of officers who speak the language, and
so sent me on with him."
"It shows they think well of you; I am glad you are doing credit to my
recommendation. You see it was very much better for you to go with the
army than to remain here with me. Now you have been through two
battles, and have fairly earned your right to a permanent post in the
service. But, mind, don't let them put you on the uncovenanted branch;
you will get very few chances of real promotion there. Should an offer
be made to you, you had better decline respectfully and say that you
would rather wait in the hope of entering the Company's service in the
regular way. Three or four years' waiting would do you no harm, though
I do not suppose you will have to wait anything like that time before
you get appointed to our service."
"I am quite content to wait, sir, for at my age it would be absurd to
think of getting such an important appointment; but I am very glad,
indeed, to have found the opportunity of seeing so much."
"We shall have another battle here in a day or two," Mr. Fullarton said.
"I have just seen Sir Harry. He says he must give the troops a couple
of days' rest before he advances to attack Runjoor Singh. Indeed there
is no hurry; now that he is here the Sikhs dare not advance, and he is
therefore master of the situation. It was a bad affair losing so much
of the baggage at Buddeewal, but the general was right in not bringing
on a battle. The troops were worn out with their long march, and would
have fought at a great disadvantage. It would not have made much
difference to the white soldiers, who are always ready to fight however
tired they may be; but it is not so with the natives. Fatigue, hunger,
or thirst always depress their spirits, and a native who, in the
morning, would have fought stoutly by the side of our own men, would be
worth nothing if taken into the field tired and hungry on the evening of
the same day. I hear that some of the native regiments did not do at
all well at Ferozeshah, and I have no doubt that this was the reason of
it. They will have a very short march before they fight this time."
After a day's rest the force moved out again to Buddeewal. Runjoor
Singh's force had just received a reinforcement of four thousand regular
troops, with twelve guns, and his army now amounted to nineteen thousand
men and sixty guns. Early in the morning of the 28th of January Sir
Harry Smith marched from Buddeewal towards the enemy. The Sikhs were so
inspirited by the success that had attended their attack on the column
during its passage--a success which they attributed to fear on the part
of the British--that, instead of waiting to be attacked in the
intrenchments they had formed, they moved forward, and took up their
post in the open, the village of Aliwal being the key of the position.
The troops were already advancing in order of battle, and a column was
at once directed to attack and carry the village, the artillery
preparing the way by a heavy fire. The Sikh guns opened all along their
line, but their fire was very wild; most of the shot went far overhead,
and the attacking force suffered but little. They did not fire a shot
in return, but when within a short distance of the village went at it
with a rush, carrying it at the point of the bayonet, and driving the
Sikh infantry headlong before them. The guns defending it fell into
their hands, and as soon as they established themselves in the village,
the rest of the force moved forward with admirable regularity, and the
whole Sikh line was driven backwards, leaving their guns behind them.
The 16th Lancers charged the enemy, who were falling back sullenly and
in order. The Sikhs threw themselves down on the ground and slashed at
the horses with their swords as they passed over them, or discharged
their muskets at their riders, and the regiment lost upwards of a
hundred men killed and wounded. As they fell back the horse-artillery
opened upon the dense masses of Sikhs, the infantry continued their
steady advance, and the cavalry again and again charged. Instead of
retiring towards their intrenchments, which having been denuded of their
guns were now untenable, the enemy retreated direct upon the river,
which they crossed at the ford. Their loss was comparatively small to
that which they had suffered at Perozeshah, but the whole of their guns
fell into the hands of the British.
Only one had been carried across the river. This was captured and
spiked by the irregular horse and horse-artillery, who crossed the river
in pursuit. The total loss of the British in killed and wounded in the
battle of Aliwal was only four hundred--an astonishingly small amount
when it is considered that they attacked a brave enemy of double their
strength both in men and guns. The victory was a most important one. It
relieved the north-west of all fear of invasion, and enabled the
commander-in-chief to direct his whole attention to concentrating his
force against the main body of the Sikh army at Sobraon.
