1st Sikh War

1st Sikh War
1845-46
Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns
Location: Punjab
Combatants:
East India Company	Sikh Empire
Result: British victory
Medals: Sutlej Medal Clasps: Moodkee, Ferozeshuhur, Aliwal, Sobraon
Links:
Category: 1st Sikh War

	See our interactive map of 1st Sikh War locations and routes on Google Maps

The 1st Sikh War, also called the First Anglo-Sikh War or the Sutlej Campaign.

Summary

After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, there was a period of internal strife as the succession to Sikh leadership was contested. Sikh forces were increased as were those of the British in the newly acquired territory adjoining the Punjab. Tension built up with demand and counter-demand until the British moved forces toward Firozpur and the Sikh Khalsa crossed the Sutlej. Four major actions were fought and all were won by the British. Large areas of territory were ceded to the British and a British Resident placed in Lahore effectively controlled the Sikh government.

Related articles

For details of events during this campaign see the following articles

16 December 1845	Battle of Wadni Fort
18 December 1845	Battle of Moodkee
21 December 1845	Battle of Ferozeshah
17 January 1846	Surrender of Dharmkot Fort
21 January 1846	Occupation of Badhowal Fort
28 January 1846	Battle of Aliwal
10 February 1846	Battle of Sobraon
17 February 1846	Occupation of Phillour
28 May 1846	Battle of Kangrah

Biographies

Entries in the Dictionary of Indian Biography 1906
Walter Gilbert (1785-1853)
Hugh Gough (1779-1869)
Henry Hardinge (1785-1856)
John McCaskill (17??-1845)
Robert Sale (1782-1845)
Dulip Singh (1837-1893)
Ranjit Singh (1780-1839)
Harry Smith (1787-1860)
Joseph Thackwell (1781-1859)
Hugh Wheeler (1789-1857)

Other biographies
Tej Singh Sikhiwiki

The Army of the Sutlej

Units at the first engagement at Moodkee. See other actions for forces on those occasions.
Commanding in Chief: Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Gough
Second in Command: Maj-Gen Sir Henry Hardinge, Governor General of Bengal

Cavalry Division
Major General Sir Joseph Thackwell

• Brigadier Mactier’s Brigade

• 9th Bengal Irregular Horse
• One wing of 4th Bengal Light Cavalry

• Brigadier Gough’s Brigade

• 5th Bengal Light Cavalry
• The Governor General's Bodyguard

• Brigadier White’s Brigade

• HM 3rd King’s Own Light Dragoons
• One wing of 4th Bengal Light Cavalry

1st Infantry Division
Maj-Gen Sir Harry Smith

• 1st Brigade: Brigadier Bolton

• HM 31st Foot
• 24th Bengal Native Infantry
• 47th Bengal Native Infantry

• 2nd Brigade: Colonel Hugh Wheeler

• HM 50th Foot
• 42nd Bengal Native Infantry
• 48th Bengal Native Infantry

2nd Infantry Division
Major General Walter Gilbert

• 1st Brigade

• 2nd Bengal Native Infantry
• 45th Bengal Native Infantry

• 2nd Brigade

• 16th Bengal Native Infantry

3rd Infantry Division
Major General Sir John McCaskill

• 1st Brigade

• HM 9th Foot
• 26th Bengal Native Infantry
• 73rd Bengal Native Infantry

Artillery

• 5 troops of Horse Artillery
• 2 batteries of light Field Artillery

Sikh Khalsa Army

The Sikh army created by Ranjit Singh was a formidable fighting force trained by European instructors to fight and drill in the Western manner. They were thought (especially the artillery) to be the equal of the Company's troops. At the outbreak of the 1st Sikh War the army's strength was 45,000 infantry, 26,000 cavalry and 376 guns.

FIBIS resources

• Video: The First Anglo-Sikh War by Amarpal Sidhu, author of the book of that name. Talk given at the FIBIS AGM and Open Lecture Meeting on 26 October 2013. Video available to logged in FIBIS members in the FIBIS Social Network
• "Captain Hunter: researching a memorial in Durham Cathedral" by Geoffrey Fox FIBIS Journal Number 31 (Spring 2014) pages 36-48. For access, see FIBIS Journals. Captain Hunter of the 73rd Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry was killed in action 21 December 1845 at the Battle of Ferozeshah

Medals

Also see Medals and Medal Rolls

• The Sutlej Campaign Medal northeastmedals.co.uk

Memoirs

• N. W. Bancroft of the Bengal Horse Artillery published his memoirs in 1885, "telling of the campaigns of his career. He gives particular emphasis on the Sikh wars that culminated in the three Sutlej battles, which he describes in gory detail. His account of the actions of the artillery in the Sikh battles match with accuracy to the official accounts, giving a reliable illustration of the tactics of that time. Bancroft gives a tactile description of the sights and sounds of the battlefield, as they were seen and heard from the men on the ground". For more details see, Bengal Horse Artillery.

