December 21st, 1845 - The Battle of Ferozeshah

Conflict: First Sikh War

Combatants: Anglo-Indians vs. Sikhs

Location: Punjab (India)

Outcome: British victory

On the afternoon of December 21st, 1845, General Sir Henry Gough's force of some 16,000 Anglo-Indian troops attacked the entrenched Lal Singh's Sikh army of 50,000 men. Though driven back several times, the British managed to seize the enemy positions and repulse a counter-attack the following day. The Sikhs retreated with at least 7,000 casualties. The British lost 2,400 men.

Battle of Ferozeshah by Henry Martens

Points of Interest:

• The First Sikh War ended after about three months with the Sikhs surrendering some territory to the British.

• The Sikhs rebelled again two years later only to lose the Second Sikh War and cede the entire Punjab to the British.

Portrait of Lal Singh by Imam Bakhsh Lahori

Viscount Gough by Francis Grant

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.