Percy had watched the conflict from a distance. He had, as usual, taken
his place among the staff when the general mounted his horse to advance
against the Sikh intrenchments; but when Sir Harry Smith's eye fell upon
him he said, "You will not ride with me to-day, Mr. Groves. I can have
no occasion for your services as a political officer, and will not have
you risk your life uselessly by your exposing yourself to fire. You
will, therefore, please follow at considerable distance, and will, when
we get within the enemy's range, take up any position you like that will
enable you to see what is going on and at the same time keep you out of
fire."
Percy looked a little downcast, and Sir Harry added kindly: "It is no
reflection on your courage, lad, that I send you back. The
governor-general himself told me how fearlessly you had exposed yourself
at Ferozeshah; but as I do not require you on duty I have no
justification for taking you with me under a heavy fire."
Percy brightened up as he rode off. Sir Harry Smith's staff were for
the most part strangers to him, as he had not been connected with it
until it marched, and he had feared at first that it might be thought
the general had ordered him to the rear because he doubted his
steadiness under fire.
"I am only to look on to-day," he said to his two followers as they
joined him when he reined up his horse on a little knoll affording a
view of the enemy's position half a mile away.
"And a very good thing too, sahib," Bhop Lal said bluntly. "I had quite
enough of being shot at the other day, and have no stomach for sitting
on horseback again doing nothing while they are pelting us with shot and
bullets. If the sahib said 'Charge!' I would follow into the middle of
the Sikh incampment, but as for sitting doing nothing I want no more of
it.'
"Besides," Akram Chunder put in, "we know all about it now; for if what
people say is true as to Runjoor Singh's strength, the odds are not so
great as they were at Ferozeshah, even though they have seventy guns to
our thirty. But what is that? The British are not to be stopped by
guns; they will do as they did the other day, go right at the Sikhs and
beat them. The Sikhs have thrown away their only chance by coming out
from their intrenchments. Besides, they will not fight so well as they
did last time. Then they thought they were invincible, now they know
that the British are better fighters than they are, and that makes all
the difference."
"We may as well dismount," Percy said, "and picket the horses down
behind. We can see well enough over the jungle on foot, and if the Sikh
gunners should notice three mounted men they might take us for officers
of importance and send a few shot in this direction."
The Sikh gunners, however, were too occupied with the foes marching
against them to notice the detached figures, and no shot came in their
direction during the battle. Percy and his two followers watched the
capture of Aliwal, and then saw the whole British force advance, and
with scarce a pause push back the Sikhs all along the line.
"Truly it is wonderful," Bhop Lal said, stroking his beard. "These men
in red coats make no more of the fire of sixty guns than if they were
children's playthings. As for the Sikh infantry, though more than twice
their numbers, they seem to sweep them before them like chaff. I
thought I knew something of fighting, but I feel to-day that I know
nothing, for I have seen nothing like this from the day when I first
handled a sword."
"The loss cannot have been very heavy," Percy said, "it has been done
too quickly."
"That is the way, sahib," Akram Chunder remarked. "If men have but the
courage to go on in the face of a heavy fire they suffer much less than
if they hesitate and delay; but it is only lions who rush forward with
sixty cannon firing at them, to say nothing of thousands of men with
muskets. That is what takes the life out of the Sikh fighting. They
are brave, but they are accustomed to victory, and when they see men
rushing on against them in spite of the fire which they thought would
have swept them all away, they lose their confidence in themselves, and
say, what use is it to fight against men like these?"
"Bring up the horses, Bhop Lal; we may as well ride forward now that the
battle is nearly over, for I believe the roll of musketry and the
discharge of guns still going on are caused by our troops firing at the
Sikhs as they recross the river."
Great was the satisfaction that prevailed among the troops at the
splendid victory they had gained over an enemy of nearly thrice their
force in men and guns, and that with a loss which, considering the
numbers engaged and the strength of the intrenchments, was trifling. As
after so crushing a defeat as this there was little chance of Loodiana
being again threatened, or of any large force endeavouring to intercept
our communications, Sir Harry Smith marched back with his army and
rejoined the commander-in-chief on the 8th of February.