External links

	The FIBIS Google Books Library has books tagged: 1st Sikh War Sikhs

• 1st Sikh War 1845-46 Wikipedia
  
• 1st Anglo-Sikh War Sikhiwiki
  
• Journal of the Sutlej Campaign Google Books
  
• Despatches of the Generals Google Books
  
• Sikh Khalsa Army Wikipedia
  
• 31st Regiment in the 1st Sikh War queensroyalsurreys.org.uk
  
• Map of the Punjab Wikipedia
  

Historical books online

• The War in India: Despatches of Visct. Hardinge, Lord Gough, Sir Harry Smith, Bart., and other documents; comprising the engagements of Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal and Sobraon 1846 Google Books
• Despatches and General Orders Announcing the Victories Achieved by the Army of the Sutlej Over the Sikh Army at Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, & Sobraon, in December, 1845, & January & February, 1846 1846 Google Books
• Papers on subjects connected with the duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Volume 10 (old series) 1849 Google Books
  • "Campaign on the Sutlej, 1845-6" by Colonel Lewis, C. B., R. E., page 156
  • "Unpublished Dispatches of Lieut-General Sir Harry Smith", page 166
  • "Some Account of the Passage of the Sutlej by the British Army, in February, 1846" by Captain Yule, Bengal Engineers, page 177
• The Sikhs and the Sikh Wars: The Rise, Conquest, and Annexation of the Punjab State by Charles Gough , Arthur Donald Innes 1897 Archive.org
• The First and Second Sikh Wars Compiled for the General Staff, India by Lieutenant Colonel R G Burton 94th Russell’s Infantry 1911 Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. Contains maps. 2nd digital file where text may be clearer in places, but missing maps.
• The history of the Sikhs: containing the lives of the Gooroos; the history of the independent Sirdars, or Missuls, and the life of the great founder of the Sikh monarchy, Maharajah Runjeet Singh The history of the Sikhs Volume 2 Containing an Account of the War between the Sikhs and the British in 1845-46 contains details of the war from page 42 By William Lewis M’Gregor MD Surgeon 1st European Light Infantry 1846 Google Books
• The history of the Bengal European regiment : now the Royal Munster Fusiliers, and how it helped to win India, page 362 by Percival Robert Innes 1885, details the role of this regiment in the 1st Sikh War. (archive.org)
• Journal of a Cavalry Officer: including the memorable Sikh Campaign of 1845-46 by William Wellington Waterloo Humbley, Captain 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers 1854 Archive.org. Includes some maps.
• A narrative of four months' campaign in India, 1845-6 including the Battles of Moodkee, Ferozeshuhur. & Sobraon, by J W. Baldwin 1853 Google Books. He was in the 9th Regiment of Foot.
• Military service and adventures in the Far East: including sketches of the campaigns against the Afghans in 1839 and the Sikhs in 1845-6, Volume 2 by Capt. Daniel Henry Mackinnon, late of the 16th Lancers, 2nd edition 1849 (Volume 1) Google Books
• "The Battle of Sabraon" by an Ex-Aide-de-Camp. Colburn's United Service Magazine, and Naval and Military Journal 1867 Part I : 6-17 Google Books
• Ten years in India, in the 16th Queen's Lancers by WJD Gould (1880) [Archive.org]
• "The First Sikh War 1845-1846", page 46, Reynell Taylor, C. B., C. S. I. a Biography by E. Gambier Parry 1888 Archive.org. The subject was in the Governor General's Bodyguard and was wounded at the Battle of Moodkee
• The Career of Major George Broadfoot, C. B., Governor General’s Agent, NW Frontier 1844-45, in Afghanistan and the Punjab by Major W. Broadfoot 1888 Archive.org
• Barracks and battlefields in India; or, The experiences of a soldier of the 10th Foot (North Lincoln) in the Sikh wars and Sepoy Mutiny, edited by the Rev Caesar Caine 1891 Archive.org. 1971 reprint edition Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India. The soldier was Thomas Malcolm, born 1827.
• Facts and Reflections, by a Subaltern of the Indian Army, page 43 onwards is about the unnamed author's experience of the War. Published 1849 Archive.org. The author was an Ensign with a Regiment of Bengal Native Troops, who had arrived in India in late 1841.
• "First Sikh War" page 28 General Sir Alex Taylor G.C.B., R.E.: his Times, his Friends, and his Work, Volume I by A. Cameron Taylor, his daughter 1913. (Volume II) Archive.org
• Soldier Sahibs : the men who made the North-West Frontier by Charles Allen 2001, first published 2000. Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library.
• Fiction
  • Flashman and the Mountain of Light : from the Flashman papers, 1845-46 by George MacDonald Fraser 1991. Archive.org Lending Library. Flashman in the 1st Sikh War.

  The Flashman Papers Wikipedia.