Battle of Ramnagar
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2009) |
| Battle of Ramnagar | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Punjab 32°19′N 73°50′E / 32.317°N 73.833°E | |
| Result |
Sikh victory
|
Sikh Empire.svg){kind=small}
East India Company
The Battle of Ramnagar (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Rumnuggur) was fought on 22 November 1848 between
Background
Following the Sikh defeat in the
The second war broke out in April 1848, when a popular uprising in the city of
On 14 September, Sher Singh rebelled. Whish was forced to raise the siege of Multan and retire. Nevertheless, Sher Singh and Mulraj (the
Battle
By November, the British had at last assembled a large army on the frontier of the Punjab, under the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Hugh Gough. Gough had been criticised for his unvarying frontal attacks during the First Anglo-Sikh War, which had led to heavy British casualties and some near disasters.
In the early hours of the morning of 22 November, Gough ordered a force of cavalry and horse artillery, with a single infantry brigade, to move to the Chenab crossing near
At dawn, the British force assembled opposite the fords. The 3rd Light Dragoons and 8th Bengal Light Cavalry drove some Sikhs back across the river from positions on the east bank. At this point, hitherto concealed Sikh batteries opened fire. The British cavalry had difficulty extricating themselves from the soft ground. Gough's horse artillery was outgunned and forced to retire, leaving behind a 6-pounder gun which had become bogged down.[4] The brigade commander, Sir Colin Campbell, called up troops to retrieve the gun but was over-ruled by Gough.[5]
Sher Singh sent 3,000 horsemen across the fords to take advantage of the British check. Gough ordered the main body of his cavalry (the 14th Light Dragoons and the 5th Bengal Light Cavalry) to attack them. These drove back the Sikh horsemen but as they pursued them down the river bank, they were hit by heavy artillery fire. The Sikh cavalry also turned about and hit the 5th Light Cavalry, causing heavy casualties.
The Commanding Officer of the 14th Light Dragoons, Colonel William Havelock, led another charge, apparently without orders.[6] He and his leading troopers were surrounded and cut down. After a third charge failed, Brigadier Charles Robert Cureton, the commander of the cavalry division to which the troops belonged, galloped up and ordered a retreat. He himself was then killed by musket fire.[3]
Results
Official British casualties, including Brigadier General Cureton, were 26 killed or missing, 59 wounded.[3]
Sher Singh had skillfully used every advantage of ground and preparation. Although the Sikh forces had been driven from their vulnerable positions on the east bank of the Chenab, their main positions were intact, they had undoubtedly repulsed a British attack, and the morale of Sher Singh's army was boosted.
On the British side, several shortcomings were obvious. There had been little reconnaissance or other attempts to gain information on the Sikh dispositions. Gough and Havelock had both ordered foolish or reckless charges. Cureton had a reputation from the First Sikh War as a steady and capable officer, and ought to have been in command from the start.
Order of battle
British regiment
- 3rd King’s Own Light Dragoons
- 9th Queen’s Royal Light Dragoons (Lancers)
- 14th the King’s Light Dragoons
- 24th Foot
- 29th Foot
- 61st Foot
British Indian Army regiments
- 1st Bengal Light Cavalry
- 5th Bengal Light Cavalry
- 6th Bengal Light Cavalry
- 9th Bengal Light Cavalry
- 2nd European Light Infantry
- 6th Bengal Native Infantry
- 15th Bengal Native Infantry
- 20th Bengal Native Infantry
- 25th Bengal Native Infantry
- 30th Bengal Native Infantry
- 31st Bengal Native Infantry
- 36th Bengal Native Infantry
- 45th Bengal Native Infantry
- 46th Bengal Native Infantry
- 56th Bengal Native Infantry
- 69th Bengal Native Infantry
- 70th Bengal Native Infantry
Notes
- ^ Jacques, p. 839
- ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
- ^ a b c Second Sikh War (1848-1849), The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History, ed. Harold E. Raugh Jr., (ABC-CLIO, 2004), 301.
- ^ "BritishBattles.com". Archived from the original on 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ Greenwood, ch.5
- ^ Farwell, p.53
References
- Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of Modern India, 1707 A. D. to 2000 A. D. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 81-269-0085-7.
- ISBN 1-84022-216-6.
- ISBN 978-0-06-270056-8.
- ISBN 978-0-75095-685-7.
- Hunter, William Wilson (1881). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Trübner. p. 542.
- Raugh, Harold E. (2004). The Victorians at war, 1815-1914: an encyclopedia of British military history (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. pp. 299–301. ISBN 1-57607-925-2.
External links
Media related to Battle of Ramnagar at Wikimedia Commons
- BritishBattles.com, includes troop strength, casualties and events of the battle.