On the following day the heavy guns from Delhi arrived, and orders were
given for the whole force to prepare for the attack on Sobraon. During
the fortnight that Sir Harry Smith had been absent the Sikhs had
continued to labour unceasingly at their intrenchments, which were
erected under the superintendence of two or three of the foreign
officers who had been in Runjeet Singh's service. These were not
regarded by the Sikhs with the same hostility with which they viewed
Colonel Groves and two or three other English-speaking officers. They
had, indeed, been deprived of their commands at the demand of the army,
who objected to the European discipline and to the severe methods by
which it was enforced; but several of them had been allowed to remain in
the country, and the Sikhs, when the war began, gladly availed
themselves of their scientific knowledge in the erection of
intrenchments.
The enemy had surrounded their position with works of great strength,
which could only be surmounted by the aid of scaling-ladders. The works
were so arranged that they afforded complete protection to three lines
of infantry, one above another, who could thus pour a tremendous fire
upon an advancing foe. These works were held by 34,000 men with seventy
guns. They were connected by a well-built bridge, and also by a ford,
with another camp of 20,000 men across the river, and the guns of this
force, placed on the high bank, were in a position to play upon the
flanks of an army advancing against Sobraon.
To attack this formidable position Sir Hugh Gough had but 16,224 men, of
whom 6533 were Europeans and 9691 natives. His force, therefore, was
numerically inferior by 1500 men to that with which he attacked the
Sikhs at Ferozeshah. His artillery force had, however, been augmented
to ninety-nine guns by the addition of thirty-four heavy guns and
mortars, and the commander-in-chief relied upon his artillery to clear
the way for the assault of his infantry. The army was to be in motion
at half-past three in the morning, in order that darkness should not, as
at Moodkee and Ferozeshah, intervene to prevent the full results of
victory being obtained.
The troops were under arms punctually, and at precisely the hour named
marched in silence against the Sikh position. The battering guns and
most of the field batteries took up their post in an extended
semicircle, so as to open fire against every point of the Sikh
intrenchments. It was intended that they should commence the attack as
soon as it was light enough for the men to point their guns. A heavy
mist, however, hung over the country, and it was not until half-past six
that this lifted sufficiently to allow a view to be obtained of the
enemy's works. Then the cannon opened along the whole line, and a storm
of shot and shell was poured in by the gun and mortar batteries, while
rockets were discharged in numbers against the intrenchments.
The Sikhs replied with equal vigour, and for a time the roar of
artillery was unbroken. It had been intended that the cannonade should
be continued for four hours before the infantry were called upon to make
their advance, but so rapidly did the gunners work their pieces that the
ammunition carried with them was becoming exhausted long before that
time had elapsed, and the elephants who should have brought up reserves
had become unmanageable from their terror at the tremendous din. But
even had the fire continued during the whole day, it could not have made
any serious impression upon such strong and extended earthworks, and its
object was rather to shake the courage of the defenders than to produce
any material damage. The loss of the Sikhs was afterwards found to have
been heavy, but they and their general were confident that they could
repulse any attack upon the tremendous works they had erected, Tej Singh
having been assured by Ins chief engineer, a French officer named
Mouton, that the position was absolutely impregnable.
While the artillery duel was in progress the British infantry had
remained inactive in the rear of the guns, longing for the time when
they should be called upon to take their share in the action; and there
was a general feeling of satisfaction when the fire began to slacken,
and orders were given for the advance to begin. On the left were two
brigades of General Sir Robert Dick's division; these were to commence
the engagement. The seventh brigade, commanded by General Stacey, was
to lead the attack, headed by the 10th Foot reinforced by the 53d, and
supported by the other brigade.
General Gilbert's division was in the centre, Sir Harry Smith's on the
right, while Brigadier-general Campbell's command was thrown back
between Gilbert's right and Sir Harry Smith's left. A part of the
cavalry threatened to cross a ford and attack the enemy's horse on the
opposite bank, the rest of the cavalry were in reserve. At nine o'clock
Stacey's brigade, supported by three batteries, moved to the attack.
The former marched steadily on in line, the latter took up successive
positions at a gallop, until within three hundred yards of the heavy
batteries of the enemy. The fire of cannon, camel guns, and musketry
was so tremendous, that it seemed to the lookers-on impossible that any
troops could advance successfully under